All American kick-started its season 8 two-hour premiere with two main storylines: building a combined showcase between Beverly High and South Crenshaw High and the sensation of what it means to feel out of the loop after several months away.
The back-to-back episodes, "Rewind" and "There Is No Competition," quickly dealt with the aftermath of Jordan and Cassius’ coffee deal, showing South Crenshaw winning the game, but Jordan was willing to start anew with Cassius anyway. Putting the rivalry behind them already puts season 8 on better footing, as it steps away from season 7's overwhelming amount of time spent on their dislike of each other. By placing the two on the same side, season 8's premiere makes it clear that this is a fresh start that is truly headed toward the end of its run.
Season 8 sets a fresh tone with Jordan and Cassius’ new alliance
Cassius and Jordan's renewed dynamic is even one of the highlights of the two-hour premiere. Their willingness to work together as a team offers a new approach to determining how they view the way they can come together as a family. Their shared desire to give high school athletes, like KJ and Khalil, a better chance at a future through being visited and watched by college coaches and scouts also helps lead their motivations.
Jordan and Cassius' relationship becomes one of the key parts of the opening episodes, which doesn't stop at their shared interest in the showcase. Instead, it expands to personal experience, with Cassius helping give Jordan advice about how to handle disconnects in his marriage and the importance of putting in the work.
Jordan and Layla struggle to reconnect after time apart
One of the biggest aspects of the premiere is all about how times and people change when spending time away from each other, and that is mostly portrayed in the initially struggling reunion between Jordan and Layla, who hit a wall in reconnecting upon Layla's return home from her tour. The storyline surrounds all of the changes that Jordan has gone through while Layla was away, including details like cooking, weekly basketball games with Cassius, and monthly barbecue block parties that Jordan co-hosts with Coop.
In the meantime, Layla's life has been all about her job, and while a thrill in itself, it also means missing big steps taken by her husband, Coop's development into a lawyer, and Khalil's next steps toward his future. The disconnecting plot, in part, also relies mostly on Layla's feelings of being separated from most of the main events, while Jordan's focus on the showcase also means that he forgets to bring Layla along on the ride.
However, while there is a realism to a potential distance after being apart for long periods of time, perhaps Jordan and Layla's issue would have been more impactful had All American not done a nearly identical plot line with Spencer and Olivia a few seasons earlier, when Olivia returned home from England. Not that what each couple went through is exactly the same. There are differences in the way each of those situations was handled. Yet, it is a storyline that feels slightly repetitive to latch onto, especially when All American makes sure to have Layla and Jordan confront their issues and get back on the same page by the conclusion of "There Is No Competition."
Jordan and Layla's fairly quick reconciliation fits the background of their history, as the two, since getting together, have never really had long, drawn-out fights or separations that took up several episodes. Granted, it is unlikely that Layla's personal concerns about where she fits in are finished. Still, having her and Jordan come back together and return to center makes it clear that the two of them are on the right path to rebuilding that sense of synchronization they had before Layla's departure.
Coop and the Vortex dynamics add depth to the ensemble
Jordan and Coop's relationship is also a fun addition to "Rewind," acknowledging that for 6 months, of the original main characters, they were the only ones left of the Vortex and would naturally be spending more time together. Layla's openness with Coop about her own sense of feeling off helps keep track of Layla's emotions and moods as well.
Additionally, the decision to focus on Coop's storylines with her girlfriend Breonna and looking toward a law internship helps remove Coop's arc from being just Amina's aunt. All American, in its season premiere at least, has woken up a bit to remember that Coop has more sides to her as a friend to Jordan and Layla and as a law student and professional than just watching after Amina, even though their relationship does briefly come into play.
Season 8 premiere sets the stage for a stronger final chapter
Yet, Amina's relationships that All American is more interested in focusing on are those between her and KJ and Khalil, all of which left off on uncertain notes at the end of season 7. That discomfort and uncertainty make a bold statement when the three, along with Tori and Khalil's new girlfriend, Miranda, all spend time together.
A well-placed sequence of awkwardness sets the bar well in terms of understanding exactly where all of these relationships stand, especially when backed up by the existing tension in KJ and Tori's relationship and the secret KJ and Amina appear to be sharing as suggested by the end of "There Is No Competition."
The 6-month time jump also benefits the teen characters. Jumping ahead to a more settled time means that Khalil and KJ have their own dynamic, separate from Amina having to exist as a bridge between them. Even Khalil and Tori have a friendship of their own that is briefly further explored to suggest that they have developed a strong group friendship without Amina's presence. While that does offer questions about how Amina will resettle into the group, its narrative benefit means that Amina no longer has to act as a force to get Khalil and KJ in the same storyline; they can do that for themselves. That leaves less pressure on Amina's story arc, creating more space to develop the character into her own person.
Mostly spending its time on preparing for the opportunity for Khalil and KJ to show scouts, coaches, and the media what they can do in hopes of gaining football college scholarships, the All American season premiere makes its stance clear that this season is becoming about working toward the next big thing, whatever it is.
By keeping the main characters together constantly, it allows for real interactions, character growth, and pushing the story forward in ways that season 7 had issues pulling off. Instead, season 8 has already set the table for what is to come, especially with the inclusion of Khalil's mother, whose presence suggests upcoming drama with Khalil, who may already be finding himself flailing following the loss of his Stanford scholarship, and how that plays into his determination to prove himself.
Every main character had something to offer in "Rewind" and "There Is No Competition." The conflicts that struggled to thrive in the previous season work well as a foundation for season 8, which uses them as a base in understanding that it can now play with the relationships to truly push everything forward. While the season 8 premiere may not have the hold-your-breath drama of the earlier seasons, it does improve at expanding the idea of what the heart of the show is and how to present it.
This time, instead of sidelining Jordan, Layla, and Coop, All American's premiere had a better understanding of how to blend its screen time between new and original characters, allowing its opening episodes to get off on the right foot, as long as the rest of the season can follow suit.
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