Abbott Elementary returned from winter hiatus Wednesday night to drop one of the biggest episodes of the season so far. It’s Valentine’s Day in the Abbott world, and love is finally in the air between—you guessed it—Janine (Quinta Brunson) and Gregory (Tyler James Williams). Fun fact: The episode is Season 2, Episode 14. Get it? Like the date of Valentine’s Day, 2/14.
(Warning: Spoilers ahead!)
Though audiences have known about their spark for a long time—and of course, so have Melissa (Lisa Ann Walter) and Barbara (Sheryl Lee Ralph)—Jacob (Chris Perfetti) discovered Gregory’s adoration for Janine just a bit ago. Now, understanding Jacob’s loud-mouthed personality, we also knew that he wouldn’t be able to keep the secret for too long. He didn’t keep that info to the chest at all, in fact! It only took Jacob one episode to blurt out the rumor.
In “Valentine’s Day,” one of Janine’s students appears to have a crush on his teacher. When she goes to seek counsel from her best friends in the school, Jacob perceives it the wrong way. “Workplace romance” seems a bit more applicable to two colleagues, rather than a student and a teacher—Jacob crosses his wires and, in classic rom-com fashion, reveals the secret to Janine in a mix-up of who’s who.
Janine can’t believe what she’s hearing. Gregory likes her? Like, he like likes her? The big reveal evokes memories of old grade school crushes, writing little love notes on torn out loose leaf paper and passing it down a few desks to the cutest kid in class. In other words, it’s exactly what we’d expect from Abbott Elementary, which has always played for just the right amount of nostalgia.
Abbott has really played into the slow burn when it comes to Gregory and Janine. Any slight hint of romance has been celebrated by fans of the show on social media—if they so much as laugh at each other’s joke, Twitter is in shambles. The way this romance has been taken so slowly, each detail so intimately planned, has been gripping. Comedy shows, take note: This is how you execute a sitcom romance perfectly.
Still, there are some roadblocks for Gregory and Janine, who still can’t confront one another about their feelings—even after they find out the truth. Gregory is seeing an Abbott Elementary parent Amber (Naté Jones), and Janine is dating Gregory’s buddy Maurice (Vince Staples). Thanks to a wonky gift swap in this episode (in which Gregory gets a gift fit for Janine, while Maurice buys her a swanky bag, better for Amber), it’s clear that a switcheroo is in order for these two mix-matched couples.
What’s great about Abbott Elementary is that, while these two are struggling to put the pieces of their feelings together, a handful of other wonderful romances fill the gaps. Jacob’s boyfriend Zach (Larry Owens) returns to the show to bring him lunch. Melissa’s beau Gary (Bruno Amato) stops by to give her some vending machine chocolates. And though it’s not romantic love, we finally get to see Janine interact with her sister—played by The Bear’s Ayo Edebiri!
Still, the show ends on a cliffhanger when it comes to Janine and Gregory. We’ll have to wait to see what comes of Janine and Gregory’s romance next week. Abbott Elementary airs on ABC Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. ET.
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