I don’t know about everyone else, but I have little interest in Shirley’s baby. My reasoning is that because Community lies on the fringe so often, something as normal as a baby just doesn’t compare. A baby might be a big deal on another show, Parks and Recreation perhaps, but when the show can do something weird and genius regularly, I’m not drawn to the baby.
That’s why the main plot of “Applied Anthropology and Culinary Arts” didn’t appeal to me much. The stuff surrounding it–Jeff getting Britta to step up, Pierce stealing Troy and Abed’s handshake–was great, but the main plot wasn’t enough to carry the episode to a higher level.
Now that the baby is not Chang’s (though don’t Asian and black babies still look dark?), I’m wondering what will become of him. Will he dive into a deep spiral, actually improve, or stay the same? It was really helpful and honest in his own way, and the baby not being his when he laid it on the line may be enough to break him.
Score: 8.8/10
