I like that and I think you are right on the money. Community is about deconstructing the traditional sitcom and so there will be more instances of “THAT WAS AWESOME” as opposed to laugh out loud moments (in the best cast, they combine, as in the 1st season Paintball Episode - by which I mean all of it, but especially when Chang bursts in).
I think they are amusingly setting up the rest of the season. There had to be a quick reboot (Repilot is a fantastic name for the first ep) and some of the meta-jokes were right on point (Zach Braff only in 5 eps of the last season of Scrubs, Nodding over to Chase’s chair and missing Magnitude).
Was it as great as the heights of Season 2? No, but I feel it’ll take some time to build back to where it was.