All American Review: Show Me A Good Time (Season 4 Episode 6)

It’s important for any teen show to know when to drop the drama, and just let kids be kids.

All American Season 4 Episode 6, “Show Me A Good Time,” fully understands that assignment, focusing on friends, fun, and classic high school rights of passage in what has become the show’s annual midseason “cabin respite.”

So much of All American Season 4 has revolved around characters preparing to graduate and say goodbye, but most of the focus has centered around college and post-graduation plans. 

“Show Me A Good Time” is about just that — all the experiences and emotions that come at the end of a high schooler’s career, paying tribute to skip day, prom, and those last months before life changes forever.

There’s nothing quite like the last semester of high school. Teens exist in a peculiar undefined space where they feel finished with adolescence, but haven’t quite stepped into adulthood. It’s a time of freedom and fun — a short pause to indulge in making memories with the people who have helped shape your life.

Season 4 of All American is reveling in that pause, and hitting all the right marks, crafting scenarios any post-graduate can think back on with romanticized fondness.

Jordan asks “Will it ever be like this again?” and for anyone whose been through it, the answer is obvious — no, it won’t ever be like this, not exactly.

The group makes an unwavering pact they’ll never let things change — they’ll be the group of friends who make it through unscathed — but the show clearly recognizes reality, taking every advantage to indulge in the present. 

The escapades at the cabin are juxtaposed beautifully with the adult’s own journey to locate their own high school time capsules. Teens live moments the adults wistfully look back on as the stories parallel, invoking just the right amount of wistful sentimentality.

No matter how old we get, a part of us will always still be a kid.

Another fatal reality that looms as high school’s finality approaches? The ending of relationships. Teenagers frantically trying to hold on to one another while going — and growing — in different directions.

Even with the most elaborate of plans, no one can outrun the ticking clock.

All American does a great job in depicting a strong couple in Jordan and Simone — two people who love each other enough, they’ll con themselves into thinking they can make it work. If Geffri Maya wasn’t headed off to her own series, their crafty plans might be believable. 

Unfortunately, Bringston (and Damon) await, and even the greatest phone sex most likely won’t solve their problems. Their future may be doomed, but their dedication to freezing time in fear things will change is an ample opportunity Evans Behling and Maya take advantage of. 

Both deliver complex and moving performances in “Show Me A Good Time,” complete with all the shades of frustration, love, and desperation needed to make their conflict come alive. 

While others head towards the ending, Spencer and Olivia are still just beginning. All American continues to use their beautifully crafted friends-to-lovers story in order to foster a relationship with incredibly impressive communication and understanding. 

There is nothing the two of them can’t get through if they face it together. 

Their decision to take things slow is an impressive maturity well beyond their years, but Spencer and Olivia spending their first night together — during a quiet night in front of the TV, no less — is the right call from a story perspective. The time for that payoff is now. 

It is quite the payoff, indeed. 

Not only is it incredibly sensual — with Logan and Ezra fully understanding the responsibility on their shoulders — it’s extremely touching. From the performances to the delicate directional choices, everything is handled with utmost care.

Certain moments are so intimate, it feels like intruding on a private moment not meant for us, or TV.  Olivia running her hand over the scar left by the bullet Spencer took for her, is a gesture that shows everything about the importance of the scene, without having to insert a single line of dialogue. 

Without a doubt,  All American will be granted another season, but so much of Season 4 feels like an ending. The poetic time capsule videos both reflect back and look ahead in ways that play as wrap-ups, with a clear vision of the future.

Those visions will manifest into realities eventually, but while we may not be saying goodbye to the series itself, the characters are saying goodbye to plenty.

Hopeful, scared, and excited about the start of something new, what lies ahead is one big adventure. All American captures that sentiment — and the feelings that go along with it — with flawless execution. 

I wouldn’t expect anything less. 

Random Thoughts: 

• I’m ready for JJ to have his own arc. 
• Layla is right about the one-night stand double standard, but Jordan cares about her. He has the best intentions.
• The future does not look bright for Patience and Coop. 
• It’s nice to see Asher accept his future as a potential coach, not player. 
• Billy, Laura, and Grace have come so far together.
• This season is flying — it must want to line up time-wise with All American Homecoming. 
• Considering how traumatic it was for Spencer to find Cory at the cabin, it’s nice to see it transformed into a place filled with good memories for him. 

 

 

 

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

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