It’s spring cleaning season on Abbott Elementary, and after tidying up her house, Melissa (Lisa Ann Walter) has listed the empty guestroom in her house on Craigslist to make a few extra bucks. A long, anonymous search for a new roommate ends when Melissa finds Lester: a quiet young guy hunting for a cozy room near the center of Philly so he can get to work.
Everyone has doubts. Ava (Janelle James) suspects she could be buddying up with an ax murderer. Barbara (Sheryl Lee Ralph) also worries about the dangers of allowing strangers into her home, but Melissa insists: She did this all without revealing her real name or address. This man is properly vetted and seems totally harmless. Plus, Melissa has this wonderful support system. She’s covered all her bases. Nothing can go wrong.
Until everything goes wrong.
Jacob (Chris Perfetti), fresh off his breakup with Zach (Larry Owens), saunters into the teacher’s lounge with some news. He’s just found the perfect guest room to sleep in while he finds his own place. It’s cozy, the older woman is friendly and minds her own business, and it’s the only place he’s found that’s less than a 30 minute drive to Abbott. Melissa connects the dots. This is Lester; Jacob was also playing the anonymous game.
Chris Perfetti and Lisa Ann Walter
Gilles Mingasson/ABCBut Melissa really needs the extra money, and Jacob really doesn’t want his gas budget to skyrocket, so they continue the plan to shack up together. One might expect these two to immediately butt heads, to bicker and wreak havoc on the Abbott Elementary equilibrium. But it’s the exact opposite: Melissa and Jacob become closer than ever. Right when you think you’ve figured out the brilliant comedic strategy of Abbott, it gets smarter.
Right when Melissa and Jacob are headed for their first fight—over the TV, because both of their shows are on at the same time—they actually use the moment to bond. They watch the exact same show when it’s on every week: The Real Housewives of New Jersey. The new besties squeal in delight, rushing to the couch to watch together with matching tubs of popcorn. They even use the same popcorn flavor dust, sour cream and onion.
“It’s so salty and playful,” Jacob smirks.
“Like Marge Sr.,” they both say at the same time.
God, get a room! (Oh, wait. That’s how this all started.)
The bond starts to become an issue when the teachers at Abbott see a changing school dynamic. Jacob wears a frilly, ugly shirt to school, and when Ava goes to roast him about it, Melissa actually defends him instead. Without the ability to drag Jacob, Ava resorts to a back-up candidate: Mr. Johnson (William Stanford Davis), who starts to cry when Ava asks if his sneakers were bought on “crappos.” Ava can’t steal his school lunch, meaning she stole Barbara’s instead.
Something has got to change here, Melissa and Jacob agree. The pair agree to pretend to not be friends, but they can’t stop giggling over memes at lunch, unable to hide their kinship. This episode of Abbott doesn’t see the resolution of the Jacob/Melissa friendship situation, so we’ll likely see more of them—hopefully, there isn’t that big of a fight—buddying up together in the future. An unlikely duo!
There is, however, a bit of a tiff between two other characters: Barbara and Janine (Quinta Brunson), who can’t agree over the new school librarian Rosalyn (Cree Summer). Rosalyn is a stickler for rules like due dates and hold lists, which upsets Barbara. But Janine teaches an important lesson—just because Barbara doesn’t like the school updates doesn’t mean everyone else is on board with her negativity. In fact, literally everyone else at the school loves Rosalyn’s organization.
Changes in power dynamics are upon us at Abbott Elementary! Jacob and Janine, who were once at the bottom of the school hierarchy, are rising to the top. It’s time for the youngsters to take over.
