Review: Abbott Elementary, “Candygrams” | Season 5, Episode 13

I don’t know the workflow of the Abbott Elementary writers’ room, but “Candygrams” has the delightful feeling of an episode where the writers paused, looked back on the threads they set up at the start of the season, and finally decided to start paying them off. Gregory and Janine getting more serious in their relationship? Check. The weird tension in Ava and O’Shon’s relationship? Check. Tariq reentering Janine’s life as the step-parent of one of her students? Check. The culture shock of Melissa’s move to middle school? Double check. Even that weird detour to game night at Gregory’s apartment makes more sense now that we know it was setting up the logistics of what moving in with Janine might look like.

Where a lot of this season has felt like it’s moving in fits and starts, “Candygrams” has a real sense of focus that long-running workplace sitcoms can sometimes lose in their later seasons. And that comes from a structure I’m calling “a relationship sandwich.” In our A-plot, Janine and Gregory grapple with what it would mean to move into her apartment together. In our C-plot, Ava and O’Shon work through their latest trust issue. But our B-plot keeps things firmly rooted in the realities of being a teacher, as Melissa tries to help a “bag of rocks” kid she thinks doesn’t have anyone to send him a treat on Valentine’s Day.