Season Analysis: Community Season 4 was not as good as Seasons 1-3, but those years set a mighty high standard, and subpar Community is still among the best sitcoms on television right now. The What of Season 4 was not really problematic. The major developments of the year – Jeff met his dad, Britta and Troy dated and then broke up, Abed learned how to deal with change, Annie switched majors, Chang faked amnesia then ultimately chose Greendale, Jeff graduated (and so did Pierce) – were hardly reprehensible, though it would have been nice if there had been more development. The How of Season 4 was where the problems lay: the editing was off, both within episodes and over the course of the season. Jokes did not quite land the way they should have, plots were left dangling, and the season was ultimately not more than the sum of its parts. On a somewhat positive note, what some saw as rampant fanservice was more likely a conscious effort to present and analyze the history of the group, in line with the tradition of the year’s class providing the overall theme of the season. That is a tricky difference to pull off, and it was not pulled off perfectly or consistently, but it did provide enough moments to make the season overall worthwhile.
“Intro to Felt Surrogacy”
If I were picking the least bad episode of Community Season 4, I would go with something safer and less divisive like “Herstory of Dance” or “Basic Human Anatomy.” But I am picking the BEST, not the least bad, so my choice is what had the most good, even if it did have some problems. First off, the homage nature of this episode: some held up “Felt Surrogacy” as an example for why Community should restrain itself from further theme episodes by contending that it did not fully commit to its homage, a contention that I find bizarre. Like a Muppet movie, it had a sense of adventure competing with a whole heaping of melancholy. Accordingly, the songs were catchy, bouncy, and just a bit dark. As for the confessions, here is where the strong reactions were provoked from viewers, and where the risk-taking that won me over made itself known. These secrets were not symptoms of inconsistent characterization or character regression, but illustrations of the fact that though these people have changed, they are still broken, and they constantly struggle with regret, even if they don’t always show it. Some of the confessions cried out for further resolution that never came, but that is more a fault of the season overall than of this particular episode. I can see legitimate criticisms being made against “Intro to Felt Surrogacy,” but you can’t say it didn’t try. Oh Lord no, you cannot say it didn’t try.
Honorable Mentions: “Herstory of Dance” demonstrated that Community could still cleverly point out and illustrate the tropes of fiction in the everyday, while “Basic Human Anatomy” was good old-fashioned impressionistic fun with an emotional wallop.
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