Maria Watches Community PT 2

[00:00:02] Before Rick and Morty, Dan Harmon created Community, a sitcom following a group of students attending Greendale Community College as they form a study group and become the most unlikely friends. Starring Joel McHale, Jillian Jacobs, Danny Pudi, Allison Bree, Yvette Nicole Brown, Donald Glover, Ken John, Chevy Chase, Jim Rash, and John Oliver.

[00:00:25] It was a simple sitcom premise of a found family in a friend group with a charming main male lead that even aired on NBC's most popular weeknight. And yet the show never gained in popularity while it aired. However, almost a decade later, the series has this cult-like following because of its love and homage to film with hilarious global jokes, unforgettable characters. Even despite off-screen drama, it continues to be one of the most relevant shows till this day.

[00:00:55] And one of my most loved shows I have ever seen. Welcome back to Maria Watches Everything, where we dive too deeply on shows I love and theme important. We are discussing community with my guest, Johnny. We're in the segment where we go into episodes and we recap them to discuss the points that we were talking about earlier. We are discussing the community episode, season 2, episode 14, Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. Now a community, nothing happens continuous per season because every episode is almost a standalone.

[00:01:24] In season 2, though, there is this ongoing beef between Pierce and the rest of the study group, though. Especially in season 2, there's this very ongoing, I would say, fallout between Pierce and the rest of the study group. It's like his extreme villain arc. This is where things really get bad. In this episode, if you couldn't tell, there is a Dungeons and Dragons episode theme. This is, as we were mentioning, some episodes have a theme. This one is Dungeons and Dragons.

[00:01:53] Before we get into it, Dungeons and Dragons is not obviously a film or TV. Do you have a theory as to why they picked Dungeons and Dragons? Oh, it's because Dan Harmon loves Dungeons and Dragons. He used to do his own little podcast called Harmon Town. I had no idea. Yeah, it's so good. That makes so much sense. I was like, why Dungeons and Dragons? Because this was not exactly popular at that time. No, it was like, it was honestly, I think, and I hate giving credit to it to some extent, but I think Dungeons and Dragons really got popular.

[00:02:24] Or it became a further, or people gained more awareness of it in pop culture because of Big Bang Theory. Because they played that on the show and everything. And that's, I hate admitting, but that's also where I was like, oh, Dungeons and Dragons. What is this that these nerds on Big Bang Theory are playing? I'm like, I'm a nerd. I should try it. And I do play it. That's really fun. I would, because this was obviously pre-Stranger Things. And Stranger Things definitely put it on my radar, unfortunately, before this.

[00:02:55] So, but like I was gonna say, like before, like community does homages to like a lot of movies. But like the Dungeons and Dragons come. And like there's no, it's not exactly like, it's very theatrical for sure, but it's not exactly. There's no movies about Dungeons and Dragons before this. It's very medieval. And there's obviously like, I don't know, it gives that vibe, but it's not. I was very confused as to where the inspiration came. But now it makes sense. Dan Hartman is a nerd. But he loves that about him.

[00:03:23] Fun fact as well, just like there's Dungeons and Dragons references in Rick and Morty. There's a comic, there's two comic book crossovers between Rick and Morty and Dungeons and Dragons too. Very nice. That's very nice. So, so getting into the actual episode. So it starts out with a narrator that is like a new narrator that we never heard of giving us introduction to a new character called Fat Neil. Very unfortunate title. But it goes into Neil's origin story essentially.

[00:03:52] Or getting chills with just the narrator themselves. Talking about how Neil, whenever they were in high school and elementary school, given the title Fat Neil. He was hoping for a new change whenever they started community college. But fortunately, you hear that when he was in the hallway, someone says over there by Fat Neil. And now I host him in community college at Greendale. So the narrator says at one point, Neil decides to find an escape that we dare not speak. So now they have to turn to our study group.

[00:04:19] And we now have the introduction to the study group, giving amazing names. So we have the introduction with Jeff the liar of son William the barely known, who now expresses an interest to D&D. And is talking to Neil. This gives us the introduction to Eddie the day planner, who counsels Troy the obtuse, Shirley the cloying, Abid the undiagnosable, my favorite, Britta the needlessly defiant,

[00:04:45] and for reasons that should be obvious, Pierce the insensitive, also known as Pierce the dickish, and Grandpa the flatuit, who was obviously not invited. I just want to point out that Pierce has given many names. And I want to say that it's kind of a high honor. Everyone was given one. He was given many. Just showing. Pierce the dickish is still my favorite, though. Because just no better title for him than that. Yeah. I'd still be like Britta the needlessly defiant.

[00:05:14] That one is the good one. Jeff the liar of son of William the unbairly unknown is pretty great, too. This is just so clever. Because this was before we meet Jeff's dad, too, which is even better. We had no idea his name was William. Exactly. Also, I just wanted to quickly point out, I think this is the first time I noticed them changing the animation or the intro of the title sequence. Exactly.

[00:05:42] The group has decided that they're going to play Dungeons & Dragons that Saturday and that they're going to make sure that Neil definitely wins. They realize that Chang has been there the whole time. This is when Chang is desperately trying to become in this new group. And they realize it's too awkward, so they just let him join. They realize that they will play a very important game that will not only save a life, but also change the balance between good and Pierce. It's a very clever episode. It is. It's so well written. Yeah.

[00:06:12] Then the credits play. It opens up to Chang as a dark elf, also known as a trowel. And yes, that means he is in blackface. We will get into that. But Shirley points out immediately, so we're just going to ignore the hate crime. And yes, they do. In Chang's defense, oh god, I never thought I'd admit on a podcast I'm defending blackface.

[00:06:37] But he is wearing sharp ears and has a silver wig on. It's not like he's got jet black hair with blackface. Yeah. So then Jeff responds, well, shouldn't you be in armor? And he's like, I'm not dressed as a nerd. He's dressed as a trowel. Many streaming services have not put this episode on its own site. They removed the episode. They removed the episode. This is during 2020 when they did this. It is a very controversial episode because of this reason, for sure. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:07:07] It's a very controversial episode, for sure, because of this reason. Yeah. Yeah. Chang takes everything too far. And he definitely takes this too far. That is understood. Neil responds with, so you guys just randomly wanted to play D&D. And Troy goes, yeah, we love playing D&D. It makes you happy like a dragon. Which, for the record, if Troy were to have sat down with Abed and have a proper understanding of D&D,

[00:07:36] he would love it so much more. He would want to play it every week. I know. And I feel like Abed would have killed Dungeon Master. He did his best. He actually did a really good job. I like that. He did. He explains the rules. He gives them a little character sheet. Obviously, Neil has his own character named Duncan. They're playing the adventure campaign. Cavern of Draconis. Draconis is a dragon that has treasure. Everyone grabs a sheet. He explains that this is a role-playing game.

[00:08:05] He has Jeff go first. Jeff is bad at this game. Shocker. He has no imagination. So, Shirley takes it upon herself to introduce herself. And her name is something that is her name is Zippity Doo. Yep. And suddenly, it's Annie who introduces herself. And she is Hector the Well Endowed. Hector the Well Endowed. And he's like, well, I didn't know you guys were going to grab him randomly. I had Troy in mind for that one. And Shirley goes on. And Shirley comes in with the best comment. Like, I'm sure you did.

[00:08:33] You are just good friends, okay? You're just really good friends. But also probably, Abed would probably know. Oh, Britta's great because then she just starts describing everything she owns. I have a belt. I have a sash. Who knew they'd be bad at this? Dan Harmon, apparently. Dan Harmon, 100%.

[00:08:59] But also, I feel like that's so indicative of so many early first-timer D&D groups. Oh, yeah? Okay. It would have been even funnier, though, had Abed went, like, you're making your own characters. Like, that could have been a whole episode in and of itself. Okay, because my thought process was, like, my thing was when I was watching this, like, do you think Dan Harmon knew they'd be bad? Do you think Dan Harmon purposely made them bad? Like, what was, I was trying to figure out, like, did he think, did he know the characters would just be this terrible?

[00:09:26] I think the main thing that Dan Harmon went into for this is, like, each character's gonna be good at something that is very informed by how he wrote them to begin with. Like, Annie was very good with the role-playing aspect, shall we say. She was. She took it very seriously. She took it very seriously. And Jeff is just like, he's lucky because he's like, I'm just gonna do this, and it works out, you know? Britta was not good at anything, but that is very- Britta was not good at anything.

[00:09:54] And Britta was, as we said earlier, the AT&T of people. Yeah. Chang takes it too far. And doesn't get too far while at it. Yeah. He's Brutal- What is it? Brutalotops. The magician. Magic user, baby. As he goes. Then gets immediately hit by an arrow. Immediately shot with an arrow. And then gets killed by peers. Yeah.

[00:10:22] My favorite, okay, so literally this is what happens next. He introduces himself, he's the magician off, gets hit by an arrow. Yep. Which is also just like, I feel like that's like Abed's own way of going, I don't like you here. Please leave. I think that's like, so- So this is the other thing that's happening in season two, is that Chang is desperately trying to get into the study group. Mm-hmm. And instead of like, being nice enough to Chang and being like, hey, no, they just like,

[00:10:49] keep him around and then figure out ways to get him to like, not be in the study group. Like, there's that dance episode where they're having the dance bar on. And Chang has been dancing all night for them. And then they get there, and they lose dance competition. After his body just pretty much fails. Chang literally does blackface. Or this. And then he gets hit by an arrow.

[00:11:19] It's just, if you were to surmise that for someone real quickly without context for most of the show, they'd just like, the hell? That's community, our favorite show in the world. Yeah. Yeah. Not intentional blackface. Out of nowhere, being struck by an arrow. You know how it goes. Next great line is, as these trolls are, oh no, goblins are running towards them. Britta goes, maybe it's their ones.

[00:11:49] We should have a conversation. And then Swenchoi goes, you are the 18-team people. The-team people. Which, to a full extent, like, we get it. Yes, Britta. There are deeper meanings to these often. But in this instance, we're just trying to get Neil to knock him in suicide. Shut up. Then Jeff throws his knife in the knife style. Yeah. Commits damage. Which, oh god. This is another thing that kind of got me. Is that, like, when you play D&D, every player has their own set of dice.

[00:12:18] You roll your own dice. Oh, do they even have dice? No, it's just Abed, and he's rolling for everyone. Which works, because then, like, you know, you get to skip a lot of unnecessary aspects of it. And you just have Abed who gets to, like, knowing Abed, he would 100% remember the details of every single character that he made. And he has the interactions and stats of other characters he's using. So he would just be able to do it off the top of his head. That makes sense to me.

[00:12:46] It's just, when you do D&D, there is a thrill of it when you roll your own dice, you know? And I think that was lost. Because, like, imagine that Neil moment where Abed's like, you know, that's a tough throw. You're going to need an 18 or higher. And instead of Abed rolling it, it's Neil rolling it. Oh my god. I didn't even think about that. I didn't even know that. Perks of being a D&D nerd. Yeah.

[00:13:12] No, it's just so funny, because it's like, that's like, literally, because no one knows what's kind of, like, I was just thinking about it. Like, people, they're just kind of talking. Yeah. I didn't even know if they were going in turn. Because until the end, there's like, whenever, I think it's like, whenever Pierce is trying to do something, he's like, it's not your turn. I'm like, are they going in turns? Yep. They have not been going in turns. More often than not, it is turn-based. Yeah. At least when it's in order, it's turn-based. But, like, depending on the group and how chaotic they are, in this case, very chaotic. A lot of people will just talk over each other. Just like, I don't want to do this. I want to do this.

[00:13:42] I will prevent them from doing this. I felt like they weren't going in turns until it was convenient for Pierce to be not his turn. So. When it comes to combat, everyone obeys the turn system, though. Yeah. So, speaking of Pierce, well, actually, Neil draws a sword. He does a great job. And then Pierce comes. And obviously, it's Pierce. The music and the way they did that shot of him just, like, peering in.

[00:14:08] Like, a fucking, like, the nun, almost, in The Conjuring films. It's just like, Jesus. Just bury the nun. Just bury the nun. And then he comes in, and this just, he's, Pierce is just being despicable. Like, the most despicable we've ever seen him. He makes a homophobic joke first. Yeah. Yeah. Then makes a fat joke. That's Neil, of course. Yeah. It's just great. He just turns. And then insists on being in the game. Yep.

[00:14:36] And then the funniest part is just, um, was it? Abed goes, like, um, you find a naked man who will die in, like, 13 turns. And Jeff just goes, I wait 14 turns. Yep. I'm like, appropriate. Yep. Then he steals Neil's sword. The sword of Duquesne. Yep. And kills Chang by just going, I attack Blackface. It's even funnier because it's just Pierce going, like, no, I see the Blackface.

[00:15:05] I don't see a problem with it. Here's it normalized. So, that's what I mean. He comes in, asks the nun, makes offensive comments, steals, kills someone, and he's only been there for two minutes. Yeah. No, he, he, because, like, the entire, it's supposed to be a campaign that Abed's got the knowledge to, he's got most of it down, and here's Pierce derailing everything. So, yeah.

[00:15:36] Yeah. How much, and think about the amount of time Abed spent on this, probably. Well, okay, assuming, because I, I, I think Abed didn't spend too much time. It's just more so him reading the books, if anything. Because, like, D&D, you, you have pre-made adventures, which is what I think they were doing. Oh, okay, okay. Yeah. Fair. All right, so I did not know that. But still, Pierce is the worst. Pierce is the worst.

[00:16:01] I stay on that. Yeah, and then, the old, and then Pierce was like, am I winning? Because that's what he cares about. I think it's the other, sorry, go ahead. It's just, it's, it's just so indicative of the character, because at the end of the D&D isn't about winning. Exactly. It is just, it's turn-based, teamwork, collaborative, just problem solving.

[00:16:30] And then here's Pierce going, like, I want to screw everyone over. Like, if I don't win and others lose, then there's no point to anything. And again, we were talking about this before, like, it's like that whole generation of, like, well, what's the point if you're not winning? Yeah. You know, it's just that, like, this idea of, like, being number one. This is how you, like, this is the whole point of life, right? This is how you get friends. This is how you get anything. It's just Pierce going, like, I didn't get enough attention when I was a child, so I will consistently make myself the center of attention and make sure you are all

[00:17:00] dreading it. And this is how I earn love. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. And then, so then, you know, Jeff tells him and Abed, too, like, hey, it's really important that Neil wins this because, like, Neil is severely depressed, which I do actually really commend the community spent an episode talking about depression and suicide. And then Pierce, again, true Pierce fashion says, of course he's depressed. Look at him. I bet he's using depression to get a piece of cake his whole life. Yeah.

[00:17:29] Which is just, like, god damn. It has been three minutes of Pierce being on screen, by the way. No, it's just, it's probably even less than that, let's be honest. Like, just, like, he's just, he, this is probably one of the worst, this is his worst, probably. I think this is, like, the moment Dan Harmon to everyone went, like, we're just going to make Pierce the absolute worst in this episode and then just progress from there. Yeah. I'm really happy we're discussing his death in the next episode. Exactly. Yeah. It was a very good follow-up. It's an excellent follow-up. Yeah. But, yeah, no.

[00:17:59] At some point, it's funny. It leads to one of my favorite moments. It's where Jeff comes in and just, like, here's our objective. We will find Pierce and we will kill him and we will just get the sword back to, um. And Ovid's, like, you have to be separated then. Yeah. Like, go away. I like how it's, like, you into a separate freaking janitor's room. Yeah. And then he gets Garrett in on it somehow. Which I love. I have to tell you, I was going to bring this up later, but Garrett is one of my favorite jokes of the community, too. Say, I'll be there later.

[00:18:28] Him and Starburns. Very funny ongoing joke. Yeah. Um, it's almost a bottle episode until Pierce leaves. Yes. Like, it's almost a bottle episode. That's the only reason why it isn't. Exactly. Um, so they have to find, so the now objective is getting the sword back from Pierce. Yes. They do this by finding a pegasus. So the gang has to describe walking. Mm-hmm. And so the gang walked. And they walked. And they walked.

[00:18:53] And it's, like, a quick 15-second montage of them describing how they walked. They make it to this elf tavern. And, um, they have to talk to a gnome. Yes. And guess who can speak gnome?

[00:19:34] Brita. Like, why is he belingered? Oh, no. Why are you calling me that? You're a class five higher being than I. You're like, no, don't talk like that. Don't talk to yourself like that. Oh, God. I will say I really liked their moment that they shared at the end where she's just like, I wouldn't expect you to understand Jeff whenever she finds his body. That was really cute, though. I do appreciate Brita for those little moments. It's fun. It's the most Brita thing you can do.

[00:20:03] And they make it just tragic enough that you're like, oh, I can't hate you for this. I low-key am a Brita apologist at times for these reasons, unfortunately. Same way, I will defend Brita saying bagel just because it's so funny to me. It's so funny. Because I will occasionally just go bagel? So then she says Pegasus. And he's like, oh, Pegasus. A word that I don't know. I don't know, in every language.

[00:20:31] And Jeff just gives him this dead stare of like, I hate this. Why? And then Abed is a young maiden who likes Jeff. Jeff is again bad at role-playing. Which also speaks to him probably in bed when Brita comments. She's going, you're a selfish lover. And then that's why whenever she brings up, he's like, what am I bad at? And she's like, sex. Which Joe comes back.

[00:21:00] Annie, on the other hand, is amazing at this. They go into an in-depth little montage of them explaining this. And Choi is taking notes. I will never not laugh at Choi just flipping over his page. Just like. Just writing down. And then just the bit ends with Annie going like, and I spoon her and just, you know, stroke her hair for an appropriate amount of time. And then cuts to Choi just going, and how long is that? Amazing moment. Shirley's face the whole time is just like.

[00:21:30] Just the horror. Just like, oh. Oh my. It's just like, it'd be funnier if she had like prayer beads or something like that. And was like clutching pearls. I feel like she did do something that was hilarious. Like maybe, oh no, or something. She did something. Yeah, no, there's like a, like when she was like, when Annie describes like flipping someone over and just smacking their asses. You just see she's like, oh. The reactions were priceless. It was perfect. They were perfect.

[00:22:00] This is a great episode. I have to say, this was definitely like one of the better episodes of Community. Like, it's a shame it's taken off because of a hate crime. It's not a shame. Hate crimes are bad. Yes. But at the same time, like it's, it's not even a minute. They acknowledge it. Like even Yvette Nicole Brown has come to the defense of the joke where she's like, we address the, how it's horrible. Yeah. We clearly point out that this is not okay. Yeah. And then we remove it from the moment.

[00:22:29] And then just, yeah. The thing is, it is still a hate crime. Um, it's just, it's like one of those, like other shows have done. So I guess since we are on the topic of it, uh, you're not funny if it's always sunny, right? Yes. And they removed many episodes for their hate crimes as well. So it's just like, I think when this show came out, it was a time where these, this, this also happened all the time. Yeah. So, yeah.

[00:22:56] Like these episodes have to come out and this one's out with the intention that like it was a different type of, it was an elf, but also is meant to be a double entendre essentially or a double, you know, meaning. Um, so it's addressed, but it's still wrong. Yeah. And like, I think, I need to go check, but because I don't really have Netflix. I have a friend who does, so I might get them to check for me. But like, I think they added it back.

[00:23:26] I, I don't, I think it's, I mean, it's on Peacock, but I don't think it's back on Prime. But, um, yeah, it's, it's very interesting. But like, I, it's, again, it's like one of those things that it's like, yeah, like it was, it's, it's very, um, it's obviously always going to be wrong. I don't want to say funny enough, but at the same time, like because of that episode getting banned or getting removed from streaming, it's the reason why I bought the DVD collection.

[00:23:54] Because at the end of the day, I love physical media and I hate the pure idea of a network being able to just remove things because whatever reasoning they might have. Because I think all media serves a purpose, no matter how terrible it is. And you, there's consistent moments where you should and can learn. Yeah. I think it's like, there's been other times where people have, there have been other jokes with blackface where it's been handled poorly. Mm-hmm.

[00:24:22] And I feel like it's because, like, and where people have called it out within the, within the reference of it. And I feel like this is, was like one of those times where it was done in a different context. But I said, again, it's still wrong, is what I was saying, you know? It is interesting as well, though, because like around the time this episode was removed, people are calling this stuff out. But at the same time, they didn't remove other things for other races like Breakfast at Tiffany's. Yeah.

[00:24:52] They got a white guy doing the most racist and stereotypical Asian things. Yeah, exactly. Which is arguably worse than Chang doing blackface. I know I'm Asian, but they're both done very differently and in different tastes where one is genuinely worse than the other. I know, and people still do it. But they're never addressed. Yes. To this day. And we still see people do, like, brownwashing and, like, Asianwashing to this day. So, like, yeah. So it's, like, it's, again, like, there's layers to this, right?

[00:25:21] And there's context to it, too. And people still do blackface to this day, you know? Yeah. And yet bad media is still here. Mm-hmm. So it's very interesting because, again, like, I will say, like, it's an, it's very, the context of this is very different compared to, like, when people are actually doing a race swap. Like, race, actually, like, race, like, face, essentially. Exactly. Yeah. Um, but back to the show and the actual context of this.

[00:25:50] Um, now the op-ed goes and visits Pierce. So Pierce is very good at D&D. Which is just so funny to me. Yeah. That Pierce is good at it because he wants to win and beat them. Um, and it's just- He's very motivated when it comes to his own desires. And there's nothing technical behind it that he can fuck up. Exactly. It's role-playing, essentially. Exactly. Yeah, so-

[00:26:19] And as we've seen from Pierce's mansion, he enjoys role-playing. Yeah. He's a nerd. Let's be honest. He's a nerd. Yeah. In his heart, like, the way Dan Harmon originally created Pierce as well is, like, it was supposed to be Pierce and Troy who were supposed to be friendly with each other because they both have childish senses of humor. But to some degree, they are also nerdy. Same with Jeff and Abed in just varying different degrees, of course. Right? Exactly. So.

[00:26:45] But, like, and I feel like Jeff and Abed did end up working. But again, it's like, but Chevy squandered his character. Yes, exactly. But it's just, it's so interesting that this is the episode where we are meant to despise Pierce the most, but this also kind of makes Pierce one of the smarter characters in terms of capabilities and knowing what to do mechanically for a game. He just doesn't, he just lacks certain creativity aspects behind it and problem-solving skills. Yeah.

[00:27:15] I also blame because of his father. Yeah, 100%. Yeah. Yeah. So Pierce pretends to be, to have been captured and Abed brings a body back to the study group. Yeah. And, but they find out in closer inspection is actually the gnome because turns out Pierce has found the amulet that ends up controlling the dragon. So they hear from the distance wings flapping and on the back of it is a naked Pierce.

[00:27:46] And, but, well added, I love, love, love how everyone wants to attack. And then Pierce, not even realizing how much of a nerd he's being, I think, just goes, Time, stop! You know. And he can cast spells now? Exactly. It's just like, okay. And what does he do with those casting spells? Shape, shape, kneel.

[00:28:11] He makes Neil's character fat and trigger warning for a lot of people, Pierce's words, he also rapes the Duquesne family. Oh God, I know what that is. Which is like, okay, and we're back to Hayden Pierce. And then he reveals that, and then Neil's like, well, I didn't ask for this, they invited me. And Neil's like, you know why? And he revealed it's because Jeff is the one that named the fat Neil. Mm-hmm. The study group is shocked because they didn't know. And then Troy goes, huzzah!

[00:28:38] That is legit my favorite thing in all of Community, where is Troy being so emotionally broken and just letting out the whimpers of joy that is within him, just going, huzzah! I know. You can just see the pain in everything. I'm really sure that Troy is not good at D&D. I am too. He literally goes, additional notes is all he contributed at one point. Which is so funny as well.

[00:29:07] He's like, I will attack by using my additional notes. Yeah, like, you literally, like... Oh, poor sweet baby boy. Yeah, like, you play all the day, all the time. What do you do about D&D? They have that virtual playroom, right? Yeah, this is what you do. Yeah. But the episode ends up having a turnaround. Jeff and, like, Neil have a heart-to-heart. Mm-hmm.

[00:29:37] And I think Neil, like, I don't know, he finds maturity in it. I don't really get how. I don't really question it. I think it comes from a place of Neil acknowledging the fact that it's not malicious in any regards. And that there is guilt on top of it. I feel like it's everyone realizing that they're better than Pierce. Yeah. It's legitimately, everyone just goes, like, okay, we know what bad is. Let's not snoop to it. Yeah.

[00:30:04] But also, I can't get over the fact that Neil's like, yeah, no, but, like, I only said you were fat Neil because you were near the other Neil. And then he's like, why not call him skinny Neil? And I'm like, he's not really all that skinny. And he's like, he's black. I don't see race. He's like, I don't operate like that. And he's like, I'm not trying to take the moral high ground here. I'm far from that. My thing is, like, I think Jeff realizes that he's a bad person, though, too. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:30:33] I think that's another thing about Jeff that, like, I kind of do appreciate about the show is that they always will recognize that Jeff sucks. He's never as bad as Pierce. No. No. And Jeff will always call out that he sucks, which is another thing that we will bring up in the next episode. Then everyone uses their turn to pity Pierce because they realize they're bad. They may suck, but they're not as bad as Pierce. And they don't have as much of an ego as Pierce. Exactly. Exactly. Um. And then Pierce doesn't like that, of course.

[00:31:03] So he uses his turn to unfreeze time. And then that's his turn. So then that was Neil's turn. And he uses his turn to throw his sword at the amulet. Yeah. Which it works because the dragon, like, yes, I guess. It frees the dragon. Yeah. Yeah. And then the dragon eats Pierce and then everything's nice and happy. And then, like, the study group leaves going like, oh, yeah, no, I really enjoyed that. That was fun. Yeah.

[00:31:29] At the narrator, which is my favorite part, goes, um, Pierce doesn't realize this, but he saves Neil's life and learns absolutely nothing. Absolutely nothing. Which is such a reflection of Chevy Chase. Yeah. He learns nothing the whole time. Oh, God. And I also love the reveal of the narrator by the end, too. Where it's just, like, this cleaning Latina lady with, like, a very British voice.

[00:31:58] I think that was the best part because the end credit scene for me was okay, but that part was great. That part was very fun for me. Mm-hmm. Um. Great episode. One of, like, the best episodes of, like, the whole series. 100%. This is, like, one of, this, like, if, if someone were to go, like, yeah, no, like, what, what's one episode? Of Dungeon, of, um, Community I should definitely watch. This would be one of them, I think. It's, I would say universally one of the favorite, like, everyone's favorite episode, too. They try to recreate it because they, there's another Dungeons & Dragons episode later on.

[00:32:27] Yes, with David Cross. Funny enough. Which you would think would be great, but it just doesn't hit the same. I think it's fine. It's fine. But I think where it, the shortcomings of that episode, of course, come from the fact that they have Buzz Hickey in it, who is a fairly new character, who don't, who we don't really know, who we don't have that level of connection to in any regards. Whereas, by this point, we've had two seasons. Or we're, we're at season two, and we've had way, way, way more episodes. Yeah, true. That's a very good point. With all these characters together.

[00:32:58] Like, even with, uh, Neil, right? Because, like, we've gotten Neil in the background so many times. We've had him interact with characters every now and then. I'm pretty sure, like, the, the first time I really noticed Neil is when he got Britta concert tickets or something like that. Yeah. And her payment is just flashing. Mezzanine! That ends with her going, mezzanine!

[00:33:24] So, like, you know, we've had these, we, we don't know Neil too much as a character, but we've seen him enough times that we do feel a connection. That's very true. I just, you're right, the stakes, I think, are just so much higher in this case. I also think the jokes are really funny. They are. I will say, like, I, I don't mind the, because we're going to go into season five now in the next episodes.

[00:33:51] Um, and yeah, the emotional stakes are still there, but it's just, it was just funnier. It's so much funnier. The chemistry is just there. And of course, we're not missing other characters. Yeah. That's just, yeah. The other characters are a great deal. There was just some chemistry, there was just the timing, the chemistry, the stakes. They hit, they hit a very good groove. Yeah. In it, yeah.

[00:34:20] No, it is, it's, I, I, there's not, there's nothing I would change with this episode. It's, it's cohesive, it's tight. It's just good. Yeah. I think it's a very, it's a top community episode. Yeah. For sure. Um, very recommendable, like you said. Yeah. Okay. So going into the next episode, which is a very good follow up with this episode, because this is the episode where we officially write off Chevy Chase's character, Pierce Hopper. It is season five, episode four.

[00:34:49] Up until now, um, Dan Harmon is back. This is when the Yahoo, it's now on Yahoo. Up until now, actually Pierce has been kind of petered out anyway. You don't see him much, but this is when you officially, there's, this is the official death of Pierce. Like three episodes ago, we had gotten him as a hologram because he was being sexist. And this was his way of repaying back the courts rather than going to jail. Yeah. Essentially. Yeah. I remember like there was an episode before they had like a villain origin story episode

[00:35:19] where he's just like a back. Yes. No, that was back in season four. Right. Yeah. And he was just like fucking up the yogurt machine. Yeah. Like he, he's barely in it, but he never said an official goodbye. This is a bottle episode, by the way. Yes. It's, it's a pretty fun episode. I have a soft spot for this episode because they redid this episode during COVID. COVID. With Pedro Pascal. And it's amazing.

[00:35:44] And I think this, this is the reason why you and I ended up becoming aware that we were both fans of community. Yeah. Because it was when Pedro Pascal showed up on SNL and he kept breaking character. Yeah. During one of the skits. And everyone's like, Oh my God, Pedro can't hold it together. It's hilarious. And then here, and then I posted online going like, y'all, you have no idea how unprofessional Pedro Pascal can be. And I posted a clip of Pedro. Yeah.

[00:36:10] At the end of this episode, pretty much just trying to read the lines and he just can't stop laughing for very good reasons. To be fair. It's a really funny line. It's just, I don't know how Walter Goggins did it with a straight face myself. I'm sure they did many skits. They have. Like many, like, yeah. The thing is, so obviously during COVID, they did like, what's it, Zoom readings? They can't cut through Zoom readings. No, they can't. It's essentially a table read.

[00:36:40] So yeah, he kept breaking during the sperm donation, like sperm bequeathings. So yeah. Yes, bequeathing of sperms. All right. So we're discussing cooperative polygraphy. This is the episode, takes place in Italian, the study room. So I would say this too. I really love the episodes. The last episode is also all in the library. Library? Is it a library? Yeah. Study room? It's a study room. A lot of the bottle episodes are in the study room.

[00:37:10] This is post Pierce's funeral. He is a level five Lotus. Laser Lotus. Laser Lotus. He's in a cult. So the show starts off. And he's in a lava lamp. Yeah, he's in a lava lamp. Funny enough, Troy sets off the lava lamp and tries to suck it up. Yes. Can't. Like somebody get a balloon. Yeah. It's a great joke.

[00:37:35] The episode starts off with the iconic line of Troy and Abed are in mourning, but it's in with the you. I forgot about that, actually. And then it's even funny because Andy just goes like, I can't believe you guys actually did that at the eulogy. But Troy didn't know it was with the you. Y'all saw that. Like you were saying it with the you. I didn't know that. I really like that.

[00:38:02] Chen comes in and is just like, but do you guys hate Pierce? And everyone's like, no, we really hate him. What are you talking about? Obviously, very like callback to not only Chevy Chase, but also to the ongoing fact that they did really hate Pierce all around. Jeff especially. Yeah. And that is when Waltz and Goggins, I actually don't know his new character's name, comes in and just like, surprise, bitches. I don't even know. I'm here to test if you guys killed Pierce Hawthorne for his money.

[00:38:30] Which is the funniest part when he starts asking everyone if they killed Pierce. Yeah. And then Troy just goes, fine, I did it. You caught me. My favorite joke. Seriously. Yes. And that's how the episode starts. That's when the title sequence starts. And then the questioning starts. So it starts with Britta being asked if she's had sexual fantasies about Pierce. She does not. Then he asks Jeff if he's gay. He says no. I've been informed to tell you that means yes.

[00:39:02] Shirley is asked about like her pro-life proceeds. Then he asks Troy what his name is. He wanted to answer Butts Carlton. The polygraph confirms he didn't want to answer Butts Carlton. The polygraph person just like, he did want to say Butts Carlton. Yep. Annie is asked if she was smart and she was the genius behind the murder. She finds that very endearing. I would too. Abedus is asked if he 9-11'd anyone.

[00:39:32] Yeah. God. So it's very Pierce Hawthorne. It's very much episode. Basically, the whole thing is just to get the gang against each other. It's giving like the documentary where he's trying to get the gang against each other. Yeah. Yeah. Annie is asked if he's ever masturbated in the studio room. He just walks out. God. I forgot him. And then he just... No. Even better. He's like, you can ask me anything. I will tell you nothing but the truth. And then they drop the question.

[00:40:02] He just stands up with silence and walks out in shame. Abedus has a very serious question. No. No. Then they're asked like very serious questions too. Yeah. Annie's asked if she like has like... What is it? Like about rent. Like if she's upselling the rent for the boys. Yes. He asks Abed if he ever killed a squirrel with a slingshot and then felt nothing. Felt nothing. If he could do that to a human.

[00:40:31] Abed pauses and says no. The pause is the best part. Yeah. It's very, very intense. That's just the calibration round. And then the actual questioning starts. It's obviously trying to get the gang like everyone against each other. Yeah. Shirley and Britta are against each other. Britta's asked that she got high during Shirley's son's baptism. Shirley feeds Britta meat in her sandwiches. Yep. Which I have to say, which one do you think is worse? Because I think feeding Britta meat is worse.

[00:41:01] I think that one's worse. Because there's... One is just fine. I will come to your event. But I will come to it in a way that helps me get through it. Yeah. Because it's no worse than just like, here, let me pop some medication to survive. Yeah. But they made it seem like Britta was a lot worse. And they've always made it seem like Britta getting high was a lot worse throughout that series. I know this. I'm pretty sure this is also before weed was ever legalized in Canada too.

[00:41:29] So I guess that makes sense. They played off Jeff having trophies of essential conquest. Very chill. Yeah. Yeah. They attract the friend group. Which is like, you know what? We kind of... Like, at least with me and my friend groups, we kind of just allow that to happen now just through our phones. Like, they share my... And I do that with a lot of my friends. And he drugged them, though. And he drugged them. That was too chill for my kids. I was like, what?

[00:41:58] That was... I think that one was the one where I'm like, oh, damn. That was the one that went a bit too far. They were way too chill. I think Abed catfishing her was bad. But they... They are like, you should circle back to her drugging you. Yeah. No. But also just the fact that Abed's like, I was up for three weeks and I created a whole new language. Like, circle back. Legit.

[00:42:25] My favorite is that the worst thing Troy did was lie about the handshake. That's the worst thing he did. It's... It's... Are you... You are caught up on all of Doctor Who, right? No, I am not. No? Okay. Yeah. You can tell me, though, because I'm very, very behind on Doctor Who. Okay, okay. So you know how the phone box makes that iconic wheezing noise? Mm-hmm. So they reveal that that noise is because he left the parking brakes on. Oh.

[00:42:55] Which is like... It takes away from the joy of hearing that sound. Is it as bad as drugging a friend? It's not as bad as drugging a friend. But I think... But I think finding out that the handshake came from a YouTube video the whole time. And was it just something... And it wasn't something that they just did? Yeah. I'm just like, oh, that genuinely hurts a part of your soul. Yeah. It was a very cool handshake, too.

[00:43:24] I do that handshake so many times. Yeah. It's a very cool handshake, too. It's a good handshake. Yeah. It was a lot. Everything that was revealed was a lot. A lot of good revelations. Yeah. Everything was just... I think they just, like, steamrolled through it all. And I was like, oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Like, let's take a beat, guys. Yeah. They're fighting. They're fighting. Chang comes in and she's like, I masturbated everywhere. Everywhere. And I'm like, oh, my God.

[00:43:52] And just, like, full bodies emotes with it. And the whole point is that, like, they're no... Like, oh. And then they're like, Pierce is getting in the way of us. And the Waltz and Goggins is like... Mr. Hawthorne has asked a question for a while. And then they realize, like, oh, no. They're no better than Pierce. Yeah. And that's essentially, like, the second act, basically. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:44:19] So the third act is mostly them realizing that, like, Pierce, like, at least recognized that he was faulted. So at this point, the arc is that Pierce eventually came to terms with who he was. So they had to come to terms with who they were. So then they start having these revelations. Tori says he never went to Legoland. He just wanted them to think he was cool. Yeah. Yeah. Britta admits that she does only... Gives money to homeless people when someone was around. And he hit Jeff's Alexis.

[00:44:48] Jeff rather look at himself and the woman he sleeps with. Shirley admits that she can be passive aggressive and then says, fine, don't agree with me. And then she goes like, oh, there I go again. Shirley is really funny there. I really appreciate the fact that, like, she at least is... Even whenever she's honest, she's still herself. Like, she never breaks character. No. Abed says that when they chew gum, he wants to punch them in the face. Yes, I remember that one. Yeah.

[00:45:18] And then Pierce has his final bequeathings. Yes. This part is actually very cute. This also feels like a final goodbye because this is the moment where he starts... This is the Troy goodbye, essentially. This also really feels like it's Dan Harmon speaking through... Because it's weird because Dan Harmon writes himself into Jeff, Abed, and Pierce, I think. Yeah, you think Pierce, too?

[00:45:45] I feel like he writes an aspect of himself in Pierce in the sense... Because, like, Dan Harmon is very much someone who's, like, he views himself as unlikable. Which is why I think some of the ways he writes Pierce is, of course, Chevy Chase and how he approaches the rest of his cast. But a lot of his faults and a lot of the insecurities, I think, are reflective of Dan Harmon as well. I saw that more in Jeff and Abed in Detroit than Pierce, but okay. Interesting.

[00:46:14] But I feel like because... At least because of how I view Pierce and Dan Harmon together... I like to think that this is Dan Harmon's, like, his thesis statement on his characters that he's written so far. Yeah. No, I can see that because, like I said, you think this is, like, his letter to them. For sure. Especially, like, the Britta one especially got me, like, the whole, like, you're much harder on yourself than... Or you don't... What was it? You hate yourself more than you should. Yeah.

[00:46:43] And you're passion-inspired at me. Yeah. That's a great one. That was really sweet. And I really feel... Because, like, I do... I don't like what they did with Britta's character. I really feel like she's a flanderization. I really feel like her and Jeff could have been something. Or even her and, like, John Oliver's character could have been something, maybe. Hear me out.

[00:47:07] I see it, but at the same time, I'm like, I can't allow it because of Duncan just being her psychologist. Yeah, he's not... Right. Yeah, that was terrible. I don't like how he treats her. Mm-hmm. And because he became a psychologist. But, like, I just... She deserved better, for sure. She does. 100% she does. And gives her sperm. Okay. And then gives her sperm. And an iPod Nano. And an FPS, of course. Shirley is a credit to her race and gender. And he was intimidated by her. Yes.

[00:47:36] And he was their favorite and gave her that tiara. Mind you, everyone gets sperm. Yes. Everyone gets a canister of sperm. Which is what always kept breaking Pedro Pascal. But also, well, in that entire Zoom meeting, Dan Harmon's just like, how do we make sperm funny that many times? Yeah. Mind you, it was like a nitrogen canister of liquid sperm. Like... It's just... You see dry ice smoke coming out of them.

[00:48:08] Shirley also gets a timeshare. I will say this. Everyone... Yes. All the girls did get something. But the men just got... Like, I think Jeff gets scotch. Also, Jeff... All that Jeff got highest to note was, do you know you're gay? Yes. And sperm. And some scotch. Abed is sperm. No, no. I remember the line. It's like... God. It's like, do you know you're gay? He's like, no. He's like, I'm... He's like, um... Liars... A gay liar says what? And he says what?

[00:48:35] And then he follows up with, here's some scotch so that you are less tempted to drink this even finer canister of sperm. And that was the one that broke Pedro the most. And it will never not get me. Nor will I ever forget it. That's it. Abed is great because, like, do you know you're insane? I didn't understand a single thing that you said. Here's some sperm. Just the deadpanness of, here's your sperm. And then, of course, then there's corn.

[00:49:05] And you have the greatest gift, a heart of a hero. Yeah. Um, and here's some sperm. And then everything he owned. Yes. On... As long as he sailed the world and became his own man. And actually saw the world. Yeah. On the Childish Tycoon, which is obviously a nod to his future rap name because he had not become Childish Gambino yet. Yeah.

[00:49:28] Um, and yeah, this is obviously a nod because Childish, like, Donald Glover had chosen to leave community on his own because he believed he was ready to do his own thing. And yet... That's what I love about Donald Glover in everything he does from a creative standpoint. It's the fact that Glover loves mystery. Yeah. And he loves endings. Yeah.

[00:49:52] And just, as we've seen in a lot of things, things don't get an ending despite the fact that they did or should have. Yeah. I... And I do feel that the best shows know exactly where they're going to end from ahead of time. And I do appreciate that at least Child, like, Donald Glover gave his character that at least. Mm-hmm. You know, I do feel like... And it's not like he, they killed him off like they do in, like, Grey's Anatomy or something. Yeah. It's like... It didn't...

[00:50:22] They didn't let his character waver like they did with everyone else, you know? Exactly. Like, they gave him a conclusion. They gave him a separate journey that if we really wanted to, we could return to, that we can hear later on in some other way, shape, or format. Which I think is the best way to do it. Yeah. Yeah. So, the episode's really sad because it ends with Aved, of course, saying, cool, cool, cool, cool, cool. And they confirm with a polygraph saying that he's lying. Yeah.

[00:50:53] Yeah. It's a very heartbreaking episode because then the next episode's a lava episode where he actually leaves. Yeah. I don't know. It kills me a little bit. Which, also, I do like that lava episode because of Britta. Oh, yeah. Like, MVP was Britta in that episode. Yeah.

[00:51:10] I think that, like, this is, like, what my, I would say that this is the episode that I stopped watching for a very long time because for me, this is, I don't know if you've ever watched The Office or we talked about The Office, but, like, I didn't watch past the Michael Scott episode for a while, too, because, like, for me, that was when The Office ended. Yeah. So, for me, this is when Community ended. No, that's fair. I mean, I brought up Scrubs. I never finished that last season that they put out. Well, that's fine. We don't talk about that season. I don't watch this. I tried.

[00:51:39] I watched a few episodes. You don't watch that season. I'm not making through it. I can't. Yeah. But, yeah, I get it. Yeah. Well, so, okay. The thing with Scrubs is that, to me, that finale was perfect. It was. And now they're also bringing it back next month. Perfect finale. We'll talk about that later. That is a perfect finale. I cry every time. I'm just like, why would they? Why? It was perfect. The Book of Love is still, that song holds so much weight. I don't know. I kept really mad that they, like, why?

[00:52:09] Why did they come back and had, like, why would, I'm not saying he doesn't need to be a teacher. He was a great teacher. But, like, that was a perfect finale. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So, the next episode we're going to discuss was Garrett's wedding. We can go through this one quickly a little bit. Just because, like, this is more of, like, a highlight. And this is, like, the second to last episode is season six, episode 13, wedding videography. It's Garrett's wedding. Yes. This is the episode before the finale. This is kind of, like, an understood finale of the episode.

[00:52:38] Because the actual finale is... It's more epilogue. Yeah. It's more of, like, the gang discussing what they would want as their ending, essentially. Or, like, how they would do a season seven. Yeah, exactly. I don't know. How do you feel about the finale? Um, like, the very finale, I think it's... It serves its purpose. I think it's a nice little end cap. It's a feel-good episode.

[00:53:05] However, I did always hold a grudge again because of its MCU comments. Yeah. I don't love it. I like that Annie and Jeff aren't together at the end of it. I like the Rick and Morty nods a little bit. Because I do see Rick and Morty inspiration. I do see a lot of it in it, too. Um, especially the last moment. Because I see Storytrain. Mm-hmm. Yeah. I will say this.

[00:53:30] I like it for the purpose, in fact, that it's not season four's ending. That's fair. The fact that it's not that, it makes it better. Because I... It's one of those things where it's, like, I know how bad it can be and how bad it could look like. Yeah. So the fact that it's not that and the fact that, from a narrative perspective, point of view, that it's that much better.

[00:53:57] That it's so character-driven rather than story-plot device-driven, I think is better. That is true. That's true. It's more character-driven. And the fact that it truly does its own thing. Because, like, the season four ending, it is... It's the new... It's the non-Harmon creators. Yeah. Going, like, we can do this, too. Here's a painful episode. Here's our end cap for Jeff as a character. Yada, yada, yada. And it's all...

[00:54:26] And it's also a mix of the chaos episode. And it's all actually in his mind. And he never actually... It's... Yeah. It's a... It's a... What is it? A copy of a copy. Yeah. Yeah. Whereas this is just truly from the mind of a creative, I like to say. Yeah. I would say it's... I like the season three finale for that reason more. Because it's just, like, it's open-ended. And we always take an open-ended ending rather than an ending ending. Fair. Because at least I'm like, I can make it up then. Mm-hmm. All right. So this... I will say that I enjoy...

[00:54:55] Like, for the finale of season six, I like the finality that it gives certain characters. Yeah. Like, I like the idea of Abed and Annie leaving. Yeah, me too. And by the end of it, we do get Jeff still at Greendale College. Which makes sense for him. It does. It really does. By the same time, it's weird because I'm like, Jeff, as a person, holds so much potential within life.

[00:55:23] So I can't fully just see himself committing himself to a community college. I can kind of see it because he owes that part of rebirth of himself within that college. But at the same time, he feels like a character who would very much acknowledge the fact that I am not reborn because of this school. I am reborn through this school. But my development, my person, what matters to me is with the people that I care about.

[00:55:53] So let me find a new place where I can help others become that. So I don't really see him sticking around for Greendale as much like they have it. Hear me out. Because we haven't talked about it yet. And this is something that I wanted to bring up before, too. And I know I'm going to sound annoying. I doubt it. I've also felt that Greendale was his own character, though. Yo, 100%. So I feel like another character was Greendale. And I think Jeff is also in harmony with Greendale by the end of it, too. No, that's fair. Yeah.

[00:56:23] So maybe that's why I feel like it did make sense towards the end. Because, again, going back to the episode where they felt that they were trying to shutter island op-ed. And they're talking about, you have to understand, Greendale is a weird school. And they're like, we have lockers. Like, there's a class called ladders. Like, I just feel like you've had it. There's a history of ice cream. Baby talk. Like, you know. Just, like, all these elements. I do feel like maybe he has to find his own city group.

[00:56:51] I don't want to say that he's, like, inevitably to become purist there. I feel like he tried to realize that, like, Greendale. Kind of like Dean. Like, he had realized that, like, Greendale was special. Essentially. The Dean when he's making the commercial with Louise Guzman episode. Exactly. Like, Louise Guzman even realized that Greendale was special. You know? So, like, I feel like maybe that's what it was. Yeah. No, that's fair. And, of course, like, the most obvious aspect to having Jeff stick around Greendale is for

[00:57:21] the movie aspect. Because when we do the movie, it has to be at Greendale. It has to be at the college. It can't be anywhere else, I think. Or else it's not really committed. Yeah. Yeah. Right? Because, like, it wouldn't be a community movie without Greendale. It's creating college. Like, you can have events happening not on the college campus, of course. But at the same time, like, it's... It's the same, yeah. It's not necessarily the same. Exactly. Exactly.

[00:57:48] So, because his law school, like, his lawyer career did not work. Even when he tried, it didn't work. So, he came back. So, it has to be there. He was a teacher. It just... It will be very interesting to see what ends up happening. Yeah. No, I'm very curious to what that plot's gonna look like. Part of me also does, like, when that trailer for the movie comes out, I don't want to watch the trailer. I'm really nervous about the movie, honestly. I am very nervous. I... Okay, for me, I don't...

[00:58:15] I'm not nervous, mostly because I think Dan Harmon's truly come into his own as a writer. And I think the actors who are there truly know and understand their characters, and they've all grown along their own creative processes, that I have full faith in the film. That's true. That's true. I feel like if Dan Harmon is behind it, especially because the actors are so solid now. Yeah. So, it will be true. That's true. Like, Alison Brie's such a good actor. Donald Glover's just amazing creative, right? I mean, um...

[00:58:45] Julie Jenkins is so great, too. She's an invincible. Like, she does amazing things. Just in the bear. She's, like, so good on her own. She's a good girl. So is Joel McHale. Like, everyone, except for Chevy Chase. It's awesome. Yeah. Ken John, Jim Rash. We can go on. Jim Rash is doing great things. Everyone's doing great things. The last episode, season six, episode 13 of the episode before the finale of Wedding Videography. It is Garrett's wedding. One of my favorite jokes of all time is, that's fixed, Garrett.

[00:59:14] I don't know why that's funny to me, but this is the introduction to Garrett where Annie is just like, yeah, like, that's Garrett. And Jeff goes, who's Garrett? Or, like, what was wrong with Garrett? She goes, nothing now. We fixed him. And Jeff goes, that's fixed Garrett. Garrett, I don't know why that's hilarious to me, but it's Garrett trying to drink water. And it's just not. He's just struggling. Yeah. It's not successful.

[00:59:39] Also, I love that later on joke of, I forgot the person's name who was vindictive against Jeff, but, like, they even go to Annie and it's like, did we really save Garrett? Did we? Exactly. I don't know why, but Garrett is a great ongoing character. So, out of that is obviously doing another documentary. He's filming everyone documentary style. He's doing little confessionals.

[01:00:03] The episode starts with a very great, great moment of doing, what's it called? The missing lover footage. Oh, yes. Oh, wait, sorry. Actually, it starts out with Garrett actually proposing to Stacy. Yes, with a class presentation. And there's, like, an actual moment of worry for Jeff for Garrett. He's like, oh, no, this is not going to go well for him. And then it does. And then he's like, okay, then. And then Avid decides, he was doing it for Garrett to, like, you know, report the fact

[01:00:32] that he was proposing, but he decides to keep recording because he sees Jeff's face. Because no surprise, Jeff doesn't like weddings, which is something that is ongoing for forever. So now Avid decides to commit to videotaping and doing a documentary about all of Garrett's wedding and them getting ready for it. And then we have the opening credits and then we have Annie doing a cute little, like, montage of her talking to Avid because she's doing the missing lover footage as she explained

[01:01:00] to Britta, which is actually my favorite thing ever. It's such a fun little bit. And it's so enjoyable. Yeah. Then basically, Britta explains who Garrett is. They, she does a whole iconic I love New York joke. They're basically just, like, getting ready for Garrett's wedding at their house because at this point, Annie and Britta are living together. I forget how. With Avid. With Avid. Because obviously Troy moved out. Frankie joins them.

[01:01:28] Big, big fan of the fact that Annie keeps looking at the camera and probably goes, can you please stop Jimmy in the camera? It's essentially the whole episode is basically about their friend group. And there's a lot of comments made about the friend group. And he talks about, like, their friend group. Jeff talks about their friend group and essentially describes codependency as Frankie points out. Yep. No, I love it because, like, it is an external evaluation of the friend group, right? Which we don't get too often.

[01:01:58] We get, we get it every now and then here and there with, like, say, the Germans and the foosball table. Yeah. But, yeah. Yeah. The foosball table is great because it really shows you how toxic and messed up the friend group is. But this episode definitely gets into it again. They are late to the wedding and end up ruining the vows because they're late to the wedding. Yeah. Because Annie and Brenna couldn't stop shushing each other. The laughter and the vows. It's so terrible. Also that, yeah. Yeah, it's so terrible. I'm not gonna lie, though.

[01:02:27] I have laughed at weddings. But hopefully not when you end up, like, coming late. No, I wasn't late. But it was just mostly because the bride couldn't keep a poker face and you can see her scowling at a baby. That's hilarious, though. Yeah. And because, like, they did it in a church, not to be disrespectful, but, like, there was a quick moment where, like, the priest went, like, we're gathered here today for the holy

[01:02:55] matrimony of our brother, whatever, and our sister, whatever. I was like, and then just, like, I whispered to my cousin, like, sweet home Alabama. So, yeah, I, I, no wonder why I love community so much because I am very much some of the characters. Um, what gets me about this is that, that obviously after realizing they ruined it, they're like, we're gonna fix it. Oh, God, yes. Yes. And Brenna does it by dancing.

[01:03:25] Which we all know from the Christmas Glee episode that, well, of course she can't sing, but she also can't dance. It ends up leading to the best moments in the series with Elroy admitting that he has an addiction to encouraging white people, which I think this is probably, I think this is the most redeeming part of the episode for me. Yes. It's this moment. I love Keith David.

[01:03:53] So, like, I can't, which is all, genuinely part of the reason why I think I like season six so much is because of Keith David. Yeah, he, he really, he really saves it. This episode, I have a hard time with this episode for sure, but this moment really saves it for me. It really is. Because it's, it's such a funny bit for Elroy to have, but at the same time, like, when you look into it, it's like, this is a defense mechanism for a black man. Oh, yeah. It's a trauma response. Like, this is a trauma response in many ways. It's 100% a trauma response.

[01:04:23] I love that when he says it's an addiction. Exactly. It's like, this is my fault. I can't stop doing it. Rather than going like, I am so damaged from white people hurting me in my life's history that I'm just now supporting them. The best is whenever, whenever, so then Jeff has to defeat, um, they fix it so hard that Jeff ends up being wetting toes. Yes. And reverse as their cousin. Because Garrett's brother somehow got arrested or kicked out.

[01:04:53] So Jeff has to fix it. There's a lot of other things. They end up meeting all the family. Frankie ends up trying to get Annie advice to keep her away from Jeff, which shout out to Frankie for that. Yes. Um, so it ends up being, Jeff is the one that ends up revealing that they're cousins. But they're like, I can't even blame Jeff. He's just trying to do his best. Yeah. Like, that's a good speech. And what does Elroy do? He gets up and says, this is a man who can marry his cousin.

[01:05:23] This is a man who knows how to marry his cousin. Um, and yeah, that's the episode essentially. Well, okay. That's the episode for the most part. There's a bit more. Luckily with Chang too, having him with some of his best moments. So I will say this, I have a lot of problems with Chang's art because it's just a mess. Yes. But legit after season two, like even with dictator Chang, I will not deny, I don't think

[01:05:52] they knew what they were writing with Chang. No, no. Um, but this, this is the moment where I'm like, oh, I think this is what I finally figured out. I'm like, this is what they're trying to do. That Chang is unhinged except when he's with this study group. Yeah. Yeah. He's at his best when he's with them. Cause he, everyone's like, I am my worst with you guys. But Chang's like, not me. I'm my best with you guys. Exactly. I was like, oh, and Chang ends up saving the wedding. Yep.

[01:06:22] For better or for worse. Um, he says, I'm my best. And he's just like, you guys are so messed up. You didn't even know what you guys were related, blah, blah, blah. And they end up staying married. Yay! He, not that me and Mario condone cousin. Yeah. We don't condone a lot of the stuff that we've talked about in this episode. Just saying. Just want to put it out there. Mario watches everything. And Johnny, or Johnny, do not condone incest or blackface. Just saying.

[01:06:53] Or being a dick to your friends. Or, yeah. Yeah. But, um, I condone, I appreciate what they were trying to do with Chang's arc after this episode. Um, but, yeah. There's a lot in this episode. Uh, but, yeah. This was essentially a goodbye to the characters this whole episode, really. It was just, it was so chaotic. I loved it. Uh, they should have had the Nick Cage speech at the end.

[01:07:19] Oh, that would have made it even funnier if, like, Abed just got so fed up. He did something for it. Like, got drunk or something and just did it. Oh, God. Have we ever seen Abed drunk? In season one. Oh, yeah. And that was the last time. That's true. I forgot about that. The episode notably ends with an introduction with this guy named, um, Briggs Hatton.

[01:07:45] He's a writer of the sudden assistant that had to come out and say that he insisted on an incest episode for Community as long as he showed his face at the end, just to point out that he was the guy that wrote the incest Community episode. Which is like, you know Dan Harmon. And we're like, I'll let you do it. You just gotta do this. I feel like that was a bit, but it's also like, what is Hollywood's obsession with incest? I don't know. I don't watch enough Game of Thrones 2.

[01:08:14] We're too melanated for this. Like, we just, we don't, we can't speak on this, can we? No, it's part of the reason why I could never watch Game of Thrones. Just like, I've never gone through season one of Game of Thrones because of that. Um, I mean, there's a lot. I know you like this episode more than I do. I don't. I still remember watching it for the first time because like, when I watched Community, season five and six weren't streaming anywhere.

[01:08:41] But I found it on one of my, you know, websites. Like, I, I, I sped run season five and season six. Like, I paid attention. But like, it's not like I'm sitting down. I'm walking in. I'm, I'm like constantly doing something. I'm eating. I'll probably eat food and I'll watch the season. But like, I remember this episode so well. Like, I'm eating dinner with my family while I'm watching this and just like not caring. But then like, as the episode goes on, I'm just like, sorry, hold up.

[01:09:08] I need to just, I pull, I pull my phone out with my brother, my dad, my mom sitting across from me. I'm just like watching on my phone this one episode. Staying cool. And I'm just laughing. I, I have no chill watching this episode because it's that funny. With Elroy encouraging white people the whole time. Them fucking up the wedding. And then the- That is a hilarious part for sure. A hundred percent. Yeah. Yeah. And then that eventual revelation of, this is a man who knows how to marry his cousin.

[01:09:38] I, I remember going back and just rewatching that moment. Because it's just done so well. And it's so fucking hilarious. It is. I think, like you said, it is obviously a trauma response that they made into a joke. I think, okay, so we had talked about this, but we didn't really get into the representation too much. So I guess this is like a time to bring it up. There's a lot. I will say this. Dan Harmon does a really good job in bringing up representation in a way that is jokes. Especially as a white man can.

[01:10:08] I was watching- Without the lived experiences. Yeah. Like, I was rewatching the Abed Dad episodes. And like, I was trying to watch the Iraq, like the Iraq joke episode. And like, his dad says something about like targeted, like comments and something. And Jeff quotes, okay, I don't get the Iraq reference. And his dad's like, what about Iraq did I say? Like, what are you talking about? I'm just talking about Britta.

[01:10:37] Like, it's almost just like, why do you have to take it so far? I'm just making a comment. It's kind of like what the falafel joke. Like, we are just like, you know, certain jokes are like almost benign. But like, it's like kind of like there's layers to this. There's nuance to this. Like, some things are just, I think like, obviously some things, it would have been better if there was probably an actual, there was more melanin in the writing room. Person of color involved. What was that? In many ways.

[01:11:06] If there was like one representative of certain cultures there. Yeah, I would appreciate more people of color were in the writing room more. Yeah, just to like help. Not to be like, oh, Dave, or not to be, not, or not Dave, Dan. Just not to be like, oh, Dan, you had this wrong. Let me rewrite it. More so just like, okay, here's what you're trying to go for. Here's what this means. Here is how it can be interpreted. Yeah. Let me navigate you so that you can make the joke deeper and funnier while at it. Yeah. He did his best for this.

[01:11:34] Like, he brought up, like, he brought up representation in a funny way during the time. But he didn't get too deep with it. And he did it adjacent enough. But also, it was just like, it's kind of like with Abed's, like, cousin Abra. Like, yeah, she was a woman in a burka. It was not, it was like, not offensive. She was there. Yep. He didn't have it be at all, like, there was nothing deeper with it by any means.

[01:12:02] They're not going like, oh, you're wearing a burka. You're oppressed kind of thing. Yeah. Like, Britta didn't say anything offensive. Thank God. Like, it could have been offensive. Could have been bad. Yeah. But also kind of in character for her. Yeah, exactly. But he didn't do that. She just was a girl that wanted to have fun. And he did that. That was nice. And, like, it's like, so he did show it and it was nice. But it would have been nicer if, like, you know, maybe if Abed was actually South Asian. Yeah. Instead of, like, Middle Eastern.

[01:12:30] And I know, like, I'm sure you feel that certain ways about Chang's character or, like. It's complex at the end of the day. And maybe even with, like, Shirley and Troy's character. I can't speak about, we can't speak about this. But, yeah, I just, he tried for the time. But it's very clear that there could have been maybe more POCs in the writing room for sure. Yeah.

[01:12:55] Which I think he does learn from later on in Rick and Morty, right? Oh, 100%. Because, like, I usually whenever an episode of Rick and Morty comes up, like, I do a little bit of my research. And I know, like, a majority of their reoccurring writers. One of them, a lot of them are comic book writers. And a lot of them end up on Marvel movies, too. Which is part of the reason why I know them. I do. I also feel like he got more liberty with Rick and Morty compared to an NBC movie. Oh, yeah. 100%. Yeah. Yeah. Mostly because, like, no one really pays attention to animation sometimes. Yeah.

[01:13:25] I think you do get more liberty with Rick and Morty. Like, with animation. Yeah. Mostly because, like, oh, it's just cartoons. They don't, people take it less seriously. Yes. So, yeah. All right. So, I think that concludes our episode of Community. We did talk about it a lot. For now. We'll come back with more, probably. Yeah, for sure. It's Community. So, Johnny, thank you for joining. Where can people find you? Y'all can find me at MarvelousJohnny on TikTok, Twitch, Instagram.

[01:13:55] Just look up MarvelousJohnny. Just make sure you spell it with two L's in Marvelous just because I'm Canadian and we spell it with two L's. That makes so much sense. I never realized that. It was funny because, like, I was playing video games with my friends today. Someone wrote down center. And I forgot Americans spell it E-R at the end, whereas Canada and the UK spells it R-E at the end. Oh, shoot. We have a lot of words like that. That makes sense, though. Huh. Good to know. Look at that. The more you know. All right. Okay.

[01:14:24] And that's a wrap for today's episode. I hope you found a little bit of yourself in our mind media fuel ramblings. Remember, whether it's a sitcom, a movie, or just a random moment in your day, there's always a story to connect with. You can follow the podcast on your favorite social media platforms. Brother Mario watches everything on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter. If you enjoyed today's episode, please leave us a review. It really helps our show. If you want to support us even further, be sure to subscribe, like, share this episode with your friends, and leave a comment. We love hearing from you.

[01:14:53] And, of course, don't forget to follow our amazing guest, Johnny, on all their social media platforms. Until next time.