Community Rewatch- 2x13, 2x14, & 2x15

Hi all! I have time to do a couple before I head to P.F. Chang's for dinner. The rest I'll finish when I get back. Alrighty then? Cool. Cool, cool, cool. We're like halfway through the second season already, which is good because then I can get to the third and rant some more haha. Just in time for the third season DVD to come out August 14th. Mark your calendars, human beings!

2x13- Celebrity Pharmacology

Episode Rundown- As you can tell from the above picture, this episode is quite special. Annie is the writer and director of an anti-drug play for the local middle school which gets the entire group involved. Pierce, however, discovers Annie's super poor and living off her old babysitting money in a shithole apartment over a "marital aids" store named Dildopolis. He uses this to his advantage- of course- and blackmails her into giving him a bigger part in the play the entire episode. Meanwhile, Britta complains about a guy texting her nonstop and accidentally leaves her phone behind, which Jeff seizes and inappropriately texts back. Except- uh-oh- he finds out later he's been talking to her 14-year-old nephew Marcus. Oops. So things are solved when Chang comes to the rescue- *insert unenthusiastic yay here*- and fixes the play and Jeff talks to Marcus and gives him Britta's bra in exchange for his silence about the sexting. Ooookay... The tag is Annie, asleep, but woken up by Dildopolis's nightly announcements. Gross and boring.

What Was Great

~ The Dean. Always perfect.

~ Pierce and Annie's friendship... before he blackmailed her.

~ "Well Marcus, you are in luck. There's not much to the cat costume, but I can't wait to show you what's underneath." "How could you think that's a good idea?" "I've got a better question- How could it not be a great idea?"

~ Jeff and Britta as the Cool Cats. Adorable.

~ "He sent her an emoti-penis!" and "Screw you, Abed!" twice. So funny.

~ "Well that answers my question. Jeff Winger would look sexy even in a coffin."

What Wasn't So Great

~ Chang. Always.

~ The tag. Boooring.

Rating

I would give this episode a seven out of ten. Funny at times, but mostly just okay.

 

2x14- Advanced Dungeons and Dragons

Episode Rundown- This episode, guys. This. episode. I'm not going to lie, I was skeptical at first because Dungeons and Dragons is for nerds. Sorry. But I was sadly mistaken because this episode was perfection. Basically, there is a student at Greendale named Fat Neil and he's sick of being made fun of so he's thinking of taking "an escape of which we dare not speak," so Jeff and the study group- sans Pierce- decide to play a game of Dungeons and Dragons to cheer him up. And then things got hilarious- everyone has their own character and assets to the game, but no on really knows how to play, so the entire episode is them trying to figure out how while also fighting to keep Pierce out of it, since he discovered they were playing without him. Everything ends well, no worries. And the tag is Abed and Troy having an argument about which is better- giant ears or a tail. Wackos...

What Was Great
~ Absolutely everything. Even Chang was funny!

What Wasn't So Great
~Well, the tag wasn't perfect, but they can't all be perfect.

Rating
A well-deserved ten out of ten. =D

  

2x15- Early 21st Century Romanticism

Episode Rundown- This episode... eh. A lot of people loved this one. I just wasn't one of them. It's Valentine's Day, so that's why there's a heart-themed dance and such. Britta makes friends with a girl named Paige who she thinks is a lesbian, which makes her feel cool and progressive. But Paige isn't actually a lesbian and she's only friends with Britta because she thinks Britta's a lesbian. Awkward. Also, Annie knows the entire episode and doesn't tell either of them. Real good friend, there, Edison. Anyway, Abed and Troy both have a crush on a librarian named Mariah, as pictured above, and go through this whole adorable thing together to try to impress her. But neither one ends up with her because Mariah thinks Abed's weird and that's just not acceptable to Troy. And finally, Jeff tries to spend Valentine's Day alone and ends up with a house party thrown at his apartment. Oh and Pierce overdoses on pills. The tag is Abed with a blindfold and Troy feeding him candy hearts as the former guesses the messages. So adorbs.

What Was Great

~ "BOOKS." Mariah looks over and the two pretend to sleep. Lol.

~ "Well, I don't believe in dibs or love at first sight or love or best friends or doing things. But I'm glad you brought this to me." Oh Jeffrey Winger...

~ "Pierce, what are you eating?" "Gum." "Then why aren't you chewing?" "Because I'm using my mouth for this dumb conversation." Classic.

~ The whole BNL thing. Amazing.

~ The taco-in-briefcase conversation with Troy and Abed. Loved it!

~ Magnitude. Love. him.

~ "If I can't say it today, when can I say it? I love you guys." Aww! Seriously adorable.

~ The tag was cute!

What Wasn't So Great

~ Britta's storyline. Booooring.

~ Chang living with Jeff. Bleghhh.

~ Pierce. Ugh.

Rating

I would give this episode a seven out of ten. Some parts were good, others weren't so good...

More soon, friends!

Community Rewatch- 2x10, 2x11, & 2x12

Good morning, blogging world! Last night I did something I'm completely ashamed of- I fell asleep watching Community. GASP. I know. It's a tragedy, because who could ever fall asleep watching that perfect show? ... What? You expected something worse, like getting drunk and blacking out or sleeping with a stranger? Psh. You don't know me, then. =P

 

2x10- Mixology Certification

Episode Rundown- This episode is one of my favorites of the season and yet most Community fans regard it to be one of the season's low points. Well, I highly disagree =P So it's Troy's 21st birthday and the group celebrates by taking him to a bar entitled The Ballroom, after Jeff and Britta argue about the right bar to party in- he wants a place called L-Street (It's too cool to have a sign; It's called L-Street after the street it's on) and she would like to visit The Red Door (It's underground). Abed gets pursued all night by a gay man who wants to have sex with him, Annie pretends to be a Texan girl named Caroline Decker, and Shirley's dark past with alcohol is revealed, as shown in the above picture Britta's holding. Oh, and Pierce's weird wheelchair gets stuck in the door. Finally, everyone's drunk except Troy, who volunteers to drive everyone home and it's revealed that L-Street and The Red Door are the same bar. Troy is super pissed about this, but he and Annie have an adorable heart to heart, Jeff and Britta make out, and Abed is not a coat rack. The tag involves Abed trying to fit 300-ish shirts on Troy and then the phone rings. Oops...

What Was Great

~ Legit everything. It, again, wasn't a themed episode, but things got a little real for them. We got to see their inner issues and insecurities. Behind every comedy, there's a bit of tragic reality. ;)

What Wasn't So Great

~ I honestly can't think of anything. I loved this episode. <3

Rating

I would definitely give this episode a ten out of ten. I can't help it, I thought it was adorable!

  

2x11- Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas

Episode Rundown- As you can see, this is no ordinary episode. This thirty-minute Community Christmas spectacular took months to make, because Dan Harmon was dreaming quite big when he imagined a claymation episode. So the story is that Abed is the only one who can see that everything is stop-motion animated and, because of this, everyone thinks he's crazy. Also, since we too can see the claymation, we're also assumed to be crazy. Sneaky, Harmon. ;) Anyway, Duncan is called in to do a little Christmas therapy and Abed is convinced that he needs to find the meaning of Christmas, so he heads through Winter Wonderland on Planet Abed (the atmosphere is seven percent cinnamon) and one by one, the skeptical group mates are eliminated for not being a true believer in the magic of Christmas. Eventually, it's only Pierce and Abed left and as they descend upon the "meaning of Christmas" present, they find it's the first season of Lost on DVD, which, according to Abed, represents lack of payoff. I see what you did there, Harmon! Eventually, the group returns to sing a joyous Christmas song and everyone's gleeful again! And the tag is just as gleeful- Troy and Abed in stop-mooootion!

What Was Great

~ Everything. I felt like I was watching a legit Christmas special, as in Frosty or Rudolph or something. It was absolutely beautiful and amazing.

What Wasn't So Great

~ I got nothing. =P

Rating

A well-deserved ten out of ten. =D

 

2x12- Asian Population Studies

Episode Rundown- Now I could easily see myself giving this episode a ten too if it didn't have so much Chang and Jeff/Annie shipper feels in it. So- spoiler alert!- it's getting an eight, because I had to take two points off for that BS. On the episode after the Christmas break, Shirley reveals that she's pregnant and that she and her husband are dating again, which Britta hates, and Annie tells the group about her new crush, which Jeff hates. It turns out to be Rich, Jeff's nemesis, and all episode Jeff's super jealous of him. Meanwhile, Troy accidentally tells Pierce that Shirley and Chang slept together on Halloween and they spend all episode trying to figure out if they should tell her. During their initiation party, Jeff decides Chang's a better option than Rich for new study group member-hood and Troy's secret is revealed. Ahhh! Jeff and Annie have this angsty scene and then he runs in the rain towards what we think is her apartment, but it ends up being Rich's instead. HA. Sucks to suck, doesn't it, shippers? =P And the tag is Troy and Abed in the Morning part three, this time with special guest Dr. Rich!

What Was Great

~ "I agree with brown Jamie Lee Curtis." Priceless.

~ "Shirley, how could you want to be with your ex-husband after what he did to you?" "He apologized!" "Oh, he apologized? Well that completely un-bangs that stripper." Ohhh Britta. So good.

~ "Pierce, if someone sleeps with Chang and gets to not remember that happened, that's a gift from God. I'm not taking that away from Shirley without a good reason." "Well here's a good reason. You ever look in the mirror to find spinach stuck in your teeth that nobody told you about? Well imagine your teeth as a uterus and that spinach is a half-Chinese baby." Omg. I laughed so hard.

~ "Kettlecorn? That's a fun-time snack!"

~ "I spell Quendra with a Q-U." "I spell Quettlekorn with a Q-U!" "Well don't!" Lol love her.

~ Troy's interrogation of Andre. "His mind is like a fortress!" That scene was perfection.

~ Rich, at the end: "Well you got me there, guy!"

~ The tag!

What Wasn't So Great

~ Chang. Obviously.

~ Jeff and Annie bleh.

Rating

Yeah, it's still getting an eight out of ten. =P

More later!

Community Rewatch- 2x07, 2x08, & 2x09

Good evening, friends and human beings! I'm back with three more episodes and probably more, because it's a Saturday night and I have no life. I'm bored so I'm going to blog hahaha. Alrighty, here we go!

2x07- Aerodynamics of Gender

Episode Rundown- As you can see from the picture, this episode guest-stars Hilary Duff, who's absolutely fabulous. It's Dan Harmon's self-proclaimed "Mean Girls" episode, with Hilary Duff and her two freakish cronies playing said mean girls. The three of them bully Shirley, Britta, and Annie the entire episode but Abed turns out to be a very good "mean girl" himself and turns into a monster. Meanwhile, Jeff and Troy are playing basketball when they discover a secret garden and trampoline, its caretaker Joshua telling them it must stay a secret. But Pierce, who'd been feeling left out of all of Jeff and Troy's bro-type activities, follows them and forces Troy to "double bounce" him, which ends up with Pierce breaking both of his legs in a dumpster. Oh no... The tag involves the second time we see Troy and Abed in the Morning and this time their guest is Starburns with a turtle. And of course, Garrett doing the weather: "IT'S STILL SUNNY." Priceless.

What Was Great

~ Hilary Duff! Love her.

~ "Amen! Or, A-wo-men!" Oh Annie...

~ "Like Robocop?" "Exactly like Rowboat Cop! Charice is a bad rowboat. Sink her."

~ Abed as a bitch. Awesome.

~ "Women of Greendale! This cafeteria is hereby declared a bitch-free zone!" And the subsequent barking that follows.

~  "OHMIGOD. Joshua was racist! That came out of nowhere!" "Did it?" "A place free from darkness... And some are just natural jumpers... It's going to be a maze!"

~ "Double bounce me!" "Pierce, that's not how we do things here." "DOUBLE BOUNCE ME!!" "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS? IHATECHU." Classic.

~ "Are those as comfortable as they look?" "It's like wearing a pair of dreams."

~ The tag~

What Wasn't So Great

~ Pierce! He's becoming a real B lately...

~ ... I think that's it, honestly.

Rating

I would give this episode a nine out of ten. It was so hilarious even if the concept was so simple.

 

2x08- Cooperative Calligraphy

Episode Rundown- In this episode, Annie loses a pen... and everyone suffers for it. The Dean announces a puppy parade and Jeff announces a "catch to date" named Gwynnifer (whose real identity is revealed later on in the season, because no one's actually named Gwynnifer), but neither of these things happen, because neurotic Annie puts the group on lockdown and Abed calls it a "bottle episode"- TV talk for an episode contained in one setting, in this case the study room. What happens next is a hilarious breakdown of everything accusing everyone else of taking Annie's pen and so much is revealed- Abed is charting the girls' menstrual cycles, Britta doesn't come prepared for class but comes prepared for sex six times over, and Shirley has a pregnancy task. Uh-oh! Finally, they all strip- as pictured above- before Jeff gives an aspiring speech about everyone being too close to steal the pen and that maybe a ghost took the pen. Uh, okay, whatever, but they all leave and it's revealed that the long-lost Annie's Boobs stole it! Oh dear... And last but not least, the tag is basically just the puppy parade. The puppies are, as expected, adorable.

What Was Great

~ Legit everything. It wasn't a themed episode, but it was still perfect. That's Community, folks =D

What Wasn't So Great

~ Nothing!!

Rating

An easy ten out of ten. =D

 

 2x09- Conspiracy Theories and Interior Design

Episode Rundown- This episode, the first time I watched it, legit had me on the edge of my seat because I was so confused. Jeff creates a fake class to get free credits and when the Dean audits the credits to investigate "Professor Professorson," he turns up out of the blue and completely backs Jeff up. Annie, suspicious, is on Jeff the entire episode about his lying habits and suggests they go to night school to catch Professorson- real name Wooley- in the act. What ensues is Jeff teaching the Dean a lesson (Jeff Winger never learns!) in the study room; Annie says she can't forgive "Wooley" for pretending to be Professorson and shoots him. The Dean panics and shoots Annie, Jeff gets outraged and shoots the Dean, Annie wakes up, freaks out, and tells Jeff the truth- that she cooked up the plot to teach Jeff a lesson. Jeff double-crosses her, the Dean awakens, and Annie, pissed, shoots Jeff. The Dean freaks out, now, and admits he agrees to conspiring with everyone and finally, Jeff awakens again and tells the Dean off. Finally, Sean Garrity, the professor in question, awakens and a police officer comes in and shoots him. Dear God. But that turns out to be fake too. Ohhhh jeez. Did you keep up? Oh, and this is the first time we see a Troy/Abed blanket fort. Forgot about that. Then in the tag, Troy and Abed play the one word story game.

What Was Great

~ "Professor Professorson?" "It's Dutch! I think it means professor!"

~ "I've always dreamed of playing charades with you Jeffrey, but not like this and not on dry land!"

~ Professorson/Wooley/Garrity. He's great.

~ The blanket fort! Fluffytown livessss

~ "That's History of... Something." "You can't pronounce it?" "No, it literally says History of Something." "Look at these class titles! Class 101, Studyology. This one just says Learning with and exclamation point!"

~ "I know a shortcut- through the Turkish District!"

~ "What the hell is this?" "Latvian Independence Parade... Don't look at me, they had the proper permits!"

~ The entire fake gun scene. Oh my god. So good.

~ "Would that this hoodie were a time hoodie!" The Dean in this episode is stellar.
~ The return of Pavel!

What Wasn't So Great
~ Not much, honestly. Maybe the fact that it was so shipper-heavy? Jeff and Annie fans had a field day.

Rating
I would give this episode a nine out of ten. Super hilarious and the dun-dun-dunnnnn music made everything suspenseful!!

I'll be back with more super soon!

Community Rewatch- 2x04, 2x05, & 2x06

Hey there guys! Just got home from work and realized my once-clean black shorts are now covered in sunscreen and pasta sauce. When- and how- did I end up messier than the kids? Who knows how these things happen, but anyway we're on to the next couple of episodes! Woo!! Also, I'm going to make the episode rundowns a lot shorter because they're the reason these posts are so long haha. Okay, onward!

2x04- Basic Rocket Science

Episode Rundown- I can't get over this picture lol. This episode is the Apollo 13 episode, in which Greendale tries to beat City College in a simulated space launch. Also, where the hell is Pierce in that picture? Sorry, I'm so scatterbrained. Anyway, Dean Pelton buys a space simulator and orders the study group to wash it in punishment for making their school flag an anus. Instead, they go inside and Abed says he needs a more appropriate outfit and leaves. Pierce bumps into the button that closes the door and suddenly the six of them are sealed in the space bus and being towed away from Greendale! Oh nooooo!! Yeah, so Pierce is super claustrophobic and has this mental breakdown and it's revealed that Annie is the one who called the tow truck and everyone's pissed off at her. But they get over it and return to Greendale on time for the launch and the Dean displays the anus flag yayyyy! The tag involves Troy and Abed pretending to fly spaceships. Funny, but meh...

What Was Great
~ The beginning with the group's slow walk
~ E Pluribus Anus. Perfection.
~ Pierce's tantrum. At times irritating, but also hilarious.
~ Troy being captain and the other four working with him like Power Rangers!
~ "Here, right next to the rest stop with three thumbs." "... Those aren't thumbs."
~ The themed episode. I love the themes <3
~ "You're right... Let's kill her."

What Wasn't So Great 
~ Dean Spreck, of City College, freaks me out. Blegh.
~ Chang. Meh.
~ The tag


Rating
I would give this episode a seven out of ten. It's the beginning of the themed episodes and the show was still trying to find its niche with them.

2x05- Messianic Myths and Ancient Peoples

Episode Rundown- This episode... yeah. Unsurprisingly, it's regarded as one of the worst episodes Community's made and it's equally unpopular among fans. To be honest, I'm not a huge fan of it myself, but it's Community; I could never hate an episode. And I'm sure people did only because of the heavy religious content. So Shirley asks Abed to make a Jesus movie that's fun and hip for the kids at her church and he, of course, takes this way too far and decides to pretend to be Jesus. Yeah. Meanwhile, Pierce spends most of his time hanging out with the "hipsters"- nicknamed this because they're all so old they have hip replacements- and Jeff and Britta are his parents and outraged by this. Eventually, Abed realizes his Jesus movies sucks and Shirley hears him praying and smashes all of his cameras. And finally, Pierce gets into trouble and Jeff, his emergency contact, comes to his rescue. Meh. The tag involves Annie, Troy, and Abed dressed in the exact same outfit as Jeff and mimicking everything he says. Too funny!!

What Was Great

~ "Whoa, that's a lot of pasta for no veggies." "You're not in charge of what I eat!" "That's true. Britta!"

~ "Jeff! Britta! Pierce is smoking cigars!" Love Annie tattling like a little girl.

~ The songs that play when Abed and Shirley are on screen. "Abed, Abed, Aaaaaaaabed!" "Shiiiiirleyyyy..."

~ The Dean. Always funny.

~ "Hi, I'm Pierce Hawthorne's emergency contact." "You here to pick him up?" "No. I'm here to be removed as his emergency contact." LOL.

~ Leonard! Love him.

~ "Can you actually add Britta Perry as an emergency contact? P-E-R-R-Y. And could you give her a couple of calls a day? She gets pretty worried about him. Oh and she works days so make sure you call at night." Oh Jeffrey, you troll =P

~ The tag

What Wasn't So Great

~ The episode in general

~ Pierce's B-story

Rating

I would give this episode a seven out of ten as well. I didn't hate it like the rest of the fandom did, but it definitely wasn't my favorite episode. It had its moments though!

 

 2x06- Epidemiology

Episode Rundown- This is the the infamous zombie episode, ladies and gents! It's a Shaun of the Dead-esque episode and easily the best of the three (so far) Halloween episodes this show has done. The Dean throws a Halloween party in the library (the sign outside reading "Welcome to the Liscary!" Amazing) and buys "taco meat" from an army surplus store that is really classified phoenix. It makes those who eat it exhibit flu-like symptoms and then turn into zombies. Ahh!! In the group, Pierce is first to turn into a zombie, followed soon by Rich and Britta, then Annie, and then Shirley and Chang. Jeff, Abed, and Troy battle a crazy cat in the basement before trying to escape, but only Troy makes it out when Jeff and Abed succumb to zombiehood. Troy has to make it to the thermostat to lower the temperature of the room and kill the virus and he just barely makes it, but all is restored as the army comes in and douses them all with some chemical that makes them forget this ever happened. The end! ... Or is it? Because the tag involves Troy checking his voicemail to find a message from Chang detailing his sexual encounter with Shirley. GASP!

What Was Great

~ Everything!! Except-

What Wasn't So Great

~ Shirley and Chang. Now that's just an all-time low, guys. Ugh.

Rating

I would give this episode a ten out of ten. It's amazing. The first perfect episode of the season, but certainly not the last.

More soon!

Community Rewatch- 2x01, 2x02, & 2x03

And we're back, folks! Life got crazy, what with working overtime and celebrating my 20th birthday and all, so my Community rewatch got delayed a bit, but we are back in action, Human Beings!! So the second season is just as fabulous as the first and everything got a bit more... weird. Onward, shall we?

 

2x01- Anthropology 101

Episode Rundown- So this is the first episode of the second season and Community doesn't beat around the bush- they immediately deal with the cliffhangers and drama they left us with in the first season's finale. They come back to school and magically, everyone thinks Britta's a hero for confessing her "feelings" to Jeff and they all hate him for standing her up. So, in typical Jeff Winger maturity, he announces in front of their Anthropology class taught by the incomparable Betty White that he's "in love" with her and the two share one of the grossest kisses I have ever seen on television. They enter a game of relationship one-up-ing (go with it) and Annie squirms and squeals with jealousy the whole time.

This goes on for a while before shit hits the fan in one of the greatest shit-hitting-the-fan scenes ever. Abed, forever in a quest to make things epic, suggests that Jeff and Britta get married, so they get "engaged," to which Shirley responds, "Thank the Lord you're getting married! I was so worried about your souls after you had premarital sex on the table!!" Well thanks Shirley, but no one knew about that. Anyway, everyone gets super pissed and they all yell at each other and break up the group. In Anthropology the next day, Jeff makes a winning speech about friendship and respect and Betty White tries to strangle him. Anyway, they're all BFFs again and life goes on! Yay!!

The tag is another "Biblioteca Rap" moment, but this time it's a rap about Anthropology. It actually helped me study for my own Anthropology final this semester, I kid you not. Not quite as epic as the Biblioteca Rap, but still awesome, especially because Betty White joined them!

What Was Great

~ The beginning shot of the group in all of their bedrooms. It was so cool to see the different elements and styles of the members!

~ OldWhiteManSays. 'Nuff said.

~ Jeff and Britta's relationship game. Proof that them being together would be a disaster...

~ The shit-hitting-the-fan scene. Priceless.

~ The wedding party, George Clooney impersonator, and the wedding song: "Now she's in so deep, you know she's such a fool for him! She's got a ring around her finger! And Abed hired an Irish singer! Britta's marrying, Britta's marrying, Britta's marrying Jeffrey Winger!!"

~ The adorable tag

What Wasn't So Great

~ Chang trying to be a part of the group. Like... no.

~ That anthropology kiss. Ugh.

Rating

I would give this episode a solid seven out of ten. Some great times and a good way, if not perfect way, of kick-starting the second season!! 

 

2x02- Accounting for Lawyers

Episode Rundown- This episode guest-starred Rob Corddry and Drew Carey, so that in itself was awesome. Actually, I'll be honest- before this episode, I had no idea who Rob Corddry was. Anyway, this episode was fabulous because we got to see Jeff in his lawyer days and no, it wasn't done as some cheesy flashback. A coworker of his named Alan stops by Greendale for an NA meeting and invites Jeff- and Annie's boobs and no, I'm not talking about the monkey- to a little lawyer party they're throwing and because he misses it so much, Jeff decides to go, blowing off the Pop-And-Lock-athon the group has entered as the Heather Pop-and-Locklears. Clever, friends.

Anyway, Annie used to be addicted to pills, so she knows Alan from the NA meetings and knows that he's the one who turned Jeff in and got him fired. So the group heads to the party for proof and while Britta, Shirley, and Pierce embarrass themselves- and Jeff- in front of Jeff's old coworkers, Annie, Abed, and Troy find proof that Alan screwed Jeff over in one of the most amazing scenes ever. Anyway, they tell Jeff, he appears not to care, they head back to the Pop-and-Lock-athon and eventually, Jeff does too, because he now has leverage over that bastard-ass. They end up losing the contest because they're hugging on the dancefloor. No, really.

The tag is hilarious- Troy passes by a cartoon painting of Abed in a tunnel and believes it to be real, especially since Abed is telling him all the magical things that can happen in cartoonland and saying, "You have to believe Troy!" Just when it looks as though Troy's going to run head first into the wall, Abed pops out and tells him it's fake, Troy looks extremely disappointed, and Abed says, "I may have done some damage there." Hysterical.

What Was Great

~ The Dean's German outfit. Love his costumes!

~ "This is all I need..." "Excuse me, sir? You're all my friend needs!"

~ Hat club!

~ Alan was awesome. Odd, but hilarious.

~ The chloroform scene. 'Nuff said.

~ "Shirley, don't sue a stripper." "Why not?" "She's a stripper! Life sued her and she lost."

~ Jeff and Abed's "puppet" dance. So cute.

~ The endlessly hilarious tag.

What Wasn't So Great

~ TOO MUCH CHANG. BLEGH.

~ That guy with the whole in his hand. Ew.

Rating

I would give this episode a nine out of ten!! It was so, so funny and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

2x03- The Psychology of Letting Go

Episode Rundown- This episode was.. eh. The A-story was all centered around Pierce and how he dealt with the death of his mother and the B-story focused on Annie and Britta raising money for the oil spill, which now feels like such old news, doesn't it? Anyway, Pierce's "religion" explains that when a person dies, their body or soul or something is vaporized and enters a lava lamp? I don't know, I was kind of unclear on that whole thing, but everyone this is, obviously, ridiculous. No one, however, as much as Jeff, who finds out he has high cholesterol in this episode and now wants to destroy everything Pierce loves. Eventually, he decides to bring Pierce- and Troy, randomly- to the county morgue to see his mother's body, but then Pierce finds a CD his mother recorded for him talking about the meaning of life and Jeff eventually realizes that no one lives forever, so you might as well make the most out of the time you're here.

Annie and Britta decide to raise money for the oil spill and completely leave out Shirley, who doesn't fail to notice this and makes hinting comments on it the entire episode. Anyway, they make a giant diorama, but their ways of going about getting the money are completely different- Britta rants, raves and shouts at the people passing by and Annie more or less tries to sell herself for the money. They have this HUGE and hilarious argument about their ways and the next day the fight turns physical. Annie bumps into the diorama, they get oil all over themselves, and wrestle in it. I see what you did there, Dan Harmon. Anyway, they make up and everyone's happy. Especially Duncan, who takes a photo with the slimy girls. Blegh...

The tag was as "meh" as the episode. It was Betty White explaining Inception to two Africans. At least I think they're Africans...

What Was Great

~ The cold open was pretty awesome. Troy crying is always funny.

~ Abed delivering a baby in the background

~ Annie and Britta's argument and then Shirley's comment "Yeah you're both sooooo different. Skinny bitches."

~ Britta's priceless impression of Annie

~Jeff: "Wow. You're both real downers. I can't believe I made out with both of you. Ugh."

~ Duncan. Too funny.

What Wasn't So Great

~ Chang. Any amount of Chang sucks.

~ Pierce. He was so annoying!

~ The tag

~ The episode in general

Rating

I would give this episode a six out of ten. The B-story definitely saved it, but any episode based around Pierce or Chang is never going to be one of my favs, sorry.

Okay, there's a start! We'll continue soon!!

How I Met Your Mother Gets Real

Hello friends! Taking a mini-break from my Community rewatch, I found out that I've had this blog about a month and still haven't ranted about How I Met Your Mother. Ridiculous. I guess part of the reason is because usually, the show is so perfect, there's nothing to rant about. Sure, there's the occasional annoyance- that annoying Zoe girl Ted dated, the way Barney treats the group sometimes, Robin's (almost) entire dating history- but then something amazing happens and I always forget about the bad stuff.

Except for this- for a comedy, How I Met Your Mother knows how to do tragedy really well. There are five situations that have happened over the course of the show's run that have either made me really, really sad or have actually made me cry. Now it's not that easy to make me cry in real life, but at television shows? Forget about it. You wanna make me cry? Make me sit through the series finale of Lost or the way-too-long-but-always-worth-the-watch tearjerker Titanic. Yeah. Those'll both do it, that's for sure. So yeah. The point of this post is talk about those five instances that had me reaching for my box of tissues, because even though How I Met Your Mother is a comedy and is always on top of their game in that area, sometimes things get a little real.

Marshall and Lily break up

How could anyone not have been upset by this? I mean, I know it looks like he's smiling in that picture, but he's doing it quite ironically, kind of like, "Hey, just sitting in the rain because all of my hopes and dreams just went down the crapper. And how was your day, Ted?" I can totally see where Lily's coming from, don't get me wrong- she was about to be tied down for the rest of her life and she needed to have one last hurrah to see if she really could have made it as an artist. But... did you need to break Marshall's heart in the process? She is the only one he's ever done anything with- dated, had sex, loved. These two are the epitome of meant to be, so when they broke up, it was absolutely heartwrenching.

The thing about Marshall and Lily, though, is that even though they broke up, I knew for a fact they'd get back together, because unlike the other three members of their MacLaren's group, they're usually drama-free... relationship-wise. It's refreshing to see a couple on TV that doesn't have to go through trials and tribulations to be with each other. Marshall and Lily are just happy. They're weird, sure, but that's what makes them work. It's why I was so shocked to see them split, because even their toughest arguments have seen a quick resolution. So, although this isn't the saddest moment I've chosen, it's probably the most shocking.

Ted gets left at the altar

I couldn't find the picture I wanted, even though I've seen a thousand gifs of it all over the internet. It's the one where Ted is all dressed in his tux, all excited about the wedding, and then he starts reading the note Stella's left him and gets instantly depressed. Instead, I'm using this picture, which is when he proposed to her. Both moments are equally depressing because I always hated this bitch. I hate her, I hate that she lives in New Jersey, I hate her stupid karate chopping ex-husband, I even hate her daughter Lucy, though I'm not really sure why.

So let's take a moment to talk about this bitch- she fancies herself a doctor, but she's a dermatologist. I'm not saying that doesn't require a medical degree, but it's not like if you're in labor or if you're having a heart attack she's going to be of much assistance. Plus, she removes tattoos in her free time. Strike one. Second, she's been married before, which is a ton of baggage, if you ask me, and lives in a little shithole house in New Jersey. Strike two. And third, she leaves caring, hilarious, magnificent Ted for her Italian kickboxer ex-husband, who she obviously had issues with before or they'd still be married. Strike three, you're outta here, Stella.


I don't know, maybe I'm being a little harsh. I just can't see why, seven seasons later, Ted's still having issues finding a proper mother for David Henrie and that random brunette girl. Ted Mosby is a cute, funny, and great guy and so I'm not really sure why he's having so much trouble. The fact that he got left at the altar didn't make me sad as much as it made me angry, because Stella's no picnic so she's glad Ted even wanted to marry her, you know? Count your blessings, babe. He could have anyone he wanted. And yet, she ended up doing the Mexican Hat Dance on his heart, which left Ted depressed and Britni a not-so-happy camper. Enough said on this before I get angry again ;)

Barney learns about his biological father's new family

So I'm no therapist nor am I an expert on Daddy Issues, but it seems to be a recurring theme on television. And yet, How I Met Your Mother managed to make theirs semi-unique and still equally saddening. Barney grew up thinking his father was Bob Barker of The Price is Right, which was funny, until one fateful trip to the Natural History Museum in which he learns that his "Uncle Jerry" is actually his father. After an entire year of pondering this he goes to meet his father and instead comes upon this picturesque neighborhood and his father's house, which is the epitome of family home- two-car garage, a porch, a basketball hoop over the driveway. Barney was most likely thinking, as I was, "What the hell...?"

I expected the reason Barney's father Jerry wasn't around when he was growing up was because he was a no-good piece of shit. However, the fancy house and the family dinner they sit down to later, with Jerry introducing his wife, his daughter Carly and his son Jerome Jr., a.k.a his new family, say otherwise. It's more than Barney can take and I was just as angry and upset (told you I get too involved in TV) as he was while I was watching it. But the most heartbreaking part was the very end, with Barney standing on top of their family car and trying to wrench the basketball hoop from the garage door, saying, "If you were going to be some lame suburban dad, why you couldn't you have been that for me?"

That line absolutely killed me. =(

Marshall's father dies

It's not even the fact that his father is dead, although that part caught up to me later. It's the way he finds out, especially after being so thrilled to find he wasn't sterile and didn't have any fertility issues. He's thrilled to find this out, he's having a great day, when all of a sudden Lily pulls up in a cab looking like she has some awful news. And she does- the first thing she says is, "Marshall, something's happened. Your father had a heart attack. He didn't make it." And then he asks, incredulously, for her to clarify if his father's dead, and she nods, and they cry and hug and Marshall says, "I'm not ready for this!"

Because... how can you be? Whether you're five or ninety-five, no one is ever prepared to lose a parent. And I cried along with them and long into the ending credits, after the episode was over, because even though I've been fortunate enough to not have lost either of my parents and even though these two are actors... I felt the pain. I felt the incredible shock and loss Marshall felt because Jason Segel acted it really, really well. So... you killed me, How I Met Your Mother. You really killed me with this episode and I don't have anything else to say. Congratulations, you've done the impossible: you've rendered me speechless.

Robin discovers she can't have children

 

Now this... This is something I wasn't expecting. I'm not going to lie, I cringed when How I Met Your Mother did the whole "We slept together, we both regretted it, oops I'm pregnant!" cliche. But they way they solved it was absolutely depressing and shit got real, guys. So, Robin, while dating Kevin, and Barney, while dating Nora, sleep together and then decide not to get back together, even though Barney dumped Nora for the latter. Weeks later, she tells Barney she's pregnant and Britni cringes. Then, when they go to the doctor, they find out she's actually not pregnant and everyone, including Britni, is happy. Then, the bomb drops- not only is Robin not pregnant, but she cannot have children. Ever.

So the shot of random brunette number 2 and mini-Barney in a tux? Imaginary children that don't, and will never, exist. And at first I wasn't that saddened by it, because Robin's always been very upfront about not wanting marriage and not wanting children. But then she sits on a cold bench in the snow and thinks about her life as her voiceover talks to her faux children and drops the bombshell: "I'm so glad you're not real." She says it but doesn't mean it, because why else, when she returns to her apartment, would she be sobbing like a complete basket case? And later, in the New Year's episode, she tells a drunken Sandy Rivers that she's "so done" with 2011 and "had to let go of dreams she never knew she had". Make me cry again, why don't you?

So How I Met Your Mother is a brilliant comedy, but watch out. Shit gets real sometimes and when it does, the writers do it just as brilliantly. Keep a cautious eye on the storyline. Otherwise, you'll find yourselves grabbing for those tissues just like I did.