*Spoilers Ahead*
When this season of Community debuted I mentioned being ecstatic to see all of the characters of Greendale Community College again and now, as we close out the show’s sixth and, possibly final, season, I find myself coming to terms with the possibility of never seeing these characters again.
Community debuted in my junior year of high school and at that time the only television show I had ever really followed was Lost. I watched the show on a whim mainly because I liked Joel McHale from The Soup and wondered why Chevy Chase would decide to do a TV show. I was hooked right away. Even before I watched the show I was something of a pop culture child, I knew way too much about dumb 80s and 90s culture that I had almost no actual experience with. Needless to say, Community was right up my alley. Even now, six years after I first fell in love with this weird little cult show, that no one seemed to watch, I still find myself doing a “Cool. Cool Cool Cool.” or attempting to do that weird Troy and Abed handshake with a friend (we rarely succeeded.) The point of all this reminiscing is that this show, for better or worse, impacted me way more than any TV show has a right to and it’s also partly why this episode felt like the perfect end, even if it isn’t.
The focus of this episode revolves around the group pitching ideas on what they imagine season 7 of the show would look like. It’s quite possibly the most meta the show has ever gotten but much like season 3’s “Remedial Chaos Theory,” the different takes on season 7 work to show how each member of the group thinks. Abed reduces everything down to a basic formula, Britta imagines a season where Greendale is it’s own nation and they deal with politics, The Dean wants as many black people on the show as possible. It’s all the makings of a solid episode of the show but just as things look to settle into a groove Annie shows up and announces that she’s leaving for Washington D.C. as she got an internship with the FBI.
The possibility of yet another departure drives Jeff to start pitching ideas for his own season 7, including a grim version where he is in a group with Leonard, Garrett, Todd and others, including a millionaire with bunny ears played by Seth Green. From here, the episode quickly shifts gears and reveals it’s true focus, Jeff’s continuing fear of being left alone at Greendale. It’s a clever way to deal with the numerous main cast departures while also recalling that Jeff himself was suppose to be the one who left for better things.
One of my favorite things about this episode is that Jeff’s pitches are great as ideas for continuing a TV show but fall short in benefiting anybody’s life but his own. Everybody becoming faculty member at Greendale is a good way to make the show work but Abed and Annie can’t commit to staying there, they have a whole life ahead of them. Jeff even imagines a scenario where he and Annie finally settle down but it becomes clear that he really has no idea what Annie wants in a relationship or in her future, it’s only about what he would want.
Speaking of Jeff/Annie, no possible series finale could end without addressing the relationship between these two and I’d say this is easily the best way to leave it. Jeff and Annie’s relationship has been less focused on since Harmon’s return, a wise move as it was already getting to be too much by the time he was fired in Season 3. Here, though, it feels necessary to put a cap on it. To Jeff, Annie has always been a way of hanging on to his slipping youth, one that he is constantly tempted by but rejects because of the age difference. But in the moment, when it’s just the two of them in the study room for possibly the final time, Jeff finally musters up a kiss. Unlike the last time these two kissed there’s no regret but there’s also no promise of anything more. Jeff, finally, accepts that life goes through phases and all he can do now is simply move on.
But it’s not just Jeff that’s being conditioned to move on. The greatest trick “Broadcast Television” pulls off is that it manages to have Jeff and the audience experience the same feeling that it’s time to move on. There’s such a sense of finality running through the episode that it feel all the more perfect when it simply ends with Jeff and the rest of the group sitting down for drinks. That could be season 7 but it could also just be the end. Jeff and the others will stay at Greendale but we’ll move on, just like Annie, Troy, Abed, and Shirley.
In the end, Season 6 of Community was a bit of a mixed bag. The comedy never wavered but it felt at times that the characters struggled to give emotion to what they were going through. Thankfully, the season managed to craft a truly great final run of episodes from “Modern Espionage” to now. If this is all we get then it’s a suitable final season. I’m still gonna need that movie though.
Season 6: 7.5/10
Bits ‘n Pieces
- I enjoyed the random third black guy in the background of The Dean’s pitch.
- Also enjoyed the Tom Waits-esque intro to Britta’s version of season 7.
- That’s Justin Roiland of Rick and Morty voicing Ice Cube Head, reminding me that we won’t have to go too long without some Dan Harmon comedy on our screens.
- “Lizard. Fire Hydrant. Obama. CHANG.”
- “Y’know, hallelujah and church and singing and street wisdom.”
- “If I had no self-awareness, I think I’d know.”
- “Lots of things can be forced, like a human head through a six-inch drainpipe.”
- “I farted during the fourth one, it’s an inside joke.”
- A shout-out to the wonderfully bizarre tags we’ve gotten all season. The one on this episode was easily the greatest and I can’t help but admit tearing up a little when Harmon’s voice starts ranting about the show and his love for the fans.
If you’d like to give me feedback or just chat about Community you can email me at theSuperAlbino@gmail.com or hit me up on Twitter @JesseSwanson