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| Evil Abed gets a little rape-happy with a saw. |
Shirley and Pierce's disagreement leads to a legal battle in Greendale Summer Fun Court.
Plot
Season 3's three-episode finale night ended with the lesser of the bunch but still a solid episode that delivered closure and some character growth.
The gang, minus Troy, is in summer school and preparing for finals when the dean tells Shirley and Pierce that Subway is leaving the campus and that their sandwich place will replace it. But when the two can't agree who should sign the single line contract, the two face off in an in-school lawsuit that pits not only the two business partners against each other, but Jeff against the lawyer who ruined his career. In the end, Pierce and Shirley decide to cooperate.
A secondary story has Troy in the AC repair school, missing his friends, and solving the apparent murder of Vice Dean Laybourne (I will believe he is dead when I never see him again).
Troy gets to shine a bit here as he not only solves Laybourne's murder, but also demonstrates his natural air conditioning repair skills that make him the messiah of the school. The new Neo of the school then changes the rules so that he can live off-campus and continue his AC studies while still remaining in the study group.
The tertiary plot is Evil Abed's attempt to carry out his evil timeline mission, complete with a Terminator like first-person perspective; a total emotional dress-down of Britta; his general bad attitude; and a funny bit where he tries to use a bone-saw to remove Jeff's arm but is foiled by a lack of an extension-cord and then Jeff's speech about goodness.
After Abed takes back his body from Evil Abed, he shuts down his Dreamatorium so that Troy can move back in, but secretly keeps a smaller cardboard version in his own space.
Oh, and Starburns faked his own death. Called it!
Well, I kind of called it.
Quotables
Abed notices Evil Abed standing in the doorway of the Dreamatorium.
Abed: This can't be good.
Evil Abed: When the world gets bad enough, Abed, the good go crazy. But the smart (pause), they go bad.
Britta tries to give therapy to Evil Abed but realizes things aren't going the way she wants.
Britta: You know what? Maybe I should talk to Good Abed instead.
Evil Abed: Where I come from, his name is Lame Abed.
Britta: And you come from?
Evil Abed: The darkest timeline. You might call it the Britta of timelines, where everything is the worst. Jeff has one arm there. Annie shot Pierce. Troy can't speak.
Evil Abed: Do you know what kind of person becomes a psychologist, Britta? A person that wishes deep down that everyone more special than them was sick because 'healthy' sounds so much more exciting than 'boring.' You're average, Britta Perry. You're every kid on the playground that didn't get picked on. You're a business casual potted plant. A human white sale. You're VH1, ROBOCOP 2, and BACK TO THE FUTURE 3. You're the center slice of a square cheese pizza. Actually, that sounds delicious. I'm the center slice of a square cheese pizza. You're Jim Belushi.
After Troy gets Murray to admit to murdering Vice Dean Laybourne, the AC school nutjobs decide to exact their own form of justice.
Troy: No! No! Take him to the police. He murdered someone. Take him to jail. You guys are weird.
After Jeff wins the case, he receives praise.
Annie: Jeff, that was great!
Shirley: You were like a white Blair Underwood.
Rating
If I had to rate this one, and Dan Harmon's expired contract with Sony says I do, then I'd give it:
87 out of 100
It was a mostly standard episode of the show but worked as a nice ending to the season. And though this episode wasn't as great as the previous few, the season as a whole delivered on more levels than I ever imagined. And so I feel comfortable proclaiming season 3...
THE GREATEST THIRD SEASON OF ALL TIME!
If this is Dan Harmon's last season as showrunner (and I promise to turn hatefully against the show next season if it is), then he has gone out a champion. Sure, the Emmy voters may never figure this thing out, but they didn't get THE WIRE until it was gone either.
UPDATE: It is official... Dan Harmon will NOT be back as show runner.
COMMUNITY is THE WIRE of half-hour comedy!
If I had to rate this season, and damn hell skippy I do! I'd give it:
98 out of 100
Yeah, if you add up the episode grades they don't actually equal to that but I don't care. It's my site. My grades. My rules. Deal with it.