“Smith Playground” is the thirteenth episode of Season Three of Abbott Elementary.
The Abbott Team and their precious Elementarians head out to the Smith Memorial Playground for their end of the year school trip. But a pleasant outing turns into a battle of schools as a Legion of Liberty Rings, led by Ava's sorority rival Krystal, engage in petty offenses against Abbott which all leads up to a high stakes relay race to determine who is the superior school! But wait, there's more! While spending some quality time together at the park, Gregory is working up the nerve to confess to his precious Janine on how he really feels about her. Only for fate to throw a curveball at him when he intercepts a text from his love rival Manny followed by a grievous warning from someone within the Abbott Team!
Tropes in this episode include:
- Accidental Innuendo: In-Universe. Janine asks Gregory if he's a swinger. While she was referring to playground swings, Gregory assumed
- Bait-and-Switch: Jacob tries to hint at Janine that "a little birdie" named Gregory told him that he has feelings for her. Janine then asks if he's talking about "Gregory" Gregory or if he really has a bird named Gregory.Jacob: My bird's name is Peter and you would know that if you came over to meet her.
- The Big Race: Ava and Crystal decide to settle their ongoing rivalry with a relay race across the playground.
- Bittersweet Ending: Abbott Elementary may have defeated the dreaded Liberty Rings Clan in the relay race of destiny and their kids had a wonderful time afterall. But Janine and Gregory are left uncertain if they should follow their hearts after hearing of Mr. Morton's melancholy.
- Breaking Old Trends: This field trip episode is the penultimate episode of the season rather then the Season Finale.
- Call-Back: Janine makes a crack at how the past field trips usually end in disaster.
- Children Are Innocent: Despite the initial transgressions in the first half the episode, the children of the Abbott and Liberty Rings Clans are able to let go of their hostilities and play harmoniously with each other in the episode's end.
- Continuity Nod:
- Janine expresses relief on how Alex is still at school.
- Mr. Morton is still having problems with his ex-wife.
- Janine mentions that Greggo has been hanging out with the EMT.
- Mr. Johnson discovers Ava's secret bathroom.
- Crystal returns as the head of the Liberty Rings Clan.
- Cold Open: Jacob passes out field trip educational worksheets to the kids in regards to the upcoming field trip.
- Commitment Issues: Both Gregory and Janine hold off on becoming boyfriend-girlfriend out of fear that their lives can go down the drain just like Mr. Morton's.
- Didn't Think This Through: Gregory admits that he spent so much time thinking about how things can go right if he pursued Janine as his girlfriend that he never considered what can go wrong.
- Evil Is Petty: A mustached Liberty teacher purposefully takes his sweet time hogging a public fountain just so Jacob doesn't get to use it. He even tosses out the water when he sees a bug so he can start over.
- Gilligan Cut: Jacob's first scene has him passing out worksheets saying that they're going to help make the field trip extra special. Barbara and Melissa burst his bubble saying that his worksheets are unnecessary.
- Hypocritical Humor:
- After Gregory teases Janine about being a nerd for preferring school over field trips, Janine turns the tables by revealing that he sings Randy Newman songs to his plants.
- And later on after Ava catches Janine and Greg being in love with each other.
Ava: Now if you two will stop acting like a couple of kids, we gotta go win the relay race!- In The Stinger, Mr. Johnson calls everyone ridiculous, utterly ridiculous, as they're recovering from being sore. He says this while wearing Urkel pants.
- Incredibly Lame Fun: Janine confesses that she loathed field trips in her youth because it meant she couldn't be in school learning.Gregory: Oh right, I forgot you're a nerd.
- Interrupted Declaration of Love: Just before Greggory can express his true feelings to Janine, Ava shows up to interrupt them and rope them into joining the relay race of death.
- Ironic Echo: A Liberty teacher asks Melissa to return her students' dodgeball but sarcastically tells her not to hurt herself. Melissa kicks the ball away and throws the words right back at her.
- It's Personal: At first, Ava had no interest in her teachers getting into a rivalry with the Liberty Rings Clan. But it's only after Crystal reveals herself (along with her podcast ending and her chair having deflated) does Ava decide to step up and put an end to the Liberty Rings Clan.
- It's the Best Whatever, Ever!: Jacob starts the episode calling the upcoming Smith Playground field trip the best field trip Abbott has ever had.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Ava brings up to Granine that Human Resources is required to be informed if they decide to pursue a relationship. She also uses Mr. Morton's tragic love life as a potential future of can await the two lovers if they become an item.Ava: They gotta have it reported to HR. Or it would have been berry, berry, berry bad.
- Key Confusion: While the rest of the staff is at the field trip, Mr. Johnson takes the free time to finally figure out what each key in his massive keychain does. At the end, he finds the use of each key, except one... which he throws away. Only when he is locked out after exiting the back door does he realize he needed that one key to get back inside.
- The Key Is Behind the Lock: Mr. Johnson throws away the one key he thinks has no use. After he's out the back door, he realizes he forgot something and tries to get back inside... and realizes that the key he threw away was the one for the back door.
- Kick the Dog:
- Mr. Morton accepts one of Jacob's worksheet packets... to use as napkins for his donut breakfast. He then throws the rest of the folder in the trash.
- The Liberty Clan tossed the Abbott students' lunches into the sun so they can take over their shaded area.
- No. Just... No: Janine has Jacob quiet down when he starts to info dump about studying AAVE.
- Ordered Apology: Melissa has one of her kids do this with a rival teacher and her student after they were caught pushing each other.
- Passive Aggressive Combat: The Abbott Family and the Liberty Clan start their feud with petty comments about how they educate their respective children.
- The Password Is Always "Swordfish": Mr. Johnson correctly guesses Ava's bathroom password as "6969".
- Rapid-Fire "No!": Ava gets this when Mr. Johonson reveals that he knows about her secret bathroom and punished the poor toilet.
- The Reveal: Mr. Morton sheds some necessary light on his relationship drama and what type of woman his ex-wife was.
- Sanity Ball: Ava grabs onto the ball for the first half as she tells the queens (and Jacob) not to get invested in their petty rivalry with the Liberty Teachers. But she chucks that ball into heavy traffic when her rival Crystal is revealed to be the ringleader of the Liberty Teachers.
- Shadow Archetype: Mr. Morton's tragic backstory was that he and his ex-wife used to be co-teachers. As in they worked in the same school, had classrooms right next to each other, and eventually fell in love just like Greg and Janine. To the horror of the potential lovebirds, his tragedy represents what could happen to the if they decide to take their relationship to the next level.
- Ship Tease: Local lovebirds Janine and Gregory spend their day hanging out and getting closer to each other in the park.
- Shout-Out: Barbara poses like Usain Bolt after she wins The Big Race.
- The Stinger: The Abbott team have to deal with their bodies being physically sore after the relay race of doom. Mr. Johnson comments on them looking ridiculous while wearing his pants a little too high.
- Straw Misogynist: Mr. Morton openly questions why a woman would be interested in a grill. Jacob rightfully calls him scum for his comment.
- Take That!: Melissa mentions having seen evil itself at a Cowboys home game.
- Wham Shot: While taking a picture of Janine using her phone, Gregory gets a startling message from his rival.Manny (via text): I was wondering if we could get dinner sometime?
