Review: Abbott Elementary, “Party” | Season 3, Episode 14
Gregory and Janine did the thing (for real this time)
Before Mr. Johnson imparts Janine with the moral of the story in “Party,” the episode really feels like it’s hurtling toward the conclusion of a character arc that this season of Abbott Elementary hasn’t actually been telling. Abbott Elementary’s second season was extremely clear in what it was doing with the Janine character, in terms of her individual growth as both a person and a teacher. That growth is what, in turn, allowed her to take the fellowship job at the school district this season, with her arc essentially boiling down to realizing that Abbott is the place she wants—and possibly needs—to be.
But then there were more episodes of the season after that realization, and in those episodes the story Abbott Elementary was exactly trying to tell with Janine (just Janine, as an individual) became less focused and engaging. For example, in these last four episodes since Janine’s returned to Abbott as a teacher, the series has notably not focused on said return. Instead, things have become all about (with the exception of “Mother’s Day”) the will-they-won’t-they situation between Janine/Gregory, especially when it comes to what Gregory’s going to do about it.1 On the plus side, with “Party,” viewers can at least finally breathe a sigh of relief about the situation moving past “shit or get off the pot” (or “will they?”) territory. It’s definitely one way to end a season.