Abbott Elementary Season 5 Episode 19 Review: Trip

Abbott Elementary Season 5 Episode 19, “Trip,” Janine and Gregory plan their vacation while Melissa’s former student visits the titular school.

Elsewhere, Mr. Johnson contends with gaslighting about the disposal of Barbara’s snacks. It’s a bit uneven compared to last week’s fare, but there’s definitely something to love about all three episodic arcs. 

Abbott Elementary, “Trip” 

Melissa reunites with her former student, Jonathan Pierce, who’s made a successful career in finance … or so she thinks. Melissa believes she genuinely made a difference in Jonathan’s life, but he’s there to persuade her to vouch for him so he can get a reduced prison sentence for scamming the elderly. 

It’s an interesting plot twist, to be sure, and we’re reminded of Melissa’s heart. “Trip” shows us a side of our proud Philly girl that we don’t often see, but it’s always there. She’s a good egg. Ava’s there to provide some levity and offer a wisecrack or two, as is her modus operandi, and it works to balance out the heaviness of Melissa’s arc. 

Meanwhile, Mr. Johnson and Barbara are a pair we seldom see together on Abbott Elementary. William Stanford Davis and Sheryl Lee Ralph are national treasures, respectively, and they’re great as scene partners, too.

I wish they had more to do in “Trip,” but their arc in the overall narrative is lighthearted and silly. We need that silliness, much like Ava’s comedic relief, to provide balance for the more somber moments. 

The Outer Banks versus Atlantic City 

The source for the majority of the episode’s somberness comes from Janine and Gregory in the A-plot. After Jacob and Elijah break up, he latches onto Granine, offering advice as they struggle to get on the same page for their vacation destination.

His zeal for Janine and Gregory as a couple feels like a loving wink to fans from the writers. After all, Granine is a popular ship in the sitcom world. 

There’s an organic fracturing of Granine that slowly builds throughout the episode. Gregory’s stringent spending practices drive a wedge between them, as he deems Janine to be less careful with money. 

Money is a contentious subject, and is one of the themes of this episode. It bleeds into all three episodic storylines.

For Janine and Gregory, it becomes their undoing. While Janine’s advice proves to be a balm for Jacob and Elijah as a couple, Jacob’s words of wisdom have the opposite effect on Granine. It’s interesting to see this reversal of fortune at the end of “Trip” between the two friends. 

For this Granine fan, the ending of this week’s Abbott Elementary episode packs an emotional punch. The show has invested so much time in them as a romantic pair, and has organically cultivated their relationship from the series pilot to now. This is their first major fight as a couple.

While something tells me they’ll mend fences by the season’s end, it still hurts. I pray to the sitcom gods that this conflict, this bump in the road, is short-lived. It would be a disservice to the narrative to do otherwise. (Long live Granine.)

Stray Observations: 

• Mr. Johnson had some killer one-liners in this episode. He’s right — “No one listens to the bald, Black, and beautiful protagonist until it’s too late.” 
• Jacob is easily the biggest Millennial ever to Millennial (complimentary) … and I say that as a Millennial. 
• I would love it if Barbara the Queen made snacks for me. Please, Barbara, make snacks for me!
• I respect Ava’s hustle. She’s always on the lookout for the best way to make money. 
• I’d pay to see Mr. Johnson fight the Rat King (he would definitely win). 
• Ava would legitimately be the best podcast guest. She’s entertaining as hell. 

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

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