All American season 6 episode 4 recap: drunken words and sober apologies

Daniel Ezra as Spencer James and Bre-Z as Coop talking in the Baker House in All American season 6 episode 4
Daniel Ezra and Bre-Z, All American (Image credit: Troy Harvey/The CW)

Spencer (Daniel Ezra) raises a glass, well several, to his 21st birthday in All American season 6 episode 4, "Black Out." As the title suggests, Spencer gets blackout drunk. He doesn't even remember the special birthday gift Olivia (Samantha Logan) got him, which leads Spencer to spend the episode trying to piece together what happened when he and the Vortex came together to celebrate.

Unfortunately for Spencer, his recapping journey doesn't bring him any closer to finding the gift. Worse, he comes to realize that his drunken antics were highly problematic. 

Here's what happened in All American season 6 episode 4. 

Spencer wakes up at Wade's 

It's the morning of Spencer's birthday and Olivia wakes him up with a kiss and muffins based on his mom’s recipe. He’s appreciative and suggests they spend his birthday evening together instead of bar hopping with the guys. She wants him to go out and celebrate, promising to catch up with him to give him his gift. Olivia leaves him to enjoy her muffins, which unfortunately he hates. 

Spencer goes to Grace's (Karimah Westbrook), who figured Olivia may not make the muffins to her standards, so was prepared with backups for her son's visit, along with some birthday champagne. Dillon (Jalyn Hall) doesn’t get any as he's underage, but Spencer shares Layla (Greta Onieogou) said Dillon can come to her lounge later to celebrate Spencer. 

The episode then cuts to a montage of a wild night of drinking for Spencer. When Spencer wakes up the next morning, he's in a strange house. He looks around to find a picture of his former enemy, Wade Waters (Christian James).

What did Olivia get Spencer for his birthday, and where is it? 

Samantha Logan as Olivia Baker and Daniel Ezra as Spencer James trying to talk in All American season 6 episode 1

Samantha Logan and Daniel Ezra, All American (Image credit: Troy Harvey/The CW)

Spencer arrives to football practice late and Jordan (Michael Evans Behling) isn't happy to see him. Spencer is shocked at Jordan's demeanor. Coach Boone (Mustafa Speaks) sends Spencer home for the day as it's clear he's hungover. 

Instead of going to the beach house, Spencer stops by his childhood home to speak to Dillon. He asks about Olivia's gift, but Dillon has no idea what it is. However, he does recall Spencer moonwalking shirtless on Layla's bar. Wanting to find the gift and learn what else he may have done the night before, Spencer seeks out Coop (Bre-Z) for answers. 

Coop takes Spencer to one of the bars they visited the night before. The bartender has no clue about Spencer leaving anything special behind, but gives him the lost and found box to comb through. 

The best friends find nothing, but a drunk man at the end of the bar calls out to Spencer, remembering the college star from the night before. Vaguely recognizing man, Spencer flashes back to being drunk with his friends. He was 15 shots into the 21 shots he planned to have for his birthday when Olivia showed up. As the couple shared some cute banter, a news report came on the TV announcing Wade is going to Coastal. Additionally, the news anchor said Spencer is no longer the only Heisman Trophy contender at GAU, as Jordan is now in the talks for the award. The report annoys Spencer, who ordered another shot. 

Back in the present, Spencer and Coop head to Layla's Lounge. When they arrive, Coop bails after spotting Patience (Chelsea Tavares), leaving Spencer confused. Talking to Layla and Patience about Olivia's gift, they are also no help. However, they mention they all bought him a birthday cake, which prompts another flashback. 

During the night before, the Vortex sang Spencer happy birthday at Layla’s Lounge. When he blew out the candles, he angrily looked at Jordan. As Spencer walked off, Layla asked what that was about, but Jordan just pretended to be shocked she suddenly has time for him. 

Later, Jordan jokingly asked Spencer how many shots he's had. In return, Spencer said people are just passing him shots, but at least they are passing to him, a dig at Jordan for not throwing to Spencer on the field. Jordan tried to smooth things over, claiming he didn't know the news story was going to run. But Jordan also pointed out that Spencer is mad at him for getting a small taste of Spencer's life. 

Asher (Cody Christian) arrived just before things between Spencer and Jordan went any further, and the two teammates asked Asher about Wade being on the Coastal team. To their surprise, Asher admitted he’s responsible for Wade being on the team, which made Spencer and Jordan irate. The rest of the Vortex also held Asher's feet to the fire about the revelation, remembering all the bad things Wade did to them. Olivia tried to diffuse the situation but fails. 

After Olivia took Dillon home instead of arguing the point further, Spencer got into a shoving match with Asher. Jordan tried to break the two up, but Spencer grabbed a handful of cake and smashed it in Jordan's face. Jordan then pushed Spencer, and a brawl ensued. Even Patience got in the mix after a guy tried to attack her, but ultimately, she got him on the ground begging for mercy. 

Back in the present, Spencer is incredibly apologetic to Layla and Patience, then leaves to meet with Asher. In the Coastal coaching offices, Spencer finds Asher and Wade and apologizes to them both. They accept his apology, and Wade fills Spencer in on how he wound up on his couch. 

Apparently, Spencer showed up at a bar where Wade was already sitting. Spencer wanted another shot, but the bartender was reluctant to serve him. When Wade tried to interject and get Spencer a shot, Spencer became angry and swung at Wade, but badly missed and fell. The bartender wanted to call the cops, but Wade offered to take Spencer to his place instead. 

No closer to remembering what Olivia got him for his birthday, Spencer goes to see her. He's remorseful he can't remember her gift, but she simply laughs. She pulls up his shirt so he can see he has a tattoo on his rib cage of two hands. Olivia then shows him she has the same tattoo, and they got matching ones on his birthday as a symbol of their love and bond. 

Repairing relationships

Elsewhere in the episode, Layla and Jordan are upset with one another. He's been feeling as if she doesn't have time for him these days. The fact she refused to move in with him didn't help his feelings of rejection. It's not until Jordan spends time with Olivia in the park talking about their dad that Jordan realizes his argument with Layla isn't worth it. By the end of the episode, he goes to her lounge to apologize and the two make up. 

Coop and Patience, meanwhile, have a good time at Spencer's party hanging out. When the two leave the party and arrive back home, the exes-turned-friends talk a bit before Patience leans in for a kiss. Despite wanting to reunite with her, Coop rejects Patience's kiss, wanting to first discuss their feelings. The rejection kills the mood, and Coop is now doing everything she can to avoid Patience. 

Finally, Asher spends the episode letting his feelings of betrayal get in the way of his coach/player relationship with Wade. Asher has been tasked to get Wade up to speed with Coastal's plays, but he spends more time being snarky with Wade. It's not until Wade reveals to Spencer he let him sleep the alcohol off at his place that Asher starts to believe Wade has changed and is deserving of a second chance. It looks like Wade and Asher may even one day become friends. 

New episodes of All American air on Mondays at 8 pm ET/PT on The CW. Here is how to watch All American season 6.

Terrell Smith

Terrell Smith has a diverse writing background having penned material for a wide array of clients including the federal government and Bravo television personalities.  When he’s not writing as Terrell, he’s writing under his pseudonym Tavion Scott, creating scripts for his audio drama podcasts. Terrell is a huge fan of great storytelling when it comes to television and film. Some of his favorite shows include The CrownWandaVision, Abbot Elementary and Godfather of HarlemAnd a fun fact is he's completely dialed into the TLC 90 Day Fiancé universe.