Abbott Elementary fans may have been surprised to find a cache of Survivor references in season 4’s latest episode. Titled “Music Class," the episode’s B-plot dives into interim principal Gregory Eddie (Tyler James Williams) and teacher Melissa Schemmenti’s (Lisa Ann Walter) quest to decode former principal Ava Coleman’s (Janelle James) filing system, which is riddled with Survivor references, including seasons, game mechanisms, and players.
Despite the episode clashing with Survivor’s airtime, many Survivor fans were still able to catch the episode during and after its initial airing, including the one-and-only Sandra Diaz-Twine. Sandra was mentioned in the episode, with even a clip from her time on Heroes vs. Villains being featured in the show.
Regular viewers of Abbott shouldn’t be too surprised at the Survivor connection, as Ava Coleman has made past references to the show all the way back in season 1.
For those interested in learning more, here is every Survivor reference found in Abbott Elementary season 4, episode 19:
Natalie Anderson and Michele Fitzgerald
We are introduced to Gregory and Melissa’s conundrum exactly four minutes into the episode. Melissa informs Gregory that one of her students has developed a garlic allergy, which needs to be added to his file. The only problem? The files are sorted into sections that Gregory and Melissa do not recognize. It turns out that Ava had recently rearranged the files after her “Hot Dad” system was too easy to decode. They find a section titled “Natalie Anderson: Blood vs. Water, 1” and another called “Michele Fitzgerald: Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty, 6”. Neither of these names ring a bell to Gregory or Melissa, but he promises to look further into it.
Boston Rob and Sandra Diaz-Twine
Now, we're 8 minutes and 24 seconds into the episode, and Gregory is starting to lose it. He still isn’t able to decipher Ava’s filing system, and has yet to make the connection to the show we know and love.
However, his mention of “Boston Rob” is what helps Melissa, a “warm-blooded, mostly straight woman that was alive in 2003” figure out that her system is based on the show Survivor. This is just the tip of the iceberg for this duo, as Gregory has never seen the show before, and Melissa has only seen some of it (her ex-husband got Survivor in the divorce).
They have no idea where to start when they see that the files are sorted by Players, Seasons, and a number, which they are guessing is an episode number. The solution? Watch the entire series from beginning to end. Surely there can’t be that many episodes. Right?
Jeff Probst and Heroes vs. Villains
At 11 minutes and 30 seconds, Melissa asks the all-important question, “How has Jeff Probst not aged?” I would like to know too, Melissa. Gregory mentions that they have 47 seasons of the show to get through, which of course, means that they have seen the beauty of Operation: Italy, but do not yet know the greatness of Operation: Guyana.
During this scene, they are watching the Loved Ones episode of Heroes vs. Villains (excellent choice) where you can see players like Jerri Manthey, Parvati Shallow, and Sandra Diaz-Twine.
Immunity Idols
After having no luck deciphering Ava’s system, Gregory is finally able to ask Ava to tell him what it all means. He mentions Immunity Idols directly, but it does not in fact have anything to do with the students’ vaccination status. The answer? Each file has one highlighted letter under the player and season categorizing the students. The first letter of their last name is highlighted under the Survivor player, while the first letter of their first name is the highlighted letter in the season. The number they assumed was an episode number was actually their bus route.
Cirie Fields and Yul Kwon
In the closing segment of the episode, Gregory and Melissa have not only mastered Ava’s filing system, they are also having a blast using it to pull files. Gregory even admits that her method is genius, so much so that he will be changing his own filing system as well. To prove their point, we get one final segment where the duo race to pull two students’ files, who are listed under Cirie Tiffany Fields and Yul Kwon, naturally.
While this plotline was not the main story of the episode, “Music Class” was a delightful homage to the show we all know and love. Interested viewers can watch the latest episodes of Abbott Elementary on Hulu the day after they air, or on ABC Wednesdays at 8:30pm ET (as long as you don’t mind missing some Survivor).