Community up to season 1 finale
1x24 English as a second language
* Jeff, with his tight four-year schedule, suddenly comes across as kind of organized and un-slacking. Maybe he's trying to cheat his way through the tight schedule, but still. The full load approach doesn't sound like him.
* I totally agree with Annie that the group *will* drift apart when they don't have their regular class together anymore. I don't think she'd be the one to know that, though. Everyone over 30 is a much better bet.
* Annie is a mean and egotistical bitch sometimes. She knew Jeff would hate her for ratting out Chang (because it means he'll fail Spanish and ruin his plan) but she did it anyway.
+ Jeff letting his fake lawyer skills hang out. Yeah, he was mean to Annie, and he was totally on a control freak trip, but it was also hot.
- First Annie goes to all the trouble and then she wants to leave at the end? BAD Annie. Or bad writing, I don't know. It enraged me as much as the others.
+ Any Chang-centered episode is a good thing. The scene on the roof of the car was hilarious. Especially the "we're writing a song" line. :D
+ Chang only did 3 lessons with them in two semesters? Hee. Also: the whiteboard always has the funniest lines. I don't remember which episode it was when they were all saucy - it wasn't this one. But they're usually hilarious.
+ Abed recognizing Jeff's car alarm.
* I didn't find the Troy the Wonder Plumber storyline funny. Except for the part where Abed recognized it and took the quotes too far, hurting Troy. That part was nice.
+ Hee, I only noticed on the third capping skip-through that Pierce is holding a "Talk Dirty Spanish" book. :D
+ Jeff and Britta's Spanish actually sounds kinda acceptable. I don't speak Spanish, but the rolling r's sounded very authentic and much better than I'm used to from American actors.
+ Jeff failing to kick the door in at first was funny. I thought he wouldn't manage at all, but the thought alone was funny enough, I guess. :)
+ Jeff and Annie's conversation about feelings and her clothes was sweet. Creating tension where there isn't any (from Jeff's side at least) was blatantly obvious, but fun.
+ The last scene was the best one: Pierce SLEPT them through the exam! OMGLOL!
1x25 Pascal's Triangle Revisited
+ This episode rocked my socks off. I was sitting with my hands clamped over my mouth for the second half of it. OMG.
+ Community is so amazing in its way to spin things into parody. This wasn't realistic, it was meta all the way. They just love yanking the fangirls' chains. And I love that.
+ It already started out so cheerful and set the tone for a meta episode combined with the special atmosphere of a finale - it was obvious. And fun.
+ Evil genie dean. Hee.
+ I like Slater and when she turned up I knew roughly where the episode was going to go and that they would put us through the wringer.
+ Duncan was fun (escpecially with Chang) and also asking *the* question first: which one do you want? As if there wasn't enough meta in this ep already. :)
+ Troy's cookie: "My friendship with Abed is a giant cookie!" :D
+ The group one-two-threeing Vaughn
+ Awkward Jeff/Britta scene on the bunk bed - it was so very clear that he wanted Britta and not Slater. Actually, it was clear, later, too. He just isn't ready to confront his feelings yet.
+ Britta being so competitive she needed to declare her love, that was totally in character. And you could tell she didn't even mean it when she said it. Not really. She feels it, I'm sure of that, but she doesn't consciously know it.
+ I loved how Jeff was unable to answer - which was the only realistic way this could have gone. He hasn't thought about it, which is what I'd expected from him. And the whole audience (both of them, on- and off-screen) waiting for his answer. AND JOINING TEAMS! Did I mention this show rocks?
+ Britta accepting the prize when she hadn't won yet - that whole episode screamed embarrassment squick. But it was bearable because the fourth wall was so far down. It all felt constructed - in a good way: The characters were obviously put on display (with microphones!) and bent to the breaking point - and I was still able to identify with them. I have no idea how they managed that, to be honest. I have never seen anything like it.
+ The writers also obviously know how to make a season finale with potential for fandom wars and tons of fic. I'm impressed because it sure seemed they did it on purpose. (So now where's the fic? ;))
* I don't know what to think of Jeff's conversation (and kiss) with Annie. I now know what prettypepper was talking about when she said that Jeff's words were ignored in favor of his actions. To be honest, I first did not believe him when he said he felt like a good guy with Slater and like himself with Britta. Because that's not how their romantic relationship feels at all. But I realized later that he meant their bickering. Their friendship. And that makes sense, because he is surprised that he's getting along so well with Britta, all the while not even trying to get into her pants. That is not something he's used to or able to accept. He loves her and wants her but it's outside his experience.
+ Side note: Abed told Jeff that Slater was low maintenance and Britta was high maintenance (in 1x16). But what Jeff says here sure sounds like the exact opposite. Jeff feels like he has to work for Slater and with Britta, it just comes naturally. If that is not the deciding factor, I don't know what is. Although I understand that this doesn't lead to Jeff being able to make a decision. He isn't really aware of the meaning of what he just said. Also, I still think it only applies to the friendship part of their relationship. When Jeff thinks about their romantic side, it's way less clear because he's confused about his feelings.
* The kiss with Annie. I didn't think it worked all that well. It was thrown in to stoke even more shipper wars, but I didn't think Jeff would do it at that moment. Annie totally started it, but he didn't refuse. I wonder who took advantage of whom here. Annie is young and infatuated and naive, and Jeff is confused and running on flight instinct. It's interesting to analyze that.
Just for the record: my final answer will always be Britta. I'm definitely biased here, so I don't know how accurate my observations are. But from what I've seen, he has no connection with Annie (except the physical attraction). Quite the opposite, almost all his conversations with her have that huge age difference looming between them and making him look down on her. He sometimes openly treats her like a child, and sometimes it's more subtle. But my impression is that he doesn't consider himself on the same level as Annie, and he doesn't want to be there, either. On the other hand, he goes out of his way again and again to impress Britta. I can see how fangirls will side with the girl closer to their own age. I have too little contact to fandom to judge this accurately, though. I'm just guessing. Do you have convincing arguments for either side?
* Jeff, with his tight four-year schedule, suddenly comes across as kind of organized and un-slacking. Maybe he's trying to cheat his way through the tight schedule, but still. The full load approach doesn't sound like him.
* I totally agree with Annie that the group *will* drift apart when they don't have their regular class together anymore. I don't think she'd be the one to know that, though. Everyone over 30 is a much better bet.
* Annie is a mean and egotistical bitch sometimes. She knew Jeff would hate her for ratting out Chang (because it means he'll fail Spanish and ruin his plan) but she did it anyway.
+ Jeff letting his fake lawyer skills hang out. Yeah, he was mean to Annie, and he was totally on a control freak trip, but it was also hot.
- First Annie goes to all the trouble and then she wants to leave at the end? BAD Annie. Or bad writing, I don't know. It enraged me as much as the others.
+ Any Chang-centered episode is a good thing. The scene on the roof of the car was hilarious. Especially the "we're writing a song" line. :D
+ Chang only did 3 lessons with them in two semesters? Hee. Also: the whiteboard always has the funniest lines. I don't remember which episode it was when they were all saucy - it wasn't this one. But they're usually hilarious.
+ Abed recognizing Jeff's car alarm.
* I didn't find the Troy the Wonder Plumber storyline funny. Except for the part where Abed recognized it and took the quotes too far, hurting Troy. That part was nice.
+ Hee, I only noticed on the third capping skip-through that Pierce is holding a "Talk Dirty Spanish" book. :D
+ Jeff and Britta's Spanish actually sounds kinda acceptable. I don't speak Spanish, but the rolling r's sounded very authentic and much better than I'm used to from American actors.
+ Jeff failing to kick the door in at first was funny. I thought he wouldn't manage at all, but the thought alone was funny enough, I guess. :)
+ Jeff and Annie's conversation about feelings and her clothes was sweet. Creating tension where there isn't any (from Jeff's side at least) was blatantly obvious, but fun.
+ The last scene was the best one: Pierce SLEPT them through the exam! OMGLOL!
1x25 Pascal's Triangle Revisited
+ This episode rocked my socks off. I was sitting with my hands clamped over my mouth for the second half of it. OMG.
+ Community is so amazing in its way to spin things into parody. This wasn't realistic, it was meta all the way. They just love yanking the fangirls' chains. And I love that.
+ It already started out so cheerful and set the tone for a meta episode combined with the special atmosphere of a finale - it was obvious. And fun.
+ Evil genie dean. Hee.
+ I like Slater and when she turned up I knew roughly where the episode was going to go and that they would put us through the wringer.
+ Duncan was fun (escpecially with Chang) and also asking *the* question first: which one do you want? As if there wasn't enough meta in this ep already. :)
+ Troy's cookie: "My friendship with Abed is a giant cookie!" :D
+ The group one-two-threeing Vaughn
+ Awkward Jeff/Britta scene on the bunk bed - it was so very clear that he wanted Britta and not Slater. Actually, it was clear, later, too. He just isn't ready to confront his feelings yet.
+ Britta being so competitive she needed to declare her love, that was totally in character. And you could tell she didn't even mean it when she said it. Not really. She feels it, I'm sure of that, but she doesn't consciously know it.
+ I loved how Jeff was unable to answer - which was the only realistic way this could have gone. He hasn't thought about it, which is what I'd expected from him. And the whole audience (both of them, on- and off-screen) waiting for his answer. AND JOINING TEAMS! Did I mention this show rocks?
+ Britta accepting the prize when she hadn't won yet - that whole episode screamed embarrassment squick. But it was bearable because the fourth wall was so far down. It all felt constructed - in a good way: The characters were obviously put on display (with microphones!) and bent to the breaking point - and I was still able to identify with them. I have no idea how they managed that, to be honest. I have never seen anything like it.
+ The writers also obviously know how to make a season finale with potential for fandom wars and tons of fic. I'm impressed because it sure seemed they did it on purpose. (So now where's the fic? ;))
* I don't know what to think of Jeff's conversation (and kiss) with Annie. I now know what prettypepper was talking about when she said that Jeff's words were ignored in favor of his actions. To be honest, I first did not believe him when he said he felt like a good guy with Slater and like himself with Britta. Because that's not how their romantic relationship feels at all. But I realized later that he meant their bickering. Their friendship. And that makes sense, because he is surprised that he's getting along so well with Britta, all the while not even trying to get into her pants. That is not something he's used to or able to accept. He loves her and wants her but it's outside his experience.
+ Side note: Abed told Jeff that Slater was low maintenance and Britta was high maintenance (in 1x16). But what Jeff says here sure sounds like the exact opposite. Jeff feels like he has to work for Slater and with Britta, it just comes naturally. If that is not the deciding factor, I don't know what is. Although I understand that this doesn't lead to Jeff being able to make a decision. He isn't really aware of the meaning of what he just said. Also, I still think it only applies to the friendship part of their relationship. When Jeff thinks about their romantic side, it's way less clear because he's confused about his feelings.
* The kiss with Annie. I didn't think it worked all that well. It was thrown in to stoke even more shipper wars, but I didn't think Jeff would do it at that moment. Annie totally started it, but he didn't refuse. I wonder who took advantage of whom here. Annie is young and infatuated and naive, and Jeff is confused and running on flight instinct. It's interesting to analyze that.
Just for the record: my final answer will always be Britta. I'm definitely biased here, so I don't know how accurate my observations are. But from what I've seen, he has no connection with Annie (except the physical attraction). Quite the opposite, almost all his conversations with her have that huge age difference looming between them and making him look down on her. He sometimes openly treats her like a child, and sometimes it's more subtle. But my impression is that he doesn't consider himself on the same level as Annie, and he doesn't want to be there, either. On the other hand, he goes out of his way again and again to impress Britta. I can see how fangirls will side with the girl closer to their own age. I have too little contact to fandom to judge this accurately, though. I'm just guessing. Do you have convincing arguments for either side?