Thoughts on Community 1.25
This is the first episode of Community that left me feeling... disappointed, even after seeing it twice. Of course, there were plenty of moments I LOVED, but some... not so much. So, here's what you will find under the cut: Spoilers, continuity squee, reluctant ship-related thoughts, and character speculation that may involve some sexual abuse triggers.
I DON'T KNOW. CONFLICTED CARLY IS CONFLICTED.
Let's start with the LOVE!
TROY AND ABED. At first I thought it was Abed's Asperger's that was preventing him from getting Troy's super-obvious hint, but of course Abed has watched enough TV to know that best friends should never live together. I had to learn that the hard way, despite seeing the "tape through the middle of the room" thing millions of times on TV before. My best friend (who is here right now, watching Mean Girls with me!) and I can't spend anymore than three days together at a time or we start snapping at each other (okay, I do most of the snapping.) The Giant Cookie metaphor is so perfect for us.
SHIRLEY'S FRIEND GARY.
SO MANY MINOR CHARACTERS FROM PAST EPISODES YES. IN ONE SCENE. THE ACCOUNTING PROFESSOR! 8D
Professor Ian Duncan is back! YAY! And he's counselling Britta! CONTINUITY YES! Remember waaaay back in 1.05, "Advanced Criminal Law", Professor Duncan said something mandatory weekly therapy for Britta? (BTW, I'm pretty sure Jeff had something to do with the decision, but maybe that's obvious...) I've always wondered what happened with that, so I LOVED that it was finally addressed!
And to make things more interesting, Duncan referenced a birthday party and a man in a dinosaur costume. This is also mentioned in Britta's Campus Connect profile on the Greendale Community College website:
"What is this exactly? I should tell you about myself? There's a word for that. Deposition. Here's some other people I have to "tell about myself:" Internal Revenue. Police. And on my eleventh birthday, an eager-handed man in a dinosaur costume whose side my father took when I told the owner of the restaurant."
I don't know about you, but that sounds a lot like molestation. Awhile back I started a discussion about this at community_tv, and one thing that came up was how much of the content on the GCC website is canon. Turns out the birthday party is canon. Poor Britta. :( If you're curious, here's the thread: http://community.livejournal.com/community_tv/129835.html It's members only, and of course, potentially triggering.
Britta getting into the transfer dance queen didn't bother me too much. What did bother me was her open hostility towards Slater and the intensity of it, and the sudden proclamation of her love for Jeff. Yes, I do ship Britta/Jeff, but that still didn't sit right with me. The scene was just soooo uncomfortable. But I do feel right jumping to calling this "OOC". Something really did seem off with Britta, and it had to have been intentional... I just... it was too off to have simply been OOC-ish writing. I have so much faith in this show, and it hasn't let me down before. Why would it start now? ARG SEPTEMBER BE HERE NOW. And I never thought I'd say that.
I do love Annie. And I love her interactions with Jeff, especially when Jeff gets protective. But I'm not a fan of Jeff/Annie. Oh, quick side note, I am SOOOOOO glad the Community fandom DOES NOT USE SMUSH SHIP NAMES. THANK GODS. Anyway, yeah, I'm not a fan of Jeff/Annie for a lot reasons. beyondheroism__ said it very well in her post about last week's episode. ALSO SHE WROTE A COMMUNITY FIC I'M READING IT NOW EVEN THOUGH I PROBABLY WON'T FINISH IT UNTIL TOMORROW BUT STILL YAY!!!!
So, the end of this episode? Not really my thing. I was also sort of warming up to Annie/Vaughn! But, of course, I didn't like the idea of Annie basing her college choice on her boyfriend's... hackeysack(sp?) career.
Annie/Jeff/Britta love triangle? DO NOT WANT. AT ALL. PLEASE DON'T PIT THE GIRLS AGAINST EACH OTHER D: NOT MY GRRRLS!!
REMEMBER YOU'RE FRIENDS AND GO TO THE MALL WITHOUT SHIRLEY. BY THE WAY, YOU TWO REALLY SHOULD INVITE SHIRLEY TO THOSE TRIPS. SHE WOULD LIKE THAT. NEVER LET JEFF DIVIDE YOU.
I'm still confident that this show will not let me down.
All I can say now is that I can't wait for the fall.
Oh, on a real life note, I accepted the coffee date. Tuesday after Tai Chi. Yup.
I DON'T KNOW. CONFLICTED CARLY IS CONFLICTED.
Let's start with the LOVE!
TROY AND ABED. At first I thought it was Abed's Asperger's that was preventing him from getting Troy's super-obvious hint, but of course Abed has watched enough TV to know that best friends should never live together. I had to learn that the hard way, despite seeing the "tape through the middle of the room" thing millions of times on TV before. My best friend (who is here right now, watching Mean Girls with me!) and I can't spend anymore than three days together at a time or we start snapping at each other (okay, I do most of the snapping.) The Giant Cookie metaphor is so perfect for us.
SHIRLEY'S FRIEND GARY.
SO MANY MINOR CHARACTERS FROM PAST EPISODES YES. IN ONE SCENE. THE ACCOUNTING PROFESSOR! 8D
Professor Ian Duncan is back! YAY! And he's counselling Britta! CONTINUITY YES! Remember waaaay back in 1.05, "Advanced Criminal Law", Professor Duncan said something mandatory weekly therapy for Britta? (BTW, I'm pretty sure Jeff had something to do with the decision, but maybe that's obvious...) I've always wondered what happened with that, so I LOVED that it was finally addressed!
And to make things more interesting, Duncan referenced a birthday party and a man in a dinosaur costume. This is also mentioned in Britta's Campus Connect profile on the Greendale Community College website:
"What is this exactly? I should tell you about myself? There's a word for that. Deposition. Here's some other people I have to "tell about myself:" Internal Revenue. Police. And on my eleventh birthday, an eager-handed man in a dinosaur costume whose side my father took when I told the owner of the restaurant."
I don't know about you, but that sounds a lot like molestation. Awhile back I started a discussion about this at community_tv, and one thing that came up was how much of the content on the GCC website is canon. Turns out the birthday party is canon. Poor Britta. :( If you're curious, here's the thread: http://community.livejournal.com/community_tv/129835.html It's members only, and of course, potentially triggering.
Britta getting into the transfer dance queen didn't bother me too much. What did bother me was her open hostility towards Slater and the intensity of it, and the sudden proclamation of her love for Jeff. Yes, I do ship Britta/Jeff, but that still didn't sit right with me. The scene was just soooo uncomfortable. But I do feel right jumping to calling this "OOC". Something really did seem off with Britta, and it had to have been intentional... I just... it was too off to have simply been OOC-ish writing. I have so much faith in this show, and it hasn't let me down before. Why would it start now? ARG SEPTEMBER BE HERE NOW. And I never thought I'd say that.
I do love Annie. And I love her interactions with Jeff, especially when Jeff gets protective. But I'm not a fan of Jeff/Annie. Oh, quick side note, I am SOOOOOO glad the Community fandom DOES NOT USE SMUSH SHIP NAMES. THANK GODS. Anyway, yeah, I'm not a fan of Jeff/Annie for a lot reasons. beyondheroism__ said it very well in her post about last week's episode. ALSO SHE WROTE A COMMUNITY FIC I'M READING IT NOW EVEN THOUGH I PROBABLY WON'T FINISH IT UNTIL TOMORROW BUT STILL YAY!!!!
So, the end of this episode? Not really my thing. I was also sort of warming up to Annie/Vaughn! But, of course, I didn't like the idea of Annie basing her college choice on her boyfriend's... hackeysack(sp?) career.
Annie/Jeff/Britta love triangle? DO NOT WANT. AT ALL. PLEASE DON'T PIT THE GIRLS AGAINST EACH OTHER D: NOT MY GRRRLS!!
REMEMBER YOU'RE FRIENDS AND GO TO THE MALL WITHOUT SHIRLEY. BY THE WAY, YOU TWO REALLY SHOULD INVITE SHIRLEY TO THOSE TRIPS. SHE WOULD LIKE THAT. NEVER LET JEFF DIVIDE YOU.
I'm still confident that this show will not let me down.
All I can say now is that I can't wait for the fall.
Oh, on a real life note, I accepted the coffee date. Tuesday after Tai Chi. Yup.