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? 

Abbott Elementary always knows exactly how to touch on serious topics affecting teachers while adding a dash of much-needed humor. 

And that was the case with Abbott Elementary Season 2 Episode 9, which found Janine taking a sick day after she ate a tuna sandwich that was left out and heated up by the sun, er, “nature’s microwave.” 

Jacob warned Janine not to eat the sandwich, reminding her of the time he got food poisoning in Zimbabwe, but she didn’t listen, and she suffered the dire consequences—food poisoning and her first-ever sick day.

Of course, it happened at a time when the educational system is going through a substitute/teacher shortage, a memo (which stands for memorization, in case you didn’t know) that Ava conveniently overlooked. Despite her best efforts, she wasn’t able to track down a sub for Janine’s class and was forced to take it on by herself, which, as you can imagine, was a disaster in the making.

Ava rarely takes anything seriously, but this time, she was finally called out on it in a way that she couldn’t ignore—by fine Gregory. He insisted that Ava follow Janine’s sick day binder to a tee, noting that they work hard on the curriculum and that the students need structure in order to function. Deviating from the way things are on done on a daily basis sets the kids up for failure. After Gregory’s pep talk, Ava took her responsibilities as a sub in a slightly more serious way, making sure to write the date on the chalkboard, reading a book during story time, and finding a way to print out the sheets for their weekly spelling test. 

Of course, when all was said and done, she said it was easy and didn’t understand why the teachers “whine” so much, but in reality, it was a huge wake-up call for Ava. So much so that she even ordered more printer paper, which wouldn’t be necessary if she didn’t use it all up for her pyramid scheme fliers, but I digress. The point is, Ava acknowledged that not everyone is cut out to be a teacher; it takes a special person who wants to dedicate all their time and love to help children flourish.

Her pyramid scheme of selling eye masks also backfired as all of her customers reported getting freezer burn, which surely wasn’t a user error. When she realized how much backlash she was getting, she immediately closed up shop. Unfortunately, Jacob didn’t get the memo when he treated himself to one of the masks… and suffered the consequences. 

There was a subplot involving Melissa and Barbara relishing in the silence in the teacher’s lounge upon Janine’s absence, and when another co-worker, Tasha arrived and made it clear that she wasn’t the kind of person who enjoys Janine’s peppy personality, they all bonded. I’ll admit, the storyline was a little cold-hearted as Janine genuinely loves and looks up to her colleagues, particularly Barbara. Their comments and complaints about her were a little mean-spirited, even if they were blowing off some steam. If it wasn’t for Jacob and Gregory, but particularly Jacob, no one would have stood up and defended Janine, when the reality is, she’s the kind of person that helps Abbott Elementary function. She’s a dialogue starter, and not to mention the person who will “fix” anything that’s broken. Does it backfire sometimes? Yes, but they’re all better off because of her presence. 

Jacob is a truly great friend for sticking up for Janine, as for Gregory, well, his love for her is undeniable. He checked in on her through texts, he made sure her class was running smoothly, and he even brought her electrolytes the following day to make sure she stayed hydrated. If that’s not love, I don’t know what is. 

What did you think of the episode? And are you excited about the holiday special? 

It’s Halloween at Abbott Elementary!

One of the best things about the spooky holiday—aside from trick-or-treating—has always been the Halloween parties at school.

So it was only natural and fitting that the ABC sitcom would take on its first-ever Halloween episode in 2022! 

And you know that with teachers like Janine, Gregory, Melissa, Barbara, and Jacob, it’s not going to disappoint.

I mean, just look at principal Ava’s costume… she went all out. 

Check out the photos and synopsis for “Candy Zombies” airing on Wednesday, Oct. 26, below!

Synopsis: It’s Halloween at Abbott Elementary! When a student steals a bag of candy meant to be given out to the kids at the end of the day and starts distributing it during school hours, the teachers band together to find the culprit. Meanwhile, Janine is invited to a Halloween party by an old friend and starts to reconsider her personal life.

ABBOTT ELEMENTARY  (ABC/Gilles Mingasson)
TYLER JAMES WILLIAMS, QUINTA BRUNSON

ABBOTT ELEMENTARY – (ABC/Gilles Mingasson)
SHERYL LEE RALPH, KEYLA MONTERROSO MEJIA, LISA ANN WALTER, QUINTA BRUNSON, TYLER JAMES WILLIAMS, WILLIAM STANFORD DAVIS

ABBOTT ELEMENTARY – (ABC/Gilles Mingasson)
WILLIAM STANFORD DAVIS

ABBOTT ELEMENTARY – . (ABC/Gilles Mingasson)
TYLER JAMES WILLIAMS, CHRIS PERFETTI

ABBOTT ELEMENTARY –  (ABC/Gilles Mingasson)
JANELLE JAMES

ABBOTT ELEMENTARY –  (ABC/Gilles Mingasson)
LISA ANN WALTER