All American | First Impression

Welcome back to The nerd shelf!

Today's post is going to be on one of The CW's new shows, All American. The show is inspired by pro football player Spencer Paysinger and is about a rising high school football player from South L.A. that is recruited to play for Beverly Hills High. The wins, losses, and struggles of two families from vastly different worlds begin to collide. 

I have to say that I really enjoyed this pilot. The acting, the writing, and the whole production were great. I'm definitely already hooked! If you like a good teen drama then this is for you. Also, I'm not really into american football, but you don't have to be to watch this show!

The trailer for All American:

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

The show opens up with a high school football game. We're in South L.A. where Spencer (Daniel Ezra) goes to school. Right away we learn that he is very perceptive and gets the whole team to go against the coachs play just because he sees something. It works. He is good at what he does and the team trusts him. Right after a touchdown, we hear gunshots and we see a man lying on the ground. This opening was very powerful. To me, a white girl from sweden, it's so bizarre that there are places in the U.S. where shootings are normal, just a part of life. In Sweden, you can't own a gun unless you have a hunting license but even then they can only have a huntingrifle. I mean even the police here doesnt carry guns. So this opening set the scene very perfectly for me. 

So after the game Billy (Taye Diggs) comes up to Spencer. They talk for a bit and Billy wants to recruit him for Beverly High. Billy tries to convince him that this is his best option. A safer school, a better education and a coach that has connections to people in the NFL since he was a player himself. Spencer declines his offer and one of the things that really stood out to me was how polite he is. He is very respectful and just nice. I don't know a lot of kids who are his age that holds themselves like that. 

The next day Spencer gets into a fight with Shawn (Jay Reeves), a gangmember and drugdealer, because he's trying to protect his best friend, Tiana "Coop" (Bre-Z). That day when he comes home from school Billy is there with his mom, Grace (Karimah Westbrook). By the way, I love this family. You can tell that Grace is doind everything she can to keep her boys out of trouble while being a single parent. And Dillon (Jalyn Hall), Spencers brother, is just the cutest fucking kid, and he's so funny. Anyway, Billy is there and Grace is upset because Spencer didn't take the opportunity to go to a better school. While Billy and Grace is trying to convince Spencer to do this we find out that their father left. He went to Nevada and never came back. Grace finally convinces Spencer to change schools and that conversation that they have was so good. She's talking about how proud she is of him and why he doesn't want to go. He's afraid of leaving, like his dad did. Also, Spencer talks a lot about not wanting a backup because football is his goal. Now I understand why he thinks like that but a sports career is not a longterm job. You can't play sports proffesionally for a long period of time. Especially not a high contact sport like american football. You will have to retire at some point and what will you do then? Why not have a good education to fall back on when that part of your life is over. Also what if you get injured? What are you supposed to do then?

Next, we see him going to Beverly High for his first day. He's taking so many buses just to get there. And this school is completely different from what he's used too. Billy is telling him the rules and there is basically just one, no fighting. 
He's in his first class and this was so sad to me. Everyone has their own laptops and Spencer doesn't. The teacher is really nice and just tells him that he can share with someone but what I think she should have done is actually telling the guy that sat next to him to do so. Also what the fuck is wrong with teenagers? They always have to be so fucking mean. Olivia (Samantha Logan) who sits behind them tells him that he can share with her. She is so nice. Granted we learn that she is pretty lonley and probably just wants any friend she can get. But she also just seems like a nice person. Also the actress Samantha Logan is so good. I loved her in 13 reasons why. 
After class, she is showing him around. And this is when he sees Leila (Greta Onieogou) for the first time. Now, this scene I just find a little silly. She's walking in slow motion and he just falls madly inlove with her at first sight. I don't know why but I don't get those scenes, they just makes me laugh cause that never happens in real life, let's be honest. And then Jordan (Michael Evans Behling) comes up and introduces himself. He's the captain of the football team, Billys son and Olivias brother. Jordan just takes over Olivias tour and you can tell that Olivia is disapointed. Also, we can already tell that Olivia is into Spencer. 

Jordan introduces Spencer to some members of the football team. Now let's talk about Asher (Cody Christian). He seems nice for a second but as soon as Leila and Spencer starts to talk he becomes a real fucking asshole. Cody Christian is so fucking good at playing douchebags but I hope we get to see something else from him aswell. Asher kind of reminds me of Luke from The O.C., just a real ass towards the new kid because he's afraid of losing his girlfriend. Maybe if you weren't such an ass you wouldn't lose your girlfriend. Asher makes a "joke" about gangs. I fully understand Spencer getting upset. That was his life, living in a place where there are shootings everyday because of gangs. That's not something you joke about. Spencer walks away as he should have. Leila calls Asher out for being an ass, which I love, and goes after Spencer. She aologizes for Asher and says that she thinks that they are just intimidated by him. And she's right. He's different. He's from a different world that they don't know anything about. He might not have fancy clothes or technology but he's a great football player. He shows how perceptive he is here again. He sees hints that a guy will drop his tray and he does. Leila is intrigued and she wants him to read her. That is never good by the way. Especially if someone is good at it. They can probably find out your biggest secret just by the way you touch your face. He calls her a defensive back, she's confident, smart, likes attention but she's lonley. Defensive backs likes to play on an island, always by themselves. I like his metfaors and the way he explains this to her. 

The we get Spencers first practice. He is extremely confident, which isn't bad, but he's just coming off a little bit cocky. When Billy puts him in a postition that he doesnt want to play he becomes a bit of a brat. He ends up just watching on the sidelines. Asher is again just a douche. I understand where Billy comes from. He wants his players to be able to play whatever position he gives them. He also wants them to be a team. You can't be bratty in a team. It doesn't work like that.
  That night he's back in South L.A. with Coop. He's complaining about everything to her and she's trying to give him advice. What I like about her is that whenever he's talking about giving up and going back to Crenshaw she shuts him down. She tells him to make it his season no matter what position he's playing. Shawn and two of his friends comes up to them. Right, when they are going to get into a fight a cop car comes by. They stop but before Shawn walks away he threatens Spencer. He's after Coop and as we see in the end of the episode he has gotten her to work for him. I don't know why, maybe it's protection or something? It's sad though. 

Billy is trying to save his job at Beverly High. He has a meeting with what I presume is the principal. The school needs a title this year or the funding for the sports program will go. He's trying to save it with Spencer. After the practice, he comes home and talks to Jordan. Billy wants Jordan to take Spencer under his wing and help him get to know everyone. When Jordan asks him why he cares so much Billy says that he grew up where Spencer grew up. Jordan will never understand that because he has never lived in that kind of neighbourhood. It feels like Billy wants to help someone else get out of what he got out of. 

The next scene we get is Jordan picking up Spencer at his house. He has this fancy red car and he's just sitting there listening to music. I loved how Spencer messed with him in this scene. It made me feel like they really could be friends. But then Jordans jealousy just had to take over. Jordan has a little I don't know, get together? Poolside hangout with some of the team members and some girls. Leila walks over to him and basically just flirts. Now Spencer is flirting too. It's just dumb. She is Ashers girlfriend and I understand why he is jealous. They are flirting infront of EVERYONE. Come on. Jordan goes into the house to get something and he overhears Billy on the phone with someone. Billy is saying that he didn't recruit Spencer out of the kindness of his heart but because he's the best football player and they need him to win. Jordan does not like this. I get why. I mean it seems like your dad just lied to you and used his background to get you on board. So he and Asher wants to get rid of him. 

The next day Olivia and Spencer are hanging out at school. I think Olivia and Jordan are twins but I could be wrong. It's either that or they are really close in age. Olivia said that they used to be really close and that when they got to highschool they drifted apart. Jordan became the jock and she became the joke of the school that no one wanted to hang out with. This is where we find out that Olivia went to rehab for pills. She went down a dark path and tried to selfmedicate to numb herself. I want to know more about her backstory. And I would love to see her and Jordan becoming close again. 
Spencer is really concerned about her and expresses that. I think she really likes that, she says that he's the first person to even her ask her if she's okay. And then Leila interupts. I have to be honest I don't really like her. She seems really nice but it also feels kind of fake. I don't know why. She invites him to a party she's throwing right infront of Olivia and never even asks her if she wants to come. I hate when people do this. Yes, she's sober but that doesn't mean that she doesn't want to be included in things. I was the last person in my friendgroup to start drinking, and when we were younger they would have partys and not inviting me. They just assumed that I didn't want to go because I didn't drink and I had to explain to them that that doesn't mean that it would be nice to at least be invited even if I didn't want to go. Olivia tries to give him some advice and tells him that maybe he shouldn't go. I feel like Spencer is looking at Olivia like he looks at Coop, liek a friend. Olivia definantly has a crush on Spencer though. 

Spencer goes to the party at Leilas that night. The team is there. Spencer feels out of place, like he doesn't fit in. This is not his crowd. So when he decides to leave Jordan stops him and convinces him that its okay to drink even though they have practice in the morning. Asher and Jordan does not drink however and they are clearly trying to sabotage Spencer. I love the other team member though, JJ (Hunter Clowdus). He's drinking so hard and throughout the episode, he is really funny and just seems like a nice guy. The next day at practice Spencer realizes that Asher and Jordan fucked with him when he sees that boosters are there to watch the practice. Leila asked Spencer to come to the party because of them. Asher and Spencer almost gets into a fight, the only thing that Billy said he could not do. Billy steps in and gets Spencer to calm down. Jordan tries to spill all of Billys secrets and tells Spencer that he only recruited him to save his job. Spencer walks away and Billy comes into the lockerroom to talk to him. Spencer has had enough and wants out. Billy tries to convince him to stay. He tells him that yes, he wanted him to help them win the season but he's also helping Spencer get to where he wants by doing that. He put him in a different position to make him the best plauyer he can be. He sees that Spencer is looking for a fight but now it's up to him to choose what he wants more. A fight or the NFL. I liked this monologue. Taye Diggs delivered it so well.

Spencer goes to Coop for another pep talk. He says that he doesn't feel like he belongs in either world. He doesnt know what to do. She convinces him by talking about Grace and Dillon and how he could help them by doing this. I like that she is so supportive and shoves him in the good direction even though she's in deep shit with Shawn. So Spencer goes back to Billys house. He tells him that he's angry at his father for leaving and he's angry that his mom can't pay the bills. He wants to stay at Beverly because he knows that that means that he will get a better future. He will play any position that Billy tells him to but he wants to know why. Billy tells him that it was because he wanted to win and because he reminded him of himself when he was younger. Billy tells Spencer that he gets that he's angry but that he needs to put that away and play for something bigger now. 

And then it's Spencers first game with Beverly. Spencer is on the sidelines and he sees that a guy on the other team is limping. He tells Billy how to take him down. Billy trusts him and switches out Asher for Spencer. Asher is pissed, of course. Spencer gives them the win even though Jordan actually scored the touchdown. Billy is giving all his attention to Spencer and I could clearly see that Jordan is jealous. I mean of course he wants that attention from his dad. Billy even tells Spencer that he's proud of him and calls hims son. Spo Jordan rats Billy out for not recruiting Spencer correctly. They come up with a plan to have Spencer move to Beverly hills. He's going to move in with Billy and his family. But first, he talks to Grace. They have this really emotional talk. Grace tells him to do it, she was the one to convince him to give hiself a chance at something more and she can't make him give up that now. And then Dillon comes out and tells him that he should make something of himself. I started to cry. Dillon is so cute! And then he breaks the tension by asking for Spencers room. I loved it.

The last thing we see is Billy going to Graces house and telling her that they need to tell Spencer the truth. Now the first thing I thought was "BILLY IS SPENCERS DAD". And then I thought about it and he remembers his dad. So I don't know what the fuck this is. Grace and Billy is obviously connected in some way but I can't figure it out just yet.

This pilot was really great. I loved the characters. There were just a few small moments that felt silly to me but it is a teen drama so I can look past it. I'm excited to find out how Billy and Grace knows each other. I want to see Olivia and Jordan maybe get close again. And yeah, I'm really into this show already. 

/Johanna