Of course, Spencer got off in the end for taking a principled stand.
It just took a suspenseful while to get there on All American Season 4 Episode 8.
The two principals, Carter and London, had a real problem on their hands, as the trophy theft indirectly resulted in a sizeable financial hit after the Beverly gym got flooded on All American Season 4 Episode 7.
So someone had to pay (besides the school system’s insurance policy). Not actually, since no student and their parents could afford that price tag.
But Spencer was right in not giving up any names. He wasn’t willing to sabotage anyone else’s future to ensure his.
So it was a stalemate. Even though the administrators knew that Spencer wasn’t guilty, they had to sacrifice someone. So he was going to be expelled for protecting his teammates.
His friends at both Beverly and South Crenshaw tried to find a way to help Spencer even though he didn’t want them to sacrifice themselves for him.
And even though Grace didn’t support his decision, she accepted that Spencer is how he is, that he would do the noble thing, even to his detriment.
Coop made the best point: after all the years of Spencer carrying others, he should let others carry him now.
And that was what ultimately happened. All Spencer’s friends broke into the disciplinary hearing to confess to the theft. Those dozens of students couldn’t all be suspended, so in the end, no one was.
Not that Spencer didn’t end up taking a minor hit, not being able to walk at graduation. Carter took the bigger hit, resigning as principal in support of Spencer.
It was great to see the evolution of Carter, from Spencer’s nemesis to his likely future stepfather. After all, as the cast heads off to college, school administrators will not play a significant role in the narrative.
It was sweet that Spencer’s friends and Grace banded together to throw graduation for him so that he could wear Corey’s cap and gown and enjoy the experience.
There was quite a lot else going on for a graduation episode, catching up on past storylines.
What was the most substantial storyline among them? Layla, the valedictorian, and Olivia, the most exposed member of the class, make decisions about their futures late in the game.
Layla felt stressed about being pushed to go to college to get some book-learning in music education rather than just continuing to learn by doing.
Fortunately, after finding Layla puzzling over the value of her future curriculum, Clay found a way to get her to understand her worth as a producer.
Clay set her up with pop star Sabine, who turned out to be a Layla Keating fan who wanted to collaborate with her.
Does this mean Layla will turn her back on higher education? Probably. Not every valedictorian has to move on to college. Layla could learn just as well with a hands-on education in her role.
Of course, Layla has plenty of time to change her mind with those grades and summer episodes upcoming.
As organized as Olivia is, you would think she would have pinned down where she was going to college. Then again, it appeared that she had too many options.
Fortuitously, Simone’s academic aunt Amara was in town, and Olivia sat down with her to help sort through her possibilities.
With all that passes as journalism these days, it was little wonder that Amara pushed Olivia toward almost anything else as a career. In the end, the optimistic Olivia opted to stay with journalism in hopes of helping people.
Was Olivia going to the same school as Spencer a copout on her part? At first blush, it appeared so. Then again, recovering addict Olivia staying near her support system probably is a good idea, what with the stressors of college upcoming.
Coop also dealt with a long-festering problem: Amina’s obsession with her mother’s death.
She and Preach ignored it for as long as they could. But with an angry Amina getting into fights at school, it was time that they dealt with it.
Coop figuratively took the bullet this time, confirming Amina’s false impression that she shot Mo to preserve Preach’s relationship with his daughter.
Does that mean the end of that storyline so that Coop can get back to finding a new path for her life? Probably not, but we can hope, can’t we?
Asher was right in his assessment. Ain’t no top-notch football program handing out scholarships to walk-on coaching interns.
But that wasn’t the point, was it? Instead, it was that Asher, like Spencer, was unable to accept help from his friends. At least he finally came around, although it may have cost him his relationship with Jamie.
Also, why wasn’t there more of a tie-in to All American: Homecoming, explaining that Simone was taking off to Bringston? Maybe that transition was handled on the sequel following All American.
It was good to see that G.W. was back to being his cantankerous self, attempting to drive off people left and right.
It was amusing that Spencer found time to counsel Billy on parental mortality amid his crisis.
To follow Spencer’s stress-filled senior year, watch All American online.
Was there any surprise that Spencer essentially got off for taking the moral high ground?
Did you expect more of the graduations?
Will you be tuning into All American: Homecoming as well?
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Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.