5 Awesome Things from Community ‘Virtual Systems Analysis’

This season of Community has been incredibly consistent focusing on central themes in the character development and dynamics of the study group creating a streamlined  season even as the style and modes each episode takes differ so drastically week to week.

“Virtual Systems Analysis” dug deep into some dark psychological territory for both Annie and Abed as they used the powers of the Dreamatorium to confront their issues.  It was lighter on the laughs than most but an exceptionally satisfying piece of character driven television with of course, an absolutely insane twist that only Community could pull off.

Here are my top 5 awesome things from this week’s Community:

1) Inside Abed’s Mind: Revelation & Empathy Acquisition.  Abed will always be crazy weird guy but in this episode Annie helps him realize that he has people who care about him, and won’t abandon him, he’s not as different as he thinks. Community encourages character development as long as it is in tiny baby steps. Abed is a delicate flower, and at his most fragile state inside the Dreamatorium, a world that he is in control of.  In a wonderful fantastic journey, it takes Annie breaking into the Dreamatorium and figuring out how to see things through Abed’s eyes to communicate with him on his own terms in order to introduce him to a concept like empathy. Through Abed’s simulation Annie was able to discover the vulnerable side of Abed and help him begin to work through his issues.

Since Abed’s falling out with Troy which was primarily based on his lack of empathy, and his entry into the Darkest Timeline, Abed has been even more acutely aware of his strangeness  his “outsider” status.  It was these recent wounds that made Abed’s pain in this episode, particularly the beautiful scene with Annie inside the locker (inside the Dreamatorium) particularly effective.

In “Virtual Systems Analysis”, Annie helped him realize that his running scenarios inside the Dreamatorium are very similar to the way Annie’s obsessive nature dictates her need to be in control. In the absolutely beautiful, heartbreaking scene in the locker Annie uses science fiction and pop culture to explain to Abed  that the scenarios he runs are just anxieties and don’t dictate what will actually happen. He might be different but his anxieties and fears are the same as so many people. Together they realize that they need to relax a little bit, relinquish some control and start “winging it” a little.

2) Annie’s Revelation. Abed is incredibly perceptive so his interpretation of what Annie wants through the lens of pop culture was really spectacular. It was a mishmash of Grey’s Anatomy and various romantic comedies where she and Jeff were meant to be.

As much as this episode was about Abed’s psychology it was also about Annie’s. Her obsessive control freak nature is more similar to Abed’s than either of them had realized. The scenario that Abed created allowed Annie to be with Jeff  not only helped her admit to that her need to control everything was out of hand, but also that her need to be loved and desired was fueling the strange flirting situation with Jeff that has been going on since day one. She doesn’t really want Jeff; she just needs to run the same situation on repeat to keep herself safe from uncertainty.

3) The List of Things that Troy Confesses. In an episode that dove into some pretty heavy territory Abed-as-Troy’s meltdown in the hospital was a chuckle and a half. Troy’s strange thoughts, fears and breakdowns are always hilarious and Abed knows him well enough to get it spot on.

“I saw Abed’s name in the hospital school files, I love butt stuff, I hate spiders, I stole a pen from the bank, I cried during About a Boy the soundtrack, I don’t wash my hands before surgery, I can see why women find Clive Owen attractive to the point that I might just as well be attracted to him, I use comparisons to Hitler to win arguments on the internet at the drop of a hat, I know nothing about wine, I’m more turned on by women in pajamas than lingerie I just want to know they feel comfortable, I didn’t get Inception…*cries*..I didn’t get Inception..”

4) The Editing & Effects. A half-hour comedy like Community isn’t usually known for its special effects, though they were essential to making “Virtual Systems Analysis” successful. The green grid pattern echoing the design of the Dreamatorium worked beautifully as a transition between virtual playgrounds and indicating movement between the characters and the characters they were acting as. “Virtual Systems Analysis” just might be the craziest, most ambitious episode of Community to date, and the seamless editing and effects added the perfect punctuation to an excellent episode.

5) Troy and Britta. This is a romantic paring that has been lightly teased at since the first season and as recently as last week’s outing “Origins of Vampire Mythology” where Troy comes to the rescue with a sweet text message for Britta freeing her from Blade’s sway. This season has been excellent about picking up loose ends and following through with small character moments at an almost surprisingly rapid pace.

We only got a tiny bit of their lunch, which of course Troy interrupts to check on Abed, and the exchange of smiles across the table at the end of the episode, but it was an effective way to show the pair slowly gravitating towards each other in a potentially coupley way without resorting to any big romantic moments or revelations.

Chang Watch 2012: Minimal and appropriate usage. Plus Abed can only get a half-accurate Chang most of the time.

Runners Up (a.k.a Bonus  Awesome): The Dean “Did I go too far, pull your life together Craig” Pelton, the joy of spiral ramps, Dinosaurs vs. Riverboat Gamblers, , Alison Brie is killing it with her reaction shots, Annie broke Abed…twice, the running Die Hard joke and all the Inspector Spacetime. 

“…and damn our two foot height disparity”

“Star Wars, Cougar Town, Pop Culture, Pop Culture, I’m on a TV show, Cool Cool Cool, Meta Meta”

“I now have the ability to enter the minds of others”

“I don’t usually support lunch because it’s unfair to breakfast”

What were your favourite moments of “Virtual Systems Analysis”? Let me know what you thought of the episode in the comments!