“To Live and Die in L.A.” finally concludes All American’s eight-season run. But even Spencer and Olivia playing anchoring roles in the finale cannot save an episode that is far too rushed in the aftermath of having to lean on trying to squish half a season’s worth of time into a single episode.
Spencer’s whereabouts are finally revealed, as the series finale shows him and Grace working together to try to get Spencer traded from the New York Bobcats to the Los Angeles Robins. The trade talks come as Spencer and Olivia are expecting the birth of their twins, and Spencer is ready to move back home and raise his kids in the community that built him. From the moment that Spencer’s intentions to move back to Los Angeles become clear, it feels inevitable that the trade will go through. But first, “To Live and Die in L.A.” has to spend the entire first half of the series finale on trade negotiations.
The narrative decision to spend so much time on Spencer’s attempt to get both sides to reach an agreement so he can be traded is meant to justify why Spencer is missing for several hours. After all, what could possibly be so important that he would not answer his phone for the entire morning into early afternoon? Spencer putting his phone into a security bag before entering the meeting with Los Angeles and New York’s general managers, just as Olivia calls him, sets the tone for knowing where Spencer is and why he is without his phone. But it just comes across as wasted time.
The history of the show does suggest that Spencer has had to fight for many opportunities in his life and has made a point of putting his family, friends, and community first. However, with this being the series finale, it is unlikely that All American was not going to honor Spencer's wish to be back in California full-time. While the narrative needed to explain where Spencer was and why he could not answer his phone, the way All American went about spending so much time on this ultimately hurt the emotional element of its final hour.
Spencer and Olivia deserved a bigger emotional payoff
Due to All American spending so much time in negotiation discussions, it lacks the emotional punches that would have given the ending a real gut punch. Spencer looking back on childhood football is a fond memory, but why does the finale not spend time showing Spencer and Olivia meeting their children for the first time?
Instead, the payoff of waiting several episodes for Olivia to give birth is limited to the rest of the main cast sitting around the waiting room until Spencer anticlimactically announces the babies have arrived. While a joyful moment, “To Live and Die in L.A.” does not allow the audience to share in the excitement with the new parents until afterward, when Spencer and Olivia get a nice, quiet moment to themselves and the babies before the rest of their family enters the room to meet the new members of the James family, Mary and Corey.
Unlike the Jordan-and-Layla-centric episode, Spencer and Olivia do not get a montage of their own in recognition of all they have been through to get to this moment. They barely touch on their past at all. While Olivia and Spencer are the clear focus of the episode, “To Live and Die in L.A.” could not be less interested in allowing the viewers to share in their excitement as parents, a nostalgic look back on their past, or a real chance to actually see Spencer and Olivia together with their children in the six-year flash-forward.
This is a complete disservice to their relationship, their history on the show, and a real payoff to the waiting game of seeing them get the final pieces of their happy ending.
The series finale rushes through everyone’s happy ending
However, a rushed conclusion can be said for absolutely every character on the show, even though they all got their own closure episodes leading up to the finale.
Cassius gets job security through Jordan turning down the Beverly job while making sure it is known that he has thrown his support behind Cassius keeping the position. KJ and Amina’s relationship is such an afterthought in the series finale that it is not even clear if the two survived as a couple by the conclusion of the finale.
All American spends two seasons on build-up for the pair, only for them to get all of one scene together in the final episode. Instead, their flash-forward endings are completely separate. KJ is about to play his first Super Bowl game beside Spencer, who is closing out his final game as an NFL player. Meanwhile, Amina is working as a campaign manager for her father. While these endings show them both to be successful in their own right, it does not address whether they ultimately stayed together.
As for Khalil and Tori, they get even less of a focus. Khalil’s mother is a nurse, and he stepped up and helped Olivia in a massive way when she went into labor early. But, prior to that, there were no hints that Khalil was looking to have a career in medicine. Yet, the flash-forward shows Khalil as a medical student who had given up football to pursue becoming a doctor. Still, what is made worse is Khalil’s reunion with Tori, which is fairly short and awkward.
Only a few episodes ago, Tori was emphasizing that Khalil was one of the most important friendships in her life. But the flash-forward makes it sound like they have not spoken since they graduated high school, if they even continued speaking at that point. The implication that something romantic may be happening between them years later sets them up for their own open ending, but while season 8 did show the two becoming closer, that romantic suggestion may have been better had it not been implied that they had not spoken in a long time.
What is worse is that even the show’s remaining original series regulars have their endings speed-run through. Coop’s journey to becoming a lawyer is jumped over in favor of showing Laura Baker, now a judge, bestowing the title of “Esquire” on Coop, showing that she eventually succeeded in her endeavor. However, “To Live and Die in L.A.” spent absolutely no time showing Coop having a real conversation with Breonna, even though Breonna is present for Coop being sworn in.
Things clearly worked out between Coop and Breonna. Otherwise, she would not be there. But for a main character to end up in a relationship that was ultimately so insignificant to the main plot that their coming back together was not worth even one scene of screen time is a disservice to Coop’s romantic storyline. Although Coop’s relationship with Breonna never got the time to flourish that Coop had with Patience over the course of several seasons, it still deserved more respect than to be shoehorned into the series finale without even a line of dialogue.
Jordan and Layla’s storyline may have the easiest time of the group, with a quick reveal that they did end up having a daughter, Monica. All American’s time jumps also show that Layla and Jordan remained successful in their careers. Layla has multiple producing awards. Meanwhile, Jordan also eventually became a successful head coach at South Crenshaw High School and was even recognized by the NFL as High School Head Coach of the Year. Their ending, in part due to "Find Your Way Back," was already set up in a meaningful way.
Still, certain details could have been more interesting if they had had time to be expanded upon, had the series been given the time. Jordan's recognition as a head coach helps show that Jordan started building his own legacy. However, All American never really shows Jordan coaching anyone other than Khalil. Meanwhile, Layla had not spent any time in her own studio during the final season, even though the main premise of her arc relied on her returning home from joining an artist on tour.
Professional success and recognition, however, is the area where Olivia is perhaps thrown to the side a little too casually. “To Live and Die in L.A.” spends a lot of time on Olivia as a wife and mother, but absolutely no time discussing her professionally successful life. The last time Olivia’s successful professional life came into play was her writing children’s books inspired by Billy, and how those books may be turning into adaptations. Yet, even the flash-forward does nothing for Olivia’s character other than show her as a mother and sharing quick jabs with Jordan.
What is Olivia’s career success like? She is the only character that is not given an explanation as to how successful she became, which seems counterproductive to everything she worked and fought for throughout All American. Olivia should have gotten the same respect as the rest of the characters by at least offering one line about how her career as an author or journalist grew.
All American deserved a more emotional series finale
Ultimately, “To Live and Die in L.A.” tries to lean into the nostalgia of Spencer and Jordan’s relationship as an anchor to the beginning of the story. Their dynamic as rival teammates to friends to brothers was one of the most integral parts of the show. They both had essential bonds with Billy Baker that helped shape them both into the men they became.
Football, family, and friendship were important to both characters, and seeing them together as friends, teammates, and family is meant to bring the show full circle as they look back on how Billy influenced and impacted each of them and the legacy they are leaving behind. Yet, other than a short clip of Spencer and Jordan walking side by side in football uniforms, there are no other clips or montages of them with each other or with Billy through the years that help show just how far they have come since they met.
All American made an ambitious decision with its final season to stuff its entire 13-episode plot into about eight days, and it ultimately hurt the entire last installment of episodes. This was not the send-off that any of the characters had earned, and the five episodes of stalling until Spencer’s arrival did not even have the emotional payoff it should have after having to hold out for such a long time. Daniel Ezra, Samantha Logan, and even a surprise cameo from Taye Diggs are meant to help ground the show in its final episode and lead it to a strong finale, but nothing about “To Live and Die in L.A.” offers the essence of the earlier seasons. While every character does get their happy ending, they do so with no real time to appreciate any of it.
The scenes move fast, the attempt to catch up moves faster, and the entire thing falls apart under the weight of having the back half of the season relying on trying to hold off on Spencer’s arrival until the very last possible moment. Spending the first half of the series finale on trade discussions holds back "To Live and Die in L.A." from leaning into the remaining loose ends that All American needed to tie up, including a final Baker family get-together that would show Olivia’s dream of the Baker cousins happily running around the house as music plays.
All American had the opportunity to conclude an uneven season with a series finale that celebrated all of the characters and their journeys over the years. Instead, it lacked the heart, soul, and emotional investment that the characters earned.
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