So remember last week when I wrote my whole review about "English as a Second Language" as a finale? Well, it wasn't. In fact, Community had a whole lot of finale drama to shove into an episode before saying goodbye for the summer. Part of me liked last week's low key end of the year better than tonight, which ran through a barrage of finale cliches and barely stopped to wink at them in its standard fashion. But most of me is already caught up enough in this show's master plot (and yes, even in its romances) that I really enjoyed being left with a little bit of a cliff-hanger ending to while away the summer contemplating.
The big finale moments shoved into tonight's episode-- from a sudden romantic quandary for Jeff, who must choose between Britta, Slater, and apparently Annie, to a friendship crisis for Troy and Abed, to the almost departure of a character who comes back in the last second to share a kiss--all felt like they had been done a thousand times before. What makes that ok is the fact that this time they were being done by characters I've become deeply invested in. That doesn't change the fact that Britta wouldn't just blurt out "I love you" to Jeff if this wasn't the finale, and it doesn't make Jeff and Annie any more likely to kiss each other at random, but it does make me more willing to forgive the show for its lapse into cliche over substance and cliff-hanger over plot that makes sense.
The show did some other nice finale things, like bringing back John Oliver and John Michael Higgins, as well as giving little moments to a lot of the recurring characters they've developed. I also enjoyed the obvious nod to the fact that Troy and Pierce were originally foils before the show figured out how great Troy and Abed were together. And the visual of Troy eating that giant cookie for most of the episode was a very solid gag, as was the Dean's surprise that TWO dalmatian mascots showed up as his date based on the ad he placed. I enjoyed myself throughout the episode, and my belief that Community has become the best comedy on TV this year stands, but I could have done with a finale that felt a little more developed and a little less random.
Grade: B+
Notes:
-"Stroke or Tai Chi?"
-"Its called chillaxing!"
-"I finally get to click send on so many 'I toldja so' emails."
-"How many dances is this school gonna have?" "Five!"
-"Banana Penis!"
-"He's like an evil genie."
-"Transfer formal isn't really rolling off the tongue, so we're just gonna call it a Tranny Dance." "That's much more Greendale."
-Nice callback to the fact that Britta was sentenced to counseling from John Oliver.
-"Don't wear as much lipstick as you did on Valentine's Day. Your mouth looked like a coin purse."
-"Its not a Jane Austen novel. We have cell phones."
-Another great callback: Pierce finished the school song!
-"I will find a loophole...Then I'll kill you."
-"Hot people. Two of them. Coming this way. Which one do you want?"
-"Cleanest face ever."
-"Am I black boobs?"
-"Oh, and for the record, there was an episode of Happy Days where a guy LITERALLY jumped over a shark. And it was the best one!"
-"Who has your car keys?" "They're in the taco meat."
-"Oh, I'm sorry. I have to go. I just won a contest for being hot."
-"I love you." "Britta! Britta! Your lipstick looks better."
-"My friendship with Abed is a giant cookie!" "I've kinda got my own thing going on right now."
-"First of all, I'm flattered. Second, have you heard of email?"
-"Team Britta!" "Britta's lame. Team Slater!" "Bring Conan back!"
-"Do you try to evolve? Or do you try to know who you are?" Great question Community. Can't wait for season two.
-Oh, and let's leave it like I did last week: Jeff and Annie forever!
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