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Episode

"Franklin Institute" is the twenty-second and final episode of the second season of Abbott Elementary. It is also the 35th overall episode in the series. It first aired on April 19, 2023.

Description[]

Abbott Elementary takes a field trip to the Franklin Institute. Gregory is eager to spend time with a reluctant Janine who is avoiding him. Ava teaches the students about aliens, leading to chaos when someone spots an extraterrestrial in the museum.

Plot[]

Gregory is speaking formally on the phone. Mr. Johnson notices and asks if he’s on the FBI, but Gregory tells him that he was just speaking with his dad. His father was asking him to come up to Baltimore to work at his landscaping company for the summer. Mr. Johnson tells Gregory that he would love to work in landscaping so Gregory offers him the gig in case Gregory didn’t take it.

The following day, Janine and Gregory discuss their preparations for the upcoming Abbott sleepover at the Franklin Institute. Janine tells Gregory that she’s happy that Ava paired them up as group buddies. Gregory agrees and tells her that he needs her to have his back in case the exhibits come to life. Janine realizes that he’s referring to "Night at the Museum," a movie she recommended to him. Gregory tells her that he takes her recommendations seriously because he wants to know why she likes the things she likes.

Elsewhere, Ava and Melissa are also preparing for the field trip. They both see Barbara pushing her luggage and joke that she must have Gerald inside. Barbara tells them that she has an extensive nighttime regimen that she will not abandon because of an “overnight youth excursion.” Curious, Ava asks to see what Barbara has inside her luggage, but Barbara evades the question by feigning to hear the school bell ring.

Students and teachers are outside school, waiting for the buses to arrive. Maurice passes by and Janine greets him. Maurice admits that he only decided to walk by the school because he assumed that they wouldn’t cross paths. Janine apologizes for the surprise appearance and for how things went down at "Bone Town." Maurice tells her that it’s all good since Gregory did tell him not to pursue her and he did anyway so they both were just in their selfish eras. However, Janine does not believe that she’s selfish, but Maurice points out how she invited Maurice to his favorite restaurant just to break up with him in from of his friend who she kissed but didn’t actually date. Janine realizes that she was being selfish and that she hurt Maurice. She tells the camera that she felt that she was making progress only to find out that she was unknowingly hurting someone by being selfish, and that she never wants to do that again. While this is all happening, Gregory watches at a distance, unable to properly hear his student’s mom warning him of how her son is a tricky sleeper who pretends to sleep.

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Abbott students and teachers arrive at Franklin Institute.

The Abbott students and teachers arrive at Franklin Institute. Gregory tries to strike a conversation with Janine, but she ignores him every time. Meanwhile, the museum docent and Melissa rub each other the wrong way as Melissa thinks that the docent doesn’t know and appreciate Philadelphia well enough to be working at a museum.

As the students look at space exhibits, Ava tells them of the possibility of aliens walking among us. Barbara warns her that she might be frightening the children, but Ava says that she just wants them to be prepared.

Sensing that Janine is avoiding him, Gregory sends his student to do a cute little bit to cheer her up, but Janine is unaffected by it. Gregory then opens up the possibility of staying in Philly for the summer so they can hang out instead of working for his dad in Baltimore. However, Janine pushes him to work for his dad and spend time with his family.

Later that night, everyone is preparing to go to bed. Barbara asks the docent for a private place for her and her class to sleep. The docent directs her to the galaxy room, but warns her that it can feel kind of creepy there at night. Barbara thanks her and leads her class to the said room. Nearby, Jacob manages to snag a spot next to Gregory’s group. Gregory takes this as an opportunity to confide in Jacob regarding how Janine has been acting towards him. Jacob advises him to simply ask her what’s wrong, adding that they should just kiss and get it over with. Gregory gives him a look that makes Jacob believe that they have already kissed. Gregory admits that they have kissed during the PECSA weekend, and briefly shares the circumstances of their first kiss. Jacob tells him that he should just tell her how he feels. Gregory is worried that there is no going back after that, Jacob points out that there might be a lot of good stuff on the other side. Somewhat relieved, Gregory gives Jacob a “bro hug.”

Meanwhile, a student shares with Ava a drawing she made of an alien. Ava tells her that aliens might actually look like humans, with the only difference being that they are not used to Earth’s atmosphere. The student supposes that the only giveaway to identify aliens among us would be their breathing apparatus.

A little while later, Ava goes to Janine to tell her that she deliberately paired her up with Gregory as group buddies, adding that they have her to thank after they have their “short, broad-shouldered babies.” Janine denies that there is something going on between the two of them. She then asks Ava if she has ever been called selfish before. Ava answers that she is called selfish all the time, but that she doesn’t care because she’s only taking care of herself. She tells Janine that she notices her starting to take care of herself, as well and that it looks good on her. As long as Janine isn’t hurting anybody, there should not be any problem.

Gregory approaches Janine, asking if they could talk. However, Janine continues to avoid him and takes her class to the galaxy room where Barbara’s class is. Jacob noticed that the two were talking so he goes to Gregory to ask how their conversation went. Gregory tells him what just happened, and somehow accepts that that is how things are going to be. Jacob overreacts and says that Gregory is probably never going to see Janine again. Gregory tells him to relax.

As Jacob leaves, Gregory decides to confront Janine once again. He asks her if her conversation with Maurice that morning is what cause her sudden change towards him. Janine tells him that that wasn’t about him, but he begs to differ. He finally confesses that he has feelings for Janine, but before he can say more, Gregory’s student, who was initially pretending to be asleep, wanders off and sees Barbara wearing a “breathing apparatus.” The boy shouts, “Alien!” causing the students wake up and run around in panic.

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Barbara reveals that she is the "alien."

Ava and Melissa, armed with her trusty bat, investigate the “alien sighting.” Barbara calms them down and reveals that the “alien” was just her wearing a CPAP machine which helps with her sleep apnea. Realizing that she caused the panic due to her fearmongering about aliens, Ava brushes the whole thing off as a simple misunderstanding and tasks the other teachers to retrieve their students while she goes back to sleep.

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Janine and Gregory finally confess their feelings for one another.

As Janine and Gregory are looking for their students, they finally get a chance to talk about their feelings. Janine admits that she likes Gregory, too, but Gregory tells her that he kind of knew that already. They both reveal that they have liked each other since the first time they met, but never really admitted it since Janine still had Tariq and Gregory had a number of relationships as well. Janine brings up their kiss, but Gregory tells her that she called it a “whoops,” but Janine points out that he could have said that it wasn’t. Gregory then says that she was dating Maurice then, too. The two of them (Janine and Gregory) were all over the place then, but have to deal with the “now.” Janine admits that talking to Maurice earlier changed things. It didn’t change how she feels about Gregory, but it did change how she feels about herself. She tells him that she is happy to see him every day at school, but she cannot start a relationship with him because she doesn’t want to lose him as a friend. She admits that she is being selfish because that is what she needs right now and she doesn’t want to end up hurting him. Gregory tells her that he understands and they both get back to where their students are. Jacob asks Gregory how their conversation went. Gregory sadly shakes his head, so Jacob comforts him with a “bro hug.”

The following day, Janine and Gregory share their thoughts about last night to the camera crew. Janine thinks that she did the right thing and that being selfish is good for her. She adds that she thinks Gregory is great, but that she isn’t ready for him just yet, but that’s okay. Gregory says that he’s okay and happy to put it out there, even if it didn’t go how he wanted.

Back at school, Janine finds Gregory outside gardening. She invites him to grab something to eat. Jacob comes with them, remarking that their After-school crew is back.

Some time later, Mr. Johnson is at Ava’s office, asking for time off for the rest of the year so he can go to work with Gregory’s father at the landscaping company in Baltimore. Ava thinks it’s a joke since there are six more weeks of school left, so she tells him that she’ll be seeing him tomorrow. However, Mr. Johnson is already packed to go. He tells Ava that he’s “got to do me” and leaves. Realizing that Mr. Johnson is really leaving, Ava chases him down, unsuccessfully.

Starring[]

Guest Starring[]

Co-Starring[]

Ratings[]

"Franklin Institute" was watched by 2.904 million viewers, earning a 0.55 in the 18-49 rating demographics on the Nielson ratings scale.[1]

Media[]

Episode Stills[]

References[]

  1. Salem, Mitch (April 20, 2023). SHOWBUZZDAILY's Wednesday 4.19.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals UPDATED. ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved on April 21, 2023.

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