All American: Homecoming finds Simone and Keisha searching for control during Simone's birthday

The aspect of not being in control of your life can have a huge emotional impact, and that is exactly what Simone and Keisha are going through during Simone's birthday.

As Simone prepares to celebrate her twenty-first birthday, All American: Homecoming has some other unhappy surprises in store. "Control" addresses the pain and soreness Simone has felt in her shoulder following her confusion regarding her actions on the tennis court.

At first, Simone is led to believe that it is nothing to worry about following having to make a last-minute change to see a different doctor than she initially planned. Her replacement doctor is a man who initially writes off Simone's discomfort as nothing to be worried about and does not take her request for an MRI seriously, instead choosing to only give her blood tests.

All American: Homecoming uses this opportunity for Simone to have separate conversations with Keisha and Marcus about the significance of how they each have had to personally or watch their relatives advocate for themselves with doctors when they knew something was wrong. Knowing that she needs an MRI, Simone advocates for herself after seeing that all her bloodwork comes back clean. Unfortunately, Simone's MRI results reveal that there was a mass found in her breast.

So much of Simone's emotional arc throughout "Control" comes from her recognition that Simone has felt that she, in one way or another, has been spiraling for years, as many things in her life have either been occurring so fast, or that such events were completely out of her control.

Simone's conversation with Lando, although Simone is drunk, does come from a grounded place of truth, and this episode recognizes just how important their relationship, platonic or romantic, is to Simone. With Damon out of the picture, All American: Homecoming could be laying the groundwork for a romantic reconciliation between Simone and Lando. But, at the moment, friendship may be the sweet spot for them as they rebuild the foundation of their relationship.

In Keisha's case, it is all about waiting for graduate school acceptance. Although Keisha has sent out many applications, most of her responses so far have been rejections, which leads Keisha to be concerned about her future.

Even though everyone around Keisha is confident that Keisha is worrying for nothing, it is only frustrating for her to receive so much confidence when the results do not seem to match that. All American: Homecoming continues leaning on its friendship between Keisha and JR by having Keisha confide her concerns in JR and him agreeing to worry with her.

So, how will All American: Homecoming handle the aftermath of these storylines, and what will it mean for the characters and their relationships? If the following episodes of season three become about regaining control, whether it be of their lives, their chosen sports teams, their relationships, or their academic futures, All American: Homecoming may be able to offer at least some closure by the time of its series finale.