Review: Abbott Elementary, “Rally” & “Please Touch Museum” | Season 4, Episodes 21 & 22

And so ends another season of Abbott Elementary. Not quite the banger of a season that it had the potential to be at the start, but for the most part, the season avoided being or becoming a mess. (Plus, the biggest risk of the season—the crossover with It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia—paid off.) As expected, en route to ending the season, Ava got her job back as principal and the status quo at Abbott was restored. But while neither “Rally” nor the season finale “Please Touch Museum” take any big swings to end the season, there still manages to be a sense of the series working to move forward, at least in a character sense.

“Rally”

With Janine making it her mission to get Ava her job back, one would assume that she’d have had a multi-pronged and tired plan to do so at the ready. So the shocking part in this episode isn’t that Ava once again becomes Principal Ava—as the only shock in this story would’ve been that not happening—but how woefully unprepared Janine (as well as the rest of the Abbott Crew) is when going in front of the the disciplinary board to plead their case. Even the bit of Jacob watching four seasons of Law & Order to prepare (one of those little moments that instantly puts Jacob on my good side) is fumbled/bungled by Jacob apparently still not watching enough Law & Order to at least nail the faux legal jargon at any point during the meeting, instead freezing up. (Maybe he should’ve watched some David E. Kelley shows instead. Even Boston Public—also a show about a public school—could’ve helped Jacob more with his legal strategy, as it was also a show Kelley found a way to make a legal drama, without being a legal drama.) As presented, apparently the quest to get Ava’s job back begins with the characters just trying to wing it, despite having episodes to prepare for this moment.

The rest of the episode is just the countdown to Ava getting her job back. It’s Abbott Elementary 101, with everyone coming together to push back against the Big Bad in the form of the school board/school district/public education system as a whole. Considering how much the Abbott crew bungles up the plea to save Ava’s job in the first place (complete with getting additional suspensions), it’s for the best that the day is not saved by Janine and company but instead a combination of outsiders. The students’ protest not saving the day is the small dose of realism the show throws the audience’s way before the Faux-vengers assembling that takes place with the PTA (led by Tariq and Krystal, both ready to throw hands at the district, figuratively and literally), B.L.A.C.K.S. (who appreciate the Abbott has become an “unpredictable music venue” under Ava’s leadership), local businessowners (led by Ava’s dad, whose name is Frank and not just “Keith David”), “white savior” Miles, and fellow prinicipals (led by Crystal, helping out her soror with the “boar-ord”) all coming out to support Ava being reinstated and teachers being unsuspended. Of course, the disciplinary board doesn’t undo these things out of the goodness of their hearts or because they’re truly moved by any of this. Instead, also true to Abbott Elementary, they do it to save face.

But when I mention that sense of moving forward in the series, in the case of “Rally,” I’m specifically talking about the moment where Gregory realizes/remembers why he wanted to be principal in the first place. In the first season, Gregory’s desire to be principal—despite his own lack of experience in education and essential role as an outsider in this entire world—didn’t track as something he actually deserved. Sure, as the rigid, buttoned down alternative to Ava, maybe he would’ve made a better principal, but it wasn’t actually presented as a case of Gregory being a qualified option for the role, either. Now, having that experience as a teacher at Abbott, while this interim principal position hasn’t exactly been a walk in the park for Gregory (thanks in large part to Dia) it makes sense for that desire to be ignited—and for it to be something Gregory can and should pursue in the future of this series. Plus, now that Gregory knows how much principal pays, how can he possibly be satisfied going back to teaching (and gig work)? Even if it remains back of mind next season, it’s something that gives the character a new (or at least, reinvigorated) drive, outside of his relationship with Janine.

“Please Touch Museum”

As for the Janine/Gregory of it all, as the first season with the characters as an official couple Abbott Elementary deserves points for not hitting the gas on the relationship drama. For reasons discussed throughout the course of these reviews, not every milestone moment the show created for Janine/Gregory hit exactly the way the show wanted them to, but the show didn’t actively tamper with the dynamic the way it seemed to do in the third season.

“Please Touch Museum” is a perfect example of that truth, as there’s definitely a world in which the episode stretches out Janine trying to change herself to be perfect for Gregory’s father, Martin (Orlando Jones). That this episode nips that in the bud rather quickly is a relief, especially as the far more interesting story is the one it tells, in which Martin reveals a side of himself he never did with Gregory. While Gregory’s “Eddie-bot” nature is obviously one that colors his entire existence as a character, interestingly enough—at this point, at least—it hasn’t hindered or served as a true conflict in his romantic relationship with Janine. (In the time before they got together, of course it did.) As Martin reveals to Gregory that Janine reminds him a lot of his late wife/Gregory’s mother and brings up the “Relax, Eddie” of it all, it comes with the unspoken acknowledgment that Janine’s already had that effect on Gregory herself. In a scenario where relationship drama could’ve easily taken the wheel, “Please Touch Museum” instead leaves things with a happy and healthy Janine/Gregory (as well as a happy and healthy Ava/O’Shon, for those keeping track of that relationship’s growth).

Abbott Elementary’s end-of-the-season school field trips are an established part of the series, but one major criticism about them is that they don’t quite feel like they’re planned for all-ages—that they’re instead geared toward the younger students, as opposed to the older students (as Abbott, of course, is a K-8 school). “Please Touch Museum” has the writers finally addressing that aspect of the show, but that acknowledgment doesn’t quite change the general issue with the situation. Some readers have noted before that the student characters (especially the older ones) should probably be meaner than they are. I’ve never agreed with that assessment more than when they’re working on the play and them telling Jacob “this place doesn’t suck.” As much fun as they all had working on the play and watching it be performed, I don’t really think that changes any of the “this is for babies” nature of the Please Touch Museum in the first place.

With Jacob as the only regular character who teachers the older students (and Mr. Morton being the other notable character in that area), there’s very rarely an emphasis on those student characters as opposed to the younger ones. Gregory’s Garden Goofballs club (and the podcast club) also allows interactions with those students, but they’re not the biggest priority of the show when it comes to the students. This is why the farewell speech from all of the teachers—a moment that, otherwise, actually reads like these characters actually participating in a documentary for once—rings somewhat false and comes across a bit hollow. Of course, the punchline to that earnest moment makes it a bit better, as all the adults (sans Janine, the closest to being an student, at least in stature) are nauseous after riding the carousel with those students.

“Please Touch Museum” isn’t a big season finale, but it’s a solid one that keeps everything on the rails and doesn’t try to bring in drama where it really doesn’t need to be. It’s a satisfactory wrap-up to a season that has placed its characters all in a pretty satisfactory position, both professionally and personally. Even when Abbott wins, it still ends up sort of losing—as getting Ava her job back seemingly doesn’t bring back the bribery goods or any of the funding Abbott was supposed to get from the district—but the characters are still working hard to keep Abbott going. And that’s enough.

Stray observations

• Oh, by the way: and so ends my time covering Abbott Elementary. I’d been thinking about it for a minute, but I feel like now is the time. See ya in the comments.
• Jacob: “Whoo! I am vibrating with adrenaline. Is this what it feels like to play a team sport?”
  Ava: “Y’all are so embarrassing. … Thank you.” These are two good episodes to end on in terms of genuine (as genuine as she can get, that is) Ava. With this fired Ava arc, despite the natural conclusion, it’s truly been a refreshing balance in terms of Ava being Ava while still very clearly being appreciative of everyone’s work and contributions in getting her reinstated. And then in the finale, after the very bumpy road that was their first date, there’s not really that much of a hurdle when it comes to her finally telling O’Shon the truth about the terrible earrings he got her. The wrap-up of the two of them wanting to keep each other around “long-term” is a sweet way to cap things off—along with Ava later trying to front that she and O’Shon weren’t as “weak” as everyone else on the carousel.
• Jacob: “You know, this never would’ve happened if we were a charter school. They’re allowed to solicit donations all they want.”
  Janine: “Oh my god. Jacob, you beautiful genius. That’s it. We become a charter school—just for a little bit — and then we change back.” This exchange truly made me believe that when the writers’ room was breaking the Legendary Charter Schools story, there was a pitch for Abbott to just go through with the change—then change back. I assume being a charter school for “just a little bit” then changing back, however, is even harder than making an online account though, thus the show not going through with that story beat at the time.
• Melissa (re: the Schemmenti Diversion): “First, we get [Mr. Johnson] into a clown wig.” Seriously, the woman is obsessed with this man. And Mr. Johnson is both a stalker and a shark killer, so he is not a catch.
• Elizabeth Washington (to the students): “Okay, I hear you, I see you, and I respect you. But please do not walk out and make this the worst day of my job.” I’m not saying anything new here, but June-Diane Raphael truly remains the master of playing faux sincere windbags.
• Mr. Morton (voice breaking): “Ava and these teachers are my closest friends.”
  Barbara: “Oh, not this again.”
  Mr. Morton: “I love them, and they challenge me to be better every day.”
  Ava: “Really? Morton is the ace up your sleeve? Knew I should’ve went to the club.”
• There was still never any actual confirmation that Crystal was the snitch, right? That’s still the assumption everyone has, but considering there’s no push to get Crystal to make up for that by coming to Ava (and Abbott’s) aid, I still feel like she didn’t actually snitch. Or, at least, someone snitched before she could. (And I feel like it was Tariq. Accidentally, but still… Definitely.)
• I honestly was wondering what the crackdown from the district meant for the golf club, so it’s at least nice to see Interim Prinicipal Eddie make that deal with Miles before Ava returned to her post.
• Ava: “Well, you sure have a lot of time to keep popping up at this school.”
  Frank: “I’m just happy to see you got a second chance.”
  Ava: “Yeah, but see, I got a second chance because I was actually good at my first chance.”
  Frank: “Fair enough. I hope you know that… I’m proud of you. Even if I wasn’t always there.”
  Ava: “Thank you.”
  Frank: “I’m around if you need anything.”
  Ava: “What, for, like, a haircut? Can you do a bob?”
  Frank: “No.” Keith David’s delivery of “No.” is something I couldn’t capture typing that out, but it’s great.
• The show honestly did do a good job of keeping Janine and Martin away from each other until they had to meet as Gregory’s girlfriend meeting Gregory’s father for the first time.
• Barbara (re: the older students’ play): “That was mostly very sweet.”
  Jacob: “I think it was technically bullying.”
  Barbara: “Yeah.”
  Melissa: “These kids are lucky they’re about to graduate.” I’ve just got to say: It really is amazing how bad Melissa’s impressions are.