Tune in or tune out: ‘All american: homecoming’
All American: Homecoming returned with its third, and final, season on CW in July, following news of its cancellation one month earlier. Unfortunately, this abrupt news has led to an equally quick wrap up that leaves viewers disappointed and wondering what it was that originally made this franchise’s spinoff so special.
The first episode is introduced in a story-like manner with Simone (Geffri Maya) narrating the events of sophomore year with some ominous foreshadowing. Viewers are brought to speed through a quick recap of Simone’s chosen beau–a monumental cliff-hanger from the previous season–and the time that the two spent together. As Simone faces major changes in her life, Bringston also makes the grand decision of shifting its focus from athletics to academics. This “rebrand” is the focal point of the season that causes many changes in the dynamics of our main characters. For instance, Damon (Peyton Alex Smith) and the baseball team are lost to this decision for the rest of the season. With this cut, All American:Homecoming’s last season begins with a shaky foundation.
In addition to the baseball team, absence is felt all around in the Bringston family. Thea (Camille Hyde) is no longer around now that she’s in the pro-circuit, Amara (Kelly Jenretter) and Marcus (Cory Hardrict) are no longer together despite their reignited romance in the previous season, JR (Sylvester Powell) has returned after taking a year off for medical reasons, Keisha (Netta Walker) is JR’s bone marrow donor, and Cam (Mitchell Edwards) is exploring music through producing songs. The audience is given two episodes to adjust to this plethora of information. The pacing of these revelations does not provide viewers enough time to digest what is taking place. Compared to previous seasons where new information is sprinkled within the first three episodes, then elaborated on for the rest of the season, there is too much happening, too fast.
Once that hurdle of adjusting to all the complexities of sophomore year at college is over, it is time to tackle junior year. Episode four opens up with Simone scheduling a doctor’s appointment over the phone and her best friends waiting outside her bedroom door with a birthday surprise. It is a sweet moment that reminds us of what makes the relationships in this show so endearing to watch. However, this opening deviates from All American: Homecoming’s usual introductions that feature high-energy sport scenes coupled with upbeat music. This sets the tone for the rest of the season. Instead of engaging with their passions like in the previous season, almost every character is tangled within a mess of what surrounds their passions, from insecurities to relationship issues, and for Simone, her health.
Simone’s diagnosis with breast cancer occupies a large chunk of the middle of this season. Each character puts their life on pause to help their friend overcome this news. Similarly, the show reflects this friend group dynamic by slowing down until Simone has a hold over her cancer treatments in relation to her dream of playing tennis. While it is commendable for the show to tackle such a heavy topic, this plot is sudden and does not steer the show towards a clear ending in its final season. Instead, it creates doubt in viewers about the future of Simone.
After Simone successfully completes her treatment, she is celebrated for her bravery and strength by her friends and family who waited for her outside the treatment center. It is a heart-warming scene that offers some closure to this portion of the season. It is a necessary segue for returning the plot to its original focus, the effects of Bringston’s rebranding on the future of some of our main characters. There is finally an update on JR and Lando’s plan to reinstate the baseball team. While it ends in failure, there is some satisfaction in seeing JR walk away with a smile on his face because at least he tried to save the legacy of baseball at Bringston. Additionally, there are updates on Cam’s accelerating potential at songwriting. His current position working with a music producer has led him to become one of the songwriters of J.Marx (Christian Robinson), a popular artist in the show.
While it is nice to steer the show back to its focal point, there is one character whose impact is missing this season: Amara Patterson. Amara is a character who was integral as a source of wisdom to the BU family in previous seasons. Her absence in light of Bringston’s “re-branding” leaves no room to explore how this HBCU would benefit from her leadership in uncertain times. Also, while she is gone from Bringston because of her double position at the White House, this promotion is not elaborated on. Amara’s diligence as a journalist in the first season rewards her with the title of Bringston University president in the second season. This is surpassed by her acceptance of working at the White House. Although it is an important step in her career, the show barely highlights it. It is understandable if the show hopes to focus more on the college students as they struggle to achieve excellence in their respective passions,however, it can be argued that Amara is in a similar period of transition as each student is. She was given a role and she is working to turn that role into something greater to contribute to a community that is dear to her.
This season doesn’t feel the same as the previous ones. Maybe that’s because it is missing the people and structure that is integral to creating the feelings the show has cultivated. The music, the hype, and most importantly, the people. No Damon Hicks, not even a visit. No one mentions him at all and he is essentially replaced by his rival, Lando. The baseball team is no more than history, and the show loses an opportunity to explore more student perspectives. This season would have benefited from focusing on the re-branding of Bringston as a prestigious academic-based HBCU. More involvement from Amara as a president of a college with a double gig in the White House would have created an interesting storyline to continue from previous seasons. The fruits of her laborwould have been a lot more evident by now. Instead, by cutting out the baseball team in the first episode, All American: Homecoming lost what it was building up. Which was an underdog team that was revving up to rewrite history.
With the changes at Bringston, having the baseball team would have been a definite path towards finding a balance between academics and athletics. However, losing the entire cast of baseball ended up excluding the chance to use these characters and their individual stories to fuel the esteem of upholding “legacy” at Bringston. Hearing about the lives of some of these players during a press conference in season 1 has always led to hope for more from them. Unfortunately, this final season is proving that Bringston’s baseball legacy is not worth the fight that was put up when this spinoff first began.
It would have been nice to see an extension to how Bringston deals with activism,considering the events of racial profiling that took place towards the end of the previous season. Not to mention, the bomb threat in the first season would have made it logical for the writers to want another event of this proportion to occur in season 3. Although there was Simone’s cancer treatment and an attack on campus, it was not of the typical All American style that brings discomfort and hope to audiences by reminding viewers of the realities of being black in America. All American: Homecoming created a powerful moment for sisterhood at the end of season two when the entire girls tennis team was racially profiled by police who stopped their bus that was heading to a tournament. Moreover, it sparked a conversation within the university about how institutions such as HBCUs should deal with media attention when the tennis team held a press conference endorsed by Coco Gauff.
Overall, All American: Homecoming Season 3 is worth watching for closure, but just keep in mind that it is drastically different from the previous seasons.
