All American Review: Murder Was the Case (Season 4 Episode 19)
It’s Halloween in May on All American Season 4 Episode 17, “Murder Was the Case” where tricks turn into treats and spooky fun ends in a scary dose of reality.
Holiday episodes on TV are usually always guaranteed to be a good time — light on the plot, heavy on the fun, and typically used to give audiences a breather from the heavier, more dramatic serialized content.
Goofs, gags, costumes, parties — oh my!
But All American is all about subverting expectations. Not only is it going to give you a Halloween episode 6 months away from Halloween, and not dress one of its characters up in costume, it’s also going to convince you that you’re having a good time before revealing you very much are not.
It’s a show that understands balance, and that is never more important than when a season is coming to an end. All American knows it delivers explosive finales — so it chooses to weave in a little laughter and light before absolutely ripping your heart out.
That’s what “Murder Was the Case” does. The episode is extremely funny — lots of silly moments, lots of JJ, and plenty of fun Halloween gags to keep the audience in good spirits.
It’s also an excuse to gather all its characters in one room so tension can rise like a pressure cooker before blowing the top off.
Spencer James and Asher Adams have had an unresolved conflict between them for seasons. Remember when Layla left Asher and started dating Spencer? That actually happened in Season 1 — and the tension has just built from there. For years.
Watching them finally use their “team rivalry” as an excuse to air out the actual issues that exist between them is long overdue, but extremely satisfying. Asher may not be a fan favorite character, but it’s rare that someone both recognizes Spencer James is flawed and isn’t afraid to say it out loud.
Asher and Spencer have both made mistakes — one more than the other (I’m looking at you, Asher) — but have grown over the seasons. They are the 2.0 models of the people we met in the pilot — so revisiting their past now allows them the chance to move forward.
Their friendship may not be the most important of the series, but it is complex, and complexity is what makes a show interesting.
Season 4 has largely been about relationships changing — specifically which ones can handle that change, and which ones will fall apart, except falling apart doesn’t always mean disaster, and the show proves that with Patience and Coop.
Both are much more likable now that they’re apart — Coop wildly so — and the series has finally figured out how to develop their characters as individuals, as opposed to forcing them to stay in a relationship where neither one is satisfied.
Pulling Coop from the throws of Crenshaw and instilling hope in her future gives Bre-Z a chance to play to her best strengths — empathy and comedy — making Coop a joy to watch on screen, and giving Patience time to develop on her own, outside a romantic partner.
But not all relationships find their footing quite so easily this season, and that comes to a boil in “Murder Was the Case.”
The best thing about Spelivia is how real their relationship reads. They truly are in love — it’s palpable, with no chemistry lost post Honeymoon stage — and are willing to do what it takes to hold on to each other.
Except neither person can really figure out how to do that.
No 19-year-old has the answer, no matter how deeply they feel for another person. How do you grow as an individual while holding on to the relationships that made you who you are?
It’s a layered problem that doesn’t fix itself in a single episode, but also doesn’t necessarily mean an imminent breakup is near. The two still feel like they very much have a long future together, but how they’ll find a way to that happiness remains murky territory — and that’s interesting television if I’ve ever seen it.
There’s also Layla and Jordan, the slow burn romance of the season — two people who have been creeping around their feelings, unprepared to face the truth of who they are to one another.
It’s a finely tuned relationship that has been weaved subtly in the background of All American for years — and that foundation has allowed two people to grow into each other in surprising ways.
Jordan can confess his feelings for Layla one episode after his breakup with Simone because the audience knows those feelings have festered for much longer than that. There is no villain here. Things change, people change, and what we need in our life changes with us.
His confession is executed perfectly; not overdone, but not underscored either. It’s honest, emotional, but extremely measured in its delivery. Jordan Baker knows how he feels, and he knows exactly how Layla needs to hear it.
There is also no kiss. No pressure for Layla to reciprocate. It’s romantic in how simple yet unfaltering it all is, a perfect manifestation of how both characters — especially Jordan — have grown into each other in such fitting ways.
There are a lot of characters “talking about their feelings” in “Murder Was the Case” — but not a whole of resolve, and that’s probably deliberate. All American is surely putting all its puzzle pieces in place to deliver what is sure to be an explosive finale.
Let’s hope everyone survives it.
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.