This review contains minor spoilers for seasons one and two of “Abbott Elementary”
Season two of the ABC TV series “Abbott Elementary” aired Sept. 21, 2022, and concluded April 19, 2023. It became available on Max when the season completed airing. Season two consists of 22 episodes and was created by Quinta Brunson, who plays the main character of the show.
“Abbott Elementary” is a mockumentary series that takes place at Abbott Elementary School, a public school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The series follows second-grade teacher Janine Teagues (Quinta Brunson) as she manages her classroom, life and passion for improving the school. In season two, Janine faces self-growth and wants the absolute best for her students.
Season two of this show, like season one, has good humor. Season two also has more emotional moments than the first season. Due to my love of season one, I was able to appreciate the comedy and experience the emotions of the characters in season two. This show is a great way to take a break from school or work.
In season one, Janine relies on her coworkers Gregory Eddie (Tyler James Williams), Barbara Howard (Sheryl Lee Ralph), Jacob Hill (Chris Perfetti) and Melissa Schemmenti (Lisa Ann Walter) to help her face the challenges of being a new teacher. The same reliance is evident in season two, and I found its portrayal heartwarming and uplifting.
In season two, Gregory helps uplift Janine when she feels disheartened or insignificant. In the episode “Educator of the Year,” Janine is called a bad teacher by a difficult student’s parent, and Gregory is there to comfort her despite his responsibility to be on TV to receive an award.
To portray this comfort, the camera crew filmed up-close shots of Janine and Gregory to capture their facial expressions. The cameras abruptly stopped filming when Janine began to cry, and Gregory gave a stern and concerned look to the camera. Scenes like this make the show feel like a real documentary, and I love it.
Janine and Gregory’s connection has been strong from the start of the show, but like all of the relationships in this show, Janine and Gregory’s grows even stronger in season two. In this season, they continue to be there for each other while experiencing awkward and tension-filled moments. Although their ending in season two wasn’t what I was hoping for, they had great moments this season and left me with high hopes for their relationship to build even more in season three.
In season one, Barbara acted as a mother to Janine. Barbara continues this role in season two. Specifically, in the episode “Mom,” when Janine’s mother comes to visit her at school and asks for money, Barbara stands up for Janine in a way she hasn’t before. Janine fears that she will give into her old ways instead of doing something for herself. This episode made me feel sympathetic for Janine, and I admired Barbara’s character even more.
Jacob has fully supported Janine throughout the entire duration of the show so far. In the episode “Sick Day,” when Janine is sick and misses school, some of the other school staff make fun of her. Jacob defends Janine, which ultimately helps the rest of the staff realize how much they actually appreciate Janine.
This is another episode that made me feel sympathetic for Janine, and I was glad she had someone like Jacob in her corner to support her. While it felt like Jacob and Janine were closer in season one than in season two, they still had great moments and cared for each other.
In season one, Melissa and Janine had a very dynamic relationship. Melissa kept Janine in line while still having her back. In season two, Melissa supports Janine more. This was evident in the episode “Development Day,” in which Melissa advises Janine to work through her breakup instead of just moving on.
In the episode “The Principal’s Office,” Melissa invites Janine over to her house in an effort to help teach her how to cook. I hoped for more interaction between Melissa and Janine, but season two set up the potential for Melissa and Janine to have a good connection in the future.
“Abbott Elementary” focuses on the relationships between Janine and her support system at school, but it also focuses on the relationships between those in her support system and the principal of Abbott Elementary, Ava Coleman (Janelle James).
In season one, Ava is a selfish character and principal solely due to her blackmailing the superintendent after she caught him having an affair. While Ava steps up in her role toward the end of season one, she makes even more progress in season two. In the episode “Sick Day,” Janine is sick and misses school, requiring Ava to cover her class. By the end of the episode, Ava begins to appreciate what Janine has to manage and Janine’s way of doing things.
This is further explored in the episode “Fundraiser.” Ava helps students sell candy bars to be able to go on a trip to the Franklin Institute, a science museum. In the episode “Festival,” Ava comes up with the idea of having a festival at the school to rally parents to sign their petition. While I think Ava still has improvements to make, she made significant growth in her role as a principal in season two and is set up to care even more in season three.
Barbara and Melissa have a close connection since they have been teaching at Abbott Elementary for around the same number of years, and their connection continues to grow in season two. In the episode “Holiday Hookah,” Barbara and Melissa have their traditional holiday dinner and invite Jacob and Mr. Johnson (William Stanford Davis), the school janitor, to join.
In the episode “Teacher Conference,” when the staff goes to the Pennsylvania Educational Conference, Barbara and Melissa spend their time by the pool relaxing together. Barbara and Melissa’s relationship is one of my favorite aspects of this show, as they offer great advice to Janine, Jacob and Gregory, and they make amusing jokes and quick-witted comments that add a lot of comedic heart to the show.
While Gregory was closed off to friendship with Jacob in season one and still is at the beginning of season two, by the end of season two, he confides in Jacob for advice. Gregory is able to share his personal feelings with Jacob and even lets Jacob give him a “bro hug” in the last episode. I found Gregory opening up to those around him to be heartwarming and signifying the probability of him staying at Abbott when, at the beginning of this show, his position at Abbott was only temporary.
While this show already has a stacked cast of well-known actors and actresses, it did bring in some guest appearances this season.
In the episodes “Attack Ad” and “Festival,” Leslie Odom Jr. makes an appearance as Draemond Winding, who wants to turn Abbott Elementary into a charter school. I enjoyed seeing him in this show because I love his performances in “Hamilton” and “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.” In the episode “Mom,” Janine’s mother is played by Taraji P. Henson. I enjoyed seeing her in this show because I loved her performance in “Hidden Figures.”
“Abbott Elementary” has great actors and actresses who make you laugh and who make you care about the challenges in educational institutions. In several moments throughout this season, I found myself emotional and crying. If you need a show to binge over spring break or you just need a break this semester, I recommend watching “Abbott Elementary.”
The first two seasons are available to stream on Max and Hulu, and the currently released episodes of season three are available on ABC and Hulu. With great writing, humor and acting, “Abbott Elementary” is a show you don’t want to miss.
