"Egg Drop" is the eighth episode of Abbott Elementary's second season.
Mr. Morton (Jerry Minor), one of the eighth-grade teachers, announces that he's doing an egg dropnote for his students. Despite his protests that the second-graders can't grasp the concept yet, Janine volunteers her class (and ropes Melissa in as well). Mr. Morton's students successfully engineer their eggs' safety, while Melissa boiled all her eggs to her students' delight. However, Janine's class's eggs all break, driving them to tears. Janine becomes determined to redo the experiment with Gregory's assistance. She eventually concedes that it is too advanced but manages to plan an alternative visually appealing activity that still utilizes physics: determining how many balloons it takes to make an egg fly.
Meanwhile, Barbara is aghast that the mother of one of her students shows up to pickup with the word "bitch" tattooed across her chest. Barbara assumes that the mother needs assistance, but is shut down when she learns that she is actually a happily married woman with her own clothing line.
Tropes:
- Both Sides Have a Point: Barbara assumes that an inappropriately-dressed and tattooed woman is a Struggling Single Mother who needs to find God, instead of the happily married businesswoman she turns out to be. While the episode soundly portrays Barbara as in the wrong for jumping to that conclusion, the mom also admits that she is dressing inappropriately for a school and resolves to tone it down.
- Call-Back: Melissa assures Mr. Morton that her eggs aren't snake eggs.
- Cassandra Truth: Jacob insists that Mr. Morton has it out for him, only for everyone to tell him he's overthinking it and Morton is a nice guy. At the very end Morton admits to the camera crew that he genuinely hates Jacob.
- Cold Open: While Barbara and Jacob are preparing their garden for the new season, they're horrified to learn that there's a bone in the dirt. Mr. Johnson reveals that he put it there as a prank, only to realize that it wasn't a plastic one from the school skeleton. It then shows Gregory as the true perpetrator who wanted them all out of his garden.
- Companion Cube: Janine's student Eli makes a new friend out of his egg named Ralph calls it his only friend. Janine hopes that he was just exaggerating. He makes another one named Ralph Jr. who suffers the same fate as his predecessor.
- Cutting the Knot: Rather then going through each of her student's egg project and giving them their respective time, Melissa takes the easy way and throws them down as fast as she can. The kids love it. She also mentions that she hard-boiled the eggs for extra protection so none of the kids would be upset.
- Didn't Think This Through:
- Janine convinces her students to participate in the egg drop experiment. Unfortunately, she does this without explaining the purpose of the experiment or instructing the kids to figure out how to keep their eggs safe from the fall. This results in Janine splattering all of their eggs onto the gym floor while they look on in horror and despair.
- Her final science experiment, the Egg Lift, results in all the balloon-tied eggs floating to reach an open air conditioner that pops them all. She saves the situation by crying out "Science!".
- Entertainingly Wrong: A running gag is someone, usually Janine, asserting something unscientific as fact to be met with correction and exasperation from someone more knowledgeable, like Gregory or Mr. Morton.
- From the Mouths of Babes: Tamika learned from her mother that it's important to learn about flowers so you can tell when a man is being cheap on you or not.
- The Generation Gap: Mentioned between Ava and Barbara. The former isn't too bothered with Tamika's mother having a bitch tattoo on her body since she grew up with body acceptance and how it's okay for women to express themselves. Barbara, however, is offended by the act as she grew up with strong Christian values relating to modesty.
- Heroic Comedic Sociopath: Ms. Schemmentti laments over all the eggs having to go to waste because of the upcoming science experiment. And with her hated Cowboys team coming to town, she has to resort to throwing maltov cocktails at their bus instead of eggs.
- Instantly Proven Wrong: During their study session, Janine boasts that she can accomplish anything with the power of optimism. Greg proves her wrong by tasking her with reaching his hand held up high above her.
- Ironic Echo: Janine recalls how she had difficulty tying her shoes so she resorted to using velcro shoes to lighten the bullying. And after Mr. Morton refuses to do another egg drop, he suggests that she teach her class how to tie their shoes. It then cuts to Janine wearing velcro shoes.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Ava openly questions Barbara if she believes Tamika and her grades are in danger because of her mother. This causes Barbara to accept that she's becoming too obsessed with Tamika's mother's wardrobe when it's not a serious issue.
- Mass "Oh, Crap!": Barbara, Jacob and Melissa have this reaction after they find a bone in the school garden.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
- Melissa is upset with Janine constantly bringing up the egg drop experiment as word has spread to her class who now want to be part of the action.
- Janine tossing each of her student's egg projects without preparing them only results in each of them feeling suffering and sorrow.
- No. Just... No: Melissa has this reaction every time Janine tries to suggest something fun and unnecessary for the egg drop experiment.
- The Pollyanna: Deconstructed. Janine's relentless positivity hits a wall in this episode, where she can't use positive thinking and good vibes to help her students overcome a difficult science problem, and she's out of sorts because it's gotten her out of so many scrapes before. She finally admits that positive thinking can't solve everything, but she can still make them happy another way.
- Profanity Police: Barbara's conflict of the episode revolves around dealing with a mother who uses vulgar swear words in her clothes and body.
- Refuge in Audacity: While in the teacher's lounge, each of the Abbott staff take turns coming up with wildly inaccurate scientific claims. Ex. Ava believing that Pacific Rim is real science but pigeons are dubious, Melissa claiming that the moon landing was fake, Mr. Johnson claims that there is no moon! All of this riles up Gregory.
- Relationship Upgrade: Gregory reveals that he's now in a relationship with Amber. Though she had to cancel on him for unexplained reasons.
- The Rival: Jacob considers Mr. Morton to be his rival who irritates him whenever they appear in the same room together.
- Shout-Out: Melissa mishears "The One with the Bitch Tattoo" as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. She liked the book but thinks the movie was "meh".
- Skewed Priorities: Mr. Morton's request for eggs for his upcoming egg drop project is used as an excuse by Ava to get some eggs for herself.
- The Stinger: While leaving for the day, Jacob once again vents his hatred for Mr. Morton that Greg believes is unreasonable. It then cuts to Mr. Morton who reveals that the hatred is mutual.
- Take That!: Ava mentions how she has Chinese tattoos but is dismayed that actual Chinese people hate them.
