Abbott Elementary S2: Quinta Brunson Gives Her Take On Janine's 'Selfish Era'
"Abbott Elementary" strapped audiences in for an emotional rollercoaster with its Season 2 finale. It started by knocking Janine (Quinta Brunson) down to rock bottom, with Maurice (Vince Staples) calling her selfish for how she broke up with him. The statement shakes Janine to her core and leaves her questioning her actions, which "Abbott" will further explore in Season 3.
Following the episode, Brunson sat down with Variety to discuss Janine's wake-up call where she realized she has acted selfishly, regardless of whether she meant to harm Maurice. "Hearing to her face that someone found her selfish, because she's such an overthinker, it immediately becomes a race to not harm Gregory, or harm this thing that she thinks is going to be very special," Brunson said. "To me, it's small, but it's big to her. She looks at Ava as selfish; she doesn't want to be there. But if she is, she needs to deal with it and not hurt anyone ever again, especially Gregory."
Bruson said that while Janine's decision doesn't make her a bad person, she never stopped to think about how it affected Maurice. She expected everything to be fine after the breakup, which was not only selfish but incredibly naive. While she still managed to get through the season finale field trip, Janine has a lot of work to do moving forward.
Janine and Gregory's relationship is still on hold
Although Janine (Quinta Brunson) and Gregory (Tyler James Williams) admitted their feelings for one another in the "Abbott Elementary" Season 2 finale, fans will have to wait a little longer to finally see them as a couple. While Maurice's comments didn't change Janine's feelings for Gregory, she isn't ready for him at this moment, keeping their relationship platonic for the time being as she works on herself.
Bad timing has been the name of the game for Janine and Gregory since "Abbott Elementary" premiered. Although they came so close to making it official in Season 2, Brunson said in her Variety interview that the characters are in the middle of the messy part of the dating world. She stressed the importance of communication in situations like these, saying, "The only thing they can do is support each other through it. Whether that be dating other people seriously, or someone saying, 'I don't want to do this anymore' — they have to be friends, first and foremost." She's excited to explore how they handle the situation once Season 3 begins production.
While this probably isn't what "Abbott" fans want to hear, as it's been a long wait to see Janine and Gregory get to this point, it gives the series an interesting dynamic to explore next season. Although production will stall due to the ongoing writers' strike, expect to see Janine work through her "selfish era" once "Abbott Elementary" is back on schedule.