[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Abbott Elementary Season 3, Episode 12, “Mother’s Day.”]
When it comes to Mother’s Day, television is no stranger to tackling the holiday, and in the sitcom world, many plots tend to revolve around underappreciated moms being sweetly recognized by their families, which is what makes Abbott Elementary‘s new episode, “Mother’s Day” so important.
Instead of putting an emphasis on the underappreciated mom (aren’t they all?), the episode focuses on two different grief journeys experienced by Gregory (Tyler James Williams) and Barbara (Sheryl Lee Ralph). What sparks their story is Barbara noticing the lackluster Mother’s Day decorations outside Gregory’s classroom. When she inquires about the arts and crafts project, he tells her students put it together, but he didn’t pressure anyone to partake.
When Barbara expresses disappointment, questioning if he’d show such a lack of appreciation toward his own mother, Gregory reveals that his mom died when he was 9. To say that Barbara is mortified would be an understatement. Gregory does his best to reassure her that it’s fine, but she ultimately invites him for family brunch on Mother’s Day as a means of apologizing and sharing in the holiday with him.
Disney/Gilles Mingasson
While Gregory is reluctant, he agrees to go because he can see it’s important to Barbara, who we also learn has lost her mother in recent years. As someone who is part of the “dead moms club,” I found their journey extremely moving over the course of the half-hour episode.
Mother’s Day has been a particularly hard time of year since I lost my own mom, which is often made worse by the fact that her birthday also tends to fall on the same day or weekend each May. While I love the idea of celebrating the women who are most important in our lives, it doesn’t make the holiday any less painful when it comes around each year.
While Gregory has had a long time to adjust and cope with his loss in the show, choosing to celebrate the day in his own way, it’s clear that Barbara copes in a very different way than he does by surrounding herself with family. Barbara learns that despite her desire to include Gregory, sometimes it’s okay to allow people to take time alone when the day rolls around.
What I’ve loved about Abbott Elementary is its relatability to the stories I often heard my mother talk about when she’d get home from a long day of teaching. While she never got a chance to see the comedy, I know she would have loved it for its emphasis on the importance of educators and the lengths the Abbott crew will go to help their students.
Their efforts remind me of her work as an educator, and to feel represented by the grief surrounding Mother’s Day is especially nice. I relate to Gregory’s need for alone time on such a day, and Barbara’s own breakdown over the pressure of putting on a perfect brunch is also relatable. After my mom died, I remember feeling the need to maintain traditions and keep her memory alive through gatherings, only to learn that it’s a lot easier said than done.
While I can’t speak for everyone who has lost their mothers, I know I appreciate Abbott Elementary for highlighting the struggle that accompanies Mother’s Day for someone who knows what Gregory and Barbara have gone through. And because of the episode’s emphasis on grief, we get to understand a new perspective of Mother’s Day on television, which feels fresh and new in the best way possible.
What did you think of Abbott Elementary‘s Mother’s Day episode? Let us know in the comments section, below.
Abbott Elementary, Season 3, Wednesdays, 9/8c, ABC