Abbott Elementary Brings Back The Show’s Best Villains In The Same Episode

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The return of two key recurring characters in Abbott Elementary season 5, episode 10, highlighted something surprising about the show. While the characters are consistently funny, Abbott Elementary doesn’t shy away from portraying the challenges within the Philadelphia public school where it’s set.

Both comedy and drama thrive on conflict, and Abbott Elementary has plenty of it – largely due to the school’s limited resources and the strong personalities of its characters. In season 5, episode 9, titled “Mall,” the new teacher Dominic, played by Luke Tennie, nearly resigned because of the overwhelming challenge of transforming an abandoned mall into a temporary school.

The latest episode featured the return of two recurring villains who have repeatedly caused problems for the school’s staff. This highlighted that the show’s characters deal with trouble both from within the school itself and from the parents of their students – and that these two sources of conflict are equally common.

Mr Morton Almost Ruined Barbara and Melissa’s Friendship In Abbott Elementary Season 5

In “Mall 2: Questions and Concerns,” Jacob grew concerned by a disagreement between Melissa and Barbara. Melissa found it funny and justified when Sister Sloss was slapped at a school event, feeling she deserved it due to past issues. However, Barbara strongly opposed any violence, no matter the situation.

Jerry Minor, playing Mr. Morton, exploited the tension between the two friends, siding with Melissa and suggesting Barbara was in the wrong for the slap. He then offered to help Melissa with difficult grading software, using the opportunity to imply they were becoming friends.

Morton was first introduced in season 2, episode 8, “Egg Drop,” and has caused problems ever since. He’s generally gloomy and feels sorry for himself, and he also has unkind and disrespectful tendencies. Luckily, because Gregory and Janine were occupied, he only almost disrupted the long-standing friendship between Barbara and Melissa before going too far.

At a trivia night, Morton made a rude comment directly to Barbara while Melissa was present. Melissa immediately defended her friend and told Morton she didn’t want any further contact with him. The other teachers agreed and also distanced themselves from him, effectively ending his problematic behavior. Although this put a stop to it, Morton was still more disruptive than he had been for quite a while, dating back to season 3.

Tariq & Krystal Got The PTA Furious At Gregory & Janine In Abbott Elementary S4

The episode “Mall 2: Questions and Concerns” reintroduced Krystal and Tariq, who previously caused trouble as members of the school’s PTA. While the teachers usually have a decent relationship with the PTA, Krystal and Tariq’s leadership has made the group increasingly chaotic, suspicious, and hostile towards the school staff.

Similar to an earlier episode where Krystal tried to ban books, Tariq and Krystal stirred up trouble with the school staff in “Mall 2: Questions and Concerns.” To be fair to the parents, Principal Ava wasn’t doing her job by avoiding their questions and refusing to address their concerns directly.

Tariq and Krystal made the situation worse by pushing the parents to aggressively confront the teachers. Even Janine, who’s become much more confident in recent seasons of Abbott Elementary, couldn’t manage this alone. Luckily, Ava stepped up near the end of the episode and addressed the parents directly.

Abbott Elementary Season 5’s Villains Highlight A Surprising Truth

The main point of “Mall 2: Questions and Concerns” was the unexpected discovery that the show’s antagonists aren’t limited to one type of person. Problems for the teachers can come from parents or colleagues, depending on the story, and a disruptive teacher can be just as troublesome as an uninformed parent.

In both stories, Krystal stirred up a lot of trouble with the PTA, turning small issues into big problems for the school staff. While the PTA’s worries were more reasonable in the second story, Tariq still shouldn’t have encouraged their frustration.

The real problem in this episode wasn’t the school’s temporary move to a mall, but rather Mr. Morton, who nearly destroyed the long-standing friendship and professional partnership between Barbara and Melissa. Although the mall location wasn’t perfect, it at least gave the parents legitimate reasons to be upset.

Unlike the external conflicts often seen on the show, the real problem in this episode of Abbott Elementary came from someone within the school itself. Mr. Morton’s attempts to control Melissa’s friendship with Janine were harmful, and while he may have been lonely and wanted a friend, his obvious manipulation made it difficult to feel sorry for him. He ended up being the episode’s antagonist, not because of any outside force, but due to his own actions.

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2026-01-15 05:59