Abbott Elementary Season 6’s Halloween Episode Highlights Gregory’s Best Change

Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Abbott Elementary season 6, episode 4, “Halloween Party”

Even though all of Abbott Elementary’s characters have changed and grown since the workplace comedy started six seasons ago, Gregory’s unique character arc was the one highlighted in season 6, episode 4, “Halloween Party.” Character consistency creates a particularly thorny problem for TV shows, but especially for traditional network sitcoms. These are shows that rely less on high-stakes, life-or-death drama, and more on mundane daily interactions between their main characters.

As such, sitcoms can often end up in an unenviable double bind where characters need to remain the same, since their specific personalities are what make viewers love them, but they also need to change, so their stories don’t stagnate. One need only look at famous sitcom romances like Cheers’ Sam and Diane to see how tricky it is for shows to find this balance.

It can be even harder for long-running shows like The Simpsons to deal with characters like Apu, who might have seemed inoffensive and even progressive decades ago, but have since become outdated. Luckily, some acclaimed sitcoms manage the difficult feat of updating their characters through slow burn arcs without betraying the fundamental qualities that make them great. Take Abbott Elementary’s Gregory, who has changed a lot over six seasons, but is, in many ways, still the same old Gregory as ever.

Abbott Elementary Season 6 Episode 4 Proves Gregory Never Meant To Stay At Abbott

ABC

Early in “Halloween Party,” Gregory reveals that he is dressing as Hey Arnold’s iconic supporting character Gerald Johanssen, while Jacob is dressed as the show’s titular hero, Arnold. Understandably, the other staff members want to know why Abbott Elementary’s iconic couple Janine and Gregory didn’t wear a matching couple’s costume, especially after their exploits in earlier years. In season 4, episode 4, “Costume Contest,” the pair went as a Jurassic Park reference that was too obscure for anyone other than them.

In season 5, episode 5, “Camping,” the duo dressed up as Sinners director Ryan Coogler and an IMAX screen, another bizarre choice that proved Janine and Gregory simply get each other in a way few character pairings do. Thus, when Mr. Johnson noted that Janine was dressed as an unrelated “Second-tier” Rugrats character Susie Carmichael, it was clear that something was up.

Gregory admitted to the show’s in-universe camera crew that, years earlier, he told Jacob they could do a couple’s costume “in five years” the day they first met. Fast-forward to this episode, and they are both Hey Arnold’s Arnold and Gerald because Abbott Elementary’s deuteragonist never seriously considered the possibility that he would still be working at the titular school half a decade later.

Abbott Elementary’s Gregory Reveal Proves How Far He Has Come

Janine and Gregory smiling on a field trip Abbott Elementary

Since Abbott Elementary’s Gregory almost became the school’s principal back in season 4 and has been angling for that role as far back as season 1’s finale, it would have made a lot of sense for his realization about Jacob to spark some soul-searching. Gregory’s pushy father always wanted him to ascend to a principal role as soon as possible, and Gregory only ever intended for the underfunded, understaffed Abbott to be a stop gap in his career.

However, “Halloween Party” took Gregory’s insight in another direction and instead highlighted just how much he has loosened up since season 1 began. After noting that he never expected to follow through on his flippant promise to Jacob, Gregory was also able to admit that he kind of loved the costume, and, by extension, Jacob.

It’s something his season 1 self would never have said, back when Abbott Elementary’s Gregory was still unabashedly prioritizing his career goals over his colleagues. Thus, Abbott Elementary subtly reminded viewers that its heroes can change, even if they essentially remain the same lovable teachers at the end of the day.