Abbott Elementary Season 2 Episode 17 Review: Mural Arts
Abbott Elementary Season 2 Episode 17, “Mural Arts,” takes us right back to Abbott after the teachers’ conference. We see Janine and Gregory navigate their new dynamic as co-workers who finally crossed the boundary of will-they-won’t-they.
It’s a bit underwhelming. They’re both still very deep in denial about how they feel about the kiss. There’s a thread of charming nervousness in each interaction they have, but the romantic tension between them on this episode leaves something to be desired.
Gregory has seemingly had a crush on Janine since the very first episode, so it feels inauthentic for him to be compartmentalizing the kiss’s effect so well.
However, he has been shown to withhold his emotions and play his cards close to his chest in the past. It might be accurate for the character but hinders the love story the audience has been waiting for.
It would have been nice to see a bigger shift in their dynamic to acknowledge how monumental that moment was for them. Dealing with Maurice, however, takes priority.
Maurice hasn’t been in enough of the series for the audience to feel very invested in him, which adds to the anticlimactic feeling of “Mural Arts.”
He had a few really great one-liners but was never a true romantic rival for Gregory. He is too different from Janine. Hopefully, we’ll get to see him hit it off with Amber as implied on Abbott Elementary Season 2 Episode 14, “Valentine’s Day.”
It is super uncomfortable for the breakup to happen in front of Gregory, but at least now everyone is on the same page, and Janine and Gregory are both officially single.
Barbara and Melissa’s friendship remains a bright spot in the series. Every time they’re paired together, it’s always a great storyline.
Their shared fear of Abbott becoming a charter school is well-founded. Ava is a perfect stand-in for the audience that allows the show to spell out why a charter school can be bad for the community and staff. All of their jobs are at risk.
The students might lose out on the school they’ve come to know and love. It could have a huge negative effect. It’s concerning that there’s already a parent petition going, but Legendary doesn’t know who they’re up against.
They should be especially nervous now that Ava’s on board. She has a way of getting what she wants.
Jacob typically jumps at his chance to fight for any worthy cause, but he’s too distracted with the mural project at Abbott.
He’s right that the kids probably won’t remember the sock show in twenty years, but hopefully, they won’t forget a teacher who cares enough about them to put his opinions aside.
They’re learning from him, and he’s learning from them too. His superiority complex needs to be kept in check and his class keeps him on his toes. The mosaic idea is a really sweet touch.
This is not the strongest episode of Abbott Elementary‘s sophomore season. But, it’s still hilarious and sets up the major conflicts for the rest of the season.
Hopefully, we’ll get more build-up with Janine and Gregory to push them toward a big romantic moment in the season finale.
Stray thoughts:
- Is there really a subreddit for Ed, Edd n Eddy?
- Erika should be in the show more. She plays off Janine really well and it would be good to learn more about her outside of her relationship with Janine.
- Barbara being against two-factor authentication is perfect for the character and extremely relatable.
- Barbara’s accents are extremely impressive.
- Rugvermin sounds much more sinister than Rugrats.
What did you think of this episode of Abbott Elementary? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Abbott Elementary airs Wednesday at 9/8c on ABC.
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