Abbott Elementary‘s latest episode put the titular school’s newest faculty member in the spotlight as Dominic (Shrinking‘s Luke Tennie) found himself in the center of a misunderstanding amid an effort to help educate his former teacher, Barbara (Sheryl Lee Ralph).
In the installment, “Aide,” the teachers are discussing a few of their students, and it’s casually mentioned that one of them is going to be tested for ADHD. In response, Barbara makes a comment about hoping they’re not put on medication, claiming doctors throw meds at kids for no reason, using pills as a cure-all. (Warning: Spoilers for Abbott Elementary, Season 5 Episode 13, “Aide”!)
This sentiment hits Dominic hard as he discloses to the cameras that he has ADHD and has been managing it with medication for some time now. Worried that Barbara might bring this up in front of students, Dominic decides to approach Jacob (Chris Perfetti) for advice, as he told his colleague he’d been upset by something Barbara had said during lunch because he is an example of the scenario she was describing, but it was a close-minded view that only exacerbates the stigmatizing of taking meds as a means of managing ADHD.
Disney / Gilles Mingasson
Unfortunately for Dominic, he’s not specific enough, and Jacob believes he is referring to another comment Barbara made about someone who was gay. Jacob, in turn, thought Dominic was gay himself, leading to a mix-up that forced Dominic to address Barbara directly about her commentary.
He conveyed to Barbara the reason for his concern about her blunt commentary surrounding meds as a means of managing ADHD, and told her he’d gone most of his childhood unmedicated, but things really turned around for him as he reached his late teen years and into college, going on medication.
While this revelation certainly impacted Barbara, it also allowed the show to focus on a rarely discussed topic that Tennie was more than glad to represent, for more than one reason. “What I’m super grateful to Abbott for is I think over the course of television and film history, the reason why all the different categories of Black people haven’t actually been represented is just because there haven’t been that many Black people in stuff, and when there is a Black person, they’re supporting white stories, but with a show like Abbott, it’s Black show,” Tennie says. “So you have an opportunity to look at the diaspora of Black individuals in America and see how different they can be from one another.”
“I’m so grateful for all these new shows and films where you can see all the different nuances,” he continues. “With Dominic taking the lead in that example of what it’s like to be neurodivergent, I think it’s a great example to show not only that these people exist, but these people exist and could be teaching your kids,” Tennie points out.
As for whether or not Dominic has learned his lesson surrounding confiding in Jacob, for fear of being misunderstood again, Tennie shares, “I think Dominic really appreciates Jacob. He just knows I’ve gotta be very specific [with this gentleman],” he adds of moving forward.
Meanwhile, when it comes to Dominic’s role in the show going forward, Tennie promises laughs are on the way, admitting he believed Dominic would be the Toby Flenderson or Jerry Gergich of Abbott Elementary at first, “But then they started exploring this whole new thing where he’s more of like just a wrench in the gears,” which is exactly how Tennie enjoys it.
Of being on the show, he says, “I’m on Abbott Elementary, so I’ve just been in a good mood for like a year.” Following the show’s Season 6 renewal, it seems like the good times are only just beginning for Dominic. Stay tuned for what’s next and let us know what you thought of the show’s handling of his storyline in the comments section.
Abbott Elementary, Season 5, Wednesdays, 8:30/7:30c, ABC
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