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"Mural Arts" is the seventeenth episode of the second season and 30th overall of Abbott Elementary. It aired on March 1, 2023.
Description[]
Jacob secures a visit from a mural arts program for his students but doesn’t agree with their chosen design and attempts to influence their decision. Barbara and Melissa learn parents are petitioning to turn Abbott into a Legendary charter school.
Plot[]
Jacob is calling the roll in his class. When he calls Raheem, the student answers in a seemingly gibberish language. Jacob asks about it and Raheem tells him it’s “The Silly Sock Show.” It’s a family of socks that do funny stuff. The class tries to explain and show him some stuff on the show. Jacob doesn’t get the appeal. Mr. Johnson overhears the class and comments how the students were doing a spot-on imitation of one of the show’s characters and proceeds to do an impression himself.
Ava makes an announcement during the school assembly.
In the gym, everyone in school have gathered for an assembly. Janine asks to sit next to Gregory as the seat beside him is the only one available. Their interaction is awkward while they force themselves to act natural. Ava announces that Mural Arts Philadelphia is visiting their school. Jacob explains that Mural Arts has a program that goes from school to school, creating murals with students. They have come to Abbott to work with his students and the mural will be going on the wall right outside his classroom. Mural Arts will be at Abbott for a week as Jacob’s class figures out what they want to put on their mural.
After school, Erika is picking up her nephew in Janine’s class. She finds out that Gregory is in the classroom beside Janine’s and proceeds to tease her about her involvement with Gregory and Maurice, Gregory’s best friend. Janine shares that she plans on breaking up with Maurice and telling him everything that happened at the teachers’ conference. However, Erika convinces her not to tell him because they have only been out on a couple of dates, and she thinks that it will only hurt his feelings and potentially ruin his friendship with Gregory.
Barbara calls to ask for more information about the petition to make Abbott into a charter.
The next day, Melissa shares an email she just received with Barbara. She was looking into what Kristin Marie said about Legendary trying to turn Abbott into a charter school. There was an online petition started by a couple of the Abbott students’ parents to “make Abbott part of Legendary Charter.” Melissa says there’s a number they can call to ask about the petition, so Barbara volunteers to call it and pretends to be an interested parent. Barbara does an impressive job of changing her voice and accent for the call. The person on the other line agrees to send her the information that she needs.
Meanwhile, Jacob is in the teachers’ lounge as his class is talking with Gabe from Mural Arts, deciding what they should paint. A few moments later, Gabe informs him that his students have made a decision. They walk back to his classroom to see what the students have decided to be their legacy. When Gabe and Tiffany, one of his students, show him what they want on their mural, they reveal a drawing of “The Silly Sock Show.” Jacob thinks that they were pulling a prank on him, disbelieving that they would want to put a silly show as their legacy. As Gabe is leaving the room, Jacob asks that his class be given another day to reevaluate and decide on another subject for the mural. Gabe agrees but reminds him that were on a strict schedule and that they were leaving on Friday. Gabe tells him that his students showed him the show and that he found it hilarious. He then proceeds to do a Silly Sock impression.
In the teachers’ lounge, Barbara and Melissa are thinking of ways to counter Legendary’s plans. Ava chimes in that she doesn’t really see anything wrong with turning into a charter school because turning charter might give Abbott a glow-up.
Meanwhile, Maurice arrives at school to surprise Janine with lunch. He runs into Gregory and confronts him about being inactive on their group chats. Gregory brushes it off, saying that he just can’t keep up with all the group chats Maurice has been creating every time he can’t find the old one. Gregory tells the camera that he and Maurice are “totally fine” and denies feeling awkward in his interaction with his friend.
Maurice goes to Janine and brings her lunch. He asks if she wants to hang out tomorrow. She agrees and suggests that they go someplace quiet where they could talk. Maurice suggests that they go to Bone Town, a rib joint in Philly.
Jacob is back with his class to discuss the mural. He wants them to think of a meaningful, compelling mural that they can remember for the rest of their lives. However, his students still want to go with “The Silly Sock Show.” He tries to convince them that it’s a bad idea as the mural is supposed to be their legacy. The students still insist on their initial idea. Still, Jacob does not yield and tells them to pick any other subject aside from “The Silly Sock Show,” which makes the students do a sad Silly Sock impression.
Gregory knocks on Janine’s classroom so they can talk. Gregory shares that he ran into Maurice earlier and that what happened at the teachers’ conference was bothering him. He feels like he’s being a bad friend to both Maurice and Janine. Janine tells him that there was no need to feel bad. Even if the kiss didn’t happen, she knew something still wasn’t clicking with Maurice, because if it was, she would not have kissed him. She informs him that she’s going to dinner with Maurice tomorrow and that she plans on breaking up with him. Gregory feels that since he’s Maurice’s friend, he should be the one to tell him about the kiss. While initially Janine was not planning on telling him at all, she says that if Maurice was going to find out about it, she should tell him herself. After a brief discussion, they decide that they should both tell him together.
Jacob shows Ava and Gabe his class' new subject for the mural.
The next day, Gabe and Ava go to see what Jacob’s class had finally decided on as the subject for their mural. As Jacob presents a picture of a sycamore, Ava notices that his students look so sad. Tiffany explains that they wanted to paint “The Silly Sock Show.” Jacob confesses that he steered his students in a certain direction in coming up with the subject. Knowing this, Gabe refuses to proceed with the mural because the goal of Mural Arts is to create murals with the kids and have them be the drivers of the mural. He says that he can’t, in good conscience, paint a mural the kids aren’t fully behind. And since they could not agree on a subject, they’ve run out of time. Gabe tells them that they’ll be back next year. Jacob’s students protest since they won’t be at Abbott next year.
In the teachers’ lounge, Jacob is watching an episode of “The Silly Sock Show” just to understand the hype. Melissa tells him that it’s nostalgia, which is important so he can’t take that from the kids. According to Jacob, murals should represent something more. He wants his students’ future selves to be proud of their mural and not regret it. Melissa says that that's how teaching is―you have to respect their now while preparing them for the future. Jacob comes up with an idea but quickly realizes that the mural people have already left. Melissa scoffs at his defeatist mindset and tells him that it’s time to bully some sensitive artists.
At the Administrative Office, Nicole Richardson, a parent, asks to see Ava. Ava recognizes her as the mother of Joshua, a former Abbott student who transferred to Addington. Nicole tells her that she needs to reenroll Joshua at Abbott since Addington kicked him out. She reads a letter from Addington which says that her son “no longer reaches the standards required” for their “educational nourishment.” Melissa opines that it’s just BS-speak for “he brought down their test scores.” Ava tells the mother that she’s happy to re-enroll Joshua. Ava then tells Barbara and Melissa that she’s joining the fight against Legendary Charter.
Janine and Gregory arrive at Bone Town where they find Maurice already seated. Gregory immediately tells Maurice that they need to talk. However, Gregory beats around the bush so Janine interrupts and tells Maurice that she and Gregory kissed at the teachers’ conference, but that it meant nothing. Surprisingly, Maurice takes it well. He says he’s a chill guy and tells Janine that if it meant nothing, then there’s no reason they can’t continue to date. Janine, however, proceeds to break up with him, saying that maybe they aren’t the best fit for each other. Maurice is taken aback by the fact that Janine is breaking up with him in front of Gregory. He finds the gesture “sick” and asks the two to leave.
The unveiling of the new mural.
At school, everyone is gathered around for the mural reveal outside of Jacob’s classroom. Jacob unveils the mural, showing a painting of “The Silly Sock Show.” Jacob tells everyone that if they took a close look at the socks, they'd see it’s a mosaic, with each of the students' paintings on its own tile. Raheem shows his where he’s a doctor. Tiffany shows hers where she is the first Black female president astronaut. Clarence reveals his is him in his favorite class, which is Jacob’s class and that he wants to become a teacher. Joshua who just reenrolled, is given his tile to paint on the mural.
Later in the teachers’ lounge, the teachers have gathered around a laptop. They have taken a personality quiz to see which Silly Sock they were. Jacob is a stereotypical Nene Sock, Melissa is Miss Ing Sock, while Barbara is Toeprah. Gregory is a Toeseph, although he claims to be a textbook Toesha.
Starring[]
- Quinta Brunson as Janine Teagues
- Tyler James Williams as Gregory Eddie
- Janelle James as Ava Coleman
- Lisa Ann Walter as Melissa Schemmenti
- Chris Perfetti as Jacob Hill
- William Stanford Davis as Mr. Johnson
- Sheryl Lee Ralph as Barbara Howard
Guest Starring[]
Co-Starring[]
- Zakai Biagas-Bey as Clarence
- Kingston Covington as Raheem
- Isaiah C. Morgan as Terrence
- Kaycee Campbell as Nicole Richardson
- Anthony Carr Jr. as Joshua Richardson
- Masen Pinnock as Louis
Ratings[]
"Mural Arts" was watched by 2.475 million viewers, earning a 0.42 in the 18-49 rating demographics on the Nielson ratings scale.[1]
Media[]
Episode Stills[]
References[]
- ↑ Salem, Mitch (March 2, 2023). SHOWBUZZDAILY's Wednesday 3.1.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals UPDATED. ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved on March 4, 2023.