Review: Abbott Elementary, “Back to School” | Season 4, Episode 1

Welcome back to our coverage of ABC sitcom Abbott Elementary, which returns for its fourth season. As before, these reviews will go up in time to the arrival on Hulu on Thursdays, and if you want to read LaToya Ferguson’s reviews of the rest of the season and join the conversation, become a paid subscriber today.

For all of Abbott Elementary’s strengths in its storytelling, one place where it’s struggled is in its execution of major season-long stories. Part of that problem stems from the fact that a lot of the issues facing the school and these characters are systemic; there might be a face in the form of an uncaring authority figure or what-have-you, but that character would only even be a small part of a much larger and wider-ranging problem. In the second season, this issue caused the Legendary Charter School storyline to end on somewhat of a flat note, as its otherwise consistent depiction as a major threat to Abbott and its teachers’ futures was ultimately squashed in a relatively anti-climactic manner.

Another part of that problem is also the general fact that the series’ status as a network sitcom means staying within—or at least eventually returning to—a very specific status quo (at least until the series is finally ready to end, that is). The status quo situation was, of course, a big aspect of last season’s Janine and the district story. Throughout that season, I argued that there was an interesting (and refreshing) story to be told in having Janine work at the district and adjust to that new, bureaucratic world. But ultimately, the show is Abbott Elementary and not Philly Public (as catchy as that is), and the status quo was always due to come back around, even as the show actually managed to find a way to balance Janine’s district duties with her still having a presence at Abbott. The bigger issue, really, was how the show decided to have Janine decide to return to Abbott, which led to the downer episode “Alex” and the end of another major storyline with a whimper.¹

Sticking the landing is honestly difficult for any show, but in the case of Abbott Elementary, any sense of disappointment in these cases comes from the writing staff landing on such interesting (and true to this world of education) premises and then ending them anti-climactically or on a narrative low, after previously paving the way for narrative (and comedic) highs. (Never forget that the district storyline gave us “Panel,” with Janine’s amazing CPR recertification moment and the introduction of Tatyana Ali as Crystal, an excellent foil for Ava.) None of this is to say that perhaps Abbott Elementary shouldn’t attempt bigger stories that have implications far outside the hallways of Abbott. It’s just to acknowledge that for a sitcom as good as Abbott Elementary, hopefully it can stick the landing in a way befitting of a show that clearly has loftier writing goals that “just” the status quo.

Which is why it’s okay to feel cautiously optimistic about the new threat of gentrification that “Back to School” introduces, in the form of construction on a high-end golf course. Not only does this story provide a situation that’s arguably far more black and white (for both the audience and these characters) than the charter school threat or Janine being torn between Abbott and the district, but it also provides a presence can easily seep into just about everything around these characters’ worlds, even when it’s not the focal point of an episode. As a more central element of this episode, we’re given a quick glimpse into how this is all affecting life at Abbott: a white student, traffic getting to school, and gas and water being shut off, all in just a short span. So once again, the major season concept is one that provides an interesting shake-up to the dynamic of Abbott Elementary, albeit one that may not be as sudden or in-your-face as previous ones. While it’s fun to see the teachers “taking bribes” and getting a win for Abbott at the end of this episode, it’s no doubt a temporary win for these characters—unless they can beat gentrification with the power of another AVA Fest, I suppose.

Plus, this story allows the show to finally respond to those bad-faith comments asking why you never see any white students at this West Philly public school. Now we do. There’s one, he’s not a ghost, and he’s the product of gentrifiers. It’s a hilarious cold open to an episode that ends up also being quite the strong return.

Of course, the return of Abbott Elementary also means addressing the situation of Janine and Gregory’s situationship (not to be confused with Gregory and Ava’s situationship). After a season of forced obstacles in these characters’ will-they-won’t-they dynamic, things landed on “they will” for Janine/Gregory in the final moments of “The Party.” So now in “Back to School,” the two remain happy and strong, now as a couple, but the conflict remains in the form of Gregory starting to believe Janine’s not that into him (as she’s doing everything she can to avoid telling anyone, including H.R., about their relationship). It’s hard not to hear Maurice’s words about Janine being “selfish” on repeat considering her behavior in this episode, but to speak in terms of sticking the landing again, Janine explaining her feelings and thought process to Gregory (about her being scared of things not working out) allows things to go down far more smoothly. Sure, the H.R. part of it all—particularly any of Janine and Gregory’s residual fears about that, as introduced near the end of last season—is still nonsensical, but at least the episode acknowledges that to wrap up the plot so the show can move on.

The rest of the episode mines a lot of humor from reactions, whether to Janine/Gregory’s terrible inability to hide their relationship from their peers or the inconveniences created by the golf course construction. (This includes quick reactions, like Ava’s to Melissa and company “taking bribes” and Melissa to Mr. Johnson’s binder of “PROOF,” which are just perfect.) While not being an episode where the whole ensemble gets something substantial to work with in their plots—as the focus on the Janine/Gregory kiss aftermath understandably takes the driver’s seat, and the construction plot serves to set up a larger piece of the season—“Back to School” is a pretty refreshing and fun return to the world of Abbott Elementary and its characters. While the series promises to have a crossover episode and has taken to going to the well of Philly celebrity cameos, Abbott Elementary is still at its best when it’s just itself with no frills. And “Back to School” is an episode that’s simply and completely Abbott Elementary.

Stray observations

• Janine: “So, aside from Jacob, nobody knows.”
  Gregory: “Nobody.”
  Barbara/Ava/Melissa: “We all know.” To be fair, Mr. Johnson also thinks he knows… that Janine and Gregory are selling drugs.
• Barbara: “The water pressure is lower than Gerald’s iron.”
  Ava: “Now who the hell is Gerald?” Honestly? That’s how I often feel when Barbara mentions Gerald.
• Warren: “Janine—it’s so good to see you, after wasting our time at the district. I told Superintendent Reynolds you didn’t have what it takes to be a district diva.” In “2 Ava 2 Fest,” I described Warren as “the opinionated H.R. employee who is not a fan of Janine,” and thankfully, he was able to continue on not liking Janine here. Unlike Janine’s Abbott brethren, Warren and his district cohorts are familiar with alpha menace Janine… and Warren was, again, not a fan.
• The podcast club has now become Abbott’s home for hard-hitting investigative journalism. You love to see it.
• Barbara: “We got a white child now. You wanna get his parents involved?”
• While Warren doesn’t take Jacob and Mr. Morton’s H.R. complaints about each other seriously, he definitely does when it comes to Mr. Johnson’s complaints about Melissa (same with Ava). Now that we have the proof that Melissa is obsessed with Mr. Johnson, I can’t believe we didn’t see it sooner.