Thanks for stopping by!
seriously. thanks.
Today we're going to be sitting down for a humorous (and potentially somber affair.)
Welcome to our second Community Season Finale liveblog.
We're hoping this isn't a series finale, but many signs are point to the opposite, so pull up a chair and join us for one more study session around the magical table.
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maybe not?
How did the writers cope with writing what is (another) potential final episode?
What sort of storylines can we expect to be tied up?
Are we going to see any of the various relationships teased actually come to fruition? (for one episode?)
What ever happened with that air conditioning school anyway?
Evil Abed, is that dude going to show up?
Nobody really knows, yet...y'know, unless there are spoilers and you've read them.
For the rest of you non-knowing folks, hit the jump and we'll find it all out together.
7:30 - hey again!
you're a titch early, so feel free to pull up a chair and say hi.
we're just pulling some drinks from the fridge - we suggest you do so as well. it will help cope with whatever emotional or psychological damage the final episode may inflict on us all.
We here in prettymuchamovieland are drinking some Hawaiian Style Pale Ale by Spearhead Brewing Company, accompanied by some Crazy Canuck, and SteamWhistle. All three from Toronto! Canadian beer represent!
love dem pixels.
7:35 - another important question - is Pierce going to come back?
Promotional photos for the episode sure seems to imply so, and he's looking pretty Mad Max meets Terminator
c'mon, dickheads. you should have gone with an "i'll be back" joke.
7:45 - we're so excited! and so scared!
poor jesse.
what if this truly is the last episode?
what does the cast have to fall back on? it's not like the soup is good or anything.
oooooh yeeeeeah. that stuff.
7:50 - while it can be acknowledged that the quality of product has diminished ever so slightly, it must be said: if the executives at nbc cancel this show to run another half-baked family sitcom or friends rehash, they have no idea what the hell to be doing with a network.
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7:55 - holy isht, guys! it's almost time. so much anticipation... and nervousness... and happiness... and excitement!
7:59 - one minute! we simulataneously wish that we could skip it and get to it right away, or go back to like, season one, and see it all new again.
8:00 - so we open with Jeff at that Cash guy's office? Nice throwback to the season two episode referencing his lawyer-partner-nickname deal.
There are jokes about lollipops and stickers - I mean his diploma.
They're having some talk about Jeff joining buddy's practice though.
"I'll give it some thought."
"Just shake my hand, idiot, it's simple."
and with that, maybe Jeff joined the practice maybe?
8:01 - hey, it's the group!
Pierce is back, and makes a joke about the seasons, and how it was just christmas, but not it's hot. there are a couple of subsequent jokes about the fall-spring semester, etc.
So it turns out some people are able to graduate - Jeff, and some people are left with another year of credits to attain - Troy.
Neato.
8:02 - so they're all going with Jeff to file the paperwork for graduation, because apparently that's all it takes. Funny.
"We started as a study group, we'll finish as a study group" - Troy.
That's not exactly true, guy.
8:03 - yay, Dean time!
"I see you have all the necessary paperwork..."
"Necessary? You asked for proof of inseam."
"Anyway, i'll just sign my John Deancock."
8:03 - ooh, so it turns out Jeff wants a graduation party!
and they're going to do it, i guess.
many jokes comparing the event to a wedding.
8:04 - Jeff and Britta are out to dinner?
Weird. At the weird lawyer bar he's been at many times before?
She mentions the darkest timeline!
"[Abed] has not brought that up in months..."
good therapizing.
8:04 - the group, sans Jeff, is picking courses for next term. looks like astronomy is the choice - i wonder if the writing team has any embryonic scripts in the making to do with this choice?
Abed reitierates his concern about the wedding/grad mashup, but apparently it's testing well with women. Shirley and Annie squeal, and Abed gestures to them as supporting evidence.
8:05 - oh, and then Jeff rolls a die.
and it lands on its side/edge.
Abed is pretty upset.
8:06 - oh shit!
Evil Jeff shows up in the Dean's office, ala Terminator... umm, what the hell [but in briefs, naturally]?
Dean doesn't notice because he's making a pastiche or collage or something of Jeff's Greendale memories...
But anyway, wait, Evil Jeff actually exists? (and wears clothes when coming back in time like a t-100?)
Taking this stuff out of Abed's head is kinda weird, but could work.
Also, why is Jeff choosing to test Abed in such a manner?
Anywho, commercial.
8:10 - hey, Britta has caught up with Evil Jeff, who hides his fake arm.
maybe just an arm?
Oh, shit dog. Evil Annie is here. She brought Jeff a fancy terminator arm.
So much Terminator!
"It's worse than I thought. They made lame Jeff even lamer so he doesn't want to graduate."
okay, then gross Evil folk makeouts, with a bonus reference to how evil Annie likes it when evil Jeff talks down to her like she's a child.
also, way to be ableist, douchehammers.
8:11 - Evil Jeff catches up with regular Annie, and puts the moves on her.
"you're making me feel something...and it's not about graduating...I'm saying I'm hot for you!"
har.
then Evil Jeff tells Annie all about his future adult life and shit, and how them sleeping together will give him fond memories of her once he bails on the study group for cool adulthood.
8:12 - next, Chang and regular Jeff are having lunch.
Fat Neil walks by and gives Jeff kudos for streaking naked on his last day.
Annie walks up and freaks out on him.
8:13 - Evil Jeff catches up with Abed now.
"Hello, Evil Jeff," Abed greets him.
"How'd you know it was me?"
"I may not know be able to identifiy facial expressions, but I can spot an Evil Doppelganger. Plus your arm makes a noise when it moves."
This leads to evil Jeff shooting Abed with some weird teleportation/paintball gun, which sends him to the evil timeline and the Doppeldeaner's office.
8:15 - Evil Jeff goes about and starts more shit with Shirley and Troy, who were discussing a breakfast sandwich stand.
8:15 - Whoa! Evil Abed catches up with Abed... He explains that evil Jeff got fed up and asked Evil Abed to teach him how to travel between timelines.
"That's awesome." - evil abed.
"I know. I've been waiting so long to tell you."
hmm - seems Evil Abed is helping Abed? That's...sure, why not.
8:16 - so now the Dean is mad at Jeff (showing up in a partially-complete marilyn monroe ensemble and mascara all down his face from crying), but Evil Annie shows up with a trench coat - obviously something fancy underneath... Oh, by the way, she stole his phone earlier, and now returns it to him with some fake message? ha! But Jeff avoids it, being too preoccupied with fixing things with the study group.
8:17 - oh, hey! Evil Jeff meets with regular Jeff... that's pretty effed up. They have a neat scene of saying the same shit, all doctor who "midnight" style.
just, much less frightening
Evil Jeff attempts to shoot Jeff Jeff with the transportation gun to the alternate timeline, but Chang runs in, and takes the hit, shouting "friendship". Redemption?
Evil Jeff tells Jeff to go on, without the study group. Jeff Jeff rips up his diploma, says "not without my friends," and runs off.
Evil Annie: (scornfully) "Now who's in a Lifetime movie?" (referring to Jeff asking her why she's acting like a mistress in a Lifetime movie)
8:18 - Evil Annie wants Evil Jeff to explain what happens now. Slowly. Right, 'cause earlier they established that she liked it when he talked down to her. Like a child. Anyway, that's interrupted by Evil Troy, Evil Britta and Evil Shirley - they all look pretty hot. And also like they've been outfitted by the most recent winner of Project Runway.
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8:20 - the group, minus Pierce and Jeff (and Abed) sit around, watching tv and complaining about Jeff.
Jeff bursts in and blames Evil Jeff on everything.
"They're coming for us."
"No, we're coming for them," Abed Abed interrupts.
"I knew you guys wouldn't believe me, so I brought the DoppelDean."
Then he shoots him and blows him back in time.
"Actually, I thought the paint-ball-teleportation-guns would help. We're in an intergalactic war with ourselves. Either we win, or we win."
ha!
8:21 - so in the Evil timeline, there's a great scene with Evil Pierce, who's an idiot.
A fight breaks out eventually when Britta defends Evil Britta.
Evil Annie comes upon Annie Annie and tells her all about how she'll love the evil timeline, 'cause they're banging Jeff. Annie Annie shoots her out of spite.
Basically, all the the Evil others are dispatched until Evil Jeff shows up.
Abed notes that Jeff has to kill him.
"Look around - haven't you noticed the vending machines are full of meats and hardboiled eggs?"
ha! no carbs - of course! it's Jeff's brain!!! [nice callback to the buttered noodle vending machines of season three/greendale hospital school as well]
Abed explains to Jeff that he's made this up in his own head, because he had reservations about graduating, and that they're all his family.
"Wait, if this isn't real, I don't need to fight him."
"Don't logic this one away from me. We finally found a way to make paintball cool again."
ha!
So Jeff goes out, and matrix-kills his Evil self.
8:24 - back at the table, it's time for the last Jeff speech. It's cute.
Then a Dean speech occurs, officiating the Marriage/Graduation ceremony.
Oh, then back to Jeff speech.
"When I came here three and a half years ago, I met six very important people."
"Burn on Britta," says the Dean. Britta frowns.
"okay, seven." Jeff concedes.
Then there's a cute little extra bit about how Jeff loves everybody.
The Dean does the whole, if there's anybody here that blah blah don't graduate Jeff, and Pierce busts in... He wants to graduate first, so they let him.
8:26 - in their last scene around the table, Jeff tells them all his plan for the future - work around for various small firms. Give a mouth to the small guys. That way he can still pop in at Greendale to settle arguments (like who misses him more). Everyone toasts Jeff with soda. It's dumb.
8:27 - commercial.
so, umm, so far this has been fun in lots of ways - y'know, the return to paintball, the resurrection/exploration of the darkest timeline... but the show's going out on the same note in came in on Jeff, Jeff, Jeff. And i get that this may have been the creator(s)' intention, but it feels pretty hollow to me. It took me such a long time to warm to Jeff in his complexity, and I wouldn't have been able to do so had the show required this growth to come at the expense of the other characters. However, I suspect this finale has done exactly that.
8:28 - Evil Troy and Evil Abed - in the morning!
King Lord Chang is their guest today, and all days.
in Timeline 5, Troy and Britta are together, with baby. Things are normal, according to Troy - who is interrupted by Britta exclaiming that people burning in Nairobi is not normal! And adds that she's "become much more politically active" since giving their baby...well, see below.
Their baby has an "african" name.
Chewbacca.
"It means he who hunts bounties."
Ha. Then Evil Jeff interrupts them.
"Hey, idiots, how many times do I have to tell you this show isn't real?"
"duhdoy"
then there's a mention of lunch (at which time they'll all hang out), and the jingle again. nice.
Well, that's that then.
For a second chance a (potential) second finale, that wasn't so bad, but it left a lot to be desired - y'know, closure for some of the other characters? a silly throw away about Troy and Britta being together in one timeline? A one-liner about how Annie doesn't really want to sleep with Jeff? Uhhh - Shirley? I don't know. It felt a little rushed - but the paintball was pretty darned cool (again) and it was neat that they seemed to have at least some budget. also, kudos for not caving and throwing Jeff and Britta together at the last minute. At least there's that.
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