The show's season 2 finale ended with a dramatic decision in the 'will they, won't they' love story of Janine and Gregory.
Spoiler alert! This article contains spoilers for Abbott Elementary's season 2 finale.
Abbott Elementary's second season has been building up to what felt like the inevitable: the romantic reveal when Janine Teagues (Quinta Brunson) and Gregory Eddie (Tyler James Williams) finally admit their feelings for one another. But when the moment comes in the season 2 finale titled "Franklin Institute," it's not at all how one would imagine.
On Wednesday's episode, the teachers of Abbott Elementary are preparing for a field trip to the Franklin Institute where they and their students will spend the night. Gregory, who is deciding between spending the summer with his father or staying in town, is eager to spend time with Janine as their students are paired together for sleeping arrangements.
Janine is initially also looking forward to the night until she runs into Maurice, her ex-boyfriend and Gregory's close friend. Although the couple dated briefly, Maurice argues that the circumstances in which Janine broke up with him were undeniably "selfish." He forces her to reevaluate the nature of their breakup: she broke up with him at his favorite restaurant in front of Gregory and revealed that she had also kissed the other man.
The conversation sends Janine into a guilty spiral, which makes her begin to avoid Gregory. While Ava (Janelle James) offers some not-so-unexpectedly wise words to encourage the growth Janine has been showing this season -- telling her there's nothing wrong with being selfish sometimes as long as you aren't hurting people -- it doesn't quell the teacher's remorse that she already has hurt someone.
Meanwhile, Gregory has been receiving his own pep talks from Jacob (Chris Perfetti), who encourages Gregory to tell Janine how he feels about her after their previous romantic run-ins. Taking his advice, Gregory pulls Janine into a private corner during the sleepover and finally confesses his feelings -- which she eventually admits to returning. While the two admit to having feelings for one another since they met, they also acknowledge that they have been "all over the place."
But Janine admits that she doesn't feel quite ready for "something real" as she's in her selfish era and doesn't want to hurt Gregory. "Look, talking to Mo, it did change things. But it didn't change how I feel about you; it changed how I feel about me," she tells Gregory. "I come to school every day happy because I get to see you and have a friend like you, and I cannot lose that friend. But maybe I am selfish and if I need to be right now then I don't want to wind up hurting you. It's you, and if we did this, then it would be [something real]."
Despite obviously hurting, both share that they feel "OK" after the sleepover. "It's time to plant something new," Gregory tells the camera before he, Janine and Jacob head out for lunch as the "afterschool crew."
While their romance has been put on pause again, there's still hope for the couple down the line as the series has already been renewed for a third season. Still, fans had a lot to say online about the bittersweet confessions and what it could mean going into the next season for Janine and Gregory...
Check out the links below for more of our coverage on Abbott Elementary.
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