'All American' Season 2 Episode 9 Review: Tackling racism and mental illness, the show takes a serious turn
The review contains spoilers for 'All American' Season 2 Episode 9 — 'One of Them Nights'
Hitting the right notes, 'All American' is back after a long winter break to address major social issues and wrap up the emotional load on its characters. In the last episode, Spencer James (Daniel Ezra) decided to quit football and that has repercussions, not only on himself but his close friends and family too.
It is his little brother who suffers the most. Dillon (Jalyn Hall) is mad that Spencer hasn't been around, so Spencer tries to make it up to him by having him help sell tickets for Coop's (Bre-Z) show, but they find themselves confronted by the police instead.
It all begins when they go to an ice cream shop and the Froyo woman asks them to leave after a tiny spat.
Showing a slice of reality, the episode addresses how racism is a part of the community and with the cops involved, there is little that can be done to eradicate it. Why would a person move into a black neighborhood if they didn't want to serve the people in the community in the first place?
Billy (Taye Diggs) tries to force Jordan (Michael Evans Behling) and Olivia (Samantha Logan) to hang out with him and make memories, but all doesn't go according to plan, giving Olivia an idea on reporting injustices.
Meanwhile, Layla (Greta Onieogou) bonds with a new friend who understands what she is going through, but she realizes that Spencer and Olivia are there for her, too.
It is heartwarming to see Layla's mental health journey and the showrunners deserve some credit in de-stigmatizing mental illness and normalizing therapy one episode at a time.
There are a few relationship updates too. Asher and Olivia are officially dating and Spencer kisses his old flame, Kia. Yes, she is back and the two still have the electrifying chemistry.
Moreover, both of them are quite mature and only time will tell if that was just a one-time thing or whether the two will get back together.
Elsewhere, Coop is shaken when she faces Tyrone, but luckily she knows Preach (Kareem J Grimes) is in her corner. The previous episode set the stage for Preach vs Tyrone after his shocking comeback and the new episode only carries it ahead.
In fact, he beats up a guy to bust a drug dealer. Directed by Erica Watson and written by Jameal Turner and Cam'ron Moore, the episode may turn out to be a good start to pave way for more drama and touching twists and turns. New episodes roll out every Monday on The CW at 8 pm ET.