Guys I think the All American: Homecoming writers heard our prayers. This is the third episode in a row that I have thoroughly enjoyed watching. I think the writers had to ease us into the season being good. But all I can say is that so much happened in this episode. Secrets came out, things were said, and relationships were mended in about 42 minutes. Episode eight is officially the halfway mark of the season, and we got some much-needed answers to some of those questions. I really enjoyed this week’s episode. As I said in the last few recaps, this episode feels like the first two seasons did. Here is a breakdown of what happened in episode eight  of All American: Homecoming.

Love Square?

Usually, I would start my recaps talking about anything dealing with Simone since she is ultimately the main character, but this week, I must talk about the love square that is JR, Keisha, Cam, and Gabby. In this episode, everything finally boiled over, and I was here for it. The show finally addressed the energy that has been forming between JR and Keisha for weeks. Last week, Cam began to form his own suspicions, but this week he decided to involve Gabby.

Cam had been giving Keisha the cold shoulder ever since he learned that she shared her street dancing with JR before she shared it with him. In this episode, he even begins giving JR the cold shoulder as the group discusses their plans for Friendsgiving. As his suspicions continued to grow, he decided to share them with Gabby. He asks Gabby if she has ever noticed how close JR and Keisha are, and until he pointed it out to her, she had not thought much about it. Cam shares with Gabby that JR has shown up at several of Keisha’s street dancing performances, even canceling a date with her to attend one. This does not go over well with my girl, Gabby.

Both Gabby and Cam decided to confront JR and Keisha to get to the bottom of things. Gabby confronts Keisha about whether the date that she helped JR plan for her is something that she wants for herself, while Cam confronts JR about keeping secrets. This scene was such a pleasure to watch, even though it was full of drama. Once they confront each other, things finally hit the fan for Cam and Keisha.

The two talk about their relationship in its entirety, not just what Cam suspects about JR. They both felt neglected in their own ways and had a tear-filled emotional discussion, but it doesn’t stop there. Things really hit the fan during Friendsgiving dinner. Both pairs go back and forth with their grievances in front of Dr. P and company, ultimately ruining the perfect dinner Simone had hoped for. In the final scene regarding this love square, we see both couples address their issues. I like how the show alternates between both couples, explaining their sides. Both JR and Keisha mention how her donating bone marrow brought them closer together, but they are only interested in each other as family. I love how this situation was able to get handled with both couples remaining together, but knowing All American: Homecoming, they might have another trick up their sleeve.

Blood isn’t always thicker than water

Coach Marcus and Noah are trying their best to make up for lost time and form their own bond. In this episode, Noah is spending some time with Coach Marcus before the Thanksgiving holiday. Since Thanksgiving is a holiday people usually spend with their families, Noah was hoping to meet some of his family on his dad’s side. Coach Marcus has lived a lot of life and has been through a lot, and some of those things could be the reason why he and his family  are estranged.

Throughout the episode, Noah questions Coach Marcus about why they weren’t spending the holidays with family. We learned that as Coach Marcus is building a relationship with Noah, his relationship with his own father is strained. We later see Coach Marcus share some photos of his family, including his mother, who unfortunately passed away. In this episode, Dr. P is also home for the holidays, and she also gets a chance to meet Noah. Dr. P and Coach Marcus left on a rocky foot, so it was nice to see them support each other this episode.

Coach Marcus and Noah made an appearance at the Friendsgiving dinner, although it was a complete disaster. Noah realizes that he was able to meet Coach Marcus’s real family this evening, though they aren’t blood. After everything that happened in the episode, this inspires Coach Marcus to reach out to his father to try to make amends. I notice that in both All American: Homecoming and the original series, father-son relationships are a common theme. We’ve seen it several times across both series. In the second half of the season, I’m interested in seeing how Coach Marcus uses his relationship with Noah to try to fix his relationship with his father.

She knows (she knows)

Moms and aunts have a special superpower to know when something isn’t right. Although she has no kids of her own, she is the mother figure of the Bringston fam. Even though the holidays are around the corner, Dr. P knew something was up with her kids, which is why she decided to come back to Atlanta early. Simone has yet to tell her aunt about her cancer diagnosis, so she and the rest of the fam spent this episode trying to hide it from her.

At this point, Simone is done with her fertility treatments and is preparing for her surgery in a few weeks. To keep her aunt unsuspecting, she pretends that everything is completely normal. I know Simone can be a bit much at times, but I truly felt for her in this episode. Having cancer at such a young age can be such a scary thing, especially after all the things she has already been through and not being able to share that with someone you love can be even scarier. As Dr. P is still trying to get to the bottom of things, she calls in Nate and Thea to try and find answers. The two try to stay strong and not say a word, but Nate eventually shares that there is something going on with Simone.

While doing some unintentional snooping, Dr. P finds Simone’s hospital bracelet. As any concerned aunt would, she becomes concerned and turns to Coach Marcus to see if he knows anything. We learned that the hospital bracelet was from when Simone had her fertility treatments done. Unknowing what’s actually going on, Dr. P assumes that Simone is selling her eggs because she needs money.

After the fiasco at Friendsgiving, Simone finally tells Dr. P that she has breast cancer. Like she’s been saying for weeks, she tells Dr. P that she didn’t want to worry her while she was out of town. Putting on a brave face for Simone, Dr. P comforts her by saying that she’ll get through this. We later see Dr. P go to Coach Marcus for comfort, we also learn that he already knows about Simone’s diagnosis, and she breaks down in his arms.

As Simone prepares for the next steps in her cancer treatment, I’m curious to see how Dr. P will support her from Washington, D.C. I also understand Simone’s reason for not wanting to tell her mom about her diagnosis, but what about her dad? Or her friends from back home, or even Damon? That brings me to my next point: where is Damon?

Donde esta Damon?

I understand that Damon is supposed to be playing overseas, but does anyone else find it strange that no one barely mentions him? Not Coach Marcus, JR, or even Simone? It’s like they’ve completely erased him from the show. There was no mention of him during Simone’s birthday or anything. JR and him are brothers, so I would expect them to keep in touch. We saw Damon in the first episode, and we haven’t seen him since. We know that Thea’s character has also been reduced, but we’ve seen her in at least three different episodes. I hope that we get a glimpse of Damon in some more episodes, not just the series finale. The show has been moving in a better direction, and I would like for it to stay that way.

What to look forward to

The writers keep teasing us with Team Limone content, and I’m not here for it unless it actually happens! In the preview for next week’s episode, we see Simone and Lando spending some quality time together, and I am so here for it. I will always be Team Limone, and that is my soap box that I am willing to stand on. Next episode takes place during Christmas time and you what they say the holidays have a strange way of brining people closer together.

Season 3 of All American: Homecoming airs on The CW on Mondays at 8 p.m. EST.