In "Ante Up," All American continues to aim to juggle its original and new characters in the overall plot. But, in this case, the attempt falls flat due to strange story choices and inconsistent character writing. Layla, unfortunately, does not have much to do in terms of moving forward with her own storyline. Instead, she is forced to the side to help Amina's plot line, a decision that undermines the significant character and story development that Layla has had over the course of several years. While Layla is important in terms of helping Coop to see that Amina is missing a connection to her late mother, something Layla can relate to, it still means Layla herself has taken a backseat in this episode.
Amina, on the other hand, is the central character of "Ante Up," as All American works overtime trying to turn Amina's character into some sort of combined iteration of Olivia, Layla, and Coop as she balances the emotional strife from Khalil, KJ, and herself. Still, it may come across better if Amina and KJ spent more screen time together rather than the occasional phone call. But, perhaps one of the strangest story choices about turning Amina into a central character is how Preach has rarely been around. Preach's absence in this episode is definitely noticeable, as the storyline of Amina's main parental figure has shifted to Coop, who should not be taking on this responsibility.
Coop's main storylines should surround her growth as a lawyer and friendships with Layla, Jordan, and Preach. Coop's connection to Amina can be a part of that, but not if the narrative insists on devoting Coop's screentime to being a babysitter for Amina, who had not been significant to the show's narrative in a long time. Coop is a character who has gone through so much, and the idea that she is being relegated to a glorified babysitter of a teenage girl is insulting to Coop, who still has so much left of her life to explore as she continues her development as a young adult. Although Coop has been a constant figure in Amina's life, their relationship has mostly developed off-screen in the past few years.
Otherwise, it certainly hurts the overall new dynamic of the teenage characters that All American has insisted on breaking them up into the show's two main schools. KJ and Yasi, who were supposed to have the new foundational backstory, have not been seen together since the season premiere. There is little to no connection between the Crenshaw plot and the Beverly plot, with Amina being the connecting thread, as Jordan and Cassius have little to do with each other, with the exception of Cassius being annoyed every time Jordan appears. This balancing act does acknowledge the football rivalry between Beverly and Crenshaw but fails to allow KJ the opportunity to spend more time with the rest of the show's main cast, as he is mostly isolated from the rest of the group, only interacting with two other characters in his school.
All American has still not quite found its groove with its new characters and how to balance them with the original series regulars. While it is expected that the new additions would not be exactly the same as those that the audience was already familiar with, keeping them separated prevents All American from building an interesting friend or antagonistic dynamic to become invested in. Meanwhile, if All American continues to sideline Jordan, Layla, and Coop rather than allowing them to lead the show they have been a part of since it began, then season seven is only hurting its own narrative. Soft reboots are certainly difficult to create, but All American needs to lean a little heavier on its established leads to help drive season seven to success.