As a longtime fan of both “All American” and its spin-off, “All American: Homecoming“, I found myself rather disappointed with the final season. Coming from someone who’s spent years rooting for these characters, I felt like the storylines lacked the depth and continuity that made the earlier seasons so captivating.
In summary, the last season of “All American: Homecoming” was characterized by unsatisfying plot developments, numerous filler episodes, and a lack of clear direction due to its narrative not seeming to have a definitive focus or destination.
The third season of “All American: Homecoming” struggles with adhering to the classic principle of “Show, don’t tell.” Instead of witnessing crucial events in most main storylines, viewers are primarily presented with verbal descriptions rather than visual depictions of what actually happens on screen.
In simpler terms, Simone’s cancer journey is often criticized as a significant issue. Initially, viewers witness Simone noticing changes in her body. Later on, when Simone learns that she has cancer, this revelation significantly impacts the plot. Yet, the audience doesn’t get to share Simone’s real-time experience of dealing with cancer.
In “All American: Homecoming,” Simone’s egg-freezing process and cancer treatments are subtly explored, yet the audience is not privy to the specifics. Despite her emotional milestone of ringing the bell signifying her cancer remission, it seems that there was little emotional engagement with Simone’s struggle throughout her journey. Unfortunately, this phase of Simone’s life merely adds to the long list of hardships she has faced since her debut on “All American” and up until the last season of “All American: Homecoming.
Regardless, withholding information about Simone’s diagnosis from her friends stagnates the narrative and leads to inconsequential plotlines, as progress cannot be made until they are informed. Moreover, it seems illogical and morally questionable to exclude Simone’s aunt and mother for an extended period in the storyline. The rationale behind Simone’s secretiveness appears contrived, as if All American: Homecoming is intentionally delaying the return of these characters for as long as possible.
In the final episode of “Survivor,” Simone’s past battle with cancer is once more highlighted as she ponders whether to disclose the truth about rumors suggesting she used illegal performance-enhancing substances in sports. Faced with this dilemma, Simone decides to uphold honesty and openly addresses the allegations. This courageous move earns her a standing ovation at the Tennis Championship, where spectators admire her integrity and appreciate her inspiring road to recovery.
In simpler terms, “Survivor” reveals that Damon discovered Simone’s cancer diagnosis later on, a detail often overlooked to emphasize their love triangle with Lando. Despite parting ways amicably, their scenes together are tense and uneasy, which is unusual for friends. The friendly dynamic between them seems absent. Why did it feel like a final goodbye when they still have mutual friends? Also, why was Damon’s return not as impactful as expected?
Despite Simone frequently expressing her passion for tennis, All American: Homecoming has done a poor job demonstrating her true skill on the court. Although she is occasionally seen playing, due to the extensive focus of the show on Simone’s cancer journey, her tennis prowess takes a back seat. This aspect is given minimal attention and even in the series finale, the cancer storyline overshadows the tennis plot.
In “Survivor,” the final episode concludes with Simone being cheered by the audience, creating an emotional climax. Yet, not featuring the main character competing in the Championship she’s been preparing for seems like a missed chance. Why not let Simone receive a standing ovation and also show her playing in the match, potentially winning? This way, the episode could have provided a more fulfilling conclusion.
In “All American,” the series focuses intensely on Spencer’s college junior year, setting up his final strides towards the NFL Draft as his dream comes closer to fruition. Conversely, in “All American: Homecoming,” Simone’s dreams during her junior year seem less prioritized. Instead, the show seems more concerned with depicting challenges that may hinder Simone’s tennis career or distract her with irrelevant subplots unrelated to tennis.
In “All American: Homecoming,” there was significant focus on developing Simone’s relationship with Lando, which received ample screen time. The show emphasizes their constant interaction, with Simone’s other friendships in the village often taking a secondary role to highlight Lando as Simone’s primary confidant.
In essence, while Lando serves as Simone’s romantic interest and provides guidance to other group members, he lacks a personal storyline of his own. The show, All American: Homecoming, briefly hinted at his aspirations in photography, but this aspect does not significantly develop into a main plot point.
In the final episode of All American: Homecoming, Lando’s affection for photography is subtly highlighted, yet the more significant issue revolves around his struggle to fully trust Simone’s declaration of love. Given their past with Damon, Lando’s reluctance to accept Simone’s feelings seems justified. However, when Lando realizes he doesn’t want to lose Simone, he delivers a touching confession, framed by photos significant to his identity and relationship with her. Unfortunately, it remains uncertain whether Lando ultimately presents the photo book he had prepared earlier to Simone.
In “All American: Homecoming”, there was potential to develop Lando’s character further by depicting him and JR teaming up to resurrect Bringston’s Baseball Program. Unfortunately, the choice not to emphasize this plot point weakened the emotional attachment of viewers and missed an opportunity to create a special connection between JR and Lando, given that Damon was no longer part of Bringston.
Ultimately, the return of baseball to Bringston is not linked to Lando but rather stems from Damon’s bonus for joining a Major League Baseball team professionally. Damon’s choice to support JR’s club team was instrumental in reigniting baseball at Bringston.
In contrast to the frequent mentions of JR’s desire to return to baseball and his ambition for the baseball program to be a significant part of his legacy, the third season of All American: Homecoming delves deeper into exploring the authenticity of JR’s bond with Keisha and hints at the possibility of a romantic relationship developing between them.
The issue isn’t that the storyline is disliked; rather, it lies in the way All American: Homecoming constructs this connection between Keisha and JR without providing a clear basis for it, only to remove it abruptly when they claim that there were no romantic feelings between them. This sudden turn of events seems to set up an unnecessary dramatic situation akin to emotional cheating. If All American: Homecoming aimed to end Keisha and JR’s romantic relationships and foster a stronger friendship instead, they could have done so without introducing a seemingly unfounded romantic subplot.
The last episode hints that JR might have developed romantic feelings for Keisha, yet due to the show being discontinued, there’s no chance for this storyline to progress further.
In a simpler and more natural way of phrasing:
As the final acts of All American: Homecoming approach, the show attempts to rectify issues by casting Keisha as a backup dancer on tour with individuals who appreciate and comprehend her abilities. Unfortunately, since All American: Homecoming only occasionally depicted Keisha effectively learning dance moves due to a focus on her hardships, her reference to her dance mix application lacking street dancing feels awkward rather than authentic. This is because viewers never get a chance to truly understand what Keisha submitted for graduate school auditions, or why she was denied admission in the first place.
A more impactful way to wrap up Keisha’s character arc would be to leave her single after her confessions about self-sabotage, rather than attempting to create a sudden dilemma at the last minute between JR and Cam.
In “All American: Homecoming,” they explore the character of Cam by placing him in a job with a music producer, aiming to emphasize his musical abilities. However, the narrative doesn’t seem to progress significantly, and when Cam eventually departs from the company, there’s little sense of either excitement or sorrow about the lost chance. To underscore that this was a significant journey, they allow Cam to secure a recording contract with the label as an artist by the end of the season.
In the final episode, the most significant development for Cam centers around his complex feelings towards Keisha, as he realizes that their relationship might not truly be over despite his previous assumptions. However, this turn of events seems rather hasty, considering they’ve only recently stopped harboring anger towards each other and were just beginning to find common ground. By the end of “Survivor,” it appears as though Cam is certain that they will reconcile, which seems to overlook some key steps in their relationship dynamic.
Keisha assisted Cam with his career issues, while Cam aided Keisha in her dance performance. However, just because Keisha confessed the reason behind their broken relationship doesn’t automatically mean that Cam can fully trust her again, and it’s not clear from this information alone that Keisha has had enough time to heal and avoid repeating self-destructive behaviors.
Nate occasionally appears on the show without contributing much significant content. Her role in the final season isn’t entirely clear, and it seems her presence might be more to fill time rather than being an integral part of the storyline. The events surrounding Nate don’t seem connected to the other characters, giving the impression that they were created primarily for the plot. However, the series finale does offer some resolution: confirmation of Nate’s acceptance into Bringston’s Graduate Law School Program and a glimpse into how a court case involving her cousin from an earlier episode led to Nate crossing boundaries in their romantic relationship.
The frequent comings and goings of Thea are perplexing, and despite the intrigue that All American: Homecoming aimed to generate through her character, it seems she might have had a more significant impact on the story if she had stayed in Bringston.
Initially, Thea was expected to be a tennis prodigy, excelling gracefully at the game with an exceptional understanding. However, her admission that she left the professional circuit because she was losing to teenagers feels disheartening. If Thea were to reappear in the series, one would expect it to be in a victorious role. Since Thea was no longer attending school and didn’t appear frequently in every episode, it seemed odd for her return not to be impressive.
As a gamer putting on my headset, I can’t help but feel a tad disappointed that All American: Homecoming hardly ever shows me Thea participating in actual games or practices, unless she’s teaming up with Simone. It would be great to witness more of her skills and growth in the game!
Ultimately, the final episodes of All American: Homecoming fell short of providing a thrilling climax. Although the series finale provides some resolution for the characters, it doesn’t allow the show to wrap up as intended, making the narratives seem more unresolved than they should be. The suggestion seems to be that the subsequent events would have a more optimistic slant for several characters, but there wasn’t enough engaging material this season to make the series feel like it ended with a bang.
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2024-10-02 02:15