Something I lauded Abbott for last season was its ability to close the generational divide; this is one of my favorite parts about well-written sitcoms, as it serves as a great way to bring people together. Though tonight’s episode isn’t riotously funny, it’s good TV that I imagine I would’ve enjoyed watching every week with my parents growing up … even during my adolescence. This is a feat, considering the chasms between generations feel wider than ever as technology and culture seem to accelerate time, creating significant changes in how we experience the world. Discourse online contributes to this feeling of divide — the discourse is so riddled with generational signifiers like Gen Z, millennial, and boomer that these words have taken on a more nuanced meaning than simply designating the time period in which someone was born.
But with great nuance comes great comedy, and the Abbott writers often play with what it means to be of different generations without leaning into culture wars. Take this episode’s cold open; after looking around at students engrossed in their phone screens, Melissa, Barbara, and Ava (though she was just as consumed by her phone) wonder if kids these days have hand games as a way to interact and socialize in person. They reminisce, nostalgically reciting the words to Miss Mary Mack while doing the corresponding hand movements. Two little girls catch the women reenacting their childhood games and decide to share the modern version of hand-clapping games. Their game, however, features lyrics poking innocent fun at this new cohort of schoolgirls as they chant things like “Girls rule, boys drool, we use too much fossil fuel” and “Know the answer, raise your hand, we live on Native land,” prompting Melissa to order them back to their phones.
Though the cold open displayed the “kids these days” aspect of the generational divide, by no means are the adult characters old fogies. Even Barbara, often portrayed as a woman deeply stuck in her ways, uses the technology of the future to make her life a bit easier. It’s inevitable that ChatGPT and other uses of artificial intelligence for plagiarism would sneak their way into an Abbott story line — but it’s not the students who get in trouble for using the program. Jacob breeches the subject of AI as a plagiarism tool to his classroom, walking them through the technology he enlists to determine who used it on their assignments. He uses a Robert Frost (or should I say “Bobby Frost”) poem, a student’s paper, and one of Barbara’s email replies to his weekly newsletter as an example. When Jacob runs Barbara’s email through the plagiarism checker, the program informs him that AI wrote 99 percent of her words. He then checks Melissa’s replies to find out that a robot crafted 100 percent of her words.
Infuriated, Jacob confronts his co-workers, calling them “decepticons.” Melissa spills to the cameras, admitting Ava showed them how to use AI to reply to his obnoxious newsletters. She cheekily claims it was a way to learn the software and stay on their toes as Barbara stands beside her with that smug church-lady smile. They try to get back into Jacob’s good graces by desperately inquiring for more information about AMC’s movie membership that he’s always recommending (it is a good deal, and his grandstanding about it/Nicole Kidman is hilariously Jacob-coded). It doesn’t work, so they try to get him to understand that they used AI out of love. Melissa adds that what they did was nicer than saying, “Your emails are superlong and boring, add zero value to our lives, and please stop sending them.” They agree to stop using AI for their responses, but Mr. Johnson inadvertently highlights Jacob’s hypocrisy.
Apparently, Jacob hasn’t even responded to Mr. Johnson’s latest newsletter on spring cleaning yet, a fact Mr. Johnson accosts him about, saying he expects at least three paragraphs of commentary for every paragraph in the newsletter. Jacob scrambles, believing the newsletter must be boring, and uses AI to reply, with his only authentic contribution being a joke about spring-cleaning Mr. Johnson’s bald head and making it gleam like a mirror. Melissa and Barbara are appalled by Jacob’s actions and defend their genuine, non-AI-assisted replies to Mr. Johnson. To be fair, Mr. Johnson only distributes his newsletters quarterly, and, according to Barbara, they contain “delightful anecdotes and musings.” Once Jacob finally reads it, he admits to the newsletter being breathtaking (it traces the history of spring cleaning back to Iran and ends with the thought-provoking question “Are any of us clean?”) and apologizes for writing it off as trite. He also apologizes to Barbara and Melissa, promising to cut back on the frequent emails, and successfully restores harmony.
When Alex, one of the students in Janine’s substitute-ran classroom, stops showing up for school, Gregory discovers that Alex’s grandmother’s old-school way of thinking could unintentionally be detrimental to her grandson’s education. Gregory learns of Alex’s abundant absences from Janine’s substitute and becomes immediately suspicious, as he knows Alex as an engaged student who loves school. He brings the issue to the school office, where he finds out that if Alex misses more school, he risks going to truancy court and potentially being held back by the district. Since the school sends automated messages for absences, and there’s no way of telling if Alex’s guardian received them, Gregory calls himself, speaking to Alex’s elderly grandma. The woman can barely hear him over The Price Is Right blasting from her television, but she insists Alex is safe and sound watching the show without understanding the urgency of the matter. She says Alex doesn’t want to go to school because he misses Janine, so she won’t force him despite living directly across the street from Abbott.
Naturally, Gregory enlists Janine’s help, though she’s dealing with the growing pains that accompany being part of the generation newly navigating adulthood. She’s shining so bright at her fellowship that the superintendent offers her a full-time job at the district once it’s over. At first, Janine is excited, taking the position after deep consideration and calling for an emergency meeting at Abbott to make the announcement. However, doubt begins to cloud her decision once she becomes embroiled in the situation with Alex. Janine and Gregory decide to pull up at Alex’s house in person, a decision they both know is inappropriate, so they attempt to do it as stealthily and detached as possible, vowing that under no circumstances will they enter the house. This promise goes out the window quickly; they speak to Alex’s grandma on the porch, quickly finding out they won’t get far with her alone.
Alex’s grandma is from a generation that didn’t take schooling as seriously as we do now. She says letting him stay home and watch television isn’t hurting anyone, and “back in her day” they came to school when they could. She then uses the age-old excuse for minimizing mistakes of the past: “We all turned out just fine!” To her, there’s no point in making Alex go somewhere he hates. Gregory is ready to admit defeat, but Janine sees a melancholy Alex slumped before the TV, and, against her better judgment, she goes inside to talk to him directly, Gregory trailing behind her. Alex says if Ms. Teagues doesn’t have to go to school, he doesn’t have to, either. Gregory, who wasn’t present for Janine’s announcement, tries to persuade him, promising Janine’s imminent return. Janine breaks the news to Gregory right then and there, and Gregory offers a hesitant “Congrats?” as I assume his heart breaks into a million pieces.
Janine won’t let her new job keep Alex from attending school, so she switches tactics. Gregory follows her lead, and together, they remind him that the only way he can be a good contestant on The Price Is Right (which was Alex’s answer to what he wants to be when he grows up) is to know math, communication skills, critical thinking, and “take P.E. to spin the big wheel,” all things he needs to learn in school. This tactic is enough to bring Alex back to class, marking yet another win for Gregory and Janine, and they coquettishly note to each other how good of a team they make. Gregory tasks his Garden Goofballs (who are a highlight of the episode) with staying on top of Alex’s attendance. But the weight of Janine’s departure looms over the two, and when she gets her paperwork for the new job, she requests a day to get back to the district, foreshadowing a possible change of heart.
Teacher’s Notes
• There was a very special guest star tonight! Ms. JaBria Mccullum of viral social-media fame — you might remember her from those adorable “Are You Smart?” TikToks — made her Abbott Elementary debut as one of Gregory’s students. She did a great job (fantastic comedic timing with swallowing her loose tooth), and I cannot wait to see what the future holds for this little star.
• Ava’s process for selecting Janine’s replacement was perfect. Since she eliminated anyone under five-fee-five, is an “always prompt go-getter,” or owns a jelly-bean belt (LOL), Ava ends up with her mini-me, whom I hope to see more of.
• Another lyric from the new hand game that sounds like it was written by Mr. Johnson: “Don’t call me sir, don’t call me miss; aliens do exist.”
• Jacob: “Do you know how hurtful it is to know that instead of talking to some of my closest companions, I’ve been talking to WALL-E for the past few months?”
• Ava to Janine’s replacement: “Imma save so much money from the chiropractor from not having to look down at you.”
