S04.E06: The Deli

[chitowngirl]

When the neighborhood deli is forced to close to make room for a trendy smoothie place, Melissa, Barbara and Jacob team up to fight the gentrification; the district asks Ava to give a presentation to fellow principals.

[BAForever]

Had to stop watching to comment on the opening! They all know about parachute games! Gotta be an elementary teacher on the writing staff- the motions and Janine running underneath were amazing.  ❤️ this show.

[Galileo908]

Man, it IS weird to explain the parachute to someone who never experienced it. It was sweet seeing everyone go through it at the end.

This was a great Ava episode. "You are welcome for my time." Giving Janine good advice on the paper eater? And calling her students "cool ass"? She's come so far.

Gregory loves extra bee pollen in his smoothies. And he was so hurt that Barbara and Melissa drank his smoothie.

Jacob was WAITING for an opportunity to mobilize. And when he got hooked on the smoothies, mobilizing ended up biting him in the ass. He finally got the respect he wanted from the community but he couldn't even enjoy it.

"You got gloves?"
"No..."
"Good. They'll just slow you down."

Good to see Chad again, now shadowing Mr. Johnson to write an essay about him! Pinning up Chad's gloves on his mantle was honestly heartwarming.

Last one until the two eps on December 4th.

Jacob trash dived for his vape, it's not out of character to dive for a smoothie.

[kathyk2]

Of course Gregory would be excited about a smoothie shop. The Ava and Janine scene was great. They really have grown since the show began. 

[Annber03]

Unfortunately I missed some of the middle of this episdoe because of my stupid cable system glitching out on me, so I'll have to rewatch at some point to see what all I missed. 

But yeah, it was great to see Ava getting some recognitiion and being able to talk up her school and the way they do things to help the students. I also liked how her suggsetion to Janine to help the kid eating paper wound up working out, too. 

Gregory's dejected "I'm gonna get a Mountain Dew" made me laugh. As did all the names for the various drinks. 

43 minutes ago, Galileo908 said:

Good to see Chad again, now shadowing Mr. Johnson to write an essay about him! Pinning up Chad's gloves on his mantle was honestly heartwarming.

I liked that, too :). 

[Empress1]

Janine’s little “He knows so many smoothie places” was so cute.

The paper eater holding up Peter Rabbit with actual bites taken out had me rolling. So did his classmate’s delivery of “He ate Peter Rabbit.”

Edited November 14 by Empress1

[Blakeston]

Peter Rabbit can't catch a break on this show, can he? First the art teacher chops up Melissa's prized Peter Rabbit books for her project, and now that little boy ate him. 🤣

I was not fully prepared for how hunky Manny would look. Tariq had a glow-up, so I guess Manny gets one too.

The Barbara/Melissa mean girl dynamic remains one of my least favorite things about the show.

[peeayebee]

Loved Barbara's sarcasm about lacrosse to the golf club guy. And his total cluelessness about everything they were saying was great. My favorite part was probably all of them showing him how you play parachute. The joy! I always loved playing that, too.

I keep forgetting how to pronounce acai. Ah-sah-EE. Right?

Cracked me up every time Jacob brought up the B.L.A.C.Ks. "It's the B.L.A.C.Ks!" The look on the students' faces. 🤣

It's always nice to see how Ava has evolved, both as a character and as a principal (and general human). But she still retains the old Ava.

"Yes, double-jacket." (Is wearing two jackets a thing?)

[MaryMitch]

I'm glad that they've evolved Ava so she's not an awful person; I'm starting to enjoy her character.

I've seen the parachute at my 4 year old niece's gymnastics class. Didn't know what they called it.

Edited November 14 by MaryMitch

[EtheltoTillie]

I have never seen the parachute but I’m not a teacher and I have no kids. And I’m old. 

[DearEvette]

Aww. Do they still do the parachute in schools?  I thought that was just a GenX thing.  That was always the most fun gym day!   And yeah, I loved that cold open of them explaining it to the golf course guy.  They look exactly like I think my friends and I would look trying to explain it.

My favorite parts:

"Lower the roof Gregory"  Heh.

"Your thoughts about food are a war crimes." - A reminder that Gregory also hates pizza.  That was a terrific scene.

That little girl's face after overhearing Barbara admonish Jacob for eating out of the trash can.

And then the faces of the student in Jacob's whole class when he said "Oh no it's the B.L.A.C.K.s"

"If people don't like me, it's on them."  Exactly!!

Ava praising Janine during her talk and Janine will never know about it.

Janine being proud about Gregory's smoothie game.   Actually I am really liking how the show is showing in lowkey but cute ways how much Janine and Gregory are sprung on other.  In last weeks episode she mentioned how strong he was with a little smile.

The end tag showing the real parachute game.

[Night Cheese]

Great to learn that the parachute thing in gym class is still happening. I loved them demonstrating how it's done. That really brought me back in a very visceral way. This show is always good for that. 

I need to rewatch because I was watching while getting ready for work and basically missed the smoothie plot. 

I did catch most of the Ava stuff and loved it. She's really become one of my favorite characters. It's crazy that I thought back in the first season that she'd be ousted from her position and Gregory, the more qualified professional, would take over as principle.

[BAForever]

Loved parachute games at school! We didn't do it too often, the specialness would wear off fast. It can be a fairly dangerous game- kids run so fast underneath to try to get to the other side before they got trapped, collisions are common.

We used small balls on it, liking popping corn, we played color games, did pretend stormy weather or waves, so much fun! I was always exhausted after it. 

[Crashcourse]

3 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

I have never seen the parachute but I’m not a teacher and I have no kids. And I’m old. 

Same here to all of this.  

I think the kids are adorable and are the stars of the show.  However, it's getting to the point where the school stuff is just going over my head.  While I'm pretty sure this will get renewed, this will be my last season to watch.  

[peeayebee]

3 hours ago, DearEvette said:

"If people don't like me, it's on them."  Exactly!!

That's a perfect line. Words to live by.

3 hours ago, Night Cheese said:

I did catch most of the Ava stuff and loved it. She's really become one of my favorite characters.

She's one of my favorite characters, too. I did not like her at the beginning of this series. Lots of shows need a first season or at least a few eps to find their way. Parks & Rec went thru growing pains in the first season and became something wonderful.

[anna0852]

4 hours ago, Night Cheese said:

I did catch most of the Ava stuff and loved it. She's really become one of my favorite characters. It's crazy that I thought back in the first season that she'd be ousted from her position and Gregory, the more qualified professional, would take over as principle.

I think in a lot of ways, Ava is exactly the kind of personality that the school needs to get what it needs. Gregory is a consummate professional but he doesn’t have Ava’s hustle or her ability to continually wheel and deal to get what she wants. I could see Gregory always going by the book and going to the district for needs but not getting anything and ending up incredibly frustrated in the process. Ava knows how to work the system in a way that he doesn’t and for all that she is annoying as crap to the staff, her unwillingness to take the “no“ does tend to work in their favor, most of the time.

[Sailorgirl26]

When I read the description, I immediately thought of the Bradley Cooper episode, in which the student ran into him at the deli across the street. 

And they didn't disappoint -- in the scene where Barbara and Melissa were picking up their Italian subs, on the board behind the deli owner? A signed picture of one Bradley Cooper. 

Its those through-details that make a really great show. And this is a really. great. show. 

[atomic]

Great episode. My favorite this season after the Sweet Cheeks/IT guy one. I am really glad to have this comfort show right now. 

One thing I haven't seen mentioned that I have to shout out is Jacob's graphic design skills. Smoothie industrial complex? Jacob, please. 😭😭

[DearEvette]

1 hour ago, Sailorgirl26 said:

And they didn't disappoint -- in the scene where Barbara and Melissa were picking up their Italian subs, on the board behind the deli owner? A signed picture of one Bradley Cooper. 

Its those through-details that make a really great show. And this is a really. great. show. 

Ohh, I missed that.  Nice detail. 

Also one little detail that I thought was pretty great that the B.L.A.C.Ks were, well, mostly black.  So it made his earlier line that much funnier.

[Empress1]

I wondered how many takes it took for Jacob to lob the smoothie perfectly into the trash can.

[tennisgurl]

Poor Jacob, he finally gets his big moment of community activism, and this is how it all works out. “Oh no! It’s the B.L.A.C.K.S … it’s not what it sounds like!”

Gregory's taste in food is one of my favorite running gags, of course he's a HUGE smoothie fan. I totally get it, say what you will about gentrification, but some of those smoothie places are delicious. They keep you going all day! Its also cute how Janine was so tickled by how many smoothie places Gregory knows about, even when they aren't in the same plot I love how they're writing them as a couple.

Ava and Janine really have come such a long way, past Janine certainly never would have given Ava so much honest feedback as well as a pep talk. Ava telling Janine to up her dressing game alone should qualify her to give this talk, its nice to see her getting recognition for how she's grown. Plus, its great seeing Manny again! He continues to be utterly dreamy. 

The parachute game really takes me back, that was always one of the best gym days. 

Edited November 15 by tennisgurl

[schnauzergirl]

Ava is fast becoming my favorite and, sadly, Barbara not so much.  Janine's insights when talking with Ava show maturity and confidence she certainly didn't have earlier.  And Ava's pride in what's being accomplished at Abbott was sweet to see.  

[Lovecat]

Has anyone ever noticed that one of the writers is named Ava Coleman?  She also has a couple of producing credits.

A little bit of sleuthing reveals that she joined the show in S2 and it's a complete coincidence that she shares a name with a main character!  Quinta did an interview with EW where she reveals that she wanted writer!Ava to work on S1 without even realizing she (Quinta) had given a character the same name.

Scroll to slide 3 of this IG post:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Ce4qpu5pOcA/?img_index=3

[Ilovepie]

On 11/14/2024 at 7:41 AM, DearEvette said:

Aww. Do they still do the parachute in schools?  I thought that was just a GenX thing.  That was always the most fun gym day!  

Truth!  My husband and I waxed poetic at the remembrance of the excitement of the parachute day in our 1970's/early 1980's childhood! If I came across one now I would probably act the same as I did when I was seven......

Loved everything about this episode. When Gregory sniffed Jacob's collar and said "you smell like acai" I died.

Ava's evolution on this show has been perfection and I think it really culminated in this episode. Season 1 I loathed her, now she might be my favorite (after Jacob who never disappoints - "it's the B.L.A.C.K.S.!" - ha!).

[SilverLake0315]

2 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

Plus, its great seeing Manny again! He continues to be utterly dreamy. 

When he did the devil's horns after Ava's speech... *swoon* 😍

[Night Cheese]

I rewatched and was able to pay more attention to the deli storyline. It reminded me of a similar situation that happened at my favorite sandwich shop in Boston. Gentrification really sucks sometimes. But I laughed really hard when the deli owner came out and asked why they were protesting in front of his place. Of course Jacob got wrapped up in everything but forgot to iron out all the details.

If they have a good relationship with the deli owner, maybe they can kindly help him improve his smoothie endeavors. "Is that menthol?" is not an ideal reaction to a sip of smoothie.

[dmmetler]

On 11/14/2024 at 8:13 AM, peeayebee said:

Loved Barbara's sarcasm about lacrosse to the golf club guy. And his total cluelessness about everything they were saying was great. My favorite part was probably all of them showing him how you play parachute. The joy! I always loved playing that, too.

I keep forgetting how to pronounce acai. Ah-sah-EE. Right?

Cracked me up every time Jacob brought up the B.L.A.C.Ks. "It's the B.L.A.C.Ks!" The look on the students' faces. 🤣

It's always nice to see how Ava has evolved, both as a character and as a principal (and general human). But she still retains the old Ava.

"Yes, double-jacket." (Is wearing two jackets a thing?)

I use a parachute in my preschool music classes and have had to bring it out for the older kids in the after school program  because they get so excited when they see it-one sadly told me that you stop getting to play parachute after 3rd grade. 

[incandescent]

My absolute favourite scene was Gregory silently grabbing a picket sign, stepping out of frame (presumably to write on it, and the letters were as thinly penned and poorly spaced as you'd realistically expect for a rush job), then sliding back into the background to hold up a sign that said

NO JUICES
NO PEACE

and spinning it around to show

PLEASE
STOP

[Joimiaroxeu]

Ava called Manny, "The Manny Dalorian." Yeah, Manny's definitely got the Mandalorian swagger.

Ava is that Gworl. (The CC on my TV capitalized "gworl." Not sure why.)

Oh no, the little boy ate Peter Rabbit! But come on, everyone knows rabbit is delicious. Tastes like chicken. 😉

Jacob ate a smoothie from the trash can. He pulled a George Costanza.

Ava was going to charge people $1000 just to talk to her. I ain't mad at her.

[Boofish]

The blink and you missed it sight gags are my favorite part of the show. Gregory's sign at the protest had me laughing so hard I had to pause the show. My husband always get a kick out of the things I find funny. I tell him it's not so much the actual joke but timing and delivery are key. And Gregory's sign in the midst of that was Chef's kiss!

[HyeChaps]

I always watch with the CC on--found that I was missing brilliant throw away lines.

 

 

[Crashcourse]

And that's my biggest issue with this show.  Too many throw away lines and fast talking that I miss hearing. 

[Joimiaroxeu]

24 minutes ago, Crashcourse said:

And that's my biggest issue with this show.  Too many throw away lines and fast talking that I miss hearing. 

That's why I record it. I have to rewind a lot to catch the throwaway lines. Also, I think Quinta is using too many inside references to Philadelphia places and things.

In addition, I think the CC is done by a service which isn't 100% familiar with either American English or AAVE.

[Crashcourse]

51 minutes ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

Also, I think Quinta is using too many inside references to Philadelphia places and things.

And especially since the "school" is in LA.  I also can't get that out of my mind watching the show.

[possibilities]

I think of it a love letter to Philly. I'm not from there, but I respect the love. It doesn't have to be for me, I just like that the show is showing some love.

I've read some books that were set in the part of the world I live in, and if I like the book, it's fun having all the local references.

[roseslg]

Hmm, a show set in a city making too many references to that city? Why set it anywhere then?  Why not set it in some midwest town that's not named? It would be a different show. Not one I would want to watch to be honest since there is no lack of shows that tell those stories.  There is this city as text movement and I like that they do that here.  It's like Law and Order where the silent character was NYC. 

[Enigma X]

Frankly, when it’s done well, I like shows, movies, songs, etc. that are pretty much odes to the places they’re set in, even if I’m unfamiliar with the location.

[Joimiaroxeu]

On 11/21/2024 at 5:45 PM, roseslg said:

Hmm, a show set in a city making too many references to that city? Why set it anywhere then?  

I did not say there were too many references to Philadelphia. I said I thought there were too many inside references. That means references only people from Philadelphia or very familiar with Philadelphia would recognize immediately.

I can appreciate Quinta's love for the city. Philadelphia has been and remains an important place historically and culturally. And I imagine it gives some viewers a thrill when they hear characters speaking their Philly language, as it were. But other viewers can find it alienating when the inside references become as frequent as--in my opinion--they've been this season. 

On 11/21/2024 at 5:45 PM, roseslg said:

It's like Law and Order where the silent character was NYC. 

And I've never felt like Law & Order was speaking in some kind of local code to New Yorkers, neither the OG version nor the reboot.

[LisaM]

The transformation of Ava is, for me, the best part of the show. Very smart move by TPTB to let her character progress from being a joke to being a competent principal with unorthodox methods.