S02.E21: Mom

[Joimiaroxeu]

The Amazing Jacob! Odd to me that Ava had never seen cheap magic tricks before. Or was she just hyping it up for the kids behalf?

Shanae stopped serving almonds at 7:08, Gregory. Shanae does not play.

Greg works a room like Data the artificial life form from Star Trek. I agree with comments upthread that he's probably on the spectrum. The show seems to be avoiding going there though.

Was Greg surprised Janine didn't introduce him to Vanetta, or was he relieved? Whatever, it might've been interesting to see Vanetta's reaction to him, and whether she would've been a Mother Hen or a Mrs. Robinson.

I was surprised Melissa wasn't wise to the spoon-bending trick. There was a guy who used to go on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show and amaze the studio audience by doing it. That is until word got out how the bit worked. I've even done it.

[bettername2come]

When Jacob was talking about his friendship with Shanae, I was not expecting that to be an actual representation of their relationship. I was so ready for her to hate his guts as much as that other upper grade teacher does. So it was fun to see them get along. I liked how Greg got into his groove with having that baseball connection. Jacob's point about communication being like baseball as it has "a lot of boring stuff and then, bam, homerun" was a good quote. I do not believe for a second that cafeteria has sliced almonds, because it seems too expensive for elementary cafeteria and is a pretty common allergen.

Taraji P. Henson was good casting. She looks enough like Quinta Brunson for me to believe it and she seemed to fit with the details we've gotten on Janine's mom. She must've been wearing some heels though because she towered over Janine and I looked it up - Taraji is 5'4". Quinta's 4'11". I appreciated that her mother knew her well-enough to be shocked that Janine climbed a ladder to fix a light and seemed genuinely proud of her daughter going to Penn. Doesn't make her a good mother, but I appreciate people having layers. I loved Barbara standing up for Janine, and the followup later with "Barbara Howard squared up to you?" I'm glad Janine found a way to help her mother that didn't sacrifice her vacation. I might've liked it more if she just didn't help her mother at all, but that's no very Janine. The fact that Barbara is supposed to be based on Quinta's mom made for an interesting comparison to me as it's kind of her real mother vs TV mother. 

And I am sitting here realizing I have only ever been to Ross with teachers so that ending trip feels very real. 

 

Edited April 16, 2023 by bettername2come

[cinsays]

6 hours ago, bettername2come said:

When Jacob was talking about his friendship with Shanae, I was not expecting that to be an actual representation of their relationship. I was so ready for her to hate his guts as much as that other upper grade teacher does. So it was fun to see them get along. I liked how Greg got into his groove with having that baseball connection. Jacob's point about communication being like baseball as it has "a lot of boring stuff and then, bam, homerun" was a good quote. I do not believe for a second that cafeteria has sliced almonds, because it seems too expensive for elementary cafeteria and is a pretty common allergen.

Taraji P. Henson was good casting. She looks enough like Quinta Brunson for me to believe it and she seemed to fit with the details we've gotten on Janine's mom. She must've been wearing some heels though because she towered over Janine and I looked it up - Taraji is 5'4". Quinta's 4'11". I appreciated that her mother knew her well-enough to be shocked that Janine climbed a ladder to fix a light and seemed genuinely proud of her daughter going to Penn. Doesn't make her a good mother, but I appreciate people having layers. I loved Barbara standing up for Janine, and the followup later with "Barbara Howard squared up to you?" I'm glad Janine found a way to help her mother that didn't sacrifice her vacation. I might've liked it more if she just didn't help her mother at all, but that's no very Janine. The fact that Barbara is supposed to be based on Quinta's mom made for an interesting comparison to me as it's kind of her real mother vs TV mother. 

And I am sitting here realizing I have only ever been to Ross with teachers so that ending trip feels very real. 

 

which teacher is that? i don't recall anything like hatred

[bettername2come]

23 minutes ago, cinsays said:

which teacher is that? i don't recall anything like hatred

Mr. Morton, egg drop guy.

[Bookish Jen]

I didn't think anyone could intimidate Ava out of her stilettos, but Vanetta sure did. Though I appreciated Vanetta's pride in Janine going to Penn it doesn't make up for the fact she's very self-absorbed and probably ignored Janine and Ayesha a great deal while they were growing up. 

But I'm thrilled Janine didn't blow all of her vacay money of her mother. I was so afraid she would. I think this show a lot of growth on Janine's part. I don't think she would have been so strong and assertive a year ago.

I hope "Abbott Elementary" bring Vanetta back. Taraji did an excellent job. And whomever in the costume department did Vanetta's styling deserves a raise. However, I was kind of distracted by Vanetta's nail charms.

Of course, there was other bits of business in this episode I appreciated-Jacob's magic tricks and Ava's glee over them, Melissa's face when Jacob bent the spoon, Jacob's friendship with Shanae, and Gregory's difficulty with small talk. 

I can't believe this Wednesday is the season finale. I love this show!

[possibilities]

5 hours ago, bettername2come said:

Mr. Morton, egg drop guy.

When that happened, I was terrified the exposed wires were live and would burn the school down over the weekend.

[853fisher]

On 4/14/2023 at 4:25 AM, callie lee 29 said:

I'm glad Janine took her vacation. I was worried she'd give all the money tho her mom. And now I need to look up Ocean City, MD. A friend of mine is moving to MD three end of the month so maybe a good beach for for her 

I guess I'm going a little off topic, but we visited there several years ago and liked it.  We are more boardwalk than beach people in these seaside towns.  We especially liked Trimper's, the amusement park with several unique classic rides, and found plenty of places to snack.  Mom did think the Bay Bridge was a nightmare to drive on.  Oh well - can't have it all.

Edited April 18, 2023 by 853fisher
Classics, not classes :)

[Crashcourse]

40 minutes ago, 853fisher said:

We are more boardwalk than beach people in these seaside towns.

Same here.  I've been to Ocean City a few times and it's really nice to walk along the boardwalk (and eat Thrasher's Fries 😋).  

[Irish Mermaid]

On 4/14/2023 at 7:50 AM, pvandal said:

Try being a Mariners fan. The only team that has never been to the World Series. 🤨😀

Preach 😫😭

Edited April 18, 2023 by Irish Mermaid

[sugarbaker design]

On 4/13/2023 at 7:51 PM, shoregirl said:

Even as a Jersey girl OCNJ is not where I would go on a girl trip. I love it but it's marketed as a family resort and is a dry town.

Rehoboth DE for the win!

[runninggal]

On 4/12/2023 at 10:10 PM, irisheyes said:

Preach. Fell in love in ‘83 and have suffered ever since. 😀 

(And they just lost to the freakin’ A’s. 🤨🤨)

I was at the final winning game in the 83 World Series!

[shoregirl]

13 hours ago, runninggal said:

I was at the final winning game in the 83 World Series!

As a baseball fan that's awesome. I went to game three of the world series this last year and it was amazing....but as a Phillies fan.........

 

Edited April 20, 2023 by shoregirl

[JakeyJokes]

On 4/13/2023 at 3:17 PM, DearEvette said:

see her as an An Ava without the steady, lucrative pay of the principal job or a Tariq but will real beefs, not imaginary ones.   She is always someone with a side hustle because she doesn't want to actually work a full time job.  She's probably done things like Amway or LuLaRoe but even those require too much effort.  She definitely mooches and, as we saw, she is a petty thief.  I can't see her being an actual hooker because A) I don't think the show would go that dark and b) it seems like it would be hard work.

I’m with you that the show wouldn’t go that dark, but I couldn’t help but notice that she reminded me a lot of addicts I know — the manipulation, the effortless lying, the hiding behind humor. But we also know nothing about Janine’s dad, do we? Maybe Vanetta just thought she would never have to work and then one day her youngest turned 18 and she stopped getting child support payments. Regardless, Taraji played the hell out of her.

As someone who is not a morning person in the slightest, my jaw dropped when they said it was 7:09 AM in the cafeteria scene. Good grief! I did like that Gregory and Shanae found a common bond with being Orioles fans. I got a relatively new job and didn’t bond with an ornery coworker until I found out we’re both pro wrestling nerds!

Edited April 20, 2023 by JakeyJokes

[JakeyJokes]

On 4/14/2023 at 9:31 PM, msani19 said:

Ava being delighted by Jacobs magic made my night. At first I thought she was just screwing  with him but she had that childlike enjoyment, it was actually kinda sweet. 

“It’s not magic if you LIE, Melissa!”

[Night Cheese]

On 4/18/2023 at 11:38 AM, sugarbaker design said:

Rehoboth DE for the win!

I'll second this!