All American may be once again making an argument that the series finds itself struggling without Olivia and Spencer's helping hands. In a previous episode, Spencer's presence was required to help lessen the tension between Cassius and Jordan. In "Don't Hate the Player," Olivia's presence helps reconnect estranged members of the Baker family, as Olivia is able to encourage forming a relationship with KJ, who they recently discovered is their cousin. Olivia initially planned for Cassius to be a part of the family reconciliation, and while Olivia is willing to talk to Cassius about his side of the story, as well as being willing to move on from his initial plans to destroy Billy Baker's legacy, Jordan is not as open to the possibility.
"Don't Hate the Player" is mostly an episode about emotional aftermath, but it may not be a great look for All American's future if it requires Olivia and Spencer to return to work things out for Jordan, rather than allowing Jordan to go through the motions himself. Olivia's return helps to calm everyone down from their emotional highs, and maybe one of the reasons that Olivia is able to look at the situation more objectively than Jordan is because she has not been in California while all of this has gone on, and does not have the same history with Cassius as Jordan does. Olivia makes a significant point about seeing the value of family even more following Billy's death. But, while Jordan has grown up over the years, how is that streak supposed to continue if All American brings in Olivia to help smooth over some of Jordan's bigger conflicts?
All American makes the important choice of continuing to show Olivia as being integral to the Baker family and working to make things right. But, if the story of consistent characters, such as Jordan and Cassius, requires Olivia or Spencer's return to move forward, it only shows how much of a corner the series had built itself into, and how stagnant the plot line really was prior to Olivia or Spencer's arrival. Although neither Olivia nor Spencer was successfully able to truly put all of Cassius and Jordan's issues behind them, they do help chip away at some of the resentment. But, in order for All American to truly pull off any sort of connection between Jordan and Cassius that could help the characters and series grow and move forward, Cassius and Jordan need to be able to do the final steps of completing the building of a bridge themselves. Otherwise, there was no point to any of this.
The other central plot of the episode sees Khalil facing his guilt regarding believing himself to be the cause of Jordan's near death experience. Jordan and Khalil's relationship is complicated by Jordan's inner struggle to determine if he has truly helped Khalil or only hurt him further. Meanwhile, Khalil is willing to go to drastic measures to avenge Jordan, but it takes the combined efforts of Coop, Layla, and Jordan to help bring Khalil back down from his emotional high point. Coop has been playing a parental role to Amina all season, and along with her past in gang-related activity, Coop is able to speak to Khalil as someone asking him not to make the same mistakes that she did.
Coop, from her own past, knows better now than she did then, and continues to use those experiences to try to get through to Khalil that there are better ways to handle his inner turmoil than committing a murder that will inevitably result in dangerous consequences. However, while Coop is able to stop Khalil's plan, it is Layla and Jordan who step up to remind Khalil that he always has a home. Although Khalil has been living with Jordan and Layla for a while, "Don't Hate the Player" is the first time that Layla and Jordan, in the same episode, come across as parenting Khalil. This is a big step forward for the Baker family as Olivia's wish to see her family connected before her twins arrive becomes more of a reality. It is unfortunate that Olivia does not get to spend much time with Khalil, who she acknowledges is meant to be extended family, but the Baker family dinner at the episode's conclusion does suggest that things are moving in the right direction.
With only one episode left in the season, All American has to make decisions about how it will handle its remaining conflicts and questions. Can Khalil and KJ move on from any remaining issues they have concerning Amina now that they may be considered to be a part of the same family? Will Khalil's father finally no longer be an obstacle in Khalil's desire to move forward with his life? What will it take for Jordan and Cassius to be willing to move forward toward a more positive relationship? Will All American ever return to Coop's desire to be a lawyer? Will Amina leave for a new school? As the series heads into an uncertain future regarding if season eight is on the way or season seven will be the last the audience sees of these characters, All American needs to make a move that shows the series is willing to move forward with these characters, create stronger bonds of the new additions it has offered, remember to place its remaining original series regulars at the forefront of more storylines, and show how all of these characters would move forward together as a new version of an ensemble cast.