Their goal: to have Greendale students shoot destroy their school. As expected, it was city college and its evil Dean, Spreck, behind the ice cream company that sponsored the tournament.And while Community is better at this than most half-hour comedies, moments like that hurt that dynamic. I’m no ‘shipper, but I like my characters’ relationships to mean something, even in the midst of hilarity. Sure, you can’t say Danny Pudi as Abed as Han Solo was not hilarious this week, but a shared kiss with Annie meant nothing this week, much as Troy’s kiss with Britta a few weeks back meant nothing as well. As a product, some of that ambition served as brilliant, brilliant diversions. Outside of Pierce’s descent into villainy, most of this year’s character stories were one-episode investments, not season-long explorations like Jeff’s acceptance of the group last year or Abed’s inability to connect with everyone else (which continued statically this season) that took place last year. Being someone who got into television last decade, I really admire serial elements of a show. It takes time in each episode to set up new worlds. My conclusion: With all the ambition, the show could only invest in the characters so much.
