Abbott Elementary – Season 2 Episode 7 “Attack Ad” Recap & Review

Attack Ad

Abbott Elementary Season 2 Episode 7 – A scathing ad for charter schools attacks Abbott Elementary and makes all its teachers (except Barbara) look terrible.

Janine has to deal not only with her parents’ distrust but also to get ready to see Tariq once again. Janine has to make her ex-boyfriend return all of his belongings.

Janine initially thinks that their meeting won’t be too significant. Tariq wants to connect with Janine and convinces her to go to dinner with him.

Tariq informs Gregory that he has plans for something between Janine and him. Janine is not interested in Gregory’s warnings.

Janine is excited about her dinner date with her ex. But Tariq’s childish behavior eventually wears her down, reminding her why she split with him. Gregory is happy so Janine cancels dinner and learns that Tariq has a girlfriend or lies about having one.

The other teachers attempt to remove the attack ad. A lawyer is consulted by them, and he claims that it’s of no use. They granted permission for the camera crew to film them.

They invite Draymond, Legendary Charter CEO, and the man responsible for the attack ad to Abbott. Draymond arrives at Abbott Elementary and declares that it is the same as before. He was a student at the school, and he still hates it.

Barbara confesses to others that Draymond was her student. He was a good child, she says. But he felt the world was against him.

Jacob and Melissa are told by Draymond that he wants to help schools like Abbott, turning them into Legendary charter schools. Barbara is helped by the other teachers to see that he can’t let his attacks against Abbott slip.

Barbara holds a conversation with Draymond. She tells Draymond how happy she is that he succeeded. He said he felt so lost at Abbott. But, he found help from charter schools later.

Barbara claims he cannot blame all the events in his life on public schools. He’s actually hurting teachers like her, people he wants to support.

He tells her he’s still learning from her, and he decides to remove the commercial.

Draymond later revealed to the documentary crew that his plans are far more ambitious than just one commercial. Draymond plans to transform every Philadelphia school into a legendary charter school, starting with Abbott Elementary.

Episode Review

This episode of Abbott Elementary features both an introduction and a possible departure.

It is not clear if this was Tariq’s final goodbye. His presence in this episode gives us a sense of closure if it was. Janine is lonely but she’s well on her way to making her own life, apart from Tariq. She needed to be reminded of this.

Janine needs to start looking forward, as is the case with the rest of the teachers. They cannot look back at the school’s failures in the past, but they can do all they can to defend Abbott Elementary against Draymond (whose motives, though pure, could lead to many Abbott teachers being hurt).