Abbott Elementary Season 3 Episode 10 Review: 2 Ava 2 Fest

Abbott Elementary Season 3 Episode 10, “2 Ava 2 Fest,” is another solid entry into the award-winning comedy’s third season. With memorable lines, heartwarming moments from characters, and even a celebrity cameo, what’s not to like? 

This episode, written by Joya McCrory and series creator Quinta Brunson, sees characters like Ava and Melissa at their silliest while also giving beloved characters like Brunson’s Janine dramatic moments that make sense. 

“2 Ava 2 Fest” is often hilariously over-the-top. But, like the best episodes of Abbott Elementary, this is balanced by similarly heartwarming moments.  

“2 Ava 2 Fest” has references to last year’s Ava Fest, and in particular, the fact that she’d promised singer Jazmine Sullivan would show up and didn’t. Unsurprisingly, Ava’s claim that she knows Questlove and that he will attend this year’s fest arouses suspicion among the teachers. 

Ava claims to be friendly with Questlove — and, in an odd turn of events, she’s telling the truth. However, Questlove’s arrival probably comes as more of a shock to the Abbott staff than to viewers, who easily could have guessed that twist. 

It’s delightful to watch Melissa, Jacob, Gregory, and Barbara all go against Ava’s wishes. 

What makes their whole scheme particularly amusing is when Barbara and Melissa make suggestions for alternative performers. Barbara claims she’ll get her church choir to sing a secular song: “Angel” by Amanda Perez. This song is not exactly secular, but we can see why Barbara would think that. 

Melissa’s random celebrity impressions — which run the gamut — are so hilariously bad. It’s fun to watch Lisa Ann Walter convey the character’s excitement while assuming she’s much better than she is and equally fun to watch her co-workers react to this. 

Abbott Elementary is often at its best when balancing humor and/or ridiculous situations with more grounded ones.

For example, on this episode, we see Gregory’s unease regarding Janine supposedly leaving Abbott. When he says that he “used to be” one of Janine’s co-workers, there’s some noticeable sadness in Tyler James Williams’ eyes.

Gregory tries to play along when Janine says things like, “If you squint hard enough, you can see Abbott from here.” And yet, in the more intimate, quiet moments, he’s clearly unhappy about all this, and that’s thanks to the writing and Williams’ performance. 

Fortunately, though, Gregory’s garden program has been approved. Even better, he seems ecstatic — in his special way — when Janine returns to Abbott.

Janine and Gregory shippers are surely pleased about this. When he smiles at the camera and looks at Janine with love, all of our hearts skip a beat. 

One particularly amusing scene is when Janine opens parting gifts from Abbott co-workers, and what they choose to give her fits their respective personalities to a T. 

Jacob giving her a framed picture of himself is as eccentric as the character, Gregory giving her dirt for planting is in line with his love for botany, and Mr. Johnson giving her a mop strand shows how much he cares about his job. 

Of course, the most meaningful gift is Barbara’s handwritten, thoughtful note. The writers smartly have Brunson read part of it aloud — while becoming emotional — and then read the rest silently. 

Ultimately, though, the heart of “2 Ava 2 Fest” lies with Janine. Throughout this season, we’ve seen her become more comfortable with taking credit and receiving praise for her work.

But, she has also struggled with her new role at the district and has missed being a teacher at Abbott. This all comes to a head on this episode, starting with her obvious sadness when looking at a picture of her class. 

Then, while getting for her “new hire party,” she notes feeling “off.” Things only get worse when dealing with roadblocks related to her new position, such as benefits she doesn’t want. Janine is an incredibly selfless person, so it’s easy to see why she wouldn’t want to accept new perks. 

To [probably] no one’s surprise, Janine decides to leave her new job and return to Abbott. And her Abbott colleagues seem happy to see her. Brunson lights up when talking about how the words from the kids touched Janine and caused her to make that decision. 

The episode begins with an inside look at the kitchen, with shenanigans — and bleeping! — reminiscent of The Bear. 

While it initially seems like the crazy prep is for Ava Fest, it’s actually for Mr. Johnson, who says the food “is trash” and then makes a complete mess.

On any other show, this would seem out of character for a janitor, but because he’s so eccentric and William Stanford Davis’ line delivery is so on point, we don’t care. 

We’ve seen little of Janine’s district co-workers since earlier in the season, and considering Janine’s recent departure from her new position, we’re unlikely to see them again. 

That said, we do get some fun moments with the gang, such as when the co-workers share the strange “new hire” traditions. The three have an easy, playful dynamic, so it’s unfortunate that we (most likely) won’t see much more of them.

Stray Observations:

• Even a perpetually optimistic person like Manny recognizes “the dip,” and it would be a fun device to bring back in the future (maybe via a character like Jacob). 
• The line, “Have you ever tried being hinged?” is hilarious and a smart commentary on words like “unhinged” that don’t make sense without the “un.”   
• The fact that Janine still wears her Abbott ID badge is adorable and not-so-subtlely foreshadowing the fact that she’ll return to the school by the end of the episode.

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Abbott Elementary airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on ABC.

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