Coop decides to host a dinner party for her friends to get to know her girlfriend Breonna and things get very messy. Here’s our All American Season 8 Episode 5 recap.
Jordan and Cassius’ showcase
At the showcase, KJ bumps into Tori. She wants to talk, but he doesn’t want to. He’s busy with the showcase and has been trying to talk to her for weeks. We’re then taking back three days earlier.
Jordan shows up at Beverly to talk to Cassius about the showcase. Things are still awkward between them. Cassius can’t talk because he has a meeting with someone. Jordan invites Cassius and KJ to come over later to discuss the showcase.
As Jordan is leaving, he bumps into. Mr. Mosley, one of the boosters who used to give his father a hard time. He looks a worried.
Cassius’ job
Mr. Mosley meets with Cassius. He’s in his corner after he took Beverly to heights nobody thought. He sees Jordan as a spoiled rich kid. He promises to handle Principal London.
Back at the hotel, KJ is still upset that Jordan is being offered Cassius’ job, but he’s encouraged that Mr. Mosley seems to have a vendetta against the Bakers.
Later, Cassius ignores Jordan’s advice and chooses to align himself with Mr. Mosley.
Tori’s suspicions
Tori meets up with Khalil to share her concerns about Amina and KJ’s relationship, but Khalil has had a change of mind. She doesn’t suspect that anything is going on.
Coop’s dinner
Coop has invited The Village/The Vortex to dinner at the Baker house so they can get to know Breonna better. Preach wants Amina to attend, but she unsuccessfully tries to get out of it.
At the Baker house, Coop, Jordan and Layla are preparing for dinner. Coop is a bit nervous. She wants everything to go well. When Khalil learns that Amina is coming over, he doesn’t want to stick around. But he’s happy to learn that the Assistant Coach from Stanford University will be at the showcase. Meanwhile, after Amina gets a little snappy, Coop believes that she’s hiding something about school. At dinner, Amina makes her feelings about Coop and Breonna representing corporations very clear. She’s also feeling pressure after everyone keeps bringing up Dinsburg.
Coop is upset that Jordan is considering the coaching job at Beverly in light of what it means for Cassius and him going on tour with Layla. When Cassius and KJ show up, things get awkward. Things get even more awkward when Tori shows up after receiving a text message from Khalil about his suspicions about what’s going on between KJ and Amina.
That’s not it. After Preach speaks to the Dean at Dinsburg, he learns that Amina was suspended pending expulsion because of the article she wrote. Coop supports Amina for standing up for something she believes in. Coop wants help from Breonna, but she agrees with Preach for being upset.
Tori airs out her issues with KJ for lying behind her back. She presses him for the truth. After she found pictures of KJ and Amina dancing on the Ginsburg website, he admits to kissing Amina.
Meanwhile, KJ reveals that Jordan received a coaching job offer from Beverly. Khalil asks Layla if she knew about it. Yup, very messy scene, but great TV.
Layla stops all the bickering and puts everyone in their place. Literally. She makes them go to different parts of the house to cool off.
Jordan and Cassius have to determine where they’re going to go with their relationship.
But much to Coop’s surprise, Breonna still had a great time with Coop’s family and friends.
Preach is disappointed because Amina lied to him. He thought he and Amina had a better relationship than that after everything they’ve been through together. Coop sits down with Preach and comes to Amina’s defense again. She encourages him to read the article. He takes her advice, reads the article and loves it. Preach drops some gems: “Not every fight is your fight”, but she’s still grounded.
Layla also apologizes for questioning Coop’s happiness with Breonna.
Khalil’s family reunion
Earlier in the episode, Khalil’s dad wants to meet up with Khalil and his mom. Khalil doesn’t want to talk. When she arrives, she just wants to say she’s sorry, but he’s still hurt.
But after Jordan and Layla leave him disappointed and not knowing who to turn to, Khalil ends up meeting up with his parents to talk about his future in football and education.
KJ’s apology
KJ waits for Tori at her residence to apologize. She drops a gem too. She can’t tell if he’s lying to her or himself.
Final thoughts
This is a messy, but highly entertaining episode. It’s one of the best episodes in recent memory. It was also very well written. More of this please.
All American airs every Monday at 8pm on The CW.
Kevin Bourne is SHIFTER’s editor-in-chief and Senior Arts & Entertainment Reporter focusing on film & TV, music, and fashion. He was named one of 340 international voters for the Golden Globe Awards and a Tomatometer-Approved Critic by Rotten Tomatoes.
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