Abbott Elementary Season 2 Episode 18 was a well-executed episode that provided plenty of laughs along with a more serious topic as fans got a deeper glimpse at Janine’s relationship with her sister.
I know that the whole point of a workplace comedy is that it takes place in the workplace—and it’s especially important for a series that serves as a reminder about the important work teachers do for the children—but for the sake of character development, it’s nice to see them outside of the classroom so that we can get a full picture of who they are, even Janine, who lives and breathes Abbott. As her sister said, the elementary school gig is her whole life.
As we praise teachers, it’s also nice to see that they don’t live at school—my younger self was convinced that they did.
We know that Janine and her sister, Ayesha, have a bit of a tense relationship, but we truly go down to the core of it when she visited and things escalated during game night.
Who knew that Jacob’s favorite game, Drought, would cause so much tension? And the poor guy didn’t even realize that everything blew up over some repressed feelings from childhood. Oh, Jacob.
The truth is that both Janine and Ayesha hold a lot of resentment for each other for various reasons—for leaving and for staying, for being the fun one and for being the perfect one, etc. They are polar opposites, so it makes sense that they had a hard time understanding each other and seeing eye-to-eye. Janine was hurt by Ayesha’s decision to leave and felt as though all the family problems were dumped on her to handle, meanwhile, Ayesha felt inadequate and as though she was disappointing everyone by not living up to the expectations Janine set, so she decided that leaving would be beneficial for everyone.
However, they found a way to understand where the other was coming from and salvage their relationship, even if Ayesha didn’t find any of Janine’s jokes funny much like the rest of her colleagues.
Game night was chaotic enough before Erika decided to grill Gregory about the teacher’s conference. Tyler James Williams continues to carry scenes with his facial expressions, and this reaction was top-notch. As one Twitter fan wrote, I love a messy friend.
“So i heard the teacher’s conference was fun.”
I LOVE A MESSY FRIEND #AbbottElementary pic.twitter.com/llgnvDu9KW
— raveen marie 🫶🏾 (@xoraveen) March 9, 2023
Everytime they talk about the teachers conference Gregory always looking like #abbottelementary pic.twitter.com/Vy3vg1rPbr
— Mihrimah| FS | Xanaxyra Targaryen🪬🤲 (@Mihrimah_FS) March 9, 2023
Back at school, the teachers all began turning on each other after Ava explained that the school district only sent two court-side tickets to a Philadelphia 76ers game. Claws came out—it was vicious. More vicious than the jokes about Gregory’s hat, which definitely gave park ranger meets Pharrell vibes.
Gregory coming to lounge like #abbottelementary pic.twitter.com/gmjtxdGi24
— Mihrimah| FS | Xanaxyra Targaryen🪬🤲 (@Mihrimah_FS) March 9, 2023
He felt so confident in his decision to try something new, so I hate that all the teachers ruined it for him, but there’s no denying that Mr. Johnson really just rocked it better than anyone. Also, Gregory took it in stride when they made fun of his hat, but the way he stood up when someone came for his cut. I truly wish we could’ve seen that play out. Here’s a clip because—gold.
THE WAY GREGORY GOT UP🥵 #AbbottElementary pic.twitter.com/dHlaRZ8e13
— Nel💫 (@mrsalexsmith___) March 9, 2023
It’s time to admit that Mr. Johnson truly is the star of the show. Not only did he score the highly coveted tickets and take his podiatrist with him to the game, but he then won an addition $1,000 and a $50 gift card to Buffalo Wild Wings. The look on Barb’s face was… well, let’s just say she might want to have a few words with Jesus about why she didn’t score a gift card. Also, let this be your reminder to give your child’s teacher a gift card to BWW—they clearly have enough lotion.
And while the teachers desperately wanted to be acknowledged in a more meaningful way by the school district during Teacher Appreciation Week (and who doesn’t want a raise? we know teachers deserve it!), they were eventually reminded why the week was so important—it was a reminder that the true magic lies within their colleagues and their students. It’s not much, but they really are a family that sticks together and goes above and beyond for each other, and it’s important not to lose sight of that.
While there were plenty of heartfelt moments—and comical ones from Ava, as well—you know things are going to be hitting the fan when she’s that concerned about a letter from the school district, informing her that the board is going to meet about making Abbott a legendary charter school. This is one battle those dedicated teachers will not stand to lose as their number one priority is the children.
Ava when she get the letter that Abbott was going to go charter #AbbottElementary pic.twitter.com/bMC4dM98X8
— Mihrimah| FS | Xanaxyra Targaryen🪬🤲 (@Mihrimah_FS) March 9, 2023
What did you think of the episode?