Community – Episode 2-21 Recap

Reviews, Shows

What was this for?!?

Only Community could manage to do a flashback episode and manage to show us all new material. Thursday night’s episode was hilarious and pretty much smothered in awesomesauce, but I do have one gripe: Why didn’t we get to see these adventures at the time? They went to an old-fashioned Western town without me?

Really, though, the episode could not have been funnier or better executed. And the revelation that Jeff and Britta have been having secret sex all along? Brilliant! And that’s coming from someone who doesn’t even like Jeff and Britta as a couple. It worked because we never had to see them together, and now they’ve ended things. What a perfect romance!

My other favorite part was the spiel of all the times the gang has had major fights, followed by all the times Jeff has made over-dramatic, inspirational speeches in order to get them back together again. Oh you crazy kids, stop fighting so much! Or else I’ll scream like Troy. Just watch me.

Because the episode was A) Awesomesauce and B) Really just a string of disconnected scenes that could not have made me laugh more, there really isn’t much left to review. Plus, I have to get up early tomorrow for an Easter weekend road trip. So instead I’ll leave you with this list of things I thought were extra special super fantastic – I’m sure I’ll leave some out, because this is definitely one of those episodes of Community that deserves to be watched at least four times.

  • The Glee Club! This was the first moment I felt deprived. I want a whole episode of Annie and Troy singing like Rachel and Finn, and Shirley busting out some Mercedes moments while Pierce channels Artie in his wheelchair. No, scratch that – I want one episode per season of that! And just when you think it can’t get funnier, you find out that the gang was filling in for the glee club because they all died in a bus crash. I almost died laughing! (That’s not in poor taste because it’s a fictional tragedy, right?)
  • All the examples of how Jeff and Britta put themselves before the group. I think the worst was when they pretended to step forward to own up to some atrocity so everyone else followed suit – but they really didn’t, thus exempting themselves from the blame. That was low. But Jeff stealing the wig Troy had been working on in barbershop class was a close second.
  • Stolen glances between Pierce and Abed. Just when I was starting to buy that Jeff and Annie could be a thing, they go and prove you can make anyone look like they have chemistry.
  • Shots of what Abed’s nervous breakdown at Christmas really looked like: Awkward.
  • I’m not a Chang fan, but I am a monkey fan, so all their scenes worked for me. Plus I kind of like that Chang still doesn’t know if he’s part of the group. I almost felt bad for him. OK, no. I was not that close to feeling empathy for Chang. But I was close to understanding that other people might feel bad for him, and that’s something – right?
  • All of Dean Pelton’s costumes. He’s creepy, but Jeff was way mean to him.
  • Dean Pelton’s cartoon! I’d been hoping for a “Troy and Abed in the Moooorning!”, but this was so much better! (Sidenote: Why were Britta and Annie so much pastier than Pierce and Jeff?)

What did you think of “Paradigms of Human Memory”? Did you love it so much that you want to steal meaningful, romantic glances with it? What was your favorite flashback?


You can follow Jill at her blog, couchtimewithjill.com, or on Twitter @jillemader Jill has been an avid fan of TV since the age of two, when she was so obsessed with Zoobilee Zoo that her mother lied and told her it had been canceled. Despite that setback, she grew up to be a television aficionado and pop culture addict.