For years, Spencer James was the heart and soul of All American, and Daniel Ezra's return in "Shadowboxin" does the work of emphasizing Spencer's commitment to viewing football as a game of brotherhood. Spencer's return to California has two main jobs: acknowledging his upcoming role as a father to his and Olivia's expected twins and attempting to put an end to the brewing rivalries between Jordan and Cassius, as well as between Khalil and KJ. Spencer also has the job of aiming to have Coop remember the journey that eventually brought her to be in the alley with Monique. Spencer tries to play peacemaker throughout his return to California, but does he get the job done?
"Shadowboxin" is not shy about relying on flashbacks as Coop fishes through her memories of her time associated with South Crenshaw's gangs. Coop has had momentous character development over the course of the show, and her growth is on display as she looks back at her previous actions through the eyes of an adult who knows better. Such a trip down memory lane highlights essential parts of Coop's past and shows how much she has changed over the years. Still, All American does not confirm how much of Coop's connection to how her final stand-off against Monique that Coop plans to tell Amina. Preach's absence in this episode also manages to continue the trend of placing sole responsibility for telling Amina the truth on Coop's shoulders. While it is kind of Coop to want to take responsibility and accountability for her role in Monique's death, focusing so heavily on Coop and rarely on Preach reinforces the aspect that it is somehow Coop's job more so than Preach to tell Amina the truth. Amina is a teenager and able to understand more aspects of the truth, but having Coop go through this journey alone rather than allowing her and Preach to at least discuss their plans for Amina together continues the trend that Coop is more responsible and parental to Amina than Preach is, which is not a fair weight to place on Coop's shoulders.
All American also struggles to confront how to handle the continuing and tiring one-sided rivalry between Jordan and Cassius. Jordan views their conversations as friendly fire, while Cassius is far more direct in his adversarial views of Jordan. While Jordan has always presented a friendly attitude toward Cassius, happy and willing to participate in conversation with him, Cassius never lets the cordial discussion last long before reverting back to an oppositional approach. Such behavior has gone on far too long, and while Spencer is right as he declares that Cassius needs to do better, giving Jordan the same speech, when Jordan has never been actively negative toward Cassius outside of their football rivalry, is a bit out of place. Jordan may not be handling the situation perfectly, but he is not instigating an off-the-field war.
So far, one of the most positive attributes of the character of Cassius has been portraying him as an experienced father who has given advice to Layla, Jordan, and Spencer about what it means to be there for their kids, whether it be Spencer anticipating the birth of his twins or Jordan and Layla striving to create a peaceful environment for Khalil. In those areas, Cassius has been a pleasant addition, understanding the ups and downs of fatherhood. Still, his one-sided adversarial tendencies toward Jordan continually get too heated too fast, and it begs questions about the truth of the childhood Cassius speaks of with hesitation. There is always the possibility that Cassius is somehow connected to the Baker family as an estranged relative. At the very least, it could help justify why Cassius' attitude toward Jordan comes across as so personal. Cassius may want his iteration of the Beverly Eagles to have their well-deserved recognition, but Cassius' anger toward Jordan and the Baker family is several steps beyond friendly high school sports competition.
Spencer's arrival, in a way, forces characters such as Jordan and Cassius or Khalil and KJ to see each other beyond the issues they share. Spencer's dedication to aiming to get all of them to let go of their competitive behavior represents Spencer's devotion to brotherhood, friendship, and community. His constant friendship with Coop allows her to see her own positive attributes. Spencer's return to California does plenty of good things for the main characters, as long as All American does not backslide on the growth that has been made between the characters during the episode. While not everyone's rivalries can be solved in one afternoon, reverting back to being enemies after potentially starting to move forward in those dynamics could cause a seesaw effect that does not offer a sense that anyone is actually growing from these experiences. Spencer's return helps to ground All American in some of the show's important themes of friendship and family, but it is up to the show to continue those developments between the characters after he leaves.