Abbott Elementary – Season 2 Episode 13 “Fundraiser” Recap & Review

Fundraiser

In Abbott Elementary Season 2 Episode 13, Barbara leads a fundraiser for the kids’ field trip to the Franklin Institute, instructing the students on how to sell chocolate.

Meanwhile, Janine and her students stand outside the school to sell candy, and Maurice shows up to ask her out. When Janine tells Gregory she accepted, he tells her to be careful of Maurice.

Jacob later calls out Gregory for strange and jealous behavior. He asks Gregory if he likes Janine, but the teacher doesn’t respond. Eventually, Gregory comes around and decides to wish Janine a good time on her date. Maurice is a good guy, after all.

Barbara and the students barely make any money, so Barbara decides to throw in the towel–until Ava brings in a surprising amount of funds. Begrudgingly, Barbara decides to partner with Ava to raise the rest of the money.

She soon tries to put a stop to Ava’s teaching methods (cheating and lying), however. It works to sell candy, but upsets Barbara’s morals. So, Ava agrees to compromise.

They’re able to reach their fundraising goal, but Ava wants to keep going. They go to the mall to sell the last of the chocolate, but there Barbara realizes that, per Ava’s instructions, the students have been overcharging the candy bars–and in front of the ladies from Barbara’s church, no less.

Barbara tells Ava it was a mistake partnering with her. The school’s and students’ financial situation doesn’t excuse cheating. Ava comes back with the fact that Barbara can only have morals like that because she can afford them. No one got hurt by charging a little more for the candy. These kids did what they had to do.

Barbara then apologizes for her reaction to the student who overcharged, and she even asks him to join her church bake sale.

The Episode Review

Aside from a stale intro, this is one of my favorite episodes of the season so far, and it’s in large part due to the comedy writing from Quinta Brunson and Brittani Nichols. The reintroduction of Maurice (Vince Staples kills it), Gregory’s jealousy, and Ava’s sales tactics had me consistently laughing.

And in the end, we learned some valuable lessons. Getting your students a field trip is more important than saving face in front of your church group. And Gregory is 1000% in love with Janine.