All American: Homecoming Review: Love and War (Season 1 Episode 3)
It’s all about setting boundaries on All American: Homecoming Season 1 Episode 3, “Love and War.”
This episode skillfully showcases several characters establishing boundaries and communicating their needs. Communication is key, and these characters prove that voicing your feelings always helps.
While Simone needs to learn when to step in and when to back off, it’s refreshing to see a protagonist face consequences for her actions.
Instead of writing Simone as someone who can do no wrong, a tired main character trope, All American: Homecoming, immediately establishes her as a flawed protagonist.
She has good intentions. She wants to help her friends and foes, but she needs to respect their boundaries too.
It is about time we learn more about Thea. After immediately establishing her as the mean girl and ruthless captain of the tennis team, this show needs to break down some of her walls if we are ever going to root for her.
Although it is still early, and we haven’t learned that much, it is nice to unpack Thea’s internal conflict. She doesn’t have any friends, which is hard to navigate in a socially driven college atmosphere. However, it’s also hard to feel bad for her when she’s not very nice to others.
Once she opens up to Simone and establishes her comfort levels, Thea immediately becomes more than a tennis rival. There are so many great story opportunities here if Thea evolves more this season.
Another example of boundary-setting is Damon’s relationship with his “momager.” This installment explores the exploitative and quite sad, side to Damon’s working relationship with his mother.
Legacies fans already know the talent that is Peyton Alex Smith. He proves himself as an ace performer this week.
It’s a great growth moment seeing Damon stand with his teammates knowing that he’s betraying his mother’s wishes. We need him to be a team player — not the star.
In a heartwarming scene, the team shares personal stories about why they want to represent Bringston and its legacy. This once again proves that they are stronger together. All American: Homecoming has characters that feel real. Their stories are raw, and it’s inspiring to watch.
Damon’s storyline with his mother also creates an interesting parallel to Simone’s own mommy issues. Another way these two understand each other on a deeper level!
“Love and War” finally delivers on highly requested Nate content.
In the best scene of the episode, Nate communicates to Keisha that although she appreciates her help, she needs to fight her own battles. It’s heartbreaking to watch, but it’s also a wonderful character and friendship moment.
Nate clearly loves Keisha for caring about her safety so much, but part of growing up is learning that you won’t always have your friends there to defend you. These are real struggles that students across the country face daily. Nate’s strength is already making her a character worth rooting for three episodes in.
Nate’s story of gender identity and inclusion is the type of story we need on TV. The All American universe continues to deliver on inclusive content and important conversations.
Aunt Amara is another excellent example of a character establishing their needs. While a new job is enticing, staying and fighting for what is right on campus is who she is.
The pushback Amara faces from the university for exposing corruption highlights the unfortunate reality of working for big institutions or corporations. It’s easier to ignore misconduct than to face it head-on.
Coach Marcus is in a similar predicament as he struggles to stand up for his team. He admirably defends their hard work proving how much he cares for his players and his program.
Amara and Coach Marcus both see that there is more to the story. There are, unquestionably, financial issues at Bringston right now. With the direction this storyline is headed in, I predict that these two will uncover what’s actually going on.
It also looks like feelings from the past could resurface between them. There is a palpable fondness and comfort here. Let’s hope we learn more about their history — especially why it didn’t work out.
“Love and War” is a strong episode that proves that All American: Homecoming is creating characters and relationships worth investing in, three episodes into its run.
Stray Thoughts
- Simone bringing Thea to family dinner is very sweet!
- Keisha is the type of friend that we all need.
- The only thing missing from this episode is follow-up with Cam.
- JR needs to discuss his theories with Damon before it blows up in his face.
- It’s about time Jordan learns about the connection between Damon and Simone. There is something there!
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What did you think of this episode of All American: Homecoming? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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All American: Homecoming airs Mondays at 9/8c on The CW.
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Julia Paino
Julia is a TV and pop culture enthusiast who gets too emotionally invested in her favorite characters. She loves making people laugh and is always down for a Taylor Swift sing-along. She is firmly on Team Stefan and has been since 2009. Follow her on Twitter @juliampaino!