Barry and Joanne’s relationship in The Goldbergs is spoiled by Schooled. The Goldbergs, ABC’s '80s-set sitcom that's been airing since 2013, was popular enough to warrant a spin-off, Schooled, which aired from 2019-2020. The workplace sitcom focused on Lainey Lewis (AJ Michalka) returning to William Penn Academy in the '90s as a music teacher after her music career failed. The spin-off was an interesting idea, but ultimately one of its plot points ended up spoiling a current relationship in The Goldbergs.

Before Joanne, Barry's most serious girlfriend on The Goldbergs was Lainey, his older sister Erica (Hayley Orrantia)'s best friend. Barry and Lainey dated throughout high school and got engaged, though they call off the wedding and break up after Lainey decides to move to California to pursue a music career. In The Goldbergs season 8 episode "Love Triangle," Barry (Troy Gentile), jealous that his friend Geoff (Sam Lerner) invited Erica to a taping of the Nancy Glass show instead of him, starts a fake relationship with Geoff's older sister Joanne (Beth Triffon). Though the relationship starts as a way to rile up Geoff and Erica, Barry and Joanne soon end up having actual feelings for each other.

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Schooled spoils Barry and Joanne's relationship by revealing that he gets back together with Lainey, his ex-girlfriend. In the second-to-last episode of Schooled's first season, Barry returns to William Penn, now a successful radiologist. He asks Lainey in the season one finale to move to Detroit with him. Though she declines, the two rekindle their romance in Schooled season 2. However, they end up breaking up again because of the strain of a long-distance relationship. By revealing that Barry and Lainey get back together in the '90s, Schooled makes Barry and Joanne's relationship a moot point. Their breakup seems inevitable because Barry will get back together with Lainey in the future.

The Barry and Lainey plot in Schooled reveals the drawbacks of having a spinoff set in the future while the original show is still airing. While it's nice to see Lainey's future in a post-Goldbergs world, her renewed relationship with Barry complicates things within the current timeline of The Goldbergs. On some level, it's hard to get fully invested in Barry and Joanne knowing that their relationship has an expiry date because of what happens in Schooled. There's no need to wonder about any developments with Barry and Joanne because you know they aren't going to last.

However, though Barry eventually finds his way back to Lainey, his current relationship with Joanne is still enjoyable to watch unfold. The characters have natural chemistry with each other, and they do admittedly look cute together. Despite Schooled spoiling Barry and Joanne's future, the couple's relationship on The Goldbergs remains engaging to audiences both in and out of the know of where their romance is heading.

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