Quick thoughts on Jeff and his relationships with Shirley and Annie from a Rewatch from 103 to 109
Rewatching Social Psychology, I was laughing a lot at the interactions between Shirley and Jeff and I noticed something very intriguing at the beginning. Jeff deliberately tries to avoid Shirley, but that’s only because Britta is tailing him and once again correcting him on what he’s doing wrong (e.g avoiding Shirley) and saying that she is fun to
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Anyway, I did that and I found it very revealing, since Jeff basically mocks Shirley's habits in front of Britta but he also is about to tail her right out of class but Britta sees it so he immediately pulls up his facade (and futilely again tries to get her interested in him, which she ignores) and then once she leaves and then we cut to the next day where Jeff tries very badly to avoid Shirley and then falls into step with her, you can see something change in Jeff.
He actually seems really comfortable and at ease in Shirley's presence as they begin to gossip, and I think even on my first viewing that this stood out to me, though I have never shipped Jeff and Shirley except in a friendship context.
However, rewatching the beginning does feel like he's downplaying it for Britta since she just expects to see "Jeff the douchebag" so he gives her the impression that she wants.
But with Shirley, and Annie, and Abed... a different Jeff emerges... a respectful, caring, sensitive man is visible underneath the selfish, sarcastic, and uncaring veneer Jeff has built for himself and that he lets only a few people see. (Britta rarely sees this Jeff I just realised.)
I know! It's fantastic and wonderful and yes, good laying of foundations! :D
By the way, what do you think of my list of those closest to Jeff emotionally? I kinda felt inspired to do it after you analysed Annie and Britta that way. :)
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Now I need to rewatch this episode and study this, to see if I can see it too :).
[Anyway, I did that and I found it very revealing, since Jeff basically mocks Shirley's habits in front of Britta but he also is about to tail her right out of class but Britta sees it so he immediately pulls up his facade (and futilely again tries to get her interested in him, which she ignores) and then once she leaves and then we cut to the next day where Jeff tries very badly to avoid Shirley and then falls into step with her, you can see something change in Jeff.]
Yes-- it's like Jeff knows that he will end up liking Shirley, but he doesn't want that to happen, so he avoids her, but that ends up not working anyways.
[He actually seems really comfortable and at ease in Shirley's presence as they begin to gossip, and I think even on my first viewing that this stood out to me, though I have never shipped Jeff and Shirley except in a friendship context.]
I feel like that's representative of the entire study group, in a way . . . they all click and bond really quickly with each other, which is rare. Annie and Jeff's bonding happens just as quickly, and their conversation/argument comes just as easily as Jeff and Shirley's friendship, and Abed and Jeff's friendship.
[However, rewatching the beginning does feel like he's downplaying it for Britta since she just expects to see "Jeff the douchebag" so he gives her the impression that she wants.]
Which, on consideration in the context of what we know about Jeff, makes sense-- he's probably so used to just giving people what they want to see from him that he automatically does it, which is why his honesty with the study group is so surprising for him.
[But with Shirley, and Annie, and Abed... a different Jeff emerges... a respectful, caring, sensitive man is visible underneath the selfish, sarcastic, and uncaring veneer Jeff has built for himself and that he lets only a few people see. (Britta rarely sees this Jeff I just realised.)]
I think that's because, like I said above, it's easier for Jeff to show Britta what she expects to see. But Annie, Shirley, and Abed all expect *more* of him than Britta, they expect him to be better, not in a fixer upper way, but in a 'I believe in you' way, and so Jeff feels the need to live up to that.
[I know! It's fantastic and wonderful and yes, good laying of foundations! :D
By the way, what do you think of my list of those closest to Jeff emotionally? I kinda felt inspired to do it after you analysed Annie and Britta that way. :)]
I liked it-- I think it's sad though that Jeff is the person Britta is closest with, but she's at the bottom of his list.
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