Review: Abbott Elementary, “The Deli” | Season 4, Episode 6
Gentrification, like… “yay?”
Immediately after the quasi-triumphant1 moment in “The Deli” in which the deli man (Raymond Ma) informs the neighborhood that his deli won’t be replaced with a smoothie chain location, I wrote in my notes: “There’s gonna be a moment when Barbara/Melissa/Gregory get their heads out of their asses, right? Right?” The answer to that question ultimately ended up being “no,” with the barely there implication being that, despite their reactions of pain and betrayal due to missing out on their smoothie dreams, it’s ultimately just a small thing they’ll just get over before next episode (or even before the end tag).
But despite it being a small thing, it’s arguably a noteworthy creative choice made in this episode to have a trio (or technically, a quartet, with Jacob coming over to their way of thinking) of Abbott Elementary’s characters suddenly err on the side of pro-gentrification without ever having a moment where they snap out of it or even voice any true regret. Whether it’s ult…