All American Review: Hard Knock Life (Season 2 Episode 6)

All American Season 2 Episode 6, “Hard Knock Life” knocks it out of the park, again. 

Kat Pettibone, who has graciously let me take over for this week’s review, smartly and passionately describes the strength of Daniel Ezra’s performance on All American Season 2 Episode 5, “Bring the Pain.”

On “Hard Knock Life,” it’s Michael Evans Behling and Samantha Logan who carry the bulky and heavy storylines. 

Behling’s performance is excellent and shouldn’t be overlooked. He truly portrays Jordan as a teenager. 

Jordan has been on an immaturity spiral during Season 2. On All American, teens face the ramifications of their choices, even when they make those choices for valid reasons. 

Jordan has some good reasons to be acting out. His dad has been missing in action after getting kicked out of the house for cheating on his mom with the mom of Spencer, the rival for his dad’s attention. 

Complicated family dynamics like that can alone push teens to behave in extremely thoughtless ways. 

On top of that, Jordan’s sister, his best friend if he’s honest, is in recovery for an addiction that almost cost her her life. He was the one to find her.

Instead of dealing with these issues with therapy, communication, mindfulness, or other healthy coping mechanisms, Jordan goes full-on middle schooler (except with a driver’s license). 

But, people have very different ways of dealing with the stress and sorrow of addiction and infidelity. 

Behling shows us, with searing authenticity, how a teenager, who has the physique of an adult man and the limited empathy of a 17-year-old, copes with his life. 

I love that Behling lets Jordan be immature without hedging. He grows over the span of just this episode, but during the times he is childish, he is fully there in that place. 

For Jordan the character, and I imagine Behling the actor, it is hard to never be the hero like Spencer.

In many ways, Jordan isn’t number one. That is painful. 

The growth we see from Jordan on “Hard Knock Life,” comes from him listening to his best friend.

OLIVIA: So, ghosting her felt like the better solution? Right.

Jordan realizes that he is needed, not as a football captain or a perfect son, but as a support system for the women in his life. 

It may not be camera-ready, but that is heroism indeed. 

The subtle, vulnerable, and teenager-like way Behling plays Jordan in the scenes where he leaves the field and is at the clinic are incredibly effective. 

Jordan is a fully-realized character and I am deeply invested in how his story continues. 

Invested might not be the right word for how I feel towards Olivia and her story. Obsessed is a better fit. 

The writing for Olivia on “Hard Knock Life,” is next level amazing. Logan tenderly and smoothly takes the material and delivers a relatable and nuanced performance. 

Logan has a huge amount of dialogue on the episode. Liv goes from a complicated romantic encounter to talking to her sponsor, right to talking Simone off a ledge. 

That is a lot of talking! 

Logan uses each opportunity to build our understanding of the painful, hopeful, and intense year Liv is having. 

She is the best sister of all time. Of. All. Time. 

Olivia is overlooked in so many areas of her life. Asher has become her lifeline. He cares for Olivia well, well beyond hooking up; he needs her friendship and support. 

He doesn’t need her wisdom like Jordan, Spencer, and Olvia’s mom do. He needs her beside him, as an equal, to be with him as he is going through it. 

It is a precious friendship. 

Olivia clearly like-likes Asher. But, one, he is her family right now, her greatest support through her sobriety. And, two, their physical intimacy is deeply enmeshed with her shame for her behavior during her addiction.

It is a huge trigger for her. 

Usually, when a couple refrains from getting together because they don’t want to mess up a friendship, it’s a kind of ho-hum excuse for keeping a couple apart. It’s a way to keep the tension between a “will-they, won’t-they” couple.

Here, Asher and Olivia NEED the other as a friend. 

Early on the episode, Asher voices a kind of pessimism regarding needing people. 

ASHER: I think we sometimes convince ourselves we need someone. And when they’re gone, life goes on.

He is referring to his mom in this interview response. But, it belies insecurity about Olivia as well. He fears abandonment. 

So, rather than a letdown or a loss, when Olivia explains that she needs Asher’s friendship and she is terrified to lose it, Asher experiences great relief. 

Olivia isn’t going anywhere. They are perhaps closer than ever. 

Even though they aren’t going to make-out any time soon, they are best friends. 

Olivia calls him her best friend!

I guarantee Asher’s heart is soaring to the greatest heights. 

That is achingly romantic. 

This core friendship and EARNED trust are why I am fully on board SS Ashivia.  

The only aspect of the excellent episode keeping it from five-stars is the relative side-lining or Coop and Patience’s development. 

There is some great Coop content on the episode. Her internal conflict with her insecurity regarding going for something outside her comfort zone is intriguing and fresh.

But, we don’t get enough time, dialogue, or centering of Coop and her process to really understand what is going on and what is a stake for the characters. 

It’s not clear why Coop is so taken aback and resistant to being a duo with Patience. 

We know Coop is very independent and has struggled in the past to be a team with Patience. She tries to protect Patience from reality, rather than trusting her to be capable and willing to fight alongside her girlfriend. 

That doesn’t really explain, though, why Coop doesn’t want to work with Patience. Is it a matter of pride? Is it fear of losing Patience? 

Coop is my favorite character and Coop and Patience are my favorite ship on the show (of the year, actually)!

It is time to get into the weeds of Patience’s thoughts and feelings. Coop is a lead character. She deserves an as detailed, thorough, and lengthy exploration of her character as all the other leads. 

We are thirsty for more Coop and Patience content.

There are a plethora of strong characters on All American, there is no doubt the show will turn the full power of its excellent development to Coop and Patience soon. 

Kat Pettibone is right, All American is a masterclass in character-focused storytelling. It is also a masterclass in visual storytelling. The lighting on the episode, like all All American episodes, provides rich images of a myriad of skin tones. 

This is no small feat and is an example other shows that have characters with diverse skin tones should follow. 

The blocking, from the sweet couch make-out scene to the layered hospital waiting room scene, invites a deeper understanding of the relationships. 

In addition to the visual storytelling, the music on “Hard Knock Life,” supports the storytelling, without ever overtaking the performances. 

The episode is emotionally evocative. The music adds layers and delicate notes to the story that unlock a deeper resonance.

The sound editing and direction on the episode is simply phenomenal. 

All American is raising the bar of youth stories. We need many more seasons of the exemplary show. 

Stray Thoughts

• Thank you for the work out scenes. Just, thank you. 
• Patience and Coop are the most stylish couple on the show. Not sorry. 
• Moms are so important and this episode is a huge nod to the importance and power of mothers. 
• Spencer taking that knee is a surprising and perfect move to address the rock and a hard place scenario. Impressive. 
• The desire for Crenshaw to also get some of the publicity and spotlight is actually really interesting. It would be cool to see that line of story extended further. 
• I’m already stocking up on tissues for next week. The brief teaser is a tear-jerker, can’t imagine what the full hour is going to be. 

What did you think of this episode of All American? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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All American airs Mondays at 8/7c on The CW.

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