Abbott Elementary / YMMV

Accidental Aesop: In "Teacher's Conference", Ava uses Janine's mommy issues in a presentation on how to handle "problem teachers". As crude as it was to use that information, Janine did have an issue of casually sharing her personal problems with her coworkers even when the situation didn't call for it. In other words, be careful with what you share since not everyone will be as sympathetic to your personal problems.
Alternative Character Interpretation:
- Is Ava a genuine Lazy Bum or does she care about her work and tries to hide it? While she’s not a great principal, she does help Janine and Barbara get supplies with her videos and she bonds with the step class really easily. There's also the implications in "Fundraiser" regarding her Dark and Troubled Past and how she learned how to be underhanded and conniving to get by in life.
- The "Read-A-Thon" episode implies that while Melissa had some sort of learning disability growing up, the exact nature of it is never explained if it is just dyslexia, dysgraphia or other types of learning disabilities that affect reading. It is up to the viewer to guess.
- In the second season finale, Ava says she doesn't mind being called selfish, since people call her selfish all the time, including her grandma, that morning. While it's unclear which grandma called her selfish, it's possible it's the same one the first season established Ava cares very deeply for and is looking after due to her Alzheimer's—i.e., the one person we know Ava is not selfish towards. If it is indeed the same woman, does Ava not mind her grandma saying that because of her unapologetic nature in general? Or does she attribute her grandma lashing out at her to her disease, and thus know not to take it personally?
Die for Our Ship: Barbara's husband Gerald Howard gets a lot of hate from Melissa/Barbara shippers despite his limited screen time, just because he's in the way of the Fan-Preferred Couple. A lot of fanfics will portray him as an uncaring husband at best and abusive at worse, despite the fact that he seems to be a kind and loving husband from what we see of him. He also seems to be good friends with Melissa in canon but a lot of fans portray the two as hating each other, with many claiming that he is not good enough for Barbara. In fact, all of the fics tagged Barbara/Gerald on AO3 are actually Melissa/Barbara fics which often either show him in a negative light or have Barbara leave him for Melissa.
Diagnosed by the Audience: Gregory's social awkwardness, extremely particular taste in food (specifically his opinion that mixing several different flavors is gross), and trouble with the education system when he was a kid has led to some fans speculating that he might be autistic. In the season 2 premiere, he also shows that he is incredibly anal about tight scheduling, which might also be a sign of autism. He also sometimes misunderstands figurative language and can be a bit Literal-Minded.
Dry Docking: One look at AO3 or Tumblr will show that a large part of the fandom refuses to ship Melissa with anyone, canon or fanon, mainly so they can imagine or write fics where they or a reader insert ends up with her. The fact that she is played by the very beautiful Lisa Ann Walter certainly doesn't hurt this either.
Ensemble Dark Horse:
- In the case of the literal ensemble, the child actors portraying the students are often highly praised for having sharp comedic timing and, when necessary, being able to carry a genuinely serious moment, too. In particular, Andrew, the kid in Janine's class who refuses to say the pledge of allegiance because he's "taking a principled stand against nationalism," due to his few prominent scenes all being hilarious.
- Tariq is a recurring character, popping in a couple times per season, and starts off as Janine's lazy, unlikable boyfriend. However, his earnestness and self-confidence, glimmers of Hidden Depths, and Giftedly Bad rapping won viewers over, and he's now very well-liked. He got especially popular after he and Janine broke up, meaning he's no longer dragging her down and viewers can just enjoy him being funny and ridiculous. Fans are generally very happy when he shows up, and many have expressed a desire to see him grow up a little and find someone else, and/or actually make his rap career work.
Fandom-Specific Plot: Barbara divorcing Gerald is a very popular plot in fanfics. This is often so she can start a relationship with Melissa instead.
Fanon: Most fans headcanon Melissa as gay or bisexual, mainly due to shipping-related reasons. In the actual series, Melissa has only been shown in relationships with men.
Fan-Preferred Couple: Barbara/Melissa (aka Work Wives or Barlissa) is the most popular ship in the fandom and is greatly preferred over their canonical male love interests, such as Gerald for Barbara and Gary for Melissa. This is mainly due to the large amounts of Les Yay between them and the chemistry between their actresses. On AO3, the majority of fanfics are about Barbara/Melissa.
Fanfic Fuel:
- Barbara's early years as a teacher along with how she had no one to rely on mixed with the world being completely different from the modern era.
- How Barbara and Melissa met and became friends is a super popular fanfic topic due to how little the show explores it beyond small hints.
- Ava having a Dark and Troubled Past.
- What type of jobs did Mr. Johnson have before coming to Abbott?
Ho Yay: Barbara and Melissa are very close, with Melissa outright saying she'd kill for Barb. The two are often paired together in scenes and form a Gentle Touch vs. Firm Hand duo towards their younger coworkers, like two moms.
Idiosyncratic Ship Naming: Most fans who ship Barbara and Melissa online have dubbed them "Work Wives".
Launcher of a Thousand Ships: Melissa has been shipped with every character on the show, including Barbara, Ava, Janine, Joe, Gerald, and Gregory. That is not even getting into the OCs that she has been paired with. This is mainly because her actress Lisa Ann Walter is a fangirl favorite and has great chemistry with everyone.
One True Threesome: Melissa/Barbara/Gerald is a very popular threesome pairing in the fandom, especially by those who don't like the idea of applying Die for Our Ship to Gerald. Barbara and Melissa are best friends and the Fan-Preferred Couple, while Barbara and Gerald are Happily Married. It helps that Melissa and Gerald seem like close friends and get along well.
Platonic Writing, Romantic Reading: Barbara and Melissa are supposed to be simply friends (especially since Barbara is married), but a lot of fans see their dynamic as romantic. They are the closest of any of the teachers due to knowing each other for years, with Melissa saying that she would kill for Barbara, and their friendship leads to a lot of Les Yay. One episode has Barbara feeling self-conscious about growing older, with Melissa comforting Barbara by telling her that she's only "gotten better with age". Another episode has Barbara accidentally insult Melissa due to her criminal connections before making it up to her by "shaking down someone" for her. This is not helped by the fact that their canon love interests aren't featured much in the show.
Portmanteau Couple Name: A lot of fans have taken to calling the Barbara/Melissa pairing "Barlissa" as an alternative to the Idiosyncratic Ship Naming "Work Wives".
The Woobie: Janine is constantly belittled by her boss, teased by her friends, and walked over by her boyfriend. Her mom isn't speaking to her and apparently has never been affectionate, despite Janine being very obviously desperate to connect, causing her to latch onto Barb as a mother figure. She wishes to be a kind and stable authority figure for her students and make the best of things despite the school's limitations, and for all her trouble she gets basically no respect.

YMMV / Abbott Elementary

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