Abbott Elementary Season 5 Episode 9 Review: Mall

Abbott Elementary Season 5 Episode 9, “Mall,” presents challenges aplenty for our teachers as they navigate a new, albeit temporary, location for the school. It’s a strong return from the winter break, laying the groundwork for a multi-episode arc set in the mall. 

Abbott Elementary, “Mall”

Who wouldn’t want to attend class in an abandoned mall? “Mall” fires on all cylinders after a string of tepid, although still entertaining, episodes. The change of scenery is the shot in the arm the show needs, and a nice shakeup of the formula. Even five seasons in, the series continues to find ways to keep things fresh. 

As mentioned above, the new environment brings forth new challenges, but it also reminds us of the precarious state of the public school system. As Gregory warns Dominic, anything can happen. The district shoving our titular school into an abandoned building — and providing inedible food for the students — is proof positive that the education system isn’t given the attention it deserves.

We see the teachers truly struggling in “Mall,” particularly Luke Tennie’s Dominic. It’s great to see Tennie get more time to shine, and for those who watch Shrinking, they know what he’s capable of. The outing has fun playing with different character dynamics, as evidenced by the Gregory/Dominic pairing. 

All in the Jokes 

Comedy-wise, some of Abbott Elementary‘s funniest jokes are on this episode. The rapid-fire one-liners and relatively fast pacing keep the narrative moving. It all steadily builds toward the cafeteria scene, in which only Barbara Howard can pacify screaming children. The mayhem and the location itself really raise the stakes from a storytelling perspective. Overall, having a clearer direction for the show has been a boon for Season 5.

And in true Abbott fashion, Barbara once more proves she’s a leader through and through, rallying the teachers to put on a brave face for their students. This is the little school that could — they might be down, but they’re not out. It’s this mixture of humor and heart that makes this series one of the heavyweight champs of sitcoms. 

Stray Observations: 

• Barbara’s remark to Janine about her iPad usage is pure, unadulterated mom mode. I love it. 
• Excuse me, Jacob was a Juggalo? I need to see proof, please, and thank you. 
• Ava’s line about her ears hurting while she wonders if she’s in a former Claire’s is so wildly specific, and I just know all my fellow Millennials felt that in their souls. 
• Those poor teachers have COVID Zoom-related PTSD based on their response to Dominic’s suggestion. 
• I think we need a flashback episode featuring Melissa running around with her mall gang, Dangerous Damsels. The double D’s. 
• That chaotic scene with the kids screaming in the mall was probably a blast to film. 
• I need an Ava/Dia subplot where they go on an adventure in the city. I need it like water. 

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Abbott Elementary airs new episodes every Wednesday at 8:30/7:30c on ABC, with next-day streaming on Hulu.

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