All American: Homecoming star Geffri Maya on the reason for Simone's failed drug test
Warning: This article contains spoilers about All American: Homecoming season 2, episode 8.
Simone is getting back on the court!
All American: Homecoming returned with the conclusion of the midseason finale shocker that Simone Hicks (Geffri Maya) failed a drug test. Knowing she didn't take any banned substance, she spends much of the episode convinced that someone dosed her. After setting up a tribunal at school to defend herself, Simone learns that she accidentally dosed herself using Nathaniel Hardin's (Rhoyle Ivy King) THC lotion. Still, she heads to the tribunal to say her piece about how unfamiliar Black people are treated when it comes to drug offenses, repercussions for these instances and, ultimately, justice. In the end, Simone's punishment is to miss one tennis match, but she is cleared to return to the court.
While Simone worries about the outcome of her situation, the rest of her Bringston family is struggling. Keisha McCalla (Netta Walker) is stressing herself out about getting cut from her dance major to the point of a panic attack while Damon Sims (Peyton Alex Smith) is juggling his break-up with Thea and the press running a damaging story about the school's baseball team. Realizing that the family they built needs their Sunday dinners back, Amara Patterson (Kelly Jenrette) decides to open up the experience to all students to remove any talk about favoritism now that she's running Bringston.
Maya spoke to EW about how this experience will impact Simone, what's ahead on season 2, and more!
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: The resolution of Simone's failed drug test was an accident, but how does almost having her dream taken away impact her moving forward?
GEFFRI MAYA: This is a wake up call for her and it could have been much worse. In college, kids explore, kids are curious, but in this particular situation she's being penalized for something that was truly an accident, it was unintentional. She needs to be more mindful and intentional with her decisions and accept that every choice has a price. Life can get real at any given moment and she has to be prepared in terms of how to fix it and know how to move forward. It was a life lesson and a necessary life lesson.
Simone admits to making a mistake with the THC lotion during her bold speech at the tribunal. What was your thought process behind that?
MAYA: The justice system has been selective for years, as we all know, when it comes to what they consider minor or major offenses for people of color, especially Black men. A lot of our Black men are still housed in prisons to this day for offenses like weed. What the speech boiled down to is to shine a light on the justice system and that change just can't be performative. Change has to happen in these conversations and how we raise our children and how we receive other people. What's really beautiful about Simone's speech is her fight to shed light on that as she explains that she shouldn't be penalized for a genuine mistake. She also touches on how harsh the punishment can be for people of color by mentioning Tootie's (Taylor Polidore) brother's situation. I feel like as long as it keeps coming up in conversations for the sake of fairness and humanity, then we are doing what we are supposed to do in terms of the intention behind Simone's speech.
Simone gets through this and is back on the field. What can you tease about where Simone's tennis journey takes her in this half of the season?
Simone is more on her game. If it went another way, then her tennis career would have been over and she probably would have not been able to be part of certain communities on campus; it would have been on her record. For [Simone], it puts a fire under her ass to be honest. It makes her more committed and dedicated. It plays into her energy behind the game, how she attacks the game, and also what she prioritizes. The shift that occurs within her impacts everyone around her, especially her loved ones. She's taking a step up in her career and what she wants out of life, and she's going to blossom as she approaches sophomore year.
We've seen Simone start to show interest in Greek life this season. What do you think draws her to joining a sorority?
From my own perspective, I was not hip to the Divine Nine. I didn't know about the history and culture of Black sororities and fraternities. What I loved most about them all was the sense of community within the chapters that were active on my campus. I love that sense of Black empowerment. Simone is yearning to come into her own and find that sense of empowerment and community. After the situation with Jordan Baker () and Layla Keating (Greta TK), she left her old life behind and is coming into her own, especially in her Blackness. To me, she's yearning for that loving relationship with herself, but also the community she lost in a more confident way. She's on a path that she believes she's destined for and that will benefit her in womanhood, in motherhood and in her next relationship.
She's looking to other women especially. This is my interpretation, but especially because she has a tumultuous relationship with her mother even though now that's kind of shifting. She has a beautiful relationship with her aunt. Simone's inspired by women and that goes with Thea Mays (Camille Hyde). She looks up to Thea and wants to connect with her, so Simone yearning for community and connection is why she's looking for something new [by] considering sorority life. It opens doors.
Simone and Lando Johnson (Martin Bobb-Semple) have been building something this season. What do you think draws them together?
Lando is not perfect at all and he's never tried to be, but he's genuine. They connect because they accept each other wholly for who they are. With Lando, they have created him to be flawed, but he is very selective with the energy he gives Simone. We don't often get to see that especially in young love on television. We love toxicity because it's fun to talk about and it's fun to be messy, but it actually is nice to see them build a relationship that doesn't come with such baggage. This is probably the first relationship that she's been in that didn't feel forced onto her and that gradually happened. It took her by surprise, which is so sweet to watch.
Fans love the idea of Simone and Damon getting together at some point. From your perspective, what is the status of their dynamic in the second half of the season?
It's one of those relationships that is if I can't have you all the way, I'd rather have you in the way I can then not have you at all. They are in the space of honoring that which is difficult when you're not super mature or not aware of how to navigate your feelings. Sometimes that's not always a good choice. They are trying to figure out what it really means to just be there for each other and that's what we're going to see.
All American: Homecoming airs Mondays at 9pm ET on The CW.
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