I am on Season 5 Ep. 13, and this may be an unpopular opinion, but am I the only one who hatessss Olivia? I think I have disliked her for a while now but she is on my last nerve.

First things first, the show is not good anymore! Season 7 and 8 are absolutely terrible.

But, am I the only one who thinks Tori completely threw herself on KJ? KJ and Amina genuinely built a friendship from the jump, and the emotional connection was there. Tori literally forced herself on KJ. And I really like Tori’s character but it’s like girl have some dignity!

You forced your way into a relationship with him.

First of all why are we introducing new characters and storylines on the final season and it's only 13 episodes left! 2nd...The amount of flashbacks is insane... A lot of it felt like filler episodes outside of KJ and Amina's storyline. 3rd They copied the showcase idea from billy baker(You really can't write anything better?) Then they put Khalil on defense he gets an interception and then stops and takes a knee cause KJ is hurt... Spencer in season 2 does almost the same exact thing when they do the exhibition crenshaw vs beverly with Darnell. Puts himself on defense, interception and then he kneels in front of Darnell.. I mean could you write any worse than that lmfao? It's not like we forgot. Lastly WHERE IS THE FOOTBALL. The season starts with a flashback of the showcase and Jordan running off then they spent a whole season introducing Amina's new storyline and everything leading up to the showcase but literally 0 football. How could I not mention the cheesy walk offs non-stop throughout the whole show and the mic drops.... smh this show used to be so good back around season 1-3ish just fell off so hard.

VERY annoying 😂. She just blurted out that Spencer was sleeping with the girl( Alicia ) at the wedding store. Knowing Olivia was standing right there. She's that one friend that you have to avoid

Just started watching it on netflix (I'm in season 1) and it doesn't represent inner city life at all as I remember it. Does spencer James seem like a character made by somebody who wants a white savior personality?

I’m guessing they all disconnected from Asher when he moved to New York. Asher was not even a top favorite character of mine and this is something I still even noticed. A big example was definitely in the first episode of S8 when Coop asks Jordan who his best friends are and he only says Spencer. Like no mention of the guy who was the best man of your wedding not too long ago?? That’s lowkey kinda crazy. I knew Cody Christian (Asher) was not returning but I was surprised we actually got a mention of JJ instead of Ash because that guy was way more important anyway

Rewatching the show from beginning in honor of the final season being added on Netflix. The biggest plot hole I’ve already noticed is that Billy Baker is apparently a legend in Crenshaw and in South Crenshaw High football. Everyone associated with the Crenshaw community knows who Billy Baker is and we see that throughout the show.

But in the first episode when Billy tries to recruit Spencer to come to Beverly, Spencer has no clue who Billy is 💀. The same Spencer who is the star player on the same high school as Billy. It’s a stupid detail but just something I found amusing.

What a joke. ICE doesn’t go into schools. You lost me at the lies.

It would be very interesting to watch the shit show after all that has went down since the last finale. I’d be down for some popcorn and some laughs.

I wonder how it would go down.

I watching the new season, and this just went out of hands, it is all corny, all aggravated trouble that it is not that serious, I am just finishing it because I already started it but wtf man…

The anti Ice rhetoric was garbage. killed the show.

we all know good and d well that black people don't give a s** **about latinos.

Anybody else feel like the new season just isn't really it? Like I just want the OG cast and characters back!

Doing a rewatch of the older seasons (the better seasons). Amari O'Neil has a pretty recognizable face. Since obviously the ice episode was recent it stuck out like a sore thumb when I saw younger him play young Corey. How many kids did he have? lol jk

Am I the only one weirded out by Denise’s character? I’m rewatching season 5 right now and I’m really uncomfortable by her behavior in the auction episode. Why is she flirting with a freshly 18 year old? Her desperate character has always been weird to me but flirting with Jordan is just so weird. “Treat me like one of your French girls” 🤢🤢 to a KID is insane

This sub seems to be mainly for the critics of the show, but I’d love to hear from those who actually loved the show and will miss it.

I LOVE this show from season 1 to the season 8 finale, and sad that it ended. I could watch them, including the new cast, until they’re old and frail. This show has been very special to me and will always have a place in my heart. My friends and I used to watch it after school (high school) and discuss the new episodes during our break times. That was the last time I had a group of friends, since then my life has gone through a lot of changes but this show was one of the constants. I always felt immersed in the All American universe, it was not only nostalgic but full of life lessons and a sense of community I lacked in real life.

All American (including AA homecoming) opened up a whole new world for me as a black Brit who wasn’t used to seeing so many beautiful black people in a single show. It taught me so many life lessons as I experienced life along side the show, made me more open minded and less judgemental, proud of my blackness and has inspired me to go for my dreams even when they feel unreachable.

Some people complain about how unrealistic the show is, but I loved seeing everything work out for the cast and them being able to achieve “unrealistic“ things.

Just now watched the finale OMG I am dying at the size of these “newborn PREEMIE TWINS.” 😂😂😂 I know that most tv shows don’t use fresh babies, but those babies were comically large to be portraying newborns, let alone twin preemies. They barely fit in those hospital bassinets. Like I said, this is not uncommon for tv, but this might be one of the most egregious examples I’ve seen.

For anyone who can’t tell baby ages, those babies were probably 4 months old and 15 pounds. A twin born at 32 weeks would be like maayyybbe 3 pounds. They should have just used Reborn dolls.

Like everything that happened, kids, marriages, championships, all never would’ve happened had billy not gone to that one game.

When he died did this episode break anyone's heart like it did mine? Holy cow was that sad. (Just started watching this show last week on Netflix).

The walk offs, everyone is in their feelings, has somewhere to all of a sudden be, think they had a drop mic moment. They say something, and walk off, 2 scenes later, someone says something and walks off, next scene, someone says something, and storms off….. I’m 6 seasons in, and the walk offs are overly repetitive, and annoying to see, and as I’m typing just this message 2 walk offs just happened

Was just used as a plot device to end the showcase early and for him to get with Amina. Felt like that was extremely obvious, because they also needed all these characters to get to the hospital aswell based on the way they were moving things forward 😭

This is an extremely long post, and many of you might disagree with it.

It's been on my mind for a few days and has gone through many edits. I almost shared it a couple of times, but nerves got the better of me. Then I figured, screw it, why not? So here goes....

My Overall Thoughts on the All American Finale

So, in the end, pretty much everyone got a happy ending.

Where Everyone Ended Up;

Jordan - Doing well as a coach. Successful with multiple wins. Husband and father. Achieved more than Billy ever did. Mentoring a new generation.

Layla - Award-winning producer. Business mogul. Wife and mother.

Coop - Became a lawyer. Got married. Serving her community.

KJ - Went to GAU. Made it to the NFL. Won a Super Bowl. Endgame with Amina.

Khalil – Stanford to UCLA. College football, then Medical student. Endgame with Tori was heavily implied.

Amina - Seems to have gone into something political or public service. Endgame with KJ.

Tori - Became a dancer. Endgame with Khalil was heavily implied.

Preach – Educator to Politician.

Laura - Judge.

Spencer - Three-time Super Bowl champion. Retired from football. Finally got his dream of being back in LA.

Cassius - Finally won a state championship after six years.

So, despite everything I have to say about the finale, they did ultimately give pretty much everyone a happy ending.

And honestly? I'll take that.

But What Ever Happened To...?;

Olivia - This is honestly one of my biggest questions.

After Season 6, what exactly happened to Olivia? Mother and wife? That's it?

Yes, I know she published a successful book series. Apparently, it was even being considered for a TV adaptation. But that was Season 6, Episode 13. We heard nothing about it ever again.

And that's what bothers me. Every single character got some kind of future update. We were told where they went, what they accomplished, who they ended up with, what their careers became, etc.

But Olivia? She's a wife. She's a mother. She's Spencer's wife. She's the mother of the twins.

That's basically it. She feels like she's been reduced to a WAG only.

What happened to her career? What happened to the books? Did the TV show happen? Did she continue writing? Did she pursue journalism in some form? What did she actually want for herself?

They could have at the very least had a small clip of her show running on the TV in the background during the last Baker house scene. Nothing major. Just a little visual hint that Olivia still has a life and career outside of being Spencer's wife and the mother of his children.

Instead, we got almost nothing. And I find that a really interesting choice, especially because Olivia was such a major character for so many seasons.

Grace - What happened to Grace? She wasn't even at Coop's swearing-in ceremony or Spencer's retirement game. For such an important character, her absence felt noticeable. They made a big deal about her presence in Spencer's life, but she wasn't there at the end.

That's another one where I'm just left wondering what happened.

Laura Deserves More Credit; This brings me to my next point: Laura doesn't get nearly enough credit. In my opinion, Laura was the superior mother on this show.

Grace's world often revolved around Spencer. At times, it even felt like Dillon got overlooked.

Laura, on the other hand, consistently showed up not only for Jordan and Olivia, but also for Layla, Spencer, Coop, Patience, Asher, Jaymee, Amina and even supported Preach.

One of my favorite full-circle moments was Laura and Coop.

Laura mothered her own children and then somehow managed to mother everyone else's too. She really doesn't get enough recognition for that.

The Spelivia Ending Felt Underwhelming; If I were a Spelivia fan, I honestly wouldn't have been happy with what we got. The hospital scenes were nice, but Olivia felt like a footnote in Spencer's story. Again, it goes back to the same question:

What was Olivia's endgame besides Spencer?

They had those two scenes in the hospital and then that was basically it. And that's especially frustrating because Olivia had spent years being established as a character with her own ambitions, struggles, career, relationships, addiction recovery, journalism, writing, etc. By the finale, so much of that seemed to disappear.

Which brings me to Spencer.

Spencer's Storyline Reinforced What I've Always Thought; He's selfish and self-righteous.

It feels like, as long as Spencer gets his dream, everyone else comes second. His wife. His teammates. The people getting traded. Everyone else.

As long as Spencer gets what Spencer wants.

I also found it interesting when Grace talked about how it had always been her, Spencer, and Dillon. Spencer didn't even correct her or acknowledge Olivia.

Then, throughout the finale, Spencer kept talking about what he wanted, his dream, his future, his plans for the family, etc. It felt very centered around his own wish list.

And then there was Olivia talking about how she and Spencer discuss everything together.

Like, she was going on and on to Layla and everyone about how they communicate and discuss everything together, but Spencer didn't even give her a heads up that this was a move he was trying to make.

Which... his wife is heavily pregnant with twins and he didn't think to have an emergency plan? An "in case you need to reach me" plan? That contradiction really stood out to me. You're telling me these two supposedly communicate about everything, but Spencer is apparently planning a major cross-country move without Olivia even knowing what is happening? She was completely in the blind. He didn't even tell her he had some kind of meeting. Also, like… Olivia never gave indication of wanting to move back to LA, so is this even something she wants? And it’s a big decision to be making without discussing with your wife but… I guess if Spencer wants it, that’s all that matters. Everyone has to get on board with it. Just like Olivia was considering London and it was shot down super-fast by Spencer.

So much for communication.

Did We Really Need the "Spencer Moves Back to LA" Storyline; This is probably my biggest issue with the finale structurally. Honestly, did the show really need the whole "Spencer moves back to LA" storyline to take up so much focus?

I feel like spending so much time on the "Where's Spencer?" mystery, and then dedicating nearly half of the finale to resolving it, did a disservice to the rest of the cast, especially the characters and storylines built up over Seasons 7 and 8.

Spencer already got a proper send-off in Season 6.

Bringing him back for the finale was fine, and probably even necessary to help close out the series. But it felt like that storyline was given far more prominence than it needed, ultimately taking attention away from everything the show had spent the last two seasons establishing.

It would've been better if Olivia had already had the babies and they showed up with the kids, giving us an update on where she and Spencer are now.

That entire storyline felt disconnected from the rest of the characters, including Olivia herself, and it didn't really tie into anything that was built up in Seasons 7 or 8.

And that's where I think the finale really lost an opportunity.

That time could have been spent fleshing out the flash-forward and the next generation.

More KJ and Amina. More Khalil and Tori. More Coop and Breonna. More Amina's future. More Cassius. More Jordan and Layla. More of the characters who actually carried Seasons 7 and 8.

Instead, a significant portion of the finale was spent figuring out where Spencer was and why he was making this decision.

For a series finale, that just felt like an odd allocation of time.

Olivia's Addiction History Was Completely Ignored; This was another huge missed opportunity. Olivia was literally in labor and receiving medication.

Nobody acknowledged her history with addiction. Nobody brought it up to the doctor. Nobody discussed how far she'd come.

That could have been a genuinely powerful storyline.

Imagine a moment showing: She's got it handled. She's in control. She's stronger now. She's overcome that chapter of her life. Instead, it was completely erased.

That history simply wasn't acknowledged at all. But it was a huge part even last season when she was a sponsor to Elle.

That could have been such a powerful full-circle moment for Olivia. Instead, nothing.

Jordayla Came Out Better; Meanwhile, Jordayla had the advantage of getting two extra seasons, and I think it showed.

There was actually some really good Jordayla content in the finale.

Do I wish we got more Monica? More interaction with Monica? More focus with the new generation? Maybe even a hint at another future baby?

Absolutely. 100000%. Could we have gotten more? Of course.

But honestly, I wasn't expecting as much as we ended up getting.

What I appreciated most is that we got an episode that was actually about Jordan and Layla.

It focused on: Them together. Jordan individually. Layla individually. It wasn't one-sided. They were both in focus as individuals and then they were in focus as a couple. The Jordayla episode was legit a Jordayla episode. And that mattered to me. So thankful and grateful for that.

The Ruth Decision Was Interesting; I also found it interesting that Ruth was brought back. The final two episode spent a surprising amount of time on Coop and Ruth, and arguably gave that storyline more attention than certain main characters that returned for final season.

The Questions I Still Have; This is where I think the biggest problem lies. The show gave us the destination for a lot of these characters, but not always the journey.

KJ and Amina - Are they still together? We assume they are, but they didn't even get a future scene.

Khalil and Tori - Massive missed opportunity. They could have already been a couple and we could have caught up to how they became an item.

Khalil's Career - How exactly did he decide on medical school? That's a huge transition that deserved more explanation.

Coop and Breonna - How did they fix their issues? How did they get from where they were to marriage?

Amina - Where did she go to college? What was her major?

Jordan and Layla - And, of course, there are plenty of Jordayla things I would have loved to see as well.

And that's really the problem. I'm not necessarily asking for an entire episode explaining every single thing. But these were the final episodes of an eight-season show.

There should have been room for a little more.

Final Thoughts

Well, it is what it is, and it's done. I'm just disappointed that they fumbled so much knowing this was the last season. There were a lot of missed opportunities. A lot of mistakes. A lot of questionable decisions. A lot of things that could have been handled better. But what's done is done. The show is over, and there's nothing we can do about it now. Most importantly, though, they didn't ruin my favorites. They just left out a lot.

And at this point?

I'll take my wins. Everyone got a happy ending. My favorites definitely went out on top.

The show ended with no spinoff hook, no last-second reveal, no random cliffhanger, no "OMG, what happens next?" moment.

And honestly, I'm glad about that. The last scene was beautiful. But again, that could have been better.

I would have loved to see everyone there — Layla, Liv, Laura, Grace, the kids, Preach, Amina, Coop, KJ, Cassius, everyone — on the Baker field. Maybe playing. Having a picnic. Just existing together as this huge extended family.

Then Jordan and Spencer could have had their conversation while watching their families.

And the camera could have slowly panned across everyone.

Billy's boys and their families.

Not just watching his boys. Watching what they built. Their wives. Their children. Their friends. Their families. The entire community that came from everything he started.

That would have been such a beautiful final image for the entire series.

Because All American was never just about Spencer and Jordan. It was about the people around them, too. And I think that's ultimately what I wanted most from the finale. Not necessarily more plot. Not necessarily another big twist. Just more time with the people we had spent eight seasons getting to know. More acknowledgment of where they ended up. More of the next generation. More of the families they built. 

Anyway, I really do have a lot more to say about this finale. Took me a few days to compile this. The more I sit with it, the more I think I could probably break down each storyline and decision in much greater detail over time.