All American – Back In The Day

By starrymag | February 12, 2019

By: Jessica Wolff

 

 

Spencer James (Daniel Ezra) and Leila Keating (Greta Onieogou) study together at Spencer’s house, and Spencer asks how long Asher Adams (Cody Christian) is staying at her house. She reminds him Asher just moved in and mentions that it’s good they have his house to study. Spencer suggests they do other things and kisses her. Leila reminds him they’re supposed to be studying chemistry, and Spencer replies that they’re studying their chemistry. Grace James (Karimah Westbrook) and Dillon James (Jalyn Hall) come home and they pull apart.

 

Olivia Baker (Samantha Logan) comes downstairs but finds the rest of her family too distracted to talk to her. Spencer asks if she’s okay, and she says she is. Tamia ‘Coop’ Cooper (Bre-Z) comes home to find Tyrone Morris (Demetrius Shipp Jr.) sitting inside. Tyrone explains he has a key, and that everything that is hers is also his. He shows her an eviction notice, and Coop explains that the landlord is kicking her out because she’s not old enough to own an apartment herself unless she’s emancipated. Tyrone tells her to go back to live with her parents, explaining she’ll be tried as an adult if she’s emancipated.

 

Olivia finds a bottle of pills in an old bag. As she looks at it, she remembers a year ago when she woke up and took one of the pills before dancing around her room. Spencer, Jordan Baker (Michael Evans Behling), and JJ Parker (Hunter Clowdus) talk about Spencer’s catch video and an attractive teen girl (Iman Karram) flirts with Spencer as she walks by. Jordan jokes that Leila better watch out, but Spencer replies that Leila has nothing to worry about. JJ brings up the fact that Asher is now staying with Leila, but Spencer tells him it’s fine as long as he stays to his room. They see Asher walk with Leila, and Jordan advises Spencer to watch his back.

 

Asher expresses his frustration that he ruined his relationships with the team, but Leila is confident they’ll come around and that he’ll make up for his mistakes. Spencer questions their arrival together, and Leila explains that Asher just gave her a ride. He insists it isn’t a problem, and the two of them later question Olivia’s absence in class. Olivia goes to a tattoo shop and tells Leslie Ward (Friday Chamberlain) they need to talk when she approaches her. Olivia apologizes, but Leslie reminds her that she’s her sponsor. Leslie assures her that being tempted is normal, and Olivia questions why she’s being tempted now. Leslie tells her she needs to dig deep to figure out the answer.

 

In a flashback, Olivia tells Jordan that they should throw a party with their parents gone and tells JJ to spread the work despite Jordan’s objections. Olivia pulls Leila away from Asher, and Spencer knocks on Olivia’s car in the present. Olivia lets him in, and Spencer tells her he left three messages. She tells him she had a rough morning and tells her about her temptation. Spencer asks how he can help, and Olivia asks to discuss anything else. She asks how he and Leila are doing and apologizes for convincing them to let Asher stay with Leila. Spencer admits that they jumped into the relationship quickly, and that he doesn’t want it to be over before it begins.

 

One year ago, Theo Grimes (Aaron Joseph) jokes about getting with Kia Williams (Asjha Cooper) and Spencer fights him. After the fight is broken up, Kia yells at him for not trusting her and suggests he’s trying to push her away. Kia tells him it’s over if he walks away, and he walks away. In the present, Spencer asks Leila where Asher is as they arrive at her house. He apologizes for being distracted lately and asks when Asher is moving out. She reminds him he said he was okay with him, and he tells her he just wants some alone time with her, declaring that he’s going to take her on a date. Spencer tells her that he’s planning something special, but Asher walks in as they’re about to kiss.

 

Olivia asks Laura Fine-Baker (Monet Mazur) to talk, but Laura asks her to help pick an outfit. Laura explains that she and Coach Billy Baker (Taye Diggs) are going to an event tonight, and that she’s leaving tomorrow for a business trip. Billy sees that he has an event tomorrow, and Olivia lies that she has nothing to talk about. Spencer tells Coop that he’s trying to not be like the old him and that he bought tickets for him and Leila to see “Hello, Dolly.” Coop laughs about his disinterest in musicals, advising them to do something significant to them. They see Reggie Cooper (James Black) standing outside her apartment and Coop embraces him.

 

Coop takes Reggie into her apartment, and Reggie apologizes for not getting back to her sooner. He tells her that he doesn’t agree with Janelle Cooper’s (Judith Scott) decision to kick her out but promises he’s there now. Reggie sees the emancipation papers, and Coop explains her living situation. He tells her they want her to come home, and that Janelle is ready to accept her. Coop is skeptical, but he invites her over for breakfast.

 

Leila gives Olivia a Wonder Woman pin to celebrate her one year of sobriety tomorrow. Olivia shows her the bottle, and admits she almost gave into temptation. Leila promises she’s there for her, and Olivia remarks that she’s the only one who remembered her anniversary. Leila tells Olivia she needs to tell her family how she feels, promising she won’t have to struggle in silence anymore.

 

As Spencer prepares for the date, Leila calls to cancel and he asks what Asher needs now. Leila is offended by the implication and tells him she’s helping Olivia. He tries to apologize, but Leila hangs up on him. In a flashback, Spencer comes home and Grace yells at him for getting suspended from school, telling him that it can’t keep happening. Spencer tells her every part of his life is a fight, and that he’s angry about his father leaving. Grace tells him his anger isn’t an excuse to throw his life away, and Spencer tells her she can’t fix things. He storms out and Grace calls Billy.

 

Spencer finds Leila talking to Asher and confronts her. Asher leaves and Leila explains he locked himself out of the house. He accuses her of lying to him, and she accuses him of not trusting her. Leila suggests he’s looking for problems in the relationship and reminds him that he said he was okay with Asher staying with her. Spencer insists he trust her, but Leila tells him he doesn’t before walking away. In a flashback, Grace tells Billy that Spencer has been getting into trouble and asks him to help Spencer transfer to Beverly. Billy tells her there are rules against it, but Grace tells him it took a lot to call him and that Spencer deserves a chance.

 

In a flashback, Olivia is the life of the party, but everyone’s attention turns to Jordan when he arrives. Olivia goes over to the bar where Asher is sitting and asks what’s wrong with him. He tells her he’s having trouble with his family, and she tells him to join the club. She tells him not to walk away, admitting family sucks and toasting to their sucky families. They drink together, and he questions if she should be mixing alcohol with what she’s already taken. She is touched by his concern for her before kissing him and taking him into a bedroom.

 

In the present, Olivia’s family asks her what’s wrong and she points out how sad it is that she needed to send out an emergency text to get them to listen to her. She tells them how invisible she feels and that they’re so focused on the future that they haven’t noticed the present. Billy tells her they notice her, but Olivia tells them it’s why she took drugs in the first place and that they didn’t see the effects until she nearly overdosed. She accuses them of thinking she was magically fixed and tells them that Spencer is the only one who’s asked if she’s okay. Billy apologizes, and Olivia tells him that she doesn’t want them to keep making the same mistakes. She points out that Jordan got no consequences for smoking pot, and Laura is surprised to hear about it. Olivia admits she thought she knew, and Laura tells Jordan and Billy to explain.

 

Coop thanks Spencer for coming to breakfast with her parents and urges him to fight for his relationship with Leila. She tells him it’s Kia all over again, diagnosing that Spencer pushes people away because he thinks they’ll abandon him like his father. Spencer argues that he hasn’t pushed her away, and she replies that he has, and they tell each other they love each other. Olivia apologizes to Jordan for getting him in trouble, but Jordan tells her he’s there to apologize for not getting her help sooner. He tells her she scared him when she overdosed, and they embrace. Jordan congratulates her on a year of sobriety, and she asks him to come with her later.

 

During breakfast, Coop gets a call from Patience and Janelle declares she can’t do this. She declares this isn’t the daughter she raised, and Spencer asks what’s wrong with them. Coop returns and asks if it wasn’t enough to break her heart the first time, and Janelle tells her that neither Reggie nor Tyrone can change her beliefs. Spencer questions what Tyrone has to do with this, and Janelle explains that Tyrone threatened to have Reggie fired if they didn’t get Coop to move back in with them. Coop accuses Reggie of being worse than Janelle for giving her false hope and tells them that they’re going to realize how great she is someday, but it’ll be too late.

 

Asher approaches Spencer as he works out, reminding him that he helped him when he needed him and offering to return the favor with advice. Asher advises him not to make the same mistake as him and lose the best thing that’s ever happened to him, promising he can trust Leila. Spencer admits that he trusts Leila and the issue was trusting himself.  Spencer says that they’re not that different and offers to help him get back on the team. Asher agrees, telling him he has time.

 

Coop finds Reggie outside her apartment, and he promises that Tyrone wasn’t the reason he reached out to her. She is skeptical, and he tells her he quit his job, telling her he rather lose his job than his daughter. Reggie gives her the signed emancipation papers, telling her that he wants to help her keep the apartment. However, Reggie tells her she’s still his daughter and that he won’t stop fighting to reunite their family.

 

Spencer takes Leila to their spot, admitting that the Asher situation triggered some things for him. He explains that he hid his discomfort about it, and that he was insecure about losing her. Leila asks why he thought he couldn’t be honest and realizes it’s about his Dad. She promises that she and a lot of people in his life aren’t going anywhere and tells him he’s an easy person to love. He admits he’ll work on his insecurities, and she promises they’ll work on them together before he tells her he loves her too.

 

Jordan goes to Olivia’s meeting, remembering the morning he found her after she overdosed and Billy taking her to the shower to help revive her. In the present, he watches as Leslie presents Olivia with her year of sobriety medallion and Olivia is thrilled to see that Billy and Laura also came to support. They tell her something more important came up and the family embraces. Later, Billy apologizes to Laura for not telling her about Jordan, and she reminds him that they’re supposed to be partners in helping their kids. He admits he’s right, admitting he did something that could affect both of their futures. Billy tells her he switched Jordan’s urine sample, and she promises they’ll get through it together. However, Jordan overhears the conversation.