Abbott Elementary seems to work best in pairs. Just like students teaming up for a science project, most Abbott episodes see two teachers partnering up to tackle different plots. Barbara (Sheryl Lee Ralph) and Melissa (Lisa Ann Walter) often sit side-by-side. Although they like to deny their chemistry, Gregory (Tyler James Williams) and Janine (Quinta Brunson) will never turn down the opportunity to work together. Jacob (Chris Perfetti) once raised a cat with Mr. Johnson (William Stanford Davis).
But in the fifth episode of this season, Abbott does a 180 on these pairings to offer up some of the best duos of all time. Gregory and Jacob pair up over an emotional crisis, and are occasionally third-wheeled by Mr. Johnson. Melissa and Janine work together to fix a bad classroom. And the best of them all: Barbara asks Ava (Janelle James) for some advice regarding her church choir.
Barbara’s dynamic with Ava is marvelous. Whereas Ava is chaotic, unhinged, and self-centered, Barbara is put together, thoughtful, and…also a little bit self-centered. (Barbara just knows how to hide that personality trait better than Ava.) When Barbara goes looking for a new place for her church choir to practice, Ava offers up a solution: Why not use the Abbott Elementary gym?
Ava will take a pretty penny out of Barbara’s church choir budget in exchange for access to the gym, and that’ll be the deal. But as soon as the women pile into the Abbott gym, Ava realizes there’s more fun involved. There is so much gossip involved in this choir made up of around a dozen older women. They are super petty and fighting for solos, while Barbara is at the bottom of the clique’s hierarchy. Poor Barbara!
Barbara auditions for a big solo, but church leader Sister Sipp (Carlease Burke) has no interest in giving her one. Ava is appalled: Sister Sipp can’t even listen to an entire verse of Barbara singing without passing the solo off to another vocalist. Ava confronts Barbara, urging her to re-audition with new material to impress the entire group. Let’s be clear, here: This isn’t out of kindness or care for Barbara on Ava’s part. This is because Ava loves drama and stirring the pot. And she’s damn good at it.
With Ava’s blessing, Barbara returns to the choir and pleads her case. Sister Sipp agrees to the deal: Barbara will re-audition to be considered for future solos. But again, Barbara gets only a few words into her song before Sister Sipp asks her to stop. This time, though, Barbara gets a firm “no”—she’ll never be a soloist.
A normal friend might throw hands with Sister Sipp and kick the entire church choir out on behalf of Barbara—Melissa would do it—but Ava is different. Ava doesn’t immediately go to bat for Barbara. Instead, she wants to know: What did Barbara do that is so bad that she’s been blacklisted by the church choir?
Barbara provides some clarity. She’s too modern for the church, not Christian enough for the “old biddies”—Ava’s words, not mine. Barbara goes too hard on the little pinot grigio bottles on Cruise, she enjoys jazz nights, and she’s friends with some “colorful” teachers at Abbott. Why, then, does Barbara still participate in the choir? Ava can’t figure it out. But she can help Barbara; she’s finally ready to be a good friend. (Eh, maybe a good-ish friend.)
To reinstill Barbara’s confidence—and to create a bit of pandemonium at the end of the school day—Ava throws an impromptu concert in the gym. With Mr. Johnson as the DJ, Barbara sings her heart out for the kids, who are a much more welcome audience than her church friends. Barbara sings and sings and sings. In fact, she can’t stop singing. Ava needs to put an end to this, considering they’re at a public school and, typically, there is a separation between church and state.
“Hey, Barb, do you know ‘Go Down Moses?’” Ava asks, getting a nod from Barbara. “Cuz I’m gonna need you to let my people go.”
Gregory and Jacob also use the episode to bond when Jacob announces he’s ready to break up with his longtime boyfriend Zach (Larry Owens). Instead of a clean break, Jacob ramps up his passive aggressive behavior, leaving crumbs around the house, a wet sponge sitting on the kitchen table, and the microwave door hanging open. Zach is upset, but he’s not pissed enough to call it quits on the relationship.
Ultimately, Gregory pushes Jacob to do the right thing and be clear with Zach about wanting to break up. It works—but Zach appears to be vengeful about the situation. Zach is even writing a new comedy show about Jacob titled Fleabag, “but with an F,” Jacob says. (“Fleafaf?” asks a confused, always hilarious Mr. Johnson.) Maybe Abbott Elementary will have a new villain.
But as Ava proved in taking down Sister Sipp (or, at least, convincing Barbara she’s better than the petty choir girls), the Abbott Elementary team can deal with any malevolent force. They have each other and an army of kids—what more do they need?
