All American Brings Spencer and Olivia to a Tragic Impasse in the Season 5 Premiere

[Warning: The following contains spoilers from the Season 5 premiere of All American. Read at your own risk!] 

It was a bit of a downer Christmas in the All American Season 5 premiere. A party at the beach house tried to raise everyone's spirits, but there was no escaping the fact that there are still some unresolved feelings between Jordan (Michael Evans Behling) and Simone (Geffri Maya) — despite the fact that Jordan is clearly already moving on with Layla (Greta Onieogou). That wasn't helped by the fact that Golden Angeles University and Coastal California are expected to face off in a big game, and while preparing, Asher (Cody Christian) revealed to Olivia (Samantha Logan) how players facing GAU keep mysteriously getting injured. 

When Liv later reviewed game tapes, she discovered Coach Garrett's secret: He has been paying off his players to purposefully injure players on the opposite team. Pursuing the story will have devastating consequences for the GAU team, including her brother and boyfriend, who just earned starting spots. Spencer (Daniel Ezra) removed one of those obstacles for Olivia by breaking up with her in the season premiere to allow her to pursue her dream without having to worry about how it would affect him. Despite the fact that the two feel so much for each other, and that it took them multiple seasons to find their way to each other in the first place, they are going to continue through Season 5 on separate paths.

TV Guide spoke to All American showrunner Nkechi Okoro Carroll about the decision to break up Spencer and Olivia and what's in store for the rest of the vortex in the upcoming season. 

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Why did you need to break up Spencer and Olivia? It took so long to get them together in the first place. 
Nkechi Okoro Carroll: Clearly something wasn't working. They went from zero to sixty so quickly. They went from trying to be better to being a married couple. They're maturing into adulthood and weren't giving each other a chance to grow together. Spencer is someone who would never, ever hold someone back from their dream, and it was so clear that Olivia had found her passion. She couldn't enjoy and live in the joy, because it kept conflicting with Spencer and his dream. Neither of them [are] wrong, it was just an impasse. The healthiest thing would be to fall back now. Do not get me wrong, they did not fall out of love with each other, which almost makes it the most heartbreaking breakup because they still love each other very much. It's just that right now being together is too hard. That's just the reality of relationships, and they are all holding out hope. 

What do they need to learn in this time apart? 
Caroll: They have to learn not to lose themselves in each other while becoming partners. This first go-round, their love was so consuming that they both were making sacrifices for each other that were dangerous for them to make at this stage in their lives. 

We also have Jordan and Layla, who are very clearly into each other. What is holding Layla back from being in this relationship?
Caroll: We call them the vortex for a reason…Layla is in this new phase in life where she is probably the most grown-up and healthiest. We've seen Layla in terms of her battle with mental health issues, her close call with Carrie and all that stuff, building up walls and feeling like she couldn't trust people. Now she is in this amazing, healthy place where all the things are working right. Her therapy works and all of that. She's trying to be more cautious and make a conscious decision so she doesn't dive headfirst into anything she wants without thinking about the consequences.

She does have strong feelings for Jordan. There's such a real chemistry there, but she's also dated a couple of his friends. Yes, other people in the vortex have also dated each other…and maybe they don't get as much flack. Layla is just trying to be cautious and make sure she's considering all of the angles before she does anything. 

On the maturity front, Jordan is being a lot more cautious of his hand injury than he was with his concussion. What is the cause for that? 
Caroll: They've all grown up. They've all matured and grown and learned some lessons. Spencer is learning not to be everyone's savior and everyone's superhero. We're seeing Olivia learn to not always put everyone first. Jordan is being more cautious and more think first and act second, so unlike what he was in high school…You're seeing the effects and benefits of transitioning from high school teens to college young adults and how they have benefited from the lessons they learned in high school. We're going to see them encounter new and more challenging obstacles that they never would have encountered in high school. 

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There was a lot of tension in the beach house last season with Jordan and Spencer being on a rival team of Asher and J.J. Have they figured out that balance, or will that continue to be a source of tension? 
Carroll: They figured out how to sort of separate church and state. They figured out what's most important in terms of their friendship and their love for each other in the practice of vortex as a family. From that perspective, with things that are coming up with the Golden Angeles football team and the consequences of what Coach Garrett is doing, Spencer and Jordan are going to need all the support that they can get. They really do find it from Asher, who as a former football player and now a student football coach, understands the consequences of what's happening to them and what that potential loss could be. Those are the moments where the vortex works best. These guys know how to really step up and be there for each other. 

Now, there are still dynamics that will play out in the beach house. A lot of that is going to have to deal with the fact that Asher, who is J.J.'s best friend in the world, is now an authority figure over him as his coach. Both of them have very different definitions of what off-season looks like, and that is actually going to cause some increased tension between the two of them and how the Coastal program is evolving. It's one thing when you know your coach is someone at school that you may not agree with and then you go home and complain about them. It's a whole other thing when that coach is your best friend and you live in the same house. 

How would you describe the theme of the season? 
Carroll: The theme of the season is rising from the ashes. There are going to be a lot of storylines that the vortex go through together and provide obstacles that they really have to overcome. We're going to see this season, more than any other season, the super, super highs and the super lows, and the thing that remains constant through all of that is their ability to rise above and help each other rise above.

All American continues Mondays at 8/7c on The CW.