Review: New season of ‘All American’ entertains

Photo courtesy Netflix

Season 2 of “All American” was recently released on Netflix, and for fans who dont watch the show on local television, you are in for a treat.

The series focuses not only on football and relationship drama, but also family relationships and the troubles family members go through.

Season 1 ended with the Eagles winning the championship, superstar Spencer James debating leaving the team for his dad, and Billy Baker, coach of the Eagles, being forced to move out of his house. Spencers birth father, Corey, made a bold reappearance in his life after abandoning their family 10 years ago. Corey is now the coach of Crenshaws football team and gives Spencer the option of staying in Beverly Hills or returning to his former team to play for him.

 This was the biggest cliffhanger of Season 1.

On top of his own family drama, Spencer recently found out that his coach and biggest male role model slept with his mother while she was married to his father. Billy has to leave the home when his wife finds out that this affair took place during their marriage as well. Billy also resigned from coaching the team in Season 1.

Going into Season 2, I was nervous about the decisions that Spencer had to make. As a fan of his home team, I really wanted him to return for his community.

 On the other hand, his new life in Beverly Hills was something that I wasnt ready for him to let go of. I think that the producers also knew that this was not a good time for him to switch.

A huge climax comes early on when Corey brings his ex-girlfriend’s son to play for Crenshaw. This was my first emotional rollercoaster of the season. I really wanted Spencer and his dads relationship to grow, but this was like an immediate betrayal for me.

It was exciting to see them come back from their strained relationship before Corey succumbs to cancer during a camping trip with the family. A highlight of the season was finding out that Dillon, Spencers younger brother, was also Coreys biological son.

The saddest part of Season 2 was watching Billy, played by  actor Taye Diggs, go through such a hard time getting his family back. In the first season, Billy was the character who gave the best advice so seeing him so weak in this situation was heartbreaking to watch. Billy overcame this though and worked hard to get back in the good graces of his family amid all the pain he brought into their lives.

Coop, Spencers best friend, struggled with being in the streets in Season 1 and this season wasnt any different. Coop had a hard time taking her own advice and I think that she struggled a lot with finding her identity.

This character was needed on the show for added drama on Spencers Crenshaw side of the family. Without Coop, Spencer wouldnt be who he was and vice versa.

Ultimately, what I wanted going into Season 2 happened during the finale when Spencer chose to go back to Crenshaw and play for his home team. This decision came after learning that his school could turn into a magnet school. Billy also made a big decision, joining Spencer at Crenshaw as a coach. This was the biggest comeback of the season and it definitely has me waiting for October when Season 3 is released. For now, I will keep binge watching the first two seasons over and over again for things I missed.