Monsters of Television

“Do you try to evolve, or do you try to know what you are?”

Community is a show that became better as it went along. It was rough going until “Intro to Statistics” (better known as the Halloween episode) and the show hit its stride, figuring out that its voice is ultimately highly referential comedy that also picks apart the sitcom genre. It’s an exciting place to position yourself because so few sitcoms really want to acknowledge their genre, and the ones that do are the animated ones that can do really wacky things (The Simpsons, Family Guy).

But underlining all of that is that the show often still wears its heart on its sleeve, so no matter how meta and snarky it might get, there was always a take away at the end of the episode, something that grounded the episode beyond the hijinks (I’ve written about this ad nauseum). And show how has managed to balance those elements and bring them together into a coherent whole: much like Pascal’s triangle, the snark and the heart add up to equal Community (this is as strong as my math metaphors get).

However, “Pascal’s Triangle Revisited” can’t quite find that balance, and suffers a bit as a result.

Perhaps the most rewarding aspect of the finale is that Jeff has officially accepted his BMoC status, greeting and being snarkily kind to a number of folks as he comes in for the last day of class. It’s a good reminder of the world that Community has built around these core characters (even if the Dean’s dalmatian fetish doesn’t really work as a joke or character beat). That the show extends idea of periphery characters with the Abed’s Video Yearbook tag (“I don’t know any of these people!”) in a very Lost moment as all the extras are gathered around, no doubt having a clue who the study group is.

(One sidenote: Anyone else get a Lost vibe off of Chang and Duncan’s story in this episode? Duncan in a dark suit, Chang in a white tux, looking for a loophole to hurt/kill Duncan? Or was that just me?)

(Second sidenote: Duncan’s appearance was pretty unnecessary, and his drunk act at the party was unfunny.)

But so far as the show itself goes, it’s acknowledgement of season finale type stuff, including Annie’s decision to move to Delaware with Vaughn or Troy and Abed hashing out why the can’t live together, amusingly visualized by the 60-inch diameter cookie was funny, was in keeping with the show’s wit and mentality. But when it tried to actually do a sitcom season finale it kind of fell flat. Which is a little startlingly, given how good Community has been at making that transition in the past.

I’m willing to buy Slater’s sudden reappearance (it’s a finale, after all) and I’m even willing to accept that Britta, because of Slater’s sudden reappearance, is driven to tell Jeff that she loves him, and all in a big, splashy end of the year party (summer does that to people: they say things they shouldn’t because summer’s about to happen and there’s nothing worse than some emotional baggage weighing you down in 90 degree weather). But just because I’m willing to accept it doesn’t mean that it works, and I don’t think it works because it feels like this whole thing is done because it’s a finale, not a strong episode of Community.

And then there’s Jeff and Annie. Tension’s been building between them for a while now (specifically “Debate 109” and then, it would appear, Annie’s professor outfit last week), but since the show never really visited it often, I kind of forgot about it. But as soon as they hugged, you knew it would happen. It was the finale moment the show had wanted to do beyond the triangle, but even this felt more shoe-horned in than a legitimate comment on the genre. It’s a cliffhanger, to be sure, but not one that feels totally organic with the show.

So, take the summer off and figure out how to make this feel a bit more organic (of it’s just a finale moment). It’s a heavy question to keep on your mind in that 90 degree weather.

FINAL THOUGHTS

• Jeff’s speech to Annie about how Britta and Slater make him feel was really the most spot-on, genuine moment in the episode. I thought it really worked.
• Really really appreciated the acknowledgment by the show about how Troy and Pierce were supposed to be foils before the whole Troy and Abed thing exploded.
• I say it was Chevy. (The E! medical plan is too good for it have been McHale.)
• Researching backpacks for 3 months is a bit excessive. You really only need a month. Sheesh.