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"Wishlist" is the third episode of the first season of ABC's hit mockumentary sitcom Abbott Elementary. It was directed by Randall Einhorn and written by Morgan Murphy. The episode first aired on ABC on January 11, 2022, with 2.97 million viewers and received positive reviews from critics.
Description[]
It's Wishlist Week at Abbott: a chance for teachers to ask the community for new school supplies. Janine takes to TikTok and with Ava's assistance, her video is a success and goes viral. Feeling confident, Janine and Ava make a video for Barbara behind her back after she declines their help. Later, Janine encourages Gregory to decorate his classroom.
Plot[]
An old lady donates a printer to the school.
Janine takes inventory of her class's needs for the "Wishlist Week", where the teachers ask the local community for donations for supplies since the city doesn't provide them with the fund they need. An old lady walks in to donate an old printer, but Janine tells her that there are specific items to donate. The old woman insists, and Janine accepts and, once the old lady leaves, she gives it to Mr. Johnson to throw it away. At the teachers' lounge, Janine watches the TikTok wishlist video of a third-grade teacher at Marshall Elementary in Louisville, so she decides to make a video for her wishlist and post it on TikTok, and recommends Melissa and Barbara to make their wishlists, but they decline the idea. Ava walks into the teachers' lounge and, seeing that Janine is on TikTok, tells her about her viral TikTok video about smoothing elbows to the tune of "Black and Yellow." Seeing Mr. Johnson with the trash can, Jacob picks up the old printer and promises to make it work to show that, like the students, one can't give up on something just because it's easy.
Janine walks into Gregory's classroom to borrow his projector for her wishlist video, and notices that Greg has removed all the stuff from the walls of the room. She tells him that the walls are the soul of the classroom–Greg takes that into account. Once Janine leaves, one of Greg students gives him a drawing. Jacob, trying to make the printer work, tries the old cords from the computer room. Janine approaches him to show him her unfinished wishlist video, but Jacob believes it's not going to "break through the noise". So, Janine seeks Ava's help to get her video wishlist blown up on TikTok, and Ava accepts. Once uploaded, Janine's wishlist video gets over 20,000 views and 200 comments in one day, and she gets almost everything from her list. Janine tries again to help Barbara with her list, since she didn't get any supplies, but Barbara again turns her down.
Janine checks out Gregory's walls decoration.
In Greg's classroom, one of his students gives him another drawing of him, in which he thinks he's a cowboy but he's actually playing baseball. Greg sees Janine walking down the hall and shows her his classroom decorated with posters from an office supply store, but Janine feels that it looks more like an office than a classroom. While in the hallway, Janine glances over to Barbara's classroom where she sees her wiping down the floor with just one tissue left. Janine thinks it's pride that keeps Barbara from asking for help, so she decides to help Barbara behind her back, resorting again to Ava. Ava agrees to make a video for Ms. Howard, but doesn't tell Janine what kind of video she's going to make. Once Ava makes the video, she shows it to Janine, who gets disappointed and describes it as the "grossest, most emotionally manipulative, exploitative" video she's ever seen and tells Ava to delete it but she had already posted it. Later, at the teacher's lounge, Barbara starts receiving big packages with items from her wishlist. Janine is worried that Barbara will read the note on the packages and find out about Ava's TikTok video, but the note didn't say much about it. Janine looks for Ava again to tell her that the video worked and asks her to take it down, but Ava refuses because it is the most liked video she has ever created. Ava eventually takes the video down. Janine heads to Greg's classroom disappointed that Greg didn't change the decorations. Greg believes that since he's a substitute teacher it's absurd to spend time decorating a classroom for another teacher. Janine notices the drawings the students drew of Greg, and concludes that the kids have a connection with him and they like him.
Ms. Howard's class is interrupted by a group of college kids and Ava.
A group of college kids who watched Barbara's video show up with gifts for underprivileged kids and interrupt Ms. Howard's class to meet her–she asks them about the video. Janine walks in to kick out the college kids and tells Barbara about the video she asked Ava to make. Barbara tells Janine that they should talk about what the students have, not what they don't, and Janine agrees. Barbara reprimands Janine, but she won't give the stuff back. Janine goes to apologize to Gregory but gets amazed seeing that Greg decorated the walls of the classroom with the drawings that his students gave him. Then he tries to guess the drawings but is bad at it and Janine helps him.
Jacob shows Mr. Johnson the use of the old printer as a plant pot.
Unable to turn on the printer, Jacob, without giving up, thinks that he can use it as a pot for a plant that he waters and ends up spilling water on the table. An unconvinced Mr. Johnson tells Jacob that the printer is trash, making him finally give up. Mr. Johnson then throws the printer in the trash, and complains about the water in the bin.
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
- Sheryl Lee Ralph as Barbara Howard
Guest Starring[]
Co-Starring[]
- Camden Brooks as Barbara's Student
- Ca'Ron Jaden Coleman as Adorable Kid
- Pappy Faulkner as College Kid 3
- Jeff Feringa as Old Lady
- Crosby Fitzgerald as Miss Kerman
- Ayesha Harris as UPS Person
- Taylor Owen as College Kid 2
- Jackson Owens as Isaiah
- Lyric Monet Paige as Cute Kid
- Sebastian Schier as College Kid 1
Reception[]
Ratings[]
"Wishlist" was watched by 2.97 million viewers, earning a 0.6 in the 18-49 rating demographics on the Nielson ratings scale.[1]
Critical response[]
Writing for Tell-Tale TV, Janelle Ureta believes that with "Wishlist," both the show and the characters have "delightfully" found their groove, highlighting the decision to minimize Ava Coleman's "predatory skeezy-ness" with Gregory Eddie. "On 'Wishlist,' we see Ava interacting with Janine and behind her desk. That works well to allow her character to develop in a more quirky and less creepy direction." Ureta gave the episode a rating of 5 stars out of 5, and concluded that the series' core humor source "locks into place at the same time the show sheds what was holding it back from being five-star."[2]
Media[]
Videos[]
Episode stills[]
References[]
- ↑ Metcalf, Mitch (January 12, 2022). ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 1.11.2022 Updated. Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved on January 12, 2022.
- ↑ Ureta, Janelle (January 12, 2022). Abbott Elementary Review: Wishlist (Season 1 Episode 3). Retrieved on May 9, 2022.
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