It’s Mom’s Day on Abbott Elementary this week—and but, for some purpose, all we will speak about is fathers. Significantly one father: Janine’s (Quinta Brunson). She doesn’t know who her dad is, and, after Ava (Janelle James) makes a snide remark about Kevin Hart, Janine begins to surprise…might the comic be her father? In spite of everything, they’re each quick.
Nobody at Abbott is especially revved up about Mom’s Day. It looks like the varsity is residence to a neighborhood of parents who don’t have nice connections with their moms. Though lecturers like Barbara (Sheryl Lee Ralph) are dedicated to establishing arts and crafts for the children to deliver again to their mothers, a lot of the lecturers bond over how little they care concerning the vacation—and, at instances, how alienating it may be to rejoice moms with out even having an actual mother.
This masterful episode is proof that, after three seasons, Abbott Elementary hasn’t misplaced its contact. A subject like Mom’s Day might simply be spun into an episode rather more saccharine than the remainder of Abbott’s tone—however no. The lecturers could also be struggling this Mom’s Day, however the present resists the urge to make every part too hopeful. All of them undergo it collectively. It’s humorous, it’s unhappy, and it’s downright sensible.
Barb and Gregory (Tyler James Williams) bond over the truth that they’ve misplaced their mothers; Barb’s handed lately, whereas Gregory’s died when he was 9. Bereft at the truth that Gregory received’t have something to rejoice on Monday, Barbara invitations her colleague over for a celebration, the place the pair bond over the totally different pains they really feel concerning the lack of their mothers.
Jacob (Chris Perfetti) and Ava care so little about Mom’s Day that they’re channeling all their vitality into the college students as a substitute of the vacation. Abbott hasn’t been capable of increase sufficient cash for a discipline journey this 12 months, and though all the different lecturers have given up on the chance, Jacob’s not taking place with no battle.
Ava is prepared to assist, however then once more, when does Ava ever really “assist” within the true definition of the phrase? Jacob begins a GoFundMe—however instantly learns that Abbott Elementary is banned from making GoFundMe fundraisers, because of Ava’s frequent fraudulent accounts.
Whereas at a Mom’s Day drag brunch (as a result of nothing screams “Mom!” fairly like a flurry of effervescent drag queens) with Janine and Ava, Jacob has an epiphany: They’ll host a discipline journey at a close-by park, which might be free. With slightly assist from the queens, Abbott is ready to safe a handful of spots on the continuously busy park on their proposed discipline journey date.
This brings us again to Janine, who has the greatest arc of the episode. We’ve seen Janine’s fraught relationship together with her mother (Taraji P. Henson) and sister (Ayo Edebiri) in previous episodes. Now, we be taught that Janine has a special dad than her sister, and once more, nobody has any clue who that’s. So, that is what brings us to Kevin Hart: Ava teases Janine for not having a dad and brings up Hart. Janine, ever critical, will get to pondering—wait, didn’t her mother go to highschool with Hart?
Janine calls her mother, who reassures her daughter: She and Kevin Hart by no means dated. Oh, however they did have intercourse a couple of times. This sends Janine right into a tizzy. In spite of everything, Janine thinks out loud, Hart is tremendous hilarious, so it might make sense that they’re kin. (I’ve to imagine this can be a joke, and it’s an extremely good one, at that. Hart thinks he’s humorous, Janine thinks she’s humorous, however neither of them is really humorous. Brunson, nevertheless, is a comedic genius.)
Melissa (Lisa Ann Walter) occurs to have a contact for Hart—due to course she does—which provides Janine the chance to name…her…father? Perhaps? Properly, no. Hart will get on FaceTime (one other enormous visitor for Abbott) and curses Janine out, asking her to cease harassing him on social media. He at all times used safety. He can’t be her dad!
Alas, I’ll proceed to carry out hope that, canonically, Kevin Hart is Janine’s father. Does it make any sense? No, under no circumstances. However Janine has struggled sufficient in life, not understanding her father, that she ought to be allowed to dream huge about who he is perhaps.
