The Biggest Unanswered Questions From All American Season 3

"All American," a sports drama series that premiered on The CW in 2018, has become a big draw for the network. Season 3 of the celebrated show neatly encapsulates why fans love it so passionately: It's filled with captivating teenage drama, important social commentary, and (of course) lots of sports.

The end of "All American" Season 3 is particularly explosive. Among other events, an attempted set-up, a deadly gun showdown, a mysterious disappearance, and a shocking medical discovery all take place within this intense hour of television. Perhaps most shockingly of all, very little actual football is played, as the big game the series has been building toward doesn't actually happen before the season comes to an end. Moreover, like so many season finales, Season 3 does not leave fans with much in the way of closure. What's next for "All American"? No one yet knows — but we can certainly examine the series' central mysteries. These are the biggest unanswered questions from "All American" Season 3.

Viewers have known that Mo (Erica Peeples) is bad news for a while, and Coop (Bre-Z) has nursed suspicions as well. But after a while, Coop seems to fall for Mo's niceness act, and believes she truly wants to make good on all the harm caused by her brother, Tyrone (Demetrius Shipp Jr.). But Coop's initial skepticism is correct after all: Mo wants to take her down to avenge Tyrone's death. Mo plans to have Coop arrested for possession, loading up her tour bus with drugs and tipping off the authorities. But when merchandise manager (and Mo's accomplice) Andre acts oddly, Coop knows something is up.

Later in the episode, Coop arrives at Mo's house to confront her, making it clear that she unloaded the drugs before hitting the road. What comes next is an epic showdown between the two women, in which Mo pulls a gun on her nemesis. At one point, it seems that Coop has talked Mo down, but this is a false retreat. Luckily, Preach (J. Kareem Grimes) arrives just in time to shoot at Mo — but not before Mo gets a bullet into Coop. The show does not confirm whether either of them is alive or dead, though Mo looks pretty finished from where we're standing. Coop, on the other hand, is shot in the abdomen, and the episode ends as Preach attempts to keep her alive. Is he successful? We don't yet know.

Coop is a beloved character, so fans are likely to be happy that Preach arrives in time to (possibly) save her. Fans also don't have much investment in Mo, given that she hasn't been around too long and isn't very likeable. Most of the characters should also be okay with Mo's death, save one: her daughter, Amina (Ella Simone Tabu).

Mo confirms to Preach that he is the father of her child after the kid finds Preach and reveals the truth to him herself. Will Amina be able to forgive her dad for killing her mom? The jury's out, though we do feel confident guessing that this will allow for some interesting storylines in Season 4. "All American" has dealt with gun violence before, but never in relation to its impact on children. Will Preach now have custody of the daughter he barely knows? And will Amina be comforted by the fact that her dad was acting in defense of a friend?

If Mo is indeed dead — and again, that bullet to the chest sure makes it look like she is — we have to wonder what sort of consequences Preach might face. He acted in defense of Coop, but as an ex-gang member who has been to jail himself, is he allowed to carry a weapon? And even if he is allowed — and even if the gun is registered — he still killed someone. So yes, he might have something to worry about.

Since Preach himself was not in imminent danger, he can't argue that he shot in self defense. This might complicate things, particularly if Coop dies as well and Preach has no corroborating witness to back him up. Will he be charged with murder, or perhaps manslaughter? Luckily for Preach, he's connected to the district attorney's office by fewer than six degrees of separation. Laura Baker (Monet Mazur) is just one call away.

Asher (Cody Christian) has not always been the most likeable character on "All American." Remember when he gave an opposing team Beverly's entire offensive playbook? However, he redeems himself quite a bit in Season 3. That's why it's hard not to feel for him when his dad delivers devastating medical news: Asher has a heart condition called cardiomyopathy, which means he can't play football anymore. Like, ever.

Understandably, Asher does not take the news well (though his pushy dad is uncharacteristically sensitive about it). As Coach Montes (Alexandra Barreto) looks on with tears in her eyes, Asher has a locker room meltdown. We can't help but think about what's next for him. Given how intertwined Asher's storyline has been with Coach Montes — he even helps her create plays in the finale — he could go into coaching. Furthermore, though there's no cure for cardiomyopathy, there remains the possibility that he has been misdiagnosed — this is a teen TV drama, after all. Without football (and the scholarship Coastal California offered him), who is Asher Adams? We can't wait to find out.

Olivia Baker (Samantha Logan) has had a crush on Spencer (Daniel Ezra) since Season 1, back when he was dating Layla (Greta Onieogou) and thus off-limits. Since then, their relationship has drifted between an innocent brother-sister bond and full-on romantic chemistry. But Season 3 buckles down on the latter vibe, building up Olivia and Spencer as a power couple. Most people seem to be cool with the pairing, including Layla. However, every fan knows relationships don't stay rosy for long on "All American."

Having already told most of their friends the news by the time the end of Season 3 rolls around, one big Band-Aid — telling Billy — remains to be ripped off. In the finale, Olivia marches over to her father to tell him that she and Spencer are together. But since both her father and brother are mad at Spencer, what does the future look like for the couple? Will they last in the face of familial judgment, Olivia's sobriety issues, and all of the pressure on Spencer's shoulders?

One of the biggest questions the "All American" Season 3 finale leaves us with is whether or not Layla is in danger — and if so, how much? This season, Layla takes in a friend from rehab named Carrie (Anna Lore). While Olivia is quickly able to see that Carrie is unhealthily focused on Layla, Layla doesn't feel anything is amiss.

But by the time the finale arrives, even Layla finds Carrie's behavior odd. After Layla calls Carrie's parents and hears a completely different story about why they're not in touch with her, Layla makes it her mission to convince Carrie to go see them. Before they leave for Tahoe, with a stopover to see Carrie's parents, Carrie slips a goodbye note onto the counter. Later, we see Layla's dad reading the note, and Layla's cell phone in the garbage. Since Layla would never willingly dump her phone into the trash, it's pretty obvious this is Carrie's doing. But what's her plan? Is she going to try to kill Layla in some sort of murder-suicide plot?

Spencer has been an unofficial member of the Baker clan for a long time. They house him, feed him, and consider him family when he's under their roof. Even after he moves back home in Season 3, they treat him like a relative. But we're not sure that will continue in Season 4, given the bridges he has burned. Then again, he is now dating Olivia, and that has to count for something.

Billy (Taye Diggs), aka Coach Baker, is angry with Spencer for helping his son, Jordan (Michael Evans Behling), train before he was medically cleared to do so. He actually seems to be much more upset with Spencer than he is with Jordan, even though we all know that Billy is capable of doing misguided things himself. This is a man who swapped out his son's urine sample, after all. In addition to being on Billy's naughty list, Spencer is also the target of Jordan's rage, as Jordan is upset that Spencer told his dad their secret.

Coach Baker and Jordan may be angry at Spencer, but no one is more upset than his own teammates at Crenshaw, who feel he's betrayed them by helping Jordan train. This is especially true of Frausto (Noah Gray-Cabey), who butts heads with Spencer all season long. Meanwhile, at Beverly, everyone is mad that Jordan may have taught Spencer their plays while they were practicing. To combat this, Coach Montes (with assistance from Asher) decides to create new plays, swap Jordan in for half the game, and decrease J.J.'s playing time.

When the tension between the teams erupts into violence, it puts the championship game in jeopardy. The coaches agree to play it down in front of the referees, and the game is seemingly allowed to occur –- only, we don't get to see it. This leaves fans with some huge questions. Does the game happen, and if so, who wins? And will we, as viewers, even get to see the game, or will Season 4 skip ahead entirely?

We know that Simone (Geffri Maya) is not staying in Beverly Hills much longer, given the character is at the heart of the "All American" spin-off, "All American: Homecoming," which aired its backdoor pilot in early July 2021. The new show will focus on Simone as she moves to Atlanta to attend Bringston University, a fictional historically Black college, where she will play tennis.

The pilot introduces a number of new characters, including Simone's aunt Amara (Kelly Jenrette), who teaches at Bringston, and Thea (Camille Hyde), a super-competitive tennis player we can only assume will be a rival. The episode also introduces us to Damon (Peyton Alex Smith), a suave baseball player who will seemingly be a love interest for Simone. But if Simone has a new boyfriend (or even just a crush) in Atlanta, what will happen to her relationship with Jordan? At the very least, will she be back to give us a proper on-screen break-up?

Jordan spends the latter half of Season 3 sidelined with an injury, so his scholarship prospects have not looked good. At one point, it's not even clear if he'll ever play football again. But now that he's been medically cleared to play, things should be looking up. Unfortunately for Jordan, Coach Montes is resistant to him getting back on the field as quarterback for the championship game. Instead, she favors the less talented J.J. (Hunter Clowdus). Toward the end of the episode, Coach Montes informs Jordan that he will indeed play in the championship game, splitting duties with J.J., though it's unclear if that actually happens, since we do not see the game. If Jordan does get to play, this will surely increase his odds of getting recognized by a recruiter.

Jordan spends much of the Season 3 finale feeling bad for himself, while also trying to be excited for Spencer, who is invited to play in the Platinum All-American game. We feel pretty sorry for Jordan — until it's revealed that he, too, received an invite. Do these recent developments mean that Jordan will get a scholarship offer after all? Now that Jordan and Simone have decided not to stay married, it's unlikely he will end up following her across the country. Where he will end up remains a mystery.

"All American" does an admirable job of portraying Olivia's sobriety. Her struggle with addiction is not a linear thing, but a continual battle with a number of ups and downs. In Season 3, it becomes very clear that Olivia's drinking issues are no longer under control. Among other things, she crashes a car while under the influence, and claims Spencer was driving instead of her. She also repeatedly lies about going to meetings and speaking with her sponsor, who she can't locate for a long stretch of time.

After the crash, Spencer, who has just found out about her drinking, sells Olivia out to her parents. When she tries to minimize the issue, saying it was just one drink, Spencer tells everyone that Olivia also drank over the summer. Luckily, Olivia is eventually able to admit she needs help — but only after running away and tracking down her sponsor, who she finds in jail. In the end, Billy and Laura decide not to send Olivia back to rehab. But will their at-home approach be successful this time? Will Olivia actually remain sober going forward? We sure hope so, but nothing is a certainty on "All American."