Abbott Elementary Season 5 just teased the possible exit of a fan favorite character

Abbott Elementary season 5 may have quietly laid the groundwork for its first truly heartbreaking exit. It is Luke Tennie’s character, Dominic Clark, who has only been on the show since Episode 9, “Mall,” and has quickly become a fan favorite.

What seems at first like a comic setup, seemingly a fish out of water, gradually unearths a more somber truth. If Dominic exits the show, it would mean the most for Janine and Gregory, as his exit could bring the couple a bit closer or make them even stronger as individuals, transforming their arcs.

Watch Abbott Elementary Season 5 tease Dominic’s potential exit.

Abbott Elementary Season 5 just teased the possible exit of the character Dominic Clark

Episode 9 strongly indicates that Dominic is on the edge of leaving, or at least not fitting in, if not on his way out, by highlighting his inability to support the mall organization. As the other teachers complain and try to make do with and through the chaos, Dominic is instantly out of his depth. He can’t control his students, he is disheartened by the decayed classroom space, and, worst of all, he is defeated by situations he can’t improve.

As a result, he resigns from his position. This near-resignation is not a punchline but a genuine moment of hopelessness, representing a tonal divergence from the show’s typical breezy treatment of workplace tension.

When he is conversing with Gregory, the latter connects Dominic’s fight to a larger reality in public education. He talks about how under-resourced districts regularly run young teachers out of the classroom. The line doesn’t just validate Dominic’s feelings; it also contextualizes them, suggesting that if he were to leave, that wouldn’t be a personal failure but rather the predictable result of a broken system.

What would the exit of Dominic mean for Abbott Elementary

If Dominic leaves, Abbott Elementary would be facing a “brutal fact” it has so far managed to conceal. To date, the series has depicted Abbott as disorganized but ultimately loving, a place where teachers collide but remain. Now that Dominic seems to be disrupting that comfort, this indicates that good-natured mentorship and communal support can’t always overcome systemic neglect. It would broaden the show’s social critique without undermining its warmth, reaffirming that realism and heart are not incompatible.

Trending

Two characters who are going to suffer the most from this departure emotionally are Janine and Gregory. They both acted as mentors to him in turn, and to lose Dominic would mean facing the limits of their power, something neither of them, really, has ever had to do.

Instead of faking friction between the couple, Abbott Elementary could use Dominic’s departure to test them, individually and as partners. Dominic’s departure could be like a trial for them, anchoring their happiness in reality rather than perpetual progress. In that way, potentially making a beloved character unquestionably worse off for the story could also, in turn, make Abbott Elementary’s storytelling stronger. The show’s optimism would then feel more earned instead of something taken for granted.

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback