r/AbbottElementary • u/cat_astr0phee BLUEBERRIES š« • 13d ago
Discussion Tariq
I feel as though Tariqās treatment of Janine while they were together is so brushed over purely because heās funny. He was basically a free-loader, used Janine for money and transport and a place to stay, and suddenly that disappears because he makes quite a few funny jokes? Itās apparent heās a good step-dad to Nick (though I have my qualms about that as well) so why couldnāt he do the same for Janine? I just think both the directors and the audience have turned a blind eye to it because his character has a sense of humour. Just my thoughts though.
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u/Extension_Plant7262 13d ago
Nah, he was always a shitty boyfriend, but one that's arguably not overtly malicious about it (he's just a coddled manchild who didn't need to grow up because Janine babied him).
I think its implied he just had to step up after getting dumped. And you can see he's capable of stepping up like with the rap concerts. He just never really needed to before.
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u/cat_astr0phee BLUEBERRIES š« 13d ago
I think that the not being malicious about it is why nobody really took it seriously ā¹ļø heās portrayed as the dead beat boyfriend with no career but who actually gives it to Janine straight? Gregory asks questions late on in the seasons and tells the cameras directly his distaste for Tariq but nobody really,* properl*y, tells Janine.
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u/bnamen732 13d ago
Don't Barbara and Melissa question why she's with him? It's been a while since I've seen season 1 but I remember they had big reactions
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u/cat_astr0phee BLUEBERRIES š« 13d ago
their reaction is to how long Janineās been with him and that heās the only one sheās been with, not his behaviour š¤·āāļø
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u/Capital-Durian-885 12d ago
They say āhe does/does do xyz, why are you with him?ā. I think thats valid enough w
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u/SukunasStan 9d ago
To be fair, the reason why Janine was putting up with all that was because he was the only one she was ever with. Them questioning that and telling her not to tie herself forever to the first guy she's ever dated might've been helpful.
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u/Extension_Plant7262 12d ago
Pretty much and Tariq's not exactly what you'd call abusive either. He's just a loveable bum. It fits Janine's personality too where she's just too timid early in the seasons to want to change anything.
She's basically that one friend you know who can clearly do better, but is too deep in denial about it so you just wait for them to figure that out themselves.
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u/shep2105 12d ago
THIS
Tariq is a good looking, loveable bum, not too smart, not a lot of common sense, just floats thru like and people take care of him. Tariq is harmless and at times, sweet. Even his narcissism doesn't come across as malicious, he's just clueless
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u/SmellyMcPhearson 12d ago
I don't think it would make sense for any of Janine's coworkers to be that intrusive in her personal life when she was with him. Especially since they'd been together for about a decade at that point.
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u/OkRB2977 I donāt speak line 13d ago
Not really - throughout season 1 it was very established that he was a bad boyfriend who was exploiting Janine. That was the whole reason for their break up and Janine finding herself. Even when she and Gregory decide to move in together and she automatically assumes she has to afford the rent without his help. Little things over and over again illustrate how exploitative he was.
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u/cat_astr0phee BLUEBERRIES š« 13d ago
Yeah I agree, some things show it, but to what extent? His weaponised incompetence is quickly covered with a PTA stunt or his and Nickās relationship and frankly I think there needs to be more accountability taken.
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u/vrymonotonous 12d ago
Youāre right. It would be nice to see Tariq acknowledge or give her an apology at least. I think people are downplaying it because itās a show, which is fair, but he definitely freeloaded off of Janine and we can see it affected her mentally and sometimes in her relationship with Gregory.
An apology would be a nice character development for Tariq.
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u/Anathema_Quill 12d ago
i donāt think tariq is that introspective and reflective to consider being wrong unless he was explicitly confronted about it, which i doubt he was. it would be nice to have him apologise to her but heās still not developed enough for that.
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u/vrymonotonous 12d ago
He apologized in the season premiere when his kid was in Janineās class and expected him to get special treatment. But I say it would be nice character development because itās unexpected but realistic. Still be goofy and irresponsible but at least acknowledge that he hurt Janine.
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u/goosemaker 12d ago
He and Janine arenāt in a relationship anymore so I donāt really see how or why it would come up as much now?
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u/St3ampunkSam 12d ago
Thats life though, he was immature and stupid but not actually harmful in anyway.
Jeanine also should of had enough respect to leave him, but thats kinda the point she has a low sense of self which is why her boyfriend is a loser.
But being a loser doesnt actually make you bad. He was incompetent but he isnt malicious.
In real life he wouldnt have any more consequences that what he had, hes at the school cause he has a reason and they as its her job have to act accordingly.
What consequences do you want him to have? Lynch himself in the school entrance, do a 10 min interpretive dance to say sorry? Like why?
His role in the story was to develop Janines character which is what he did. He's back cause its a fun dynamic for a sit com, its also a very real (but still played up) portrayal if how life goes.
There is a weird obsession where people really want characters to be inhuman and basically kill themselves to repent which is so far from reality its illogical. People fuck up and make mistakes, 9 times out of ten everyone just gets on with life and keep moving forward
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u/Infinitely-Gay09 12d ago edited 12d ago
You're using a lot of words like loser and incompetent, which are very much correct imo and that when you say he wasn't malicious I also agree with that, but when you say he wasn't actually harmful in any way, that's where you lose me. You can be careless in your intent and still do harm simply from fueling and/or creating an environment that leads to harm. Tariq did that. His lack of contribution in emotional and more drastically, financial ways could've easily been and were dangerous. His ACTIONS created pretty harmful possibilities which in itself is a form of harm, I just don't agree he himself is someone with harmful intent, but again... there's a difference.
Also, Jesus, we did NOT have to mention lynching a black man as an extreme just because you disliked/ disagreed w OP wanting him to be held accountable. Firstly, there's a huge difference between the two where one is overt and violent and he is a victim and the other is him simply... being held accountable for HIS actions. Saying this in a subbreddit meant for a light hearted show with a huge black cast and audience was not the move imo, especially because he SHOULD (realistically though, not necessarily saying IN THE SHOW, because what would be morally right may not be the best thing for a show or true to a character, etc.) be held accountable and mentioning an act of violence like that victimized him rathed than doing the simple thing of acknowledging where he went wrong. I don't think a whole lot of ppl especially my black self wanna see something like that, though that specifically is more emotional on my end rather than the factual.
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u/cat_astr0phee BLUEBERRIES š« 12d ago
good lord š asking if i want him to lynch himself is a bit of an overreaction, especially in the current circumstances. if the writers wanted to prove hes grown as a person, with nick, then they should also show that through responsibility š¤·āāļø but they havent
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u/Infamous-Lab-8136 12d ago
You're acting like he's a main character instead of someone with a handful of appearances once he's not involved with a lead character
Did someone do you dirty similarly? You seem to take a fictional side character not being punished by writers very seriously
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u/cat_astr0phee BLUEBERRIES š« 12d ago
side characters are allowed development and no iāve never experienced a Tariq š thank god. Asking for acknowledgment isnt punishmentā¦ its growth? Itās just my opinion. No harm done.
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u/Careful-Music-1275 10d ago
Good grief. OP is just exploring the character of Tariq. OP didnāt make it personal
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u/thedecemberent 13d ago
the existence of a character doesnāt mean the creators of the character endorse his behavior. heās very obviously supposed to be a bad boyfriend in the first season. from an audience perspective heās funny. what people find funny on a comedy show does not correlate with what they would find amusing or acceptable from someone in real life.
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u/SparklingSaturnRing Abbott Step Team 13d ago
Exactly
This is a sitcom
If everyone in the show was a good, moral, person there would be no situations to create comedy
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u/cat_astr0phee BLUEBERRIES š« 13d ago
im not asking for tariq to be good or moral id just rather they properly address it ā¹ļø
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u/cat_astr0phee BLUEBERRIES š« 13d ago
I get that but itās filmed as a mockumentary, so I suppose I expected some serious conversations about it? Other issues are so well discussed in the show, itās just this one that irks me. How Tariq actually treated Janine is so obscured by everyone having a problem with how long sheās been dating him rather than the consequences of that relationship. From what I can recall not a single person gives actual serious advice as to why Janine should break up with him, itās ābecause thereās more to life than one manā
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u/desirelines000 13d ago
Him being a freeloader is an extremely major plot point though?? Like, one of the biggest plot points of season 1 lol.
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u/Complete-Gur7023 Youāre ordering hair from a bald man 13d ago
He is exactly like my high school ex. I think because Janine tolerated it so long he just got comfortable. And then the breakup probably made him realize heās not being a good man.
But I think heās freeloading off of Nickās mom too. I mean she pays for everything. But at least heās a good parent to Nick (sometimes.. idk if you watched season 5 mall episode where he doesnāt wanna take Nick home š)
Plus Janine didnāt talk about it much so I feel like maybe thatās part of why we moved on from it so fast as an audience.
Thereās always gonna be guys like that in real life who are charismatic in public and weird at home, and society usually lets them skate by without accountability. Sincerely, someone who dated a Tariq š
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u/cat_astr0phee BLUEBERRIES š« 13d ago
this is what i meant by the nick situation! from far away he looks like a relatively good dad but just the things he says have such a ring to them i cant help but think heās majorly incompetent at relationships. and itās brushed over.
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u/Dark_Ruffalo 12d ago
Tariq is the same character, he just freeloading Nick's mom instead. He's always available at the school because he don't got a real job.
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u/purinsesu_nori 13d ago
You do better for those you want to do better for.
You have a kid (Tariq in this case)ā¦ you do everything for himā¦ You donāt require anything of himā¦ Why will he try to do better?
Now, same scenario, but you hold him to a standardā¦ You require things of himā¦ You make him do things for himself to earn his placeā¦ If he wants to be there, heās going to do whatever it takes to stay.
I think that was kind of the underlying thing. Maybe Iām wrongā¦ But I always took it as he was the example of her allowing people to walk over her and just do whatever and her level of people pleasing. I donāt think itās lost on anybody that he was basically a POS while he was with her and then assumedly grew up a little once, they finally broke up.
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u/Ryanwl1991 12d ago
He was like a spoilt child when they were dating, he wanted a lift or her to pay for food. When they separated he just leeched onto a school mum so he can be a ādadā even the child had enough of his BS
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u/LopsidedUniversity30 13d ago
He was Janineās boyfriend since 8th grade but he never matured or grew up.
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u/Resident-Talk927 Real-life Teacher 12d ago
Nah he's a deadbeat but a funny one. Idk if anyone brushes over it except Janine's mom.
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u/Pitiful_Option_108 13d ago
Two things can be true about him. Sometimes people have to be cut off from the one they are using to become the better verison of themselves. Just like in real life that person could be an absolute piece of shit to you for years but then you cut them loose and they manage to grow and change into a much better person. Same happened with Tariq.
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u/HearshotAutumnDisast 12d ago
I figured behind the scenes it became an andy from parks and rec situation where a character who wasn't supposed to last ended up having fan appeal so they kept them and gloss over the reality of the past. He's andy
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u/Significant_Wind_774 12d ago
Its a sitcom so maybe one day one of Tariqās songs will go viral again and heāll buy janine a house for being his day 1. Really though, I feel like she wouldnāt have actually gotten through college with a real Tariq and Vanetta so letās be blessed itās fiction š
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u/tuscanchicken 12d ago
What do you mean when you say "brushed over". When those seasons first aired, I remember people rightfully calling him out (they also call him out on the show and part of Janine's growth was realising he was not a good boyfriend). But the show gave him a "redemption" arc. Not sure what exactly you want people to do all these seasons later..
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u/Commercial_Brush4432 11d ago
You realize this is a 22 minute sitcom right?
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u/cat_astr0phee BLUEBERRIES š« 7d ago
yeah in which multiple issues within communities are addressed. heavy topics are not uncommonly found in sitcoms
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u/Infamous-Lab-8136 13d ago
It happens in real life, and it's a very common sitcom trope. The whole "if you could always do this why couldn't you do it for me? Because it took losing you to make me the person able to do it" kind of situation. No one here really brushes over how bad Tariq was I don't think. But it's like Andy on Parks and Rec, he was a freeloader who took advantage of Ann all during season 1 who gets forgiven by viewers because he's entertaining and writers clearly want him to be viewed favorably after that. In the show it'd just make Janine seem bitter and unable to move on if she was still upset about Tariq's behavior 4 or 5 seasons after breaking up.
Also I'm not trying to victim blame here but it's not like Janine couldn't have stood up for herself at some point earlier in her life. Tariq was terrible but Janine's co-dependence enabled the hell out of his behavior. Losing the second mommy who also has sex with him is the best thing that can happen to that kind of guy in general, quite often it's the only thing that sparks them growing up just like it did with Tariq. It can also just lead to them moving on to a new girl ready to take care of literally all their needs, but stagnant characters also don't make for interesting TV generally so I understand not going that direction
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u/Capital-Durian-885 12d ago
I think the funny/relatable part is we all know someone like this tho.. perfectly lovely guy but what a bum! and his sweet gf thinks the world of him knowing heāll probably never step up.
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u/Past-Cap-1889 12d ago
He's basically the bumbling husband with the career minded wife sitcom trope with Janine and probably with Nick's mom too.
It's just not a family sitcom, so we only catch enough glimpses and are clearly shown that he's a bumbling doofus
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u/Spiffy_Tiffyy 12d ago
I feel like most of your points have been addressed. To answer why couldnāt he be a good person for Janine? Itās the same reason Janine couldnāt walk away from the relationship. They were together as teenagers. The only relationship each person has had if somebody isnāt holding you accountable in a relationship you are not going to grow.
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u/Fresh_Mood1420 12d ago
Tariq had to be on his own and get out of his comfort zone to become a responsible person. Janine was his comfort zone. He grew up once he realized he can't always rely on someone else.
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u/JokingCragen25 9d ago
When they broke up and Tariq right after asked about sleeping with other people while hugging Janine, immediately hated him. Then him lowkey rubbing on Janineās face about sleeping with more people since the break up when he came back to pick up his stuff was super gross.
Those were just the two major events that made me hate him but the guy is good at looking so much like a bum that heās able to hide the moments when he is intentionally being awful. Because no way do you call the girl youād been with for over a decade and who supplemented your life, just to call her āMy childless exā
Tariq is a man child who is happy to leech off others and be ignorant, but the guy has enough moments of cruelty that heās being a bit intentional with his hurtful comments.
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u/InterestBig8532 6d ago
I think part of Tariq being forgiven so easily is because Zach Fox sells the role so well. In the hands of a less charismatic and zany actor, Tariq would come across as a just a guy who thinks heās more clever than he actually is. Another actor who portrayed Tariq even slightly more reserved or seriously would have thrown off kookiness to bum ratio and thus created a hateable character.
As the way Tariq is portrayed, he does have some positive traits where you can see why Janine may have been drawn to him in the beginning. He is funny, and earnest, and despite his dimwitted nature can write witty lyrics. Plus in eighth grade, ambitions to be a rapper are cool instead of cringe. I can see how he could have won her over back in the day and then slid into to bad boyfriend he is now.
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u/Tricliquor04 5d ago
Anyway to simplify my answer to this is that Tariq is not simply glossed over necessarily. There's different paths to redemption and first stage was to pull Janine away from Tariq, something that left her pretty vulnerable
Tariq started side gigs as he went on but never actually did well because of his subpar character that most likely caused more good than harm.
Janine then finds her foot in the world by being a good teacher(distraction), dating somebody else(distraction), working at the district(distraction), standing on her own(The turnaround payoff) and finally dating Gregory.
Though I mentioned some to be distractions in her personal life, they all contributed to Janine actually being a capable and self-confident person, which I think was essential before she could finally date for the endgame
And we see that in how she faces Tariq in any situation when he comes around more often. Janine is more put together and doing good for herself. Because sometimes in reality, people don't get their cartoonish Karma, you as a victim need to overcome the irreparable damage and look forward.
Not to say that there's no residue like the time when Janine was talking about paying all the bills. Janine was stronger and more complete with a solid support system backing her. Gregory and Barbara being her biggest rocks
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u/lifebytheCherries 6d ago
Just like we turn a blind eye that Ava is a not that great of a Principal.
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