Wanna know the secret to happiness? Watch the final episode of Community's fourth season, then watch the first episode of Community's fifth season. Right from the first few seconds, you can sense something different. The writing is sharper, the show regained its energy and its heart. Dan Harmon returns for the show's fifth season and not only blows Season 4 out of the water, but he manages to recaptured what makes the show great, resulting in one of its strongest seasons.
Community's fifth season gets off to a surprisingly dark start, with most of the cast having to return to Greendale after their lives fall apart once again. It's a pretty grim season premiere, but I think the writers executed it incredibly well. Not only does the episode still manage to be funny, but I actually feel like I care about these characters again. Soon after the premiere, Pierce dies and Troy leaves, and the story shifts to being about the remaining members of the study group forming a "Save Greendale Committee" to improve the school. These departures were executed pretty much perfectly, especially Troy's. The show spends time to mourn the fact that we're not going to see these characters before, but once again, it still remains funny and entertaining. It's the blend of drama and comedic writing that makes the first few episodes of Community's fifth season an absolute powerhouse, and coming off the heels of Season 4, that felt amazing. Despite Troy and Pierce leaving, however, we do get a new character in the form of Buzz Hickey, as played by Jonathan Banks. I quite like Hickey, he's basically what you'd get if you put a Breaking Bad character in a sitcom and he plays off the other characters incredibly well.
However, once Troy leaves, I will say that the quality of the season does dip a little bit. It's not that these episodes are bad, but given how phenomenal that first third was, it's incredibly difficult to maintain such a high level of quality (There's a reason Season 3 is my only 6/5). Thankfully, there is a lot to love after Troy and Pierce leave the show. The writing is still pretty phenomenal, constantly throwing out jokes that manage to land every single time. And as you'd come to expect from the series, Community's episode premises are incredibly inventive and unique, especially now that this season focuses on parodying some less well-known movies like Zodiac, Logan's Run, and Waterworld. There's even an animated episode parodying 80s cartoons like GI Joe, and its commentary on their cheesiness is absolutely on-point. I do feel like this season is a bit mean-spirited at times (the final scene is just a Take That! towards NBC), but given that it results in some of the funniest jokes in the show, it's hard for me to truly get mad. It's also a genuine shame that the season had to be shorter, since that means less episodes, though that's once again not entirely a bad thing.
Most of the episodes are solid at the very least, but these are the highlights:
Basic Intergluteal Numismatics: It would be hard to follow up an episode as amazing as Basic Lupine Urology, but this one did a pretty good job at it. The premise of the Ass Crack Bandit is funny on its own, but I love the fact that it's played so seriously. And just like Starburns' death, Pierce's death was a shocking end to the episode, albeit a bit more predictable if you knew Chevy Chase was leaving ahead of time.
Cooperative Polygraphy: Easily my favorite bottle episode of the series, I love that Pierce's final episode has him causing fights within the group one last time, and the polygraph test was a perfect way for him to do that. I also think this episode's slow devolving into chaos was done far better than in Cooperative Calligraphy, and the final scene where Troy decides that he wants to leave is yet another big punch in the gut.
Geothermal Escapism: While this season didn't have a paintball episode, Troy's final outing gave us a Waterworld parody that was way more fun than it had any right to be. "Don't Touch The Lava" is a fun game on its own, but watching Greendale take it to its absolute limit with crazy action setpieces, massive battles, and emotional finales made it so much more entertaining. And Troy's goodbye is easily one of the show's best moments.
App Development And Condiments: This is easily one of the most creative episodes of television I've ever seen (and I know I've said that a lot in these reviews). In a single thirty-minute episode, the writers behind Community managed to create a compelling and easy to understand dystopian society with MeowMeowBeenz, and watching it slowly evolve over time is fascinating. This isn't one of the funnier episodes, but it manages to be genuinely compelling from start to finish.
Advanced Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: While not as good as the first D&D episode, I still really liked this one. It has a stronger emotional hook as Hickey tries to reconnect with his son, and the concept of splitting up the group by putting them in separate rooms of the house is both clever and hilarious.
Basic Sandwich: Given how Community was in danger of being canceled here, I love the constant jabs at NBC's expense. However, it also means that, for a finale, there wasn't nearly as much heart as there should have been. Still, this was an incredibly entertaining and fun treasure hunt to cap off the season.
Overall, Season 5 is an incredibly comeback for Community, with an emotional beginning and some of the funniest parodies in the show. It's not a perfect season and it does feel like the magic of the first three is lost a bit, but it's still an incredible time.
4.5/5 Stars
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