Community S5E3
Jan. 11th, 2014 09:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
opusculasedferaCautiously pleased with this week's Community!
I can maybe accept this level of Jeff being a teacher and things not being the same! It makes me hopeful that they do care more about shenanigans than tragedy, which is what I require.
I really like that Neil does radio and still plays D&D and has quietly become a recurring character with his own shit going on. Garrett is...interesting? I'm not sure how to feel about his character because he is kind of a stereotype of hapless fat nerd with asthma. But then his complete and total haplessness almost transcends that? "Et tu, pencil!" is a fabulous line, and it's not like inability to deal with folders is part of the trope? On the other hand, he hasn't really gotten anything to do that isn't be ridiculous ever.
Pierce's death just didn't work: you can't do "sudden revelation of faked death!" and "we're supposed to be sad about another death!" in the same episode, also I basically hadn't noticed that Pierce wasn't around because he was a terrible character. But at least it didn't work while still trying, and wasn't actively contradictory to established characterisation.
Annie/Jeff is still only acceptable if the show stays firmly on the THIS IS CREEPY side of the line, so they get a raised eyebrow from me for how far they went this episode, but they didn't actually cross it yet and still seem aware that there's a difference between attraction existing and attraction being good to
Abed's intense support of Troy was super adorable. I love how it works both as ludicrous and tropey and as Abed letting Troy deal with things in his own way, and I love that Abed would probably appreciate both of those aspects of it equally.
I need this plotline to not wrap up with "lols, sexual harrassment," but it does still have a chance! This is how I want the Dean's inner struggle between principle/love of the group and external pressures of the school and so on to go! Where he tries, and sometimes gives in to his baser nature, but trying is still an important thing! Also him trying to get the secretary to trace the call when she knows that caller id is a thing was beautiful.
Definitely feeling better about everything than I was!
I can maybe accept this level of Jeff being a teacher and things not being the same! It makes me hopeful that they do care more about shenanigans than tragedy, which is what I require.
I really like that Neil does radio and still plays D&D and has quietly become a recurring character with his own shit going on. Garrett is...interesting? I'm not sure how to feel about his character because he is kind of a stereotype of hapless fat nerd with asthma. But then his complete and total haplessness almost transcends that? "Et tu, pencil!" is a fabulous line, and it's not like inability to deal with folders is part of the trope? On the other hand, he hasn't really gotten anything to do that isn't be ridiculous ever.
Pierce's death just didn't work: you can't do "sudden revelation of faked death!" and "we're supposed to be sad about another death!" in the same episode, also I basically hadn't noticed that Pierce wasn't around because he was a terrible character. But at least it didn't work while still trying, and wasn't actively contradictory to established characterisation.
Annie/Jeff is still only acceptable if the show stays firmly on the THIS IS CREEPY side of the line, so they get a raised eyebrow from me for how far they went this episode, but they didn't actually cross it yet and still seem aware that there's a difference between attraction existing and attraction being good to
Abed's intense support of Troy was super adorable. I love how it works both as ludicrous and tropey and as Abed letting Troy deal with things in his own way, and I love that Abed would probably appreciate both of those aspects of it equally.
I need this plotline to not wrap up with "lols, sexual harrassment," but it does still have a chance! This is how I want the Dean's inner struggle between principle/love of the group and external pressures of the school and so on to go! Where he tries, and sometimes gives in to his baser nature, but trying is still an important thing! Also him trying to get the secretary to trace the call when she knows that caller id is a thing was beautiful.
Definitely feeling better about everything than I was!
no subject
Date: 2014-01-12 02:01 pm (UTC)As for the Annie/Jeff thing, I just want them to either make it happen or dismiss it entirely. I read the AV Club review and I agree with it; they're been doing the exact same song and dance between the two of them since season two. I'm indifferent to the pairing but they need to have some resolution of some kind. They need to have the characters move onwards instead of retreading the same things. Ugh.
no subject
Date: 2014-01-12 04:25 pm (UTC)I feel like at this point they've spent so much time reinforcing the fact that they are mutually attracted, but Jeff feels like she's so young, they simply can't actually go there. There is something trope-bending about acknowledging the distinction between being attracted to a friend and being attracted in a way where you do something about it, but they want to have their cake too and keep teasing that this time it! might! happen! when to actually break the trope they need to keep it to the pattern in the ep with the SF con where Annie can have fun pretending to be married to Jeff, but admits that she doesn't actually wantthat. There's nothing novel about people straightforwardly dancing around the subject, or anything novel about older men sleeping with younger women whose passion and fire contrast sharply with their world-weary cynicism.
I actually ship Shirley/Jeff kind of hard because all the eps that dealt with their friendship have been ace, and I feel like they'd bounce off each other really interestingly in a romantic context, but nooooo, show doesn't want to go there and be different.