Review: Abbott Elementary, “Aide” | Season 5, Episode 14

Hey, remember when Abbott Elementary started this season with the reveal that Janine had 40 students in her classroom this year? Well, it may have taken 14 episodes, but Abbott finally does too! I don’t know if that’s because the writers finally thought to look back on their earlier scripts or if they were just saving up the budget for one of the most kid-heavy episodes of the season, but it’s nice to see that sense of continuity return to the series here. It also helps that the episode brings back Keyla Monterroso Mejia’s goofy teaching aide Ashley Garcia—a memorable presence from season two who hasn’t been seen since.

In fact, I was kind of shocked to dive into the Abbott fan wiki and discover that Ashley only appeared in four episodes in season two, back when she was hired to help Melissa with her combined second/third grade class. I had remembered her as way more of a recurring player, which probably speaks to how good and weird Mejia is in the role. (Or how memorable her WandaVision-off with Melissa was.) That’s exactly the quality that makes a sitcom character worth bringing back all these years later.

The “joke” of Ashley is kind of hard to pin down. It’s partially that she’s enthusiastic and partially that she’s an idiot, but there’s a secret sauce of guileless zaniness and unhinged self-belief in the mix too. Abbott is full of characters who tend to overthink or overanalyze; translating their inner thoughts into wordy monologues, even when they’re totally in the wrong. But Ashley is all action, no overthinking. It’s almost like she doesn’t have an inner monologue: she just says whatever comes to mind, and that’s a really fun comedic energy to mix up the show.