I liked the episode. The opening sequence in the study room felt like classic Community and the interaction with Jeff and his dad (with hyper therapist Britta in the background) was well done. I didn’t care for the B plot with the garage or the extreme sensitivity with Jeff’s brother.
Also, I don’t understand Expanso Mapcase’s objection about the feel-good resolution to the episodes. Community has always had that: Chicken finger episode had Jeff and Abed’s talk in the kitchen, Jeff gives Shirley priority registration he won in Paintball, Neil thanks Pierce for a great game of D&D while gaining self-respect, that one where Jeff makes a big speech and rallies the group.
It was a good episode except for Jeff’s brother. I understand why fans of the old show are disappointed, but the show is still good, just different. You will always be disappointed if you want it to be the way it used to be and that is going to get in the way of enjoying whats there.
That said, I can see why Chevy Chase was so frustrated and left. They didn’t know what to do with him. Also, to add an odd complaint considering that I usually enjoy Britta fan service, but I found her good looks too distracting.
My least favorite part of last night’s was Jeff- not for the first time- referring to the study group as his true family. Yes, we know that’s how he feels, but Jeff would never ever say it, and neither would most others (plus in-laws aside, Shirley’s real family are her husband and kids).
It’s Exapno, Wolfgang Puck, but I try not to type it myself.
The difference between this season and previous episodes is vast. Plots were cast so that the group won on its own terms. Now they have to learn a great big moral lesson. I’m stealing a line I read elsewhere, but all four of this year’s show were the equivalent of A Very Special Episode, which is as low as sitcoms get and as far away from real humor as conceivable.
Yeah, that was a good one! You mean the old Western town episode, right? Or are you talking about the one with the haunted house? Or the St. Patrick’s Day rafting adventure?
Agree. Apparently Chevy and Dan Harmon couldn’t get along, but now that Harmon’s not around, the writers seem clueless about how to incorporate Pierce at all. Well, except for muttering “Aybed gets it” once or twice an episode.
I think the writers are coming to realize that Chevy Chase is not very funny, and he never was. Not on SNL. The Vacation movies would be just as good with somebody else. I thought he had gone away forever, but then he came back to be the least funny part of Community. Less funny than Shirley. Less funny than Chang. Even less funny than Willy Jr. Okay, maybe not THAT bad, but close. I’m glad they are killing him off because that leaves more room for Leonard.
I never imagined that Brolin could act, but he brought just the right degree of shallow douchebag to the role. Its subtlety almost seemed out of place on a show that can be a live-action cartoon. Or a claymation cartoon. Or a video game cartoon. I found myself really disliking him, which doesn’t happen with me and TV shows.
I thought this was easily the best episode of the season. Both plots worked well, and the characters were the best they have been in a while. Even Pierce at least contributed a little. A very little.
Annoyances included the “real family” line and the ending with the hole in the wall. Similar to Pierce’s electrification in another episode, that was too cartoonish.
It’s not what Community used to be or seemed capable of being, which is sad. But this episode was a show I would still watch even if I wasn’t already invested (the earlier episodes this season were not).
I see this guy. He looks like Jeff. Sort of talks like him. But he clearly not Jeff. Who is this stranger?
It’s pod-people folks. Our beloved Greendale characters have been replaced by alien pod-people. Except for Abed- note how he did his “cool-cool-cool” line.
Put Abed on it. He’s the only one who can kill the pod-people and save the study group.
I liked it a lot, although it, along with every episode this season, feels a little off.
Now, I’m not saying it’s because Harmon’s not there and it can’t be good without him, but that his departure seems to have made things a little wobbly. So even if the writers were technically able to create a story as good as the previous seasons without his input, I’m guessing the atmosphere in general around there is not the most pleasant. That doesn’t seem to be a huge secret. What I guess I’m saying is that it might not be the lack of Harmon, but the whole situation that led to his leaving. It could have thrived without him, or maybe been a B+ to previous season’s As, but it’s not. Maybe even if he had been there it would still be just that little bit off, what with Chevy problems and network indifference. I look at it as correlation doesn’t mean causation, however awesome he was. Just because he’s gone doesn’t mean it would have been perfect if he had stayed.
We finally got the dreaded “Kevin” episode. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but I didn’t really care for this one. Everything felt forced and not natural. I’ll admit that I had a twinge of doubt when Jeff finally believed Chang, but I kept expecting the about face. Now it is only a matter of time until Dean Spreck unleashes is mean dean plan.
I was actually kind of dreading watching it, making up excuses to put it off for a bit because the last few episodes just sort of make me uncomfortable, but this one is actually pretty good. It’s the first one that you could’ve put into a previous season without it feeling wrong. The Jeff kiss interception was great.
The brief moment where they showed Chang writing on his body made me realize that they missed a chance at greatness - they could’ve done a memento parody. But I guess that would’ve been confusing and resonated with like 3% of the audience, so too ambitious.
Oh, I missed that. Cool. Still, imagine a mid-season 2 episode, when the show was at its height of creativity, that was an episode about this subject that could’ve been done memento style. Missed opportunity, it could’ve been great.
On a lark I looked up MacGuffin only to find that it is one of those self-referential things the writers of Community seem to be so fond of. I’m sure this comes as no surprise to the literati among you, but I thought it was worth mentioning for the rest of us plebs.
I did a little more research and now I’m trying figure out what the MacGuffin in the story is or if they’re just screwing with us. According to this explanation in tvtropes, I don’t think it’s Changnesia.