It’s Time to Return to Greendale COMMUNITY College!

First things first, how good does it feel to have Community back for a third season? It’s like a hole in my heart has been filled. Like the study group’s table, there’s something magical about this warped little comedy that could. What sets it apart is its seemingly endless ability to fill Greendale with the most bizarre scenarios, but retain the complex and very real emotions of the characters within those scenarios. That’s an amazing feat.

“Biology 101” flies right in to a musical daydream of Jeff’s, and believe it or not, besides just being a fun way for the show to poke fun at itself (“We’re going to have more fun and be less weird than the first two years combined!” sings the cast), the song is an important look at Jeff’s current attitude towards the study group. When Season 2 ended, Pierce had left despite the group’s decision to let him stay. As Jeff and the rest sing in the daydream, you realize the song is actually about Pierce. Everything’s going to be fine, and they’re all going to be happy…now that Pierce is gone. Dean Pelton and Chang show up in the dream, but not Pierce. He has no place in Jeff’s happy little world anymore.

Right from the get go you can tell this episode will be highly Jeff-centric. In the past, the show has played around with the idea that Jeff could very well become like Pierce when he’s older. This notion terrifies him and likely fuels the aggression he feels toward Pierce. Pierce is a constant reminder of everything Jeff’s afraid of becoming. And for a short time, Jeff does become Pierce when he is kicked out of Biology by their new teacher (who I will talk about in a little bit) and Pierce takes his place in the study group. Almost immediately Jeff starts exhibiting Pierce-like behavior; grumbling about being excluded, random aggression, accidental racism. This is probably the lowest we’ve ever seen Jeff, and he’s gotten here because of his dependency on the group, something that creator Dan Harmon has said will be explored more as the season progresses.

One of my favorite sequences in the episode involved Jeff chasing Chang into a ventilation shaft (where Chang now lives, apparently) just as sleeping gas is pumped through it. What results is the best homage Community has ever done (in my opinion). We get a shot for shot remake of the final scene of 2001: A Space Odyssey, and I was beside myself. It’s such an iconic scene, and here it is being perfectly recreated with Jeff as Bowman, Pierce as old Bowman, and the study table as the Monolith. Brilliant and hilarious.

Now, as for the new characters introduced, we have The Wire’s Michael K. Williams as the new Biology teacher and John Goodman as Vice Dean Laybourne. Out of the two, Goodman made the better impression. He definitely has fun with the role and makes a for menacing villain, complete with intense monologues. Williams, on the other hand, is harder to gauge. His character was designed to be a the only normal person surrounded by a bunch of weirdos. It’s an easy joke, and I’m not sure if Williams sells it well enough. He’s almost serious to the point of exaggeration, in which case he’s not the “real” character he was intended to be. However, without him Jeff wouldn’t have gone through his amazing journey (which ends with a nice moment between him and Pierce).

As far as Season premieres go, Community outdid itself. The laughs were all there. and as always things ran a little deeper than you’d expect from a sitcom. There’s a lot I didn’t talk about (mostly involving Abed and his love for Courgar Town and a Doctor Who parody), but I don’t want to ruin everything, right? Go see it for yourself if you haven’t already, and if you have…go watch it again! This is going to be a good year for Greendale. I can feel it.

Quotes:

“Don’t tell the monkey I’m living here.”

“You are the opposite of Batman.”

“I guess they share one important feature in your eyes.”

“Pierce isn’t crazy. The table. Is. Magic.”

“So this is the year we all die.”