Abbott Elementary Season 4 Failed This Iconic Character

Although Abbott Elementary season 5 has plenty of characters to keep up with, the hit sitcom’s biggest priority needs to be giving one breakout character more screen time after a disappointing season 4. Abbott Elementary’s entire cast of characters is hilarious. Whether an episode focuses on Janine, Ava, Barbara, Jacob, Melissa, or Gregory, there are always guaranteed to be laughs.

That said, the show knows who its main character is. Abbott Elementary’s Janine was the show’s primary protagonist throughout seasons 1-3, and her relationship with Gregory Eddie was the sitcom’s most exciting long-running storyline throughout this period. In season 4, Ava took over as Abbott Elementary’s heroine in a standout character arc.

Ava’s role in season 4 fleshed out the principal’s personality more than ever before, turning her from a comically bad boss into an unlikely heroine. When the school started taking bribes from local developers in exchange for not reporting their zoning violations, the faculty of Abbott finally had some money to buy necessary supplies and revitalize the ailing school.

However, the scheme was eventually revealed, and the school district didn’t take kindly to the deceit. Ava took the blame even though she wasn’t heavily involved in the bribery, and her redemption arc in the closing episodes of season 4 made her one of Abbott Elementary season 5’s most exciting characters.

Abbott Elementary Season 4 Failed Mr. Johnson

William Stanford Davis’s Scene-Stealing Custodian Barely Appeared

Ava’s romantic relationship with O’Shon, her attempts to repair her relationship with her estranged father, and her struggles with the district all combined to make her season 4’s true heroine. However, the show forgot about another, earlier breakout star during this outing, and season 5 now needs to offer him the same treatment.

Mr. Johnson was the breakout star of Abbott Elementary’s early seasons, as evidenced by the many compilations of his best moments found on TikTok and YouTube. The wacky custodian always had a surreal quip on hand in every scene, and Mr. Johnson’s best Abbott Elementary quotes were some of the show’s best lines ever from seasons 1-3.

However, Mr. Johnson received less time to shine in season 4, and this was a shame for numerous reasons. William Stanford Davis’s scene-stealing character was a source of constant comic relief during the show’s more emotional or heavier plot lines, but he also provided unexpectedly sage advice to other characters at their time of need.

Thus, it was a shame to see him sidelined in a season that otherwise made a point of highlighting an underrated supporting star. Earlier seasons had fleshed out Ava’s character somewhat, but season 4 truly saw Quinta Brunson’s Janine take a backseat to give Ava the spotlight. It was a daring decision, making Mr. Johnson’s absence more unfortunate.

Abbott Elementary Season 4’s Ava Story Proves The Sitcom Can Highlight Supporting Stars

Ava Went From A Terrible Boss To A Fully Fleshed-Out Heroine

Spotlighting Ava was the best choice Abbott Elementary season 4 could have made for a variety of reasons. For one thing, this allowed the show to pull its focus away from Janine and Gregory right when their relationship could have become a problem for the series. Many, many earlier sitcoms have faced problems when their central couples get together.

Although viewers are rooting for the show’s hero and heroine to finally admit that they are attracted to each other, it can be paradoxically disappointing when this finally happens. New Girl’s Nick and Jess, The Mindy Project’s Mindy and Danny, and The Office’s Pam and Jim had incredible chemistry before they got together, but initially struggled to recapture this magic.

Usually, shows work around this by creating new conflicts to trouble the couple, but Abbott Elementary’s Quinta Brunson was right to note that this would have just been frustrating. Since it took so long for Gregory and Janine to finally get together, arbitrarily creating problems for them for the sake of comedy and drama would have seemed uncharitable.

That said, conflict is at the heart of comedy and drama alike, meaning the show had to create some for its characters. By focusing on Ava, Abbott Elementary season 4 deepened the audience’s understanding of a major character, ensured the outing had high stakes, and still managed to simultaneously safeguard its best character pairing in the process.

As a result, Ava enjoyed the equivalent of Michael Scott’s season 1-season 6 character arc in only a single season. This was great for Janine and Gregory’s stability, but it also deepened the audience’s understanding of Ava and turned her from an outlandish, zany character into one who viewers could care about, while still maintaining her wacky side.

Abbott Elementary Season 5 Can’t Simply Give Mr. Johnson’s Ava’s Season 4 Treatment

The Custodian Is A Fundamentally Sillier Character

However, it will be harder for Abbott Elementary season 5 to give Mr. Johnson the same sustained focus as Ava for two reasons. For one thing, after a comparatively quiet season where the pair were not faced with too many existential woes, Janine and Gregory do need to get more focus in season 5.

The couple is overdue for a move-in together, especially when Gregory is struggling so much financially, and Janine’s mother needs to meet Gregory in season 5 now that Janine has met his father. This means that Abbott Elementary season 5 will need to afford the duo more screen time, but that is not the only problem.

Mr. Johnson is a thoroughly absurd character, less like Michael Scott and more like Dwight Schrute. This is what made him such a fan favorite in the first place, but, paradoxically, it makes it harder for the show to humanize him. It is still necessary in season 5 after season 4 wasted him, but it won’t be easy.

Mr. Johnson is a character who once said that he doesn’t believe the moon exists, so it won’t be easy to make him the emotional center of a season like Ava was in season 4. However, Abbott Elementary season 5 could at least give him a few episodes in the spotlight.

The Office’s attempts to take Dwight’s character more seriously with the Angela/ Andy Bernard love triangle were the beginning of the end for that once-beloved workplace sitcom, so the show must tread carefully with Mr. Johnson. However, the character can’t fade into the background after his hilarious role in the show’s early seasons.

As such, Abbott Elementary season 5 needs to find a way to make Mr. Johnson more central to the show’s lineup and less like a background character. This could be a challenge for the hit sitcom, but the show’s stellar reviews prove that Abbott Elementary is more than ready to tackle this.

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Abbott Elementary

9/10

Release Date

December 7, 2021

Showrunner

Quinta Brunson

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  Quinta Brunson

  Janine Teagues

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  Tyler James Williams

  Gregory Eddie