There’s a very specific TV magic that comes with good guest stars on sitcoms, and with Taraji P. Henson playing Janine’s mom, Abbott Elementary keeps rejuvenating classic-sitcom nostalgia. Even the way Henson first appears on the screen is a take on a sitcom character opening their door to reveal a famous celebrity. We hear the clacking of her heels, ominously teasing her appearance before she charismatically steps into Janine’s doorway in all her glory, and you can almost hear the sound of the studio audience applause.
Henson plays Vanetta, Janine’s elusive mother, who has been mentioned quite a few times, but we’ve yet to see any real interaction between her and her daughter. Vanetta is like a grown-up Philadelphia iteration of Yvette from Baby Boy mixed with a little Cookie Lyon from Empire. She doesn’t look at all like an older version of Janine (not that we expected that) — her acrylic nails, cropped fur jacket, and floral-print leggings live universes away from Janine’s fashion choices. In fact, in another universe, Ava and Vanetta would probably be friends; they’ve actually danced on the same tables at a club once, and upon formally meeting her, Ava immediately sizes her up as someone worthy of her company (unlike Janine). Vanetta even inspires Ava to learn a new way to manipulate in two easy steps that Ava saves to her voice notes: “Step one: Have a daughter. Step two: Play the long game.”
Vanetta shows up at Abbott the day before a long weekend that Janine plans to use for a mini solo vacation to Ocean City, Maryland. She’s saved up her money to book a room at a three-star hotel for some alone time and maybe a massage (she has enough for either 20 minutes of a Swedish massage or a 10-minute deep-tissue massage). But before she can leave to enjoy her weekend, Vanetta makes a surprise visit to the school. She saunters into the classroom with an air of confidence and cool that Janine could never embody and introduces herself as “Auntie Vanetta” after a child calls her “Ms. Grandma Teagues,” because she’s “nobody’s granny.” Though she’s never seen her daughter at work, she gushes about Janine being the greatest teacher in the world as Janine watches her bemused, asking why she showed up, considering they haven’t spoken in six months.
Immediately falling into the toxic roles that have been alluded to throughout the time we’ve gotten to know Janine, Vanetta’s presence is quickly explained when she mentions that her phone is about to be shut off because she went over her data plan. Not that she’ll ever admit this is why she’s visiting her daughter, but that seems to be one of the themes in their relationship. Janine then takes on the role of mother, like she has had to since she was a child, and, without question, assumes responsibility for the phone bill. The first thing Janine says is that Vanetta needs her phone, which is sad, because her mom isn’t even using that phone to check up on her daughter.
Janine has always been Vanetta’s caretaker to the point of her detriment, so her instinct is to fix her mom’s problem. She considers using her solo-vacation money to pay Vanetta’s debt to the phone company. They have the classic signs of a codependent relationship: There are no boundaries; Janine puts Vanetta’s needs above her own; and Vanetta uses manipulation tactics to paint a picture where she’s entitled to Janine’s help simply because she’s her mother. Vanetta never says the words or asks questions, but she knows that if she presents the situation to her daughter, she’ll most likely get what she wants. Instead, she dances around the request while buttering Janine up and acting as if she would never come to visit Janine just for money … before making a point to take a selfie with her daughter, then conveniently losing service as she’s trying to share it. It’s a complete reversal of a healthy mother-daughter dynamic, with Janine as the parent and Vanetta as the child. I’ve played this exact song and dance when trying to get grocery money from my dad.
Barbara sees right through Vanetta and can’t stand the thought of Janine giving up her vacation to take care of her mom. But she can see how happy Janine is that her mother is taking the time to visit her, so she takes things into her own hands against her better judgment. It’s sweet and shows exactly how much Barbara cares about Janine — dare I call Janine her work daughter? She has a private conversation with Vanetta (while she’s stealing from the teacher’s lounge) and tries to level with her. Emphasizing how talented and wonderful of a daughter Vanetta has, Barbara not-so-subtly mentions how much Janine deserves this vacation, stating that she’s worried she’ll give up the trip to help out her mom. Vanetta takes offense to this, saying she’d never ask Janine to do that — which is technically true but besides the point.
Just as Barbara offers to pay Vanetta’s phone bill, Janine walks in on the two women speaking. She takes her mom to her classroom, and the growth and maturity Barbara spoke of pay off as she finally sets a boundary with her mom. It’s not an outright no, but she agrees to help set up a payment plan with the phone company and give her mom the money for the first two payments; after that, she’s on her own, and the rest of the money is for Janine’s vacation. The progress is small, but it’s a huge step for their relationship, and the two hug it out, with the unspoken once again speaking volumes.
Gregory, on the other hand, struggles with surface-level conversations as he sees how his sometimes-prickly personality leaves little room for a friendly relationship with his co-workers when Shanae, one of the lunch ladies, refuses to finesse him some almonds for his oatmeal. Jacob has a wonderful rapport with Shanae, but when Gregory tries to schmooze his way into almonds, it’s uncomfortably apparent that he’s terrible at small talk. Initially, he doesn’t care, but Melissa points out how far a little charisma can go if he wants to be principal. So he makes a concerted effort to work on his banter, asking the school nurse how she “feels about pollution” and if she has “any other opinions.” It’s sufficiently awkward, but he finally finds a common interest that he’s actually good at talking about: sports. It works for him, a naturally analytic person, and sports has always been known as a great equalizer, so he finally builds a bridge to connect with other people.
After learning so much about themselves and life, Gregory and Janine magnetically drift to each other at the end of the day. You can see the bones of the foundation of a romantic relationship appearing in how they naturally turn to each other for support. We probably won’t get a full-on Janine/Gregory-ship (we need to give them a couple’s name) soon, but watching them grow is great.
Teacher’s Notes
• I would love to see a reenactment of Vanetta’s version of her conversation with Barbara, specifically Barbara squaring up and repping her side of Philly. I wonder if she took her earrings out, too.
• Janine and Barbara debriefing at the end of the episode made me smile. Barbara is giving Janine so much of that motherly energy that she’s always craved, making sure she’s packed everything, taking her to “The Ross,” and reminding her to have some but not too much cash on her was a very maternal moment. The fact that Barbara knew that Janine and Tariq broke up but Vanetta didn’t speaks volumes.
• Right now, I think Ava and Jacob’s interactions are the funniest. Something about their personalities bouncing off each other produces the silliest lines, and we definitely see that in the first scene when he shows off his magic tricks. Also, I love that re-creation of the Supa Hot Fire meme as the student runs around after Jacob’s magic trick on Melissa works.
• Regardless of the toxic nature of their relationship, I loved seeing the sweeter moments between Janine and Vanetta. When Janine showed her around the school and proudly pointed out that she climbed two ladders to help fix the lights, I could see baby Janine’s face beaming.
And here are some of the best lines of the episode:
• Jacob, after showing off his magic trick: “This is light work compared to the real alchemy, Black Girl Magic.”
• Ava, replying to the above nonsense: “Boooo. Shut up and do another trick.”
• Melissa: “Long weekends just delay the inevitable; it’s still a Monday, even if it’s masquerading as a Tuesday.”
• Ava: “The key to never getting your ass beat? Knowing when someone can beat your ass.”
