All American Review: Protect Ya Neck (Season 2 Episode 10)
…And nothing was ever the same again.
We’re more than halfway through the season, but All American Season 2 Episode 10, “Protect Ya Neck,” just completely changed the game.
There are a million things to love about All American, but one of its strongest assets lies in its ability to keep viewers on their toes. While the majority of network television holds their big, game-changing moments for mid or full-season finales, All American is always ready with the fake-out; dropping bombs in episodes disguised as filler.
Obviously, we have to talk about that ending, but “Protect Ya Neck” actually sets up a lot of character pivots throughout the hour.
An underlying conflict that doesn’t exactly take precedent, but will undoubtedly be an obstacle later on in the season, is Matt Springer. What is introduced as an exciting bonus practice day for the Beverly Hills Eagles quickly gets revealed as a booster agenda; one that’s meant to remove Billy as a coach.
The “booster vs. coach” dynamic is a bit of an outdated trope, but challenging Billy does open up a lot of potential storylines for Digg’s character, who has so far been grossly underused this season.
Digging into the minutia of high school football politics isn’t necessarily the most interesting plotline for the majority of All American’s demographic, but involving the team (and with it, the characters we care about) in a potential crusade to keep Billy around, stands to provide a high stakes journey worth taking.
It also keeps football relevant during the team’s offseason.
It’s not just about driving the plot in new directions, but the characters as well.
“Protect Ya Neck” is filled with new character dynamics, establishing new potential trajectories for each of them in the final six episodes.
Veering all your characters off in new directions at once is risky, but All American finds ways to integrate smooth and clever transitions.
Asher’s change in attitude, for example, feels bumpy and random for the majority of the episode. He’s just found love with Olivia, and on All American Season 2 Episode 9, “One of Them Nights,” they were blissfully sending each other heart emojis.
All American — “Protect Ya Neck”– Pictured (L-R): Samantha Logan as Olivia and Daniel Ezra as Spencer — Photo: Eddy Chen/The CW — © 2020 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved
Asher’s character has gone through an exponential amount of growth this season, which is why bickering and abandoning Olivia feels so stark in comparison to the past nine episodes.
When the steroids are finally revealed, it feels like puzzle pieces coming together. It isn’t just a senseless, out of character change up. It actually falls right in line with who we know Asher to be: laser-focused on the right intentions with the wrong executions.
It also conveniently allows for conflict within his relationship with Olivia.
With Asher losing himself to the same thing that almost cost Olivia her life, the two are quite literally moving in opposite directions.
So are Coop and Patience. The breakup does feel a bit out of nowhere, and the JP drama has to be re-inserted as exposition in order to help the pieces come together. The story could benefit from more cohesive tension between the two, but Patience’s reason for leaving still tracks.
For the time being, there probably won’t be room for much of anything besides dealing with the fallout from the episode’s final scene.
The plot twist does have a subtle build-up, but the episode’s opening is what really lays the foundation for a genuinely shocking end.
Voiced over beautiful serene shots of Crenshaw and Beverly Hills, Olivia delivers a monologue about the palpability of privilege, and the reality that “existing in our bubbles” for safety is merely an illusion.
The eloquence of her words makes the cold open a perfect juxtaposition to the episode’s final moments, and it lands incredibly effectively.
Spencer will obviously survive, but that’s clearly not the point. More than anything, it’s used as a plot device for All American to change course completely.
The biggest change, however, will undoubtedly be within Spencer’s characterization. Characters are often deeply altered by traumatic events, allowing them to transform in ways that never would have made sense otherwise.
It’s not a bad move; Spencer is a fantastic protagonist, but without football, he needs another driving force in his story. This allows him new motives and fresh perspectives that can take him on a multitude of journies before the season ends.
Who Spencer will be when he wakes up is yet to be seen, but nearly killing your main character in the middle of the season only means one thing: it’s about to get real.
Random Thoughts:
- The cotillion dance is amazing. At my cotillions, we did box step (and not well).
- The chemistry between Olivia and Spencer is screaming this episode. Did you see that kiss on the cheek? PLEASE.
- The cotillion effectively makes me ship every single pairing possible on this show.
- I’m happy to see Layla agreeing to work on herself before getting back into a relationship. Recovery is a process.
- Olivia has come incredibly far as a character and her growth is a lovely thing to witness on screen.
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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Kat Pettibone
Kat Pettibone is an aspiring TV writer, artist, and poet. As a Pacey Witter Fan Club lifer who never missed a TGIF, she has dreams of becoming your generations small screen Nora Ephron. She's also an avid lover of coffee, dogs and all things spooky.