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‘All American’ Leads Talk Jordan & Layla’s Future and KJ’s Love Triangle in Final Episodes

All American is closing out its final chapter, but there are still some romantic ups and downs in the episodes ahead for the show’s leading men. They know how to tackle on the field, but what about tackling matters of the heart when the going gets tough?

Jordan (Michael Evans Behling), who has evolved from the talented quarterback to following in his father’s footsteps as a high school coach, is now married to Layla Keating. Over the course of Season 8’s first episodes, he’s realized work-life balance isn’t as easy as it looks. Meanwhile, KJ (Nathaniel Logan McIntyre) is keeping an eye on his future in football while juggling his feelings for both Amina (Alexis Chikaeze) and Tori (Lauryn Hardy).

Jordan and Layla (Greta Onieogou), who are both dedicated to their careers, have hit a rough patch early on in their marriage. When Layla returns home after being away on tour, Jordan is in the thick of working on building a relationship with cousin Cassius (Osy Ikhile) and planning a joint Beverly-Crenshaw football showcase. In a sit-down interview with Swooon, Behling recognized that there’s been “a lot of misalignment” between Jordan and Layla. He made a joke about divorce, but he swiftly followed up with, “I’m kidding.” (Whew.)

As Jordan lives in full coach mode, Layla has been trying to get her husband to sit down, talk, and make plans. Behling noted that the final season will reveal “whether they figure it out or they don’t.” The actor acknowledged that Jordan needs to prioritize her personal life a bit better. “I’m like, ‘God, brother, just talk to her for 5 minutes,'” he quipped.

While marriage isn’t in the foreseeable future for KJ, the teen athlete has his fair share of emotional roller coasters when it comes to his love life. In the July 27 episode, viewers got a glimpse at what went down between KJ and Amina at Dinsberg.

Now that Amina is back, these two have been trying to figure out where they truly stand. “I feel like it’s kind of been brewing since Season 7, since they first met,” McIntyre told Swooon. “I think he maybe didn’t get the opportunity he wanted to last season, and the feelings kind of never went away, even with Tori in the picture, which is tough. It’s tough, but it’s real, and feelings are real.”

The episode’s flashback to Dinsberg also featured a memorable dance number for McIntyre and Chikaeze. “I would have never thought that being on a football show that I was going to end up dancing,” he said.

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McIntyre has a history with dance, having played young Simba in Broadway’s The Lion King and, more recently, Jackie Jackson in Michael. “It’s so funny because NK [Nkechi Okoro Carroll], she’s big on, if you have a talent, she will showcase that talent,” McIntyre said. We’d like to personally thank the showrunner for that dance number.

Season 8 continues to build to the series finale, which is set to air in September. All American has seamlessly introduced new characters over the course of its run, and both Behling and McIntyre believe the show could return in the future. “I love the way the story has found its ending here, but I mean, in the future, you never know,” Behling said. “There are hopeful dreamers who want to play football. So I mean, why not continue the story with a new generation?” Watch the full video above to get the inside scoop on All American’s relationships in the final season.

All American, Season 8, Mondays, 8/7, The CW