Even though I have been staying current with Abbott Elementary, it is mroe difficult to remember what happens across a season when I don’t have cable anymore. Sure, I could be tuning in weekly to Hulu, but that app is a real pain sometimes. Anyway, I have finally finished the whole fifth season and am ready to talk about what all went down.
Turns out, a lot! In all hoensty, I didn’t even really remeber what happened at the end of last year. But when I think back to it, there wasn’t really any multi-episode arc, just a lot of random stuff going down. I was a personal fan of the episode where Barbara takes the staff and students camping. As you can imagine, it was an hysterical mess. I also appreciate the episode where they try to ban phones for the whole day, including the teachers. Growing up without phones, I can’t really imagine what that would be like dealing with phones to distract kids from literally doing anything.
As the season went on, the school encountered some really bad damage to their furnace, which ended up making the school really dangerous to go to. In the interim, they are placed at an abandoned mall, which presents many hilarious challenges. And just when they are starting to get the hang of things they are finally able to go back. Initially they think they are going to miss their makeshift school, but soon realize nothing is quite like home. The chaos they show during that time is exactly how I imagine my elementary school would have been in the same situation. Heck, when I was in sixth grade we had classes in trailers for a short time before finally getting to attend the new middle school.
As part of the personal aspects of the show, no relationship is more central or as fleshed out as Janine and Gregory. Living their lives in their own apartments proves to be both a social and financial challenge for the both of them. Thinking it’d be too soon to move in together, they both finally come to the realization that they are actually ready for that step. The next major hurdle comes in trying to plan their first vacation together. The fight that ultimately breaks them is trying to decide if they should drive or fly. Janine has it right with flying, but the real issue stems with lessons she’d been taught by her mom in the past, as well as Gregory’s dad’s lessons. They both finally get the advice they need and work on compromising to an acceptable solution. It works this time around, but I could see it being an issue in the future for sure. Still, not rooting for them to make it would be the devil’s work, so obviously I was hoping they’d get to the bottom of it.
It sounds like the next season is already underway, so there is more Abbott to come! Tune in if you haven’t already for plenty of laughs and actually a lot of relatability.