| Episode |
"Valentine's Day" is the fourteenth episode of the second season and 27th overall of Abbott Elementary. It aired on February 8, 2023.
Description[]
On Valentine’s Day, the Abbott teachers discuss their relationships and plans for the holiday. Janine finds out one of her students has a crush on her and when turning to a colleague for advice, she inadvertently learns a secret about another teacher. Elsewhere, Ava sits in on Jacob’s Black History class after receiving a complaint.
Plot[]
Janine is getting ready to FaceTime her sister, Ayesha, because it is the latter’s birthday. Jacob asks to join her as he is excited to meet Janine’s sister. All throughout the call, Janine constantly complains to Jacob about her sister, listing attributes she deems annoying, which, ironically can also be said about her, such as: being really intense, over-the-top, lacking self-awareness, and nosy. After their call, Janine continues listing her complaints about her sister. Jacob, on the other hand, thinks that Ayesha seemed nice and that he could see them hit it off.
In the teachers’ lounge, Jacob shares his romantic Valentine’s Day morning with the rest of the teachers. Melissa shares that Gary, her boyfriend, hasn’t made any plans yet, so in case he doesn’t pull through, she’s made a backup reservation at Barclay Prime. Barbara tells them that she and her husband, Gerald, were so preoccupied that they forgot it was Valentine’s Day, so they were not able to make any reservation. Jacob suggests they try making a reservation at an airport restaurant. Barbara asks Gregory how his relationship with Amber is going. He answers that their relationship is going well. Since it’s their first Valentine’s together, he bought three gifts, planning on sending the two back after he’s chosen which was the best for Amber.
Janine enters the lounge and announces that she found a heart candy Valentine from “a secret admirer” and asks if any of them gave it to her. No one answers her and there is an awkward silence in the lounge. She shares to the camera that Maurice will be coming by after school with a surprise gift.
In the Principal’s Office, Tristan, the father of one of Jacob’s student’s, comes to Ava to issue a complaint. He takes umbrage with the fact that Jacob, a white teacher, is teaching Black history to his son during Black History Month. He suggests to have a Black teacher teach the subject instead. Ava tells him that there is nothing she can do about it until she observes the class herself.
Donnie gives Janine a Valentine.
Meanwhile, Donnie, Janine’s student, asks her if she received his heart candy Valentine. She thanks him and encourages him to give it to a classmate instead. Donnie refuses to do so because he needs “a real woman.” Later that day, Donnie knocks rhythmically to get Janine’s attention. Janine notices that her desk had been straightened, with Donnie revealing that he had done so while the teacher was away.
Ava is in Jacob’s class to observe him conduct his lessons. He starts his lesson about Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X and the similarities in their philosophies. Jacob’s students give their input on their relationship and how white people wanted to pit them against each other. Ava is drawn to the discussion. She puts her phone down and listens intently to the class.
Barbara tells Melissa that she made reservations at an airport restaurant for her date with her husband. Melissa is annoyed that she still hasn’t heard from Gary. She reminds Barbara that she needs to buy a ticket to get through airport security, something Barbara completely overlooked.
Janine asks Melissa for some advice about Donnie. She thought it would blow over, but Donnie isn’t showing signs of letting up. She is describing how Donnie would go out of his way to impress her like fixing stuff up in her classroom, or how he would keep staring at her, and how Donnie does a little knock to get her attention. As she is saying all these things, Jacob walks by and thinks Janine is describing Gregory. When Melissa says that it’s just puppy love, Jacob strongly disagrees and says that he’s glad that Janine has finally noticed. Jacob goes on a rant on how he found out about Gregory’s crush, which has Janine confused. Janine clarifies that she was talking about Donnie, but Jacob had already let slip that Gregory has a crush on her. Janine, however, doubts that Gregory has a crush on her, especially when he is dating Amber and she is dating Maurice.
Ava participating in Jacob's class.
Ava has been to Jacob’s last three classes. Jacob is now a little shaky as he conducts his lesson on Malcolm X and Martin Luther King because he thinks he’s getting fired. Ava is very participative in his lectures. The class does some paired reading. However, they have an odd number in class, so Ava volunteers to be paired with a student, which shocks Jacob.
In the teachers’ lounge, Janine still cannot believe what Jacob told her. She thinks out loud and shares that Jacob told her that somebody likes her. She refuses to divulge the answer, but Mr. Johnson announces that he knows that it’s Gregory. The others tell her that they’ve known for a while because it’s blatantly obvious. Barbara asks if Janine likes him, too, but she dismisses the thought because she’s dating Maurice.
Zach helps Ava realize that she likes learning.
Ava is just arriving at Jacob’s classroom for another lesson, when she discovers Zach setting up a romantic table for two. Zach informs Ava that Jacob has a free period and that he’s surprising him with a Valentine’s lunch. Ava expresses her disappointment as they were just about to dive into the rhetoric that MLK used in his “I Have a Dream” speech. Zach is puzzled that Ava is in Jacob’s class as a student, but Ava tells him that she has been observing all his classes. Zach notes that it sounds like she’s doing more than just observing, but rather that she’s enjoying learning. He adds that she sounds so passionate and engaged. She relates that she never liked school but somehow, she’s soaking up Black history lessons from Jacob. Zach speculates that now that she has matured, she is actually interested in learning.
Meanwhile, Gregory asks to speak with Janine. He says he has something really important that he needed to ask. Janine assumes that it’s about what Jacob said about him earlier. It turns out he’s asking for Janine’s opinion on his Valentine’s gift for Amber. It is a Lego set that you can build into a bouquet of flowers since she’s allergic to real flowers. Janine thinks it’s the coolest gift she’s ever seen, which relieves Gregory. Janine thinks that she was right about Gregory not liking her at all, and that Jacob was wrong.
Jacob finds Janine in the teachers’ lounge. He asks about the conversation between her and Gregory earlier. Janine tells him that he was wrong, and that Gregory really likes Amber. Janine tells Jacob about the amazing gift Gregory got for Amber which means that he’s totally into Amber, and not into her. Jacob points out that a person can like more than one person, but Janine dismisses this suggestion.
Ava tells Jacob that she's going back to school.
As Jacob and Zach are having their Valentine’s lunch date, Zach announces that he has a surprise for him. Ava enters the room, which flusters Jacob. He thinks that he’s about to get fired, but Zach tells him that Ava is the surprise. Ava tells Jacob that she found herself paying attention to his class, so she’s going back to school. She’s enrolling in night courses to get the credentials she’s supposed to have as a principal.
Back in Janine’s class, Donnie informs her that he no longer likes her.
After school, Ava is speaking with Tristan’s son, Paul. Tristan assumes that Jacob was no longer teaching Black history, but Ava apprises the father that Jacob will continue to teach it and that he shouldn’t judge him by the color of his skin. Ava shares that she found out that Jacob teaches about Black historical figures all year, not just during Black History Month. Tristan comes around after knowing this.
Maurice is waiting for Janine in the hallway when he runs into Amber. Amber is impressed by the Telfar bag Maurice got for Janine and she wishes to receive a similar gift from Gregory. Gregory spots Maurice so he tells him that he doesn’t have to wait because Janine is just down the hall.
Maurice enters Janine room and hands her the Telfar bag. Janine doesn’t realize that the bag is the present and mistakes it for a shopping bag, until Maurice corrects her. She’s unaware that it’s expensive so she starts putting colored pens inside. Maurice quickly tells her to be careful and put caps on the pens because of how expensive it is.
In his room, Gregory is giving his Lego gift to Amber. Amber’s face falls and she’s clearly disappointed. As they are leaving, Gregory explains that they can get the kids involved in assembling the Lego flowers. Amber doesn’t answer him as she compliments Janine’s bag. Janine also compliments Amber’s gift and how much fun it will be. Gregory and Janine then go their separate ways and wish each other a Happy Valentine’s Day.
Barbara and Melissa are just about to leave school premises. Barbara updates Melissa on the progress of her Valentine’s Day plans. She invites Melissa to come along, under the assumption that Gary never made any plans for them. Melissa declines the offer. She receives a text from Gary asking for her to take a picture of the vending machine in the teachers’ lounge to see if they were running low on Doritos. She’s annoyed at the text, but she goes back to the lounge, nonetheless. There, she finds Gary holding a bouquet of flowers. He motions for her to read what he put in the vending machine. She has trouble deciphering the message until Barbara tells her that it’s “I love you.” She is surprised by the message, but Gary affirms that he loves the crap out of her. Melissa responds that she loves him, too, but to never scare her like that again. Barbara gives them some privacy as the two share a sweet kiss.
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[]
- Vince Staples as Maurice
- Ayo Edebiri as Ayesha
- Larry Owens as Zach
- Naté Jones as Amber
- Bruno Amato as Gary
Co-Starring[]
- Randy Perrine as Donnie
- Chinedu Unaka as Tristan
- Jakari Fraser as Paul
- Kennedy Chrisette as Jacob's Student #1
- Nicky Richardson as Jacob's Student #2
Ratings[]
"Valentine's Day" was watched by 3.220 million viewers, earning a 0.56 in the 18-49 rating demographics on the Nielson ratings scale.[1]
Media[]
Episode Stills[]
References[]
- ↑ Metcalf, Mitch (February 9, 2023). SHOWBUZZDAILY'S Wednesday 2.8.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated. ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved on February 10, 2023.