This week on Abbott Elementary, Janine lets loose and heads to a hookah lounge, but runs into problems when multiple coworkers show up as well. Meanwhile, Barbara and Melissa prepare for their annual Christmas dinner, but Jacob threatens to thwart their plans. Read on to see what happened in “Holiday Hookah”
Jacob “The Grinch” Hill
Jacob isn’t going to Pittsburgh with Zach (who we learn has been volunteering at Abbott as he leads a spirited rendition of Christmas carols with the kids) for the holidays, leaving him home alone.
School letting out for holiday break marks one of Melissa and Barbara’s favorite traditions, their Annual Christmas Lounge Dinner. When Jacob catches wind, he tries to not-so-subtly secure an invite, which Melissa brushes over. However, Barbara invites him in secret. Their party has extended from 2 to 4: Melissa, Barbara, Jacob, and Mr. Johnson.
Jacob invades the dinner and int typical Jacob fashion, rambles on in his overly woke tangents, driving Barbara, Melissa, and even Mr. Johnson to an inescapable point of annoyance. Barbara and Melissa literally choose to go stand outside in freezing temperatures rather than suffer through one more minute. Mr. Johnson tells Jacob he a) sounds stupid on his Christmas capitalism rants and b) is running Christmas for Barbara and Melissa. He doesn’t like Christmas either, but is suffering through it for the two of them. Jacob opens up about having a lot of bad memories around Christmas, and Mr. Johnson tells him this is his chance to make a good Christmas memory and not ruin something that the two older ladies look forward to all semester after working so hard.
Jacob dashes across the street to the corner store with a plan to save Christmas and emerges with a shopping bag. He rushes back into the lounge, where Barbara and Melissa are packing up dinner. He brings back snacks and scratch-off tickets as an apology and explains how he has a lot of bad memories around Christmas, which is why he’s always had a bad attitude around Christmas. The pair accept his apology.
Jacob calls Zach and tell shim he’ll go and visit his family with him in Pittsburgh after all.
Casino Night, Pt. 2
If you’re a dedicated office fan like me, the heading alone should give you an idea of how everything went down. It was agonizing. AGONIZING I tell you. Anyway, let’s get into it.
Christmas time is here, and it’s Janine’s first single holiday. As such, Erica is straightening Janine’s hair and bringing her out to a hookah bar. Janine leaves early from the work function (gasp), saying goodbye to Gregory and that she hopes he has a good break.
At the club, Erica and Janine are waiting in line when a group of guys walks up behind them and greets them. But one of the members of the group is none other than… Gregory?!? In a thermal and a chain?!? Gregory?!? The pair’s alarm only increases when none other than Ava makes an appearance (skipping the line of course, she’s way too glamorous for waiting).
The club is bumping, but Janine is decidedly not, and neither is Gregory as the awkwardness is palpable. Gregory’s friend Mo eyes up Janine (and later Ava), but Gregory warns him off. Gregory makes his way over to Janine, who has been parked in her seat. After some awkward banter, he convinces her to go “be normal” with her out on the dance floor, as they’re the only ones not mingling.
The two dance awkwardly before Erica comes over and tells Janine to stop being a prude and turn up; she came to the club for a reason, and it was to meet new people and have some fun. Janine goes back to dancing with Gregory and is accidentally bumped into him by another dancing couple. The awkwardness seems to dissipate as the two give in and start dancing heatedly. Ava sees and hilariously orders a cheap shot just to spit out.
Not my work husband grinding on my work nemesis. Pour me something cheap so i can spit it out!
Ava Coleman
Ava interrupts the pair in typical Ava fashion (“Damn Janine, why you can’t move like that during step practice. Gregory… no notes”). The two escape to catch some air outside. Outside, it begins snowing and Gregory comments “beautiful” — but he’s not looking at the snow, no he’s looking at Janine. The two gravitate closer and closer and closer… and right as the two are about to kiss, Gregory’s phone rings. It’s Amber, who decided to come out and is at a bar around the corner after previously being at home. Gregory dashes off into the night to meet her and Janine is left alone outside the club. Right after he leaves, Mo comes outside looking for him, and he and Janine hit it off. He officially introduces himself as Maurice.
Later, Janine is standing outside alone again when Ava is saying bye to her friends. Erica is making out with a guy she met at the club, and even though Janine met someone (Mo), she’s decided to call it a night. In a shocking twist of compassion, Ava says since she’s all dressed up and looking nice (and who knows when that’ll happen again — oh Ava), she’s coming along to a bar with her and her boyfriend. Janine is shocked that Ava has a boyfriend (so are we).
Janine questions Ava about her boyfriend, who she has apparently been dating for 2 years (but he’s been dating her for 5). A car pulls up and Ava’s boyfriend is none other than 4x NBA Champion Andre Iguodala?!? Oh, Ava.
The Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning show Abbott Elementary airs on Wednesday nights at 9 p.m ET/ 8 p.m. CT. Check out all of our other coverage on the show here (including episodic recaps) and stay tuned for more updates.
