A peek into Britta’s love life gives us lots of Blade references, not to mention bringing this season’s cornucopia of pairings to the forefront. Shipper wars…GO!
Recap:
Dean Pelton announces that Greendale is hosting a carnival. Britta realizes that her old Carnie boyfriend Blade is there, whom she’s madly in love with. Britta doesn’t want to “do him like a crossword and regret it,” so she asks Annie to take her phone and keep her on lockdown over the weekend.
Vice Dean Laybourne tells Dean Pelton he must try to convince Troy to join the Air Conditioning Repair School, so Pelton comes over to Troy, Abed and Annie’s, where Britta is staying. Britta keeps trying to get to her phone, so they lock her in Annie’s Room. Annie hangs out with her for a bit, and after a while Britta says she’s feeling better, and tells Annie she’s “like a sister” to her, then asks for her phone back to call her doctor. Annie, however, can tell that Britta is manipulating her, and switches Blade’s number for hers to see if Britta tries to contact him. Britta does…and she texts him over and over. Annie texts her back saying “leave me alone”…prompting Britta to go even more crazy and call him repeatedly. After changing the voicemail, Troy determines that Britta likes guys that are mean to her. He sends “something nice” (but deletes it before Annie can see it) and Britta is immediately “cured,” thinking Blade is now a “loser.”
Meanwhile, Jeff and Shirley go to the carnival to check out Britta’s ex. They run into Pierce and Chang; Pierce is hanging out with Chang to have a best friend, since he can’t get one in the group. Jeff and Shirley find Blade, and are unimpressed. Jeff is determined to figure out what it is about Blade that made Britta fall in love with him, so he stays at the duck shooting game that Blade is hosting, asking him questions about his history and personality and practically interrogating him. Jeff can’t figure out what it is about him, but after dropping over $300 at his booth, Blade tells him. After a brief stint of friendship, Chang blows up at Pierce during an argument about having arguments and their friendship ends.
Annie wants to know the nice text message Troy sent, and when she forcibly takes Britta’s phone to see it, her plan is revealed. When Britta realizes this means Blade isn’t a loser, she tries to leave, but Jeff arrives revealing Blade’s secret: he’s brain damaged. A loose bolt came off of a ferris wheel and was embedded in his skull, destroying the part of his brain that feels shame. He’s irresistible because he has nothing to prove or disprove about himself or to himself. Jeff then gives a speech about how we shouldn’t “make hatred of ourselves someone else’s job, and just stop hating ourselves,” prompting the group to calm down. Pierce arrives, gives Annie his phone, and locks himself in Annie’s room so he doesn’t call Chang. The rest of the group decides to watch Blade together; Britta realizes that Troy sent her the nice text and smiles. Jeff and Annie exchange glances…as do Troy and Abed.
Review:
It’s easy to talk about why an episode like “Pillows and Blankets” could be considered one of Community‘s “best” episodes. But when it comes to a more down-to-earth, sitcom-y episode, clever writing and character moments have to be at their strongest, because there’s no plot device or crazy concept to fall back on. Luckily, this episode manages to handle it adeptly, with pitch-perfect dialogue and performances from the cast.
The screenplay was the best part of the episode—joke after joke was spit out one right after another, with a quick pace and without feeling forced. It’s no surprise this episode was penned by series creator Dan Harmon; he captured the characters’ voices wonderfully, and filled every minute with loads of witty quips and things to catch on a second viewing. The opening of the episode is a great example of this, with what felt like one of the most joke-ridden minutes of the series up until now—and all the jokes landed! It takes talent pack in so many jokes without having half of them fail or feeling like it’s an overload, but there was enough diversity in style and character moments thrown in that it worked.
Aside from being one of the most consistently funny episodes, this is a big episode for the ‘shippers out there, ripe with fan-video worthy moments and glances, not to mention a new Pierce/Chang ship. All joking aside, though, the subtle and not-so-subtle nods to this season’s developing relationships were nicely handled. One of Community’s biggest strong suits is its ability to keep the romantic stuff second to the platonic interaction and comedy, so even though we get some direct moments—the first really pointed ones we’ve gotten between Troy and Britta, especially—this didn’t feel like “the romantic relationship” episode that, say, “Pascal’s Triangle Revisited” was. It was series of funny events that made fun of faux-romance, but still ended with some clear progression on the romance subplots. And frankly, it was all really sweet.
There were little moments throughout the episode that hinted this would be more than just making fun of Britta’s ex; particularly the Jeff/Annie stuff at his locker (“I wonder how many people I’ve affected this way” and Alison Brie’s great reaction) and Donald Glover’s initial look of despair when Britta first starts texting “Blade.” These little moments gave a larger sense of cohesiveness to the episode, so despite the ensemble being split up multiple times, it still felt like a tight story.
Overall, Donald Glover’s serious (and oftentimes tear-jerking) subtly, along with Gillian Jacobs’ and Alison Brie’s performances, were the strongest in the episode. Annie in particular was exceptional for the entire episode, thanks Brie’s phenomenal delivery of everything, like her garbled Blade “imitation” and “That’s right Britta, it’s a banana!” But again, everyone had some awesome moments. Abed’s “I need help reacting to something,” Dean Pelton’s “scotch and soda” intercom conversation, Shirley’s multiple “JEFFREY!” reactions, and Jeff’s “In case we have to, Shirley. In case we have to”—all of these were in-character and funny during every rewatch. Chevy Chase’s almost-crying face after Chang leaves (and the flashbacks that went with it) were also hilarious. The Pierce/Change storyline might have been a little too short, but what we saw was very entertaining. Not necessarily their best use ever, but still very funny and fitting for both their characters. Pinning the two least-used and least-developed characters of this season was a clever move, and hopefully we’ll see more.
If there’s any sight downside, it’s perhaps that Jeff does get sort of a typical speech at the end that sums up the episode’s lesson. It’s kind of a cheat to have the “lesson” totally spelled out, but then again, there’s only so many ways we could have it delivered. And ultimately, the lesson about no shame affects every character. Shame is exactly what’s prevented the Jeff/Annie and Troy/Britta potential relationships from going anywhere, and it’s a nice way to spotlight their issues thematically without devoting an entire episode to just some relationship drama.
Oh, and lest we forget the references to the “fantastic kickboxing vampire movie”—a brilliantly random running gag that, in a weird way, formed the backbone of this episode. Say what you will about Community‘s use of pop culture, at least it doesn’t discriminate against the kinds of pop culture that’s referenced.
This is an episode that could easily draw in someone who’s never seen the show; every character gets a moment that displays exactly what they’re about, we get a glimpse of just about every major relationship on the show, and likewise every actor gets a chance to shine. This is arguably the best non-concept character episode since “Studies in Modern Movement,” probably even better. Won’t change how mustard tastes, though.
Some stray tidbits:
- Tag: Abed does stand-up, but his jokes are a little too inside. As in, they’re only about what happens in his apartment.
- The serialized nature of this second half of the season continues in full-force, with more Dean Laybourne, references to Troy and Abed’s fight, and Jeff’s locker, not to mention an “Opposite of Batman” callback!
- He didn’t get much screen time, but wow, John Goodman is deliciously evil in the best way. Let’s hope he gets lots more to do by the end of the season.
- The group’s sweet reaction to “How come I’m not best friends with anyone?” does make you feel less bad about Pierce always being so alienated.
- Abed is kind of a dick when he’s watching movies, and Britta’s texts are both hilarious and terrifyingly realistic.
- The “Dean why are you here?” gag was very similar to the reactions to Todd in “Competitive Ecology” and equally as funny.
- “You came out of the bedroom smiling and then your smile faded as you leaned against the door” – Abed’s meta commentary is rubbing off on Dean Pelton, now.
- “You’re also supposed to…administrate the school…”
- “Some things are funny because they make no sense and that is not one of them.”
- “She was born in the 80s! She still uses her phone as a phone!”
