I liked the principal's office scene, but other than that, the episode was indeed predictable. I was expecting more from a season finale. I hope the writers can look to the first 5 seasons for inspiration. This season has had very little cutaways. Very narrative driven.
Maybe it's because the show has a new audience coming in and the writers can't make the same references that were made in the earlier seasons (like some older actors). The past 4 seasons have been the worst so far.
This episode showed the direction the show has been on for the past several years. Non-escapism. I don't want to be reminded of the Ukraine war. I get the episode is trying to make fun of Russian culture, but it doesn't allow you to forget the world for 22 minutes because it's something so negative that the writers are incorporating.
Maybe it wouldn't hurt to another crossover episode, (IE American Dad or Bob's Burgers). Make more references to jokes made in previous seasons. Bring back some characters we haven't seen in a long time (IE Jasper, Mort, Neil, Trisha, Ollie, Kevin, Bertram, Bruce, etc). Maybe add more black characters or do more episodes with the Brown family, since they tried and failed miserably with the Cleveland Show.