Review: Abbott Elementary, “Winter Show” & “Winter Break” | Season 4, Episodes 7 & 8
Some winter-friendly visuals (and the gabagool)
It’s not too surprising that Abbott Elementary hadn’t had a winter holiday episode centered on Abbott itself until now. In its first season, Abbott Elementary was a midseason series. In its second season, save for a couple of early scenes, “Holiday Hookah” focused on what the Abbott teachers did during their winter break, not on how they incorporated the holidays into their teaching. And of course, the third season was delayed and truncated due to the WGA strike. So a winter holiday episode of Abbott Elementary focused on the school itself only now existing actually makes sense, even though it’s unexpected—kind of like Mandy Moore somehow not having a winter holiday album.1
And with Abbott Elementary turning it into a two-part event in the form of “Winter Show” and “Winter Break,” the series is able to do a much-appreciated balancing act in its focus on the characters’ professional and personal lives during the holiday season, as opposed to trying to squeeze too m…