Amina has a dilemma, Cassius wins big, while KJ deals with heartbreak. Here’s our All American Season 7 Episode 13 (season finale) recap.
All American is back for the season seven finale and it feels a little bittersweet. Sweet because despite complaints from some fans, this season, the first without the original cast, was better than expected. I didn’t expect to connect to the characters as much as I did. If you were looking for season seven to be the same show as previous seasons, you may have been disappointed. If you were looking for Jordan and Layla to be more prominent this season, you may have also been disappointed. Jordan and Layla are filling the roles formally occupied by Billy Baker and Laura. The real story is about the dynamic between the students at South Crenshaw and Beverly, with the older cast members playing a supporting role.
If I were to grade this season of All American, I’d give it a B+. It wasn’t perfect and the pacing on some of the episodes was a bit off, but the did a pretty good job of weaving in Spencer and Liv, and giving fans the pregnant Liv they always wanted to see. Overall, the storytelling was good.
Now, let’s a look at what happened on All American Season 7 Episode 13.
Amina’s good news
KJ and Amina are both waiting for good news. Amina visited the boarding school up north and she’s in love. The only drawback is it’s far from home. She’s waiting to find out if she got accepted, while KJ is waiting to hear if he won Player of the Year for his division. The friendship between them is electric. Not that platonic friendship, but that kind of friendship that makes for a great couple. The good vibes continue when Preach texts Amina to let her know she was accepted.
Later, Amina is shaken when Khalil tells her not to go away for school. She heads over to Layla’s to tell her about her dilemma with school (and boys). Layla suggests she may have drifted from Khalil because she has feelings for KJ.
KJ’s heartbreak
Over at the Jeremy residence, there’s some good news and bad news. Cassius won Coach of the Year in his division, but KJ unfortunately lost Player of the Year, and he’s not taking it well. They try to get Tory to talk to him, but she already did. She seems heartbroken explaining that KJ usually goes to Amina in those situations.
When Tory tries to talk to KJ, he snaps when she asks if he’s mad that his father won Coach of the Year. Tory isn’t tolerating being snapped at.
Cassius’ wife, Ava, goes to visit Layla at her club. She wants Layla to help make peace between their husbands for KJ’s sake. In turn, Layla lets her know how much their marriage means to Cassius.
Meanwhile, Cassius visits Jordan to ask if he can talk to KJ since he looks up to Jordan, but Jordan is still salty about Cassius and his dad trying to destroy Billy Baker’s legacy.
After taking a walk down memory lane Cassius and Ava start to rekindle their romance.
Coop’s in the clear
Preach is still concerned about Coop’s relationship with her professor, Breonna. She’s wearing her good cologne which means she’s trying to impress her. But fortunately, she’ll no longer be her student once she turns in her final paper. Amina enters thinking she has a few months to make her decision on boarding school, but it turns out she only has until the end of the day since the school is competitive.
When Coop tries to cozy up to Professor Strong, she’s too distracted to reciprocate which throws her off. Coop and Breonna meet up at Layla’s, and now that Coop’s paper has been handed in, they can be more than friends. Breonna confides that she was inspired by Coop and brought her sister in to live with her while she gets help for her mental health.
Layla’s leaving?
With Elle going on tour, Layla sends Gia and a team to support her, but Coop encourages her to go with her despite being needed at home. In the end, Layla decides to go on tour with Elle for six months, realizing that she misses being on the road with her artists. How will Jordan respond to her being gone for six months? Hopefully we’ll get to find out.
Jordan returns
The good news continues over at South Crenshaw where Jordan announces he’ll be back on the sidelines, much to Layla’s dismay.
When Jordan shows up to Khalil’s parent-teacher interview, he and Khalil are shocked to find Marqui there. Jordan is enraged after he was jumped and stabbed by Marqui’s crew. Khalil chooses a side and asks Jordan to stay and Marqui to leave.
Later, after finding out that Coach Bobby is sick, Jordan learns that he will be the head coach for the game against Beverly. With a lot on their minds, both KJ and Khalil are making mistakes on the field. KJ’s mom tells Cassius to bench KJ for his poor play and bad attitude.
At halftime, Jordan talks to KJ and learns that he’s upset that his father won Coach of the Year, and is being rewarded for a job he only took to get back at the Bakers. Jordan then talks to Marqui and sets him straight on how he’s fathering Khalil. When Marqui sees that Khalil is distracted by Amina, he steps up as a father and they have a nice father-son moment. Just when Khalil turns things around on the field, there’s a blackout.
During the blackout, KJ pulls a stunt and professes his affection to Tory. Meanwhile, Cassius thanks Jordan for talking to KJ. Jordan is still mad at Cassius, but they agree that if Cassius wins, he gets to take Jordan out for coffee.
The episode ended by giving enough closure to Amina and Layla’s storylines in case the show is canceled, but with the episode ending before the winner of the game is revealed, still leaves enough suspense if the show is brought back for another season.
All American airs Mondays at 8pm on the CW.
Kevin Bourne is SHIFTER’s Toronto-based editor and Senior Entertainment Reporter focusing on Black music and film & TV. He was named one of 340 international voters for the 81st and 8nd Golden Globe Awards and a Tomatometer-Approved Critic by Rotten Tomatoes.
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