All American: Homecoming Season 1 Episode 12 Review: Confessions
Laura Nowak
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Secrets always come out at the worst time.
Almost everyone had a secret or confession that would impact relationships on All American: Homecoming Season 1 Episode 12.
Most of these have been season-long arcs, and some felt a sense of closure, while others had dangling threads.
Let's begin with Damon's dilemma to tell his mom what he learned about his dad and Seline.
Damon didn't want to hurt his mom, but it was more than that.
He didn't want his mom to look at him differently or resent him.
They finally got to a good spot where they could connect as mother and son and not coach and player, and he didn't want to lose that.
It'll never change that you're my mom and you always will be.
Damon
Damon's mom understood Thea in many ways since Thea is the male version of Damon. She poured herself into sports without any other interests.
Thea is only now trying to mellow and have fun, and so is Damon. While I love Damon and Simone, Damon and Thea are less complicated.
That hurt Thea, though, when she overheard Damon and Simone discussing missed opportunities. No one likes feeling like they are second best.
However, keeping Simone and Jordan's break-up from Damon could come back to haunt Thea. Secrets always have a way of coming out.
Since her attempted rape, Thea has seemed more vulnerable.
Before, if Thea had run into a rival, she would have faced them head-on.
What was it about Katia? She destroyed Thea's tennis rackets, and Thea fell apart and almost forfeited the match.
Simone: Thea, as your friend, I hate her.
Thea: That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me. Thank you.
Thea is more enjoyable with layers, but I miss the strong, badass young woman who would take no prisoners. We need her in these tennis tournaments.
Will Damon and Simone be able to find a happy medium?
She's the only friend he felt comfortable sharing things about his biological dad, but that isn't fair to his girlfriend.
Can men and women be platonic friends without it interfering with dating?
So far, the mothership and All American: Homecoming haven't had much luck, but maybe that will change.
Keisha needs a better storyline. While self-realization is essential, that's all the series wrote for her the entire season.
It would have been nice to see her more in RA mode or even more about her choreography dreams.
Since she was in therapy working on her relationship issues, maybe we could have seen that. I hate that Keisha has become a side character.
Now, she and Cam have reunited. They're cute, but the series needed to spend more time on their relationship and Keisha's self-realization for this reunion to feel earned.
The appeal of Bringston University was that it honored African American inspirations, and only African Americans attended the college.
So, it was understandable that Amara hated the merger, and Veronica wanted to honor app developers on the same walls.
Veronica: Like it or not, Bringston is going to have to become more inclusive.
Amara: You mean more white?
She was on a mission to save Bringston, but she wanted to do it on her terms.
How could $4 million not help save the college, and if that's not enough, will they be able to think of a new plan in time?
Ralph seemed like a bad penny. He kept showing up where he was not wanted.
He seemed in a rush to publish Amara's article, and he wanted dirt on Marcus and the cheating scandal.
It made me wonder if he had an ulterior motive as a journalist or does he merely want to uncover the truth.
His snooping rubbed Marcus the wrong way. Marus was paranoid that his staff gave Ralph dirt on him, and he fired them.
Between the cheating scandal anniversary and Marcus' paranoia, Ralph figured out that Marcus was the cheating scandal source the year before.
He seemed angry that Marcus had the team and Amara handed to him. Those comments seemed bitter and suspicious, making me wonder if he's a Coach Shaw puppet out to get Marcus.
After Ralph taunted him, Coach Marcus confessed at a team BBQ that he was the mole, but he did it so the team could play a fair game.
It seemed Marcus fell apart on stage. It was two-fold, He wanted to take responsibility, but he didn't want anyone to think he was terrible.
I'm not a bad man. I'm not.
Marcus
All American: Homecoming has done a sensitive job with this arc, and it was wise to play the heightened part of it during May, Mental Health Awareness Month. Marcus seemed to struggle with bipolar with his manic outbursts and moods.
When that secret came out, his team was divided. Some wished they had the cushy life of Coach Shaw back, while others like JR and Damon only cared about helping Marcus.
Amara and the two of them had seen his outbursts for weeks, so they suspected he had been carrying a heavy burden.
When Amara heard Marcus's goodbye message, she was scared. It sounded very much like a suicide attempt. Hopefully, they'll get to him in time.
Over to you, All American: Homecoming Fanatics. Will Amara and the group get to Coach Marcus in time?
How will the triangle between Damon, Thea, and Simone end? Can Amara save Bringston? Let us know below in the comments.
If you missed an episode, you could watch All American: Homecoming online via TV Fanatic.
All American: Homecoming airs at 9/8c on Mondays on The CW.
Laura Nowak is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on X.
