Confessions

**"Confessions"** is the twelfth episode of the first season of *All American: Homecoming*. It first aired on May 16, 2022.

## Synopsis

**HIGH STAKES** - During Homecoming week, Simone, and Thea get ready to compete in a professional tournament and face opponents that challenge them in different ways. With the encouragement of JR, Damon tries to reveal how much he wants to share with his mother. Coach Marcus is spiraling out of control and reveals a big secret leaving the team once again divided. Keisha is ready to face her fears and is afraid she may be too late but is ready to fight for what she wants. Meanwhile, Amara comes up with a plan to help Bringston, but things don't go as she hoped.

## Plot

A party rages at the alumni quad as the band perform. Keisha realizes it's their friendiversary. They wish Nate was there but she's not. They recap the year together, with Simone having a chance to make the top 6 next semester.

Thea and Damon walk together as she recaps his relaxing date. They plan to mix some of their favorite songs together. Damon's mom interrupts heir kiss as she came early. Her experience should include an intro to her companion. Damon introduces her to Thea, calling her his girlfriend. She asks about his other friends who are all good. Thea heads inside as Damon is ushered to the party by his mom.

Amara confronts Zeke about the merger, which is the result of poor revenue and low enrollment. This is the only way to save the university, but she wonders what the point is if it's not longer Bringston.

The tennis classic begins as Thea tells her squad not to idolize the competition, as the pros hate the college girls. Thea shares choice words with Katia, her nemesis on the court. Simone hates Katia as Thea's friend, and Thea appreciates it.

JR and Damon talk to Santiago about the BBQ that Marcus is going all out for this year. Once alone, Damon confides in JR about having to tell his mom that his dad had an affair and lied about being Damon's bio father. Damon then talks to Marcus who is hyped for the BBQ. Damon asks if he's okay with the anniversary of the scandal coming up, but Marcus is good. Damon asks if telling the truth is worth the cost. Marcus thinks they just need the BBQ to make things right and another pit, so he'll be named coach of the year. Damon watches his energetic ways with concern.

Simone plays in the tournament.

Keisha finds Cam to check-in with him. He asks about her nervous smile so she admits there is something she wants to talk about. Gabrielle arrives and they sing their greetings. Keisha realizes it's a date and she'll catch up with them later.

Damon and JR cheer on the tennis team as they talk about Celine's situation. Simone is glad they came and Thea surprises her by kissing Damon. Thea has a match with Katia tomorrow but is hungry so they leave. She insists it's not weird for her. Jerika tells Simone they're playing each other tomorrow. Coach Loni is using the tournament to set the top 6; if Simone loses she could lose playing tennis for the year, while if Becca loses she could lose her scholarship.

Veronica talks to Zeke about making room on the walls for Willis Cobb alumni. Her suggestions are the top app developers in the country. Amara confronts her about the hypocrisy of putting app developers next to historical figures. Veronica heard she had been snooping and found out about the merger. Amara wants to stop her from diluting the HBCU legacy. Veronica counters that Bringston will have to become more inclusive, which Amara knows is code for more white. They both look to Zeke who reminisces on the impact the university has on students. Everything will stay as is.

Ralph is doing on a story on the team and talking to some people. Marcus finds it annoying that he's sniffing around the whistleblowing and tells him to stay away from his team and staff. He demands an apology from his staff who think he's losing it. Marcus fires both of them and kicks them out of his gym.

Thea talks to Keena about her tennis career, earning the Keena Sims stamp of approval in record time. She heads to her dorm so the two can talk alone. She presses him for information on what's going on with him. He tells her that his birth mom is Celine Raymond, JR's mom, but they don't have the same father. They go to his dorm where he tells her the truth about Xavier, Celine, and his patronage. Keena doesn't believe him at first until he tells her that his adoption doesn't have a record. She leaves to process it.

Cam visits Keisha to follow-up on her wanting to talk yesterday. She has him sit. She's done the work and is ready to be in a relationship if it's not too late. He doesn't want to mess up what they have. Simone bursts in, giving Cam a reason to leave. Keisha doesn't want to talk about it.

Simone and Jerika face-off on the court, with Simone winning the match. She hugs Jerika after, though the girl is proud of Simone.

Amara talks to Ralph about their article and the merger. He wants to publish the article ASAP but she wants to hold out to try and save Bringston. She plans to hit up every alumni at homecoming.

Ralph talks to Marcus as he's put together the pieces of Marcus being the whistleblower. He calls him out for abandoning Amara after things got heated. He calls him out then leaves. Marcus takes the mic and talks to the crowd. He starts talking about the cheating scandal and the source. He admits to being the anonymous source. He did the right thing this time and got it right. His words echo in his head as he spirals into nonsensical speech. Damon and JR intervene to stop him from going forward. He asks Ralph if he's happy now, almost going after him if the boys didn't hold him back. He storms off.

Thea gets water as Katia talks to her before their match. She still has a lot o learn, calling her a little girl. Thea checks her rackets and they've all been vandalized. She begins to have a panic attack and breaks down in sobs at Simone and Keisha find her.

In the gym, Santiago and the boys feel betrayed by the way Coach was a source. They refuse to help a man they can't trust. Damon, JR, and a few other players remain to look for Coach.

Simone and Keisha try to soothe Thea whose racket is specially fitted for her. Simone volunteers her racket as she can win with any racket. It's just a mental game and she needs to woman up. Thea goes to practice with the new racket. Simone calls Damon to tell him that Thea needs him. Keisha knows it was hard for her to make that call.

Gabrielle pries into Cam's past with Keisha. He's reluctant to put himself through things with Keisha again after being rejected. She suggests he believe her that she's ready.

Amara meets with the alumni about their game plan; raising enough money to stop the merger.

Damon sits with Simone to thank her for calling him. She brings up their disagreement and acknowledges that her action wasn't right. She's hear to listen if he needs to talk. The past few weeks have been crazy for him. As they confide in one another, Thea watches them talk from the background before leaving. From the moment they met there was something between them, but now he's with Thea and she has Jordan so they're back to being friends. He asks if she wonders how things would have been for them in timing was different. She admits that she does, all the time. Thea eavesdrops from the curtain and runs away.

Thea struggles to focus on the court with Simone and Damon laughing together in the bleachers. After failing twice, she takes a deep breath and they start the game properly. Thea ultimately wins against Katia, but that doesn't stop the snarky comments.

Damon sits with Keena who needs time to heal from the wound Xavier caused. He worries she sees the worst in Xavier in him, but he's the best thing that ever happened to her. She will always love him. Xavier and Celine's mess will never change that. He knows she his mom and always will be.

Thea and Keisha talk about Cam, who has moved on emotionally from her. They agree timing is an issue, but Simone suggests she fight for Cam if she wants him. She fought for Jordan but now she knows it's not meant to be. Simone gets a text - Coach Loni is ready to name the top 6.

Zeke talks to Amara about the article and him giving a quote for it. The alumni managed to raise $4 million for Bringston to stop the merger. They're going to need a lot more than that now.

Simone talks to Jerika, who has kept her spot and scholarship as her other wins were enough to keep her spot. coach Loni gave Simone a heads up that, even though she put in the world, it wasn't enough so she didn't make it into the top 6. Her time playing tennis is over for the year. She starts to leave when Amara calls an emergency family meeting.

Damon talks to Thea who is upset after hearing his conversation with Simone. He didn't lie but should have told her about it, anyway. They used to be close, real close, but didn't act on their feelings. They both have "someones" in their lives. She feels like a place-holder for Simone. He's glad things didn't work with Simone because it allowed him to find her. She's his bright light and he didn't want his family drama dimming what they have. She wants to be in on all of it for their relationship to work. He promises complete honest from now on. He asks if he should know anything. She flashes back to finding out Simone broke up with Jordan. She tells him that she's a clean slate, so they kiss. He gets a text from Amara for the family meeting.

Cam meets with Keisha under the guise of him meeting the ATL group. She came at him weak earlier. She's not about her emotions, something she learned in therapy. She wrote a letter to her future self and invites him to sit while she reads it to him. The letter talks about her wanting for love with Cam. She asks if he wants it too, and he does so he picks her up and spins her around in a hug. She gets a text from Amara for the meeting.

Everyone meets at Amara's. She hasn't been able to reach Marcus and will help the boys look after the family meeting. She then tells the group about Willis Cobb pulling out of the deal with HBCU. Since there's no merger, it will be sold unless enough money is raised by the end of homecoming week. She gets a call from Marcus whose voicemail is eerie - he's planning to do something to himself.

## Cast

### Starring

* Geffri Maya as Simone Hicks
* Peyton Alex Smith as Damon Sims
* Kelly Jenrette as Amara Patterson
* Cory Hardrict as Coach Marcus Turner
* Sylvester Powell as Jessie Raymond
* Camille Hyde as Thea Mays
* Mitchell Edwards as Cam Watkins
* Netta Walker as Keisha McCalla

## Trivia

* This episode's title originated from the song "Confessions", originally sung by Usher.

## References

1. ↑ *All American: Homecoming: Season One* Ratings
2. ↑ Listings - ALL AMERICAN: HOMECOMING on The CW | TheFutonCritic.com