User Reviews

"Abbott Elementary" was on the Guardian's Top TV of 2022 list and whilst I was a bit nonplussed with the first few episodes, I thought it picked up pretty quickly and ended up enjoying the remainder. I was concerned that as this second run would up the number of episodes to 22 it might dilute the quality, but instead I think the show finds momentum in them and was again really good.

Janine (Quinta Brunson) splits from Tariq (Zack Fox) which causes her to struggle to pay her bills. The school continues to struggle financially too, and Melissa (Lisa Ann Walter) ends up with a mixed class of second and third grade children, which causes problems with attempting to teach both classes. Ava (Janelle James) comes under increasing pressure to actual undertake her job and even teach a class when Janine is off sick.

It's not exactly a revolution. "Abbott Elementary" is another in the list of generally quite gentle, warm comedies, that are popular at the moment. Even within that structure, and the documentary conceit, (boy do they all love a 'check this out' look down the lens) the show is genuinely funny, and I laughed quite a bit whilst watching it. The 'will they won't they' relationship between Janine and Gregory continues, as does a subplot about a former student, played by Leslie Odom Jr trying to convert the school to a charter school. Janine's family is rounded out a bit with Ayo Edebiri as her sister and Taraji P Henson as her damaged and mendacious mother.

The balance within the show of grounded characters and lunatics is just about right, with both Ava and Mr Johnson managing to take the show into unrealistic flights of fancy without derailing the whole endeavour.

I enjoyed it and am looking forward to season three.

The saga of Gregory and Janine and their whole "will they/won't they" situation has been a huge part of not just this season, but the entire show. This season was in many ways setting everything up for a finale that would definitely bring these two love birds head-to-head and give them the chance to start something that they want and the fans of the show want. It finally happened in this finale, and while it was satisfying, it definitely wasn't what we had expected. However, it still managed to end the season on a high and set up a lot of drama coming up.

The distinction between drama and comedy is always weird, because most of the time, the comedies are the shows that have the biggest dramas. The relationship between Janine and Gregory has been one of the show's big focal points since it started, and with this finale, it was finally time to address that, and while it certainly is addressed, it's done in a way that's still unexpected. And the show takes its time to get there, with a lot of bumps on the road put there to make the audience doubt if anything is even going to happen. Luckily, the entire trip is a lot of fun and it brings out all the funniest elements of each character. The dynamics between them are challenged but also utilized in unique ways, and it felt nice to see some real development happen between Gregory and Jacob, and not just having it there as a fun gag. It's nice to see all the characters and how they've developed over the course of the season, culminating in this finale that has a lot of cathartic moments, both for the characters and for the viewers. I also like the idea of the field trip being the big finale, because it allows the writers to end off the season with different gags that go beyond the school setting. The performances in this episode were stellar, with Quinta Brunson standing out as she usually does, really getting into the skin of Janine and displaying all her emotions bare on the screen.

"Franklin Institute" was a cathartic episode for a lot of reasons, even if the big culmination of Janine and Gregory's relationship didn't go as hoped. All the characters had their time to shine in this, and show how much they've grown as the season has progressed, making this an overall very satisfying season finale.