Abbott Elementary Season 4 Biggest Story Is About To Get Worse Before It Can Officially End

Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Abbott Elementary season 4, episode 9, “Girard Creek.”

While Abbott Elementary season 4's long-running golf course story seemed to come to a close in episode 12, the sitcom gave various hints that the plot was really just beginning. Abbott Elementary’s cast of characters are reliably hilarious, but they aren’t the only thing that keeps viewers coming back to the series every week. Abbott Elementary is great at setting up long-term story arcs that unfold over entire seasons, as evidenced by seasons 1 and 3 of the series.

In season 1, Janine’s slow road to breaking up with Tariq took 13 episodes to reach its conclusion. Abbott Elementary’s Janine and Gregory romance took even longer to unfold, with the show dragging out the slow-burn story over its first three seasons. Although this could have been unbearable, the fact that the romance took place in the background meant the plot never went from feeling exciting to merely frustrating. Similarly, season 3’s fellowship storyline saw Janine spend weeks debating whether it was time for her to move on from the eponymous school.

Abbott Elementary Season 4’s Golf Course Finally Finished Construction In Episode 12

The Sleazy Developers Invited The Students To Attend An Open Day

Few viewers believed that Quinta Brunson’s heroine was going to leave Abbott Elementary for a job in the school district, but this season-long arc allowed her and Gregory to finally hook up. It also allowed Abbott Elementary to explore how the faculty handled life without Janine around. Viewers got to know Jacob and Barbara’s teaching styles a little better and found out just how much Janine holds the school together. By the time she returned, even Principal Ava had developed a begrudging respect for Janine.

Similarly, Abbott Elementary’s golf course storyline has defined much of season 4 so far. In the premiere, the teachers were dismayed to learn that developers were building a golf course near the school’s grounds. However, they changed their tune when the wealthy developers started bribing them with new computer equipment. As the story unfolded, a local deli almost closed due to the golf course causing gentrification, the new computers raised the eyebrows of the district’s IT guy, and Ava needed to find a way to keep the money coming when her blackmail material ran out.

In season 4, episode 12, “Girard Creek,” season 4’s golf course plot seemed to finally come to a close as construction finished, and the developers offered the school’s faculty and students a free visit to make up for their inconvenience. Initially, this seemed like a relatively happy ending for a complex plot. However, Abbott Elementary’s golf course plot intersecting with RJ’s story sets up a whole host of potential problems for the show’s main characters as season 4 continues.

Why Abbott Elementary Season 4's Golf Course Arc Feels Incomplete

The Developers Set Up A Golf Club For The School Under Duress

As Melissa and Ava attempted to steal a set of exorbitantly expensive truffles in a low-key, low-stakes homage to Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s iconic Halloween specials, ”Girard Creek” subtly revealed the faculty wasn’t done dealing with the course’s developers. Janine and Jacob discovered the school’s trip was really a “Charity Day,” i.e. a shameless PR move that allowed the developers to seem like friends to the community. In Abbott Elementary’s It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia crossover, Ava had to extort the developers to get a new scoreboard, but they seemed all-too-welcoming in “Girard Creek.”

Abbott Elementary Actor	Character Name
Quinta Brunson	Janine Teagues
Tyler James Williams	Gregory Eddie
Lisa Ann Walter	Melissa Schemmenti
Sheryl Lee Ralph	Barbara Howard
Janelle James	Principal Ava
William Stanford Davis	Mr. Johnson
Chris Perfetti	Jacob Hill

Janine and Jacob’s discovery left them conflicted, since Jacob’s apathetic student, RJ, had shown a real passion for golf during the charity day. Devastated to think he might miss out on a hobby that might bring him out of his shell, Jacob corralled the teachers to demand the developers offer the students a free after-school club hosted by the course. Although Gregory's threat to eat their imported truffles got the group a deal, Abbott Elementary season 4’s golf course developers seem like the type to back out of a deal without warning.

What Else Can Happen In Abbott Elementary Season 4's Golf Course Story

Jacob’s Tireless Work With RJ May Be Imperiled

This could spell disaster for RJ and Jacob as the teacher has already invested weeks of work into trying to reach his quiet, disinterested student. The developers are likely to renege on the school’s deal and, even if they don’t, Jacob is clearly getting too emotionally invested in his students. While Abbott Elementary season 4’s Ava story seems likely to come back before the outing ends, this golf course plot isn't as resolved as it appeared to be in “Girard Creek.”

Abbott Elementary season 4 has repeatedly proven that the developers won’t give the school anything without strings attached.

It would be nice if the golf course followed through on their promise to the kids from Abbott, and it would be great to see RJ’s love of golf nurtured by an after-school club. However, Abbott Elementary season 4 has repeatedly proven that the developers won’t give the school anything without strings attached, and Jacob’s desperation to help out RJ is clearly going to result in a reality check for the idealistic young educator. As such, it is clear that Abbott Elementary’s golf course story is not necessarily as tidily complete as it appears.