What I’m Watching: Abbott Elementary

Abbott Elementary: Season 2, Episode 21 “Mom” (B+)

Janine’s mom just showing up all of a sudden at the school was quite jarring, and everyone seemed relatively rattled by the experience. Taraji P. Henson was a fun choice to play Vanetta, someone who was much more like Ava than anyone else at Abbott and who was all about manipulating Janine into feeling like she should give up the money she had painstakingly saved for her “girl trip.” It was great to see Barbara swoop in and offer to give Vanetta the money so that she wouldn’t continue pressing Janine, and I’m glad that it didn’t turn into a moment where Janine thought Barbara was betraying her or trying to wade into something that didn’t concern her, which is how Vanetta responded. Deciding to give her only the first two installments of a payment plan that she was setting up felt like an appropriate middle ground, and it’s something that may even end up working for a bit. The intro with Jacob’s magic and Ava being astounded by it was fun, and I like that Melissa was genuinely shocked and freaked out that he was bending that spoon at the end of the episode. Gregory’s inability to connect with Shanae was awkward, but it was refreshing to see him manage to win her over just by connecting about sports, something that wasn’t all that expected but gave him a great deal of satisfaction after his previously unsuccessful efforts to be seen as somewhat cool and relatable to other people at school.