S03.E12: Mother’s Day

[DanaK]

Quote

WEDNESDAY, MAY 8, 9:00-9:32 p.m. EDT

Barbara invites Gregory to her family's Mother's Day brunch. Jacob scrambles to figure out how to organize a school field trip.

 

[Annber03]

Awwwwwww, I really liked this episode. 

Totally understand Gregory getting out of the gathering the way he did - I very much relate to the whole thing of just...needing to be by yourself in moments like this, both to process and think about things and also to just do things your way. His comment to Barbara about the unexpected moments that hit you...I absolutely felt that. In my case, it's with my dad, as I've still got my mom, but yeah. I know exactly what he means. 

I do like that Barbara came to apologize, too, and obviously she meant well. And she clearly needed to not be alone with her grief and remembering her mom. So I totally understand her reasoning for wanting Gregory there, too, and wanting everyone to gather for the day. I'm glad that she got some time to herself, too, though, and that her family made it clear to her that it was okay for her to take a break every now and again. I hope she had fun hitting a few "home runs" XD. 

I understand Janine's disappointment about her whole thing with her dad, too. But I love how the others helped her feel better as they did :). 

And yay for Jacob getting his field trip, and in such a creative way besides :D. I would totally go to that drag event, it looked fun. 

[chitowngirl]

Of course Mr. Johnson and Kevin Hart know each other! 😆

[Galileo908]

"Janine's dad is probably Kevin Hart or something." And Janine thinks Ava might be on to something. Not knowing who her father is, and being raised by THAT single mother explains so much about her. As does being raised by a strict military dad after his mom died when he was nine explain so much about Gregory. I honestly couldn't believe they made that the A-plot. But I LOVE the reveal that Kevin Hart knows Mr. Johnson!

I just died at the "PTA: Parents Throwing Ass" sign. Of course Tariq is wasting funds on the food at the meetings and knows what nigiri is, and yet says "human money" and doesn't know the difference between being in the red of the black.

Gregory and Barbara's plot was really sweet. I haven't lost my parents, but I do know the pain of losing loved ones, and being put on the spot at family gatherings. I really liked Gregory knowing when to leave Barbara's house while being polite, firm, and respectful. I need to learn how to copy that.

I wish Mr. Johnson stayed in that mariachi outfit for the episode. And he loves brunch and once again he was left out! At least Janine invited him for next time.

[JeanJean]

Another very good episode.

That's Abbott!

[DanaK]

Once Kevin Hart’s name was mentioned, I figured he would somehow end up at the school, but I wasn’t expecting him to show up on video asking Janine to stop harassing him on social media because she thought he might be her dad. That’s definitely a bit more creative than popping into the school

Otherwise, good episode

[kathyk2]

Much better episode than last week. I felt so bad for Gregory I wish Barbara hadn't been so over the top he might have enjoyed himself. I hate Janine's mom so much she probably doesn't know who her father is. Janine deserved some stability in her life. I want to meet Melissa's siblings.

[Galileo908]

35 minutes ago, kathyk2 said:

I felt so bad for Gregory I wish Barbara hadn't been so over the top he might have enjoyed himself.

Some people just aren't comfortable being put on the spot or getting attention at gatherings regardless of how good the intentions are. All of Barbara's family were on him, it wasn't just her. I'd be just like Gregory in that situation.

37 minutes ago, kathyk2 said:

I want to meet Melissa's siblings.

If Seamus is played by anyone other than Bill Burr, what's the point?

[ItCouldBeWorse]

Melissa was egging Barbara on with respect to Gregory, right?

As soon as I saw the hall decorations, I wondered about the kids who don't have moms, or don't live with them. There have to be some.

And neither Janine or Erica know who their fathers are. Perhaps that helped them bond.

Were we supposed to originally think that Jacob's brilliant idea was to take the students to the free drag queen performance? I didn't see how that was going to work, so I'm glad that it was the park he was thinking of. 

Edited May 9 by ItCouldBeWorse

[Annber03]

4 minutes ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

Were we supposed to originally think that Jacob's brilliant idea was to take the students to the free drag queen performance? I didn't see how that was going to work, so I'm glad that it was the park he was thinking of. 

That's where I thought he might be going at first, too :D. Which I would've gotten a kick out of, personally, but yeah, he would've definitely met some resistance from some people somewhere if that had been his plan. 

[Blakeston]

I wish I enjoyed this as much as others did.

I used to find this show laugh-out-loud hilarious, and now it only gets a few chuckles per episode from me. I find that a lot of the humor has gotten tired - particularly Ava being mean.

On the plus side, it was a big step up from last week.

[txhorns79]

1 hour ago, DanaK said:

Once Kevin Hart’s name was mentioned, I figured he would somehow end up at the school, but I wasn’t expecting him to show up on video asking Janine to stop harassing him on social media because she thought he might be her dad. That’s definitely a bit more creative than popping into the school

Three celebrity cameos in one season is too much.  Having said that, I appreciated that Hart looked like he just woke up from a deep sleep before he did his filming.  I was also curious how old Janine is supposed to be?  Kevin Hart is only ten years older than Quinta Brunson. 

I was also a little surprised Janine hasn't tried to find her father through one of those DNA kits you can send it to see if you match anyone.       

[ItCouldBeWorse]

4 minutes ago, txhorns79 said:

I was also a little surprised Janine hasn't tried to find her father through one of those DNA kits you can send it to see if you match anyone

I wasn't so surprised she hadn't done it previously, because she had convinced herself she was just fine not knowing. But now that she's opened the door, she might consider it. But who knows what crazy relatives she might unearth.

[Galileo908]

17 minutes ago, txhorns79 said:

I was also curious how old Janine is supposed to be?  Kevin Hart is only ten years older than Quinta Brunson. 

She said she was 27 in this episode.

[Phebemarie]

I'm a little disappointed that Janine is back to enduring Ava's jokes without push back.  I still think she should have stayed with the district until the end of this short season.  It seems like the writers have allowed her to regress.  

I thought Jacob was going to get the drag queens to hold a fund raiser for his field trip.  

[Corgi-ears]

Oh, I see: this is how the show is going to do an episode, and thus a political commentary on, Drag Queen Story Hour and having children interact with drag queens. (No doubt the field trip will accidentally or otherwise coincide with a drag event, or Shea-Couleé-as-Lisa-Condo will go along on the field trip.) 

Edited May 9 by Corgi-ears

[possibilities]

I didn't understand why they needed the room full of people to help them reserve the park.

 

Edited May 9 by possibilities

[libgirl2]

I enjoyed this episode better than last weeks. 

I want to meet Melissa's siblings too! 

The whole Kevin Hart bit was funny. 

[mammaM]

"And Seamus, he has a different dad"

I wanna meet Melissa's family!!!!!! Her rattling off her siblings reminded me of that line in Good Fellas,

(para.)"They were all named Peter or Paul and married to women named Marie"😂😂😂

 

[mammaM]

I posted too fast and forgot to add: maybe unpopular opinion.

I don't like Ava anymore, and maybe Janine. The show gave Ava some depth and Janine some backbone, and then took it away and now we're back to Mean Ava and Put-Upon Janine. 

C'mon show, you can be better

[peeayebee]

10 hours ago, Galileo908 said:

If Seamus is played by anyone other than Bill Burr, what's the point?

What a fantastic idea! I really really want to see this.

 

9 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

Were we supposed to originally think that Jacob's brilliant idea was to take the students to the free drag queen performance? I didn't see how that was going to work, so I'm glad that it was the park he was thinking of. 

I definitely thought that, but I wondered how that could possibly be a field trip and not get lots of pushback from parents or buttinskies unless they devoted a whole ep to it. I too was glad it was a misdirect.

 

8 hours ago, possibilities said:

I didn't understand why they needed the room full of people to help them reserve the park.

Me too. Maybe you could only reserve a specific portion of the park, so they needed everyone to call in to reserve all the areas. Did they mention a particular park by name? 

I enjoyed this ep. The Cold Open was fantastic with that game of telephone and then Mr Johnson turning up as a mariachi.

Loved Melissa's reaction to the camera when Barbara said that Gerald loved her lasagna.

The subplot with Kevin Hart was pretty good. Of course he wasn't going to turn out to be her dad, but the jokes were great. My absolute favorite line was Ava saying, "If he IS your dad, you two should buy a trench coat so you can go to R-rated movies." OMG, that's a classic! I also liked Janine saying that he might be her dad because they are both really funny, and then worrying that people would think she got her job because she was a nepo baby.

Sometimes I get tired of "magical, omnipresent Mr Johnson," but it was funny when we see that he and Kevin Hart know each other.

Barbara's malapropisms are always great. Topless Golf.

I enjoyed Janine's conversation with her mom. I always like Canada jokes, so I laughed when she said someone was trying to put gravy on her fries and added, "What is this aboot?"

Boy, I felt so bad for Gregory being forced to have prayers said over him. He handled it very well and never denigrated Barbara & her family's efforts, but that is definitely something I'd have trouble sitting still for. They said lots of lovely and caring things, but that sort of thing makes me very uncomfortable. Anyway, Gregory and Barbara had a sweet moment at Topless Golf. :D

[libgirl2]

1 hour ago, peeayebee said:

I definitely thought that, but I wondered how that could possibly be a field trip and not get lots of pushback from parents or buttinskies unless they devoted a whole ep to it. I too was glad it was a misdirect.

 

 

 

 

 

I thought for a minute it would go there too and was worried there would be too much drama if it did. I was glad it was the park too. 

Edited May 9 by libgirl2

[ItCouldBeWorse]

10 hours ago, possibilities said:

I didn't understand why they needed the room full of people to help them reserve the park.

 

I guess that one can only reserve so much of the park on a single day, so everybody was reserving separate areas? Like the playground, the picnic benches, the softball field.

2 hours ago, peeayebee said:

Me too. Maybe you could only reserve a specific portion of the park, so they needed everyone to call in to reserve all the areas.

That's what it sounded like. Except they weren't calling, it was an online reservation system. And they were supposed to forward their reservations to Jacob.

Edited May 9 by ItCouldBeWorse

[possibilities]

It was nice to see Jaacob get a win.

[Kip Hackman]

This one made me laugh, but do we really need the "So, what did we learn tonight?" voiceovers at the end of each episode? And this one had two of them.

[JenLily]

I just lost my mother three weeks ago so this was a difficult episode to watch. I really identified with Gregory as I haven't wanted to talk much about my mom with people, despite the concern and sympathy I know they have for me. I would've been just as overwhelmed by the demonstrations of love and support by Barbara and her family and I, too, would've had to extricate myself from that house, hopefully as gracefully as Gregory did. I'm dreading this Sunday. Maybe I, too, should head out to Topless Golf and spend the day alone with my thoughts. It actually looked kind of pleasant.

[Empress1]

22 hours ago, Annber03 said:

His comment to Barbara about the unexpected moments that hit you...I absolutely felt that. In my case, it's with my dad, as I've still got my mom, but yeah. I know exactly what he means. 

Me too. I started crying about my dad (I lost him unexpectedly three years ago) on vacation recently. I saw something he would have liked and started crying in the street. Grief does what it wants to do.

Ava looked STUNNING in that bright pink in the cold open. Gorgeous against her skin.

[kathyk2]

13 hours ago, mammaM said:

I posted too fast and forgot to add: maybe unpopular opinion.

I don't like Ava anymore, and maybe Janine. The show gave Ava some depth and Janine some backbone, and then took it away and now we're back to Mean Ava and Put-Upon Janine. 

C'mon show, you can be better

I think Ava teases Janine because she knows Janine can handle it. Ava has been nice to her even though Ava would probably deny it if asked. 

[kathyk2]

11 hours ago, peeayebee said:

What a fantastic idea! I really really want to see this.

 

I definitely thought that, but I wondered how that could possibly be a field trip and not get lots of pushback from parents or buttinskies unless they devoted a whole ep to it. I too was glad it was a misdirect.

 

Me too. Maybe you could only reserve a specific portion of the park, so they needed everyone to call in to reserve all the areas. Did they mention a particular park by name? 

I enjoyed this ep. The Cold Open was fantastic with that game of telephone and then Mr Johnson turning up as a mariachi.

Loved Melissa's reaction to the camera when Barbara said that Gerald loved her lasagna.

The subplot with Kevin Hart was pretty good. Of course he wasn't going to turn out to be her dad, but the jokes were great. My absolute favorite line was Ava saying, "If he IS your dad, you two should buy a trench coat so you can go to R-rated movies." OMG, that's a classic! I also liked Janine saying that he might be her dad because they are both really funny, and then worrying that people would think she got her job because she was a nepo baby.

Sometimes I get tired of "magical, omnipresent Mr Johnson," but it was funny when we see that he and Kevin Hart know each other.

Barbara's malapropisms are always great. Topless Golf.

I enjoyed Janine's conversation with her mom. I always like Canada jokes, so I laughed when she said someone was trying to put gravy on her fries and added, "What is this aboot?"

Boy, I felt so bad for Gregory being forced to have prayers said over him. He handled it very well and never denigrated Barbara & her family's efforts, but that is definitely something I'd have trouble sitting still for. They said lots of lovely and caring things, but that sort of thing makes me very uncomfortable. Anyway, Gregory and Barbara had a sweet moment at Topless Golf. :D

I hate having a fuss made over me so I identified with Gregory. I don't why Barbara has never invited Janine to her home. Janine would love to be part of a big family. I've always though that's why she stayed with Tariq she was part of his family.

[tennisgurl]

I knew that Gregory going to Barbara's house for Mothers Day would go poorly, even beyond his ex girlfriend being there with her new boyfriend. I can totally get Gregory not wanting to talk about his mom a lot and feeling uncomfortable with Barbara's whole family putting all of their attention on him, he doesn't like being the center of attention on a good day, let alone on an emotional one. The ending, with Barbara and Gregory bonding over their grief over losing their moms, was a great way to close that plot out. 

I spent the whole episode waiting for a Kevin Hart appearance and it did not disappoint! Of course he knows Mr. Johnson. 

The cold open was really fun, that game of telephone that ends in Mr. Johnson in a mariachi outfit was hilarious. He put a lot of work into that outfit! 

Nice to see Jacob get a win, taking the kids to a park is a fun idea for a field trip on a budget. 

I desperately want to meet the rest of Melissa's family. "Seamus doesn't know who his father is, that's why he drinks. Well, one of the reasons."

[mammaM]

17 hours ago, kathyk2 said:

I think Ava teases Janine because she knows Janine can handle it. Ava has been nice to her even though Ava would probably deny it if asked. 

Yeah, you're right but it seems like they're backsliding. Ava seemed a little more interested in "principal-ing" not scamming and Janine really grew when she was working for the district. And maybe I'm being too harsh, janine's only been back two episodes but it seems like tptb are going back to status quo. Here's hoping I'm wrong😎

[kathyk2]

6 hours ago, mammaM said:

Yeah, you're right but it seems like they're backsliding. Ava seemed a little more interested in "principal-ing" not scamming and Janine really grew when she was working for the district. And maybe I'm being too harsh, janine's only been back two episodes but it seems like tptb are going back to status quo. Here's hoping I'm wrong😎

I liked Janine working at the district as well. I thought this week's episode was much better than last week. I'd like to see Janine find her dad she wouldn't want to date a relative by accident.

[mammaM]

12 hours ago, kathyk2 said:

 I'd like to see Janine find her dad she wouldn't want to date a relative by accident.

Urgh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Thanks for putting THAT in my head!!😂😂😎

[possibilities]

Presumably, her dad would be way out of her ager range, so as lng as she dates people her age, that wouldn't happen.

Also, with the number of men in the world vs only one who is her dad, it just seems like a highly unlikely thing to happen anyway.

Or she could just check with her mom by sending her a picture: "did you hook up with this guy?" if she's really worried.

[chitowngirl]

But you don’t want to find out you’re dating your half-brother!

[SoMuchTV]

6 hours ago, chitowngirl said:

But you don’t want to find out you’re dating your half-brother!

Seriously!  Or a cousin, or an uncle… Still probably unlikely, but there are definitely possibilities. 

[incandescent]

Less unlikely when you still live in the city where you were conceived!

[Neiman]

While this episode was better than last week's, I don't think it was that good compared to the last two seasons.  Overall, something seems off this year. 

[cinsays]

On 5/9/2024 at 7:16 AM, mammaM said:

I posted too fast and forgot to add: maybe unpopular opinion.

I don't like Ava anymore, and maybe Janine. The show gave Ava some depth and Janine some backbone, and then took it away and now we're back to Mean Ava and Put-Upon Janine. 

C'mon show, you can be better

well, i like Janine but have disliked everything about Ava from the start. she's mean and hurtful.

On 5/9/2024 at 9:17 PM, kathyk2 said:

I think Ava teases Janine because she knows Janine can handle it. Ava has been nice to her even though Ava would probably deny it if asked. 

i think she tolerates it, but would prefer not to have to

[Skyfall]

15 hours ago, Neiman said:

While this episode was better than last week's, I don't think it was that good compared to the last two seasons.  Overall, something seems off this year. 

This show and Ghosts both having down seasons after the strikes should point to the strikes being the cause but we won’t know untill the new season for both.

[cinsays]

was Ghosts shown on "regular" tv at one time?  all this talk about it has me curious but i don't see it available other than on a subscription channel

 

[kathyk2]

3 hours ago, Skyfall said:

This show and Ghosts both having down seasons after the strikes should point to the strikes being the cause but we won’t know untill the new season for both.

I think Ghosts improved as the season went on I can't say that about Abbott Elementary. I think Librarian was the best episode of the season so far. I think not having the kids in all the episodes makes a huge difference. 

Just now, cinsays said:

was Ghosts shown on "regular" tv at one time?  all this talk about it has me curious but i don't see it available other than on a subscription channel

 

Where do you live? Ghosts is on CBS which is free.

[peeayebee]

I watched some of the UK Ghosts, maybe 2 seasons, and I loved it. I don't remember where I watched it, but I wasn't able to see all the seasons. The other day I got 6 free months of Paramount+ and have been watching the US Ghosts. It's good, but I don't think it's as good as the original. 

[Joimiaroxeu]

I too loved Ava's fuchsia wrap dress. She'd probably look good in all the solid jewel tones.

Barbara really needs to stop violating people's personal boundaries. Unfortunately when she's called on her behavior she either hides behind Scripture or her age. Gregory likely doesn't have much if any experience interacting with older church ladies.

Ava tried to game GoFundMe. Because of course she did.

The PTA was drinking sake and eating sushi on school property during class hours. How was that legal? (The alcohol, not the food.)

Barbara's family members put their hands on Greg in prayer. At the dinner table. Without asking permission. No freaking boundaries! And why was Melissa getting such a kick out of watching Greg try to deal with them politely?

No way does Barbara not know a home run applies to baseball and not golf. No one is that clueless, especially in Philadelphia with their historic baseball team

I was glad Gregory finally found the courage to be gently assertive with Barbara.

[Ilovepie]

I really liked this episode. As someone who lost my mom in my thirties, Mother's Day is hard sometimes, even more than other holidays for some reason. My parents were divorced when I was five, and I lived full time with my dad so as soon as I saw the drawings going on the walls I was like, that's so insensitive - what about the kids with no mom! I am glad Gregory said something to Melissa and Barbara, but how could they have not thought about that before?

As annoying as Gregory was the last episode, he was great here. His polite, respectful but firm explanation of why he was leaving was a good example for everyone in life. 

My first thought about the sushi PTA meeting was why not have a sushi fundraiser? I like the way Tariq has been used this season. Just enough to not be annoying; still dumb, but not as dumb.

Topless Golf. Now there's an idea for Top Golf! 🤣

[sereion]

On 5/9/2024 at 12:03 AM, txhorns79 said:

On 5/8/2024 at 10:06 PM, DanaK said:

Expand  

Three celebrity cameos in one season is too much

I am so over the celebrity cameos; it decreases the quality of the show, and I worry the show may jump the shark if they continue.  

[meep.meep]

They've had celebrity cameos since the beginning - in season 1 we find out that Ava is dating Andre Iguadala.

I wish they had delayed the hands-on Gregory a few more minutes, just to show him facing all that food that you know he's not going to eat.

And I still don't understand what Jacob did with the drag brunch attendees.

[Moose135]

On 5/8/2024 at 11:52 PM, ItCouldBeWorse said:

Were we supposed to originally think that Jacob's brilliant idea was to take the students to the free drag queen performance?

That's what I thought at first.

[Galileo908]

On 5/9/2024 at 12:20 AM, Galileo908 said:

She said she was 27 in this episode.

Kevin Hart is currently 44. He could've had her at 17, so the math checks out.