Community: Virtual Systems Analysis

What Happened, Yo!:

-The gang is cramming for a biology final when Dean Pelton announces that Professor Kane is sick and the exam is delayed to tomorrow. Jeff suggests a three-hour lunch, where Troy and Abed plan to play Inspector Spacetime, but Annie manipulates things and gets Britta and Troy to go to lunch together, offering to play with Abed in Troy's absence. Abed goes along with it, but isn't happy about it. During the game of Inspector Spacetime, Abed gets frustrated with Annie and stops it. She asks if he's upset because she tried to get Britta and Troy together, and Abed tells her that she's messing with the fabric of the group. He reveals that he uses the Dreamatorium to run simulations on the group in various scenarios and believes he can predict everything. He also shows her the control room of the Dreamatorium, which has the box of all his memories and things on the top and a box about the others on the side. Despite a warning from Troy not to break Abed, Annie switches the boxes in an effort to teach Abed empathy, which breaks Abed.

-Abed gets up acting like Jeff, and begins running a romantic hospital simulation (Annie had previously asked Abed if they could play something she knows like hospital administration). Annie wants to find Abed, but Jeffbed (That'll be my term for Abed being Jeff) pulls her through the simulation, having her run into his versions of the other study group members while she searches for the Abed file. Eventually Jeffbed takes her to the night they kissed in Pascal's Triangle Revisited, and insists that she wanted to get Troy and Britta together so that Jeff and her could be together, which is also why she needed Abed out of the way. Annie won't give into Jeffbed, saying that the real Jeff liked Abed and wouldn't be so cruel. Jeffbed pulls the file on Abed, which repeats some harsh statements that Annie had said about him earlier. Annie gets upset by this and ends the simulation when she walks into a wall trying to leave the room.

-Wanting time alone, Abed becomes Annie and asks why she ruined their moment with Jeff. Annie talks about a need to fix Jeff and also about running scenarios, which makes Abennie (Abed being Annie) to warn her that she's starting to sound like Abed. This makes Annie start copying things Abed does until she becomes Abed, and is arrested for the crime of being Abed and thrown into a metaphorical locker with the real Abed. Abed confesses that he's afraid that eventually the group will tire of him and in all the scenarios he's run, he doesn't wind up happy. Annie tells Abed that his scenarios are just really good science fiction and life can't be run by a script, which is something they both try to do sometimes. This convinces Abed and things go back to normal (At least they do after Annie finishes the Inspector Spacetime simulation). Abed reveals that he's learned empathy and they go back to the group, where everyone's had a good lunch break, causing Jeff to remark that Greendale's long, dark night may finally be over.

 I Liked This: Virtual Systems Analysis wasn't the funniest episode of Community. It's not that a lot of the jokes didn't land (pretty much all the jokes were funny, actually), it's that the amount of jokes were limited tonight in favor of a in-depth examination of Abed and Annie. And that's not a bad thing. In fact, Virtual Systems Analysis will probably wind up a season 3 fave of mine by the time the season ends. Because of his nature alone, Abed is easily the most complex character on the show, which is why looks into what makes him tick are so special. And to show this through the confines of the Dreamatorium, which finally gets the spotlight it's needed since it's introduction just adds another level of awesomeness to this. Annie also gets a much-needed spotlight as she tries to get Abed back to normal, and comes to realize just how similar the two of them really are. I enjoyed how much she winds up buying into the Dreamatorium to the point that she walks into a wall because she forgets it's there. I also liked the flashback of sorts to the Jeff/Annie kiss scene at the end of season 1, now with the added comedy of Leonard apparently watching from the bushes. And the scene where Annie confronts Abed in the metaphorical locker of his mind was powerful and funny. And while this episode was joke-light, like I said before, all the jokes were great, from the manager at Senor Kevin's who hates Die Hard to Troybed (Abed being Troy) spilling out all his secrets to the Dean finally thinking he's gone to far with his latest outfit (his breakdown was probably the funniest moment of the night for me.). And Annie's awful Cockney accent was great too.

But...: No major issues with Virtual Systems Analysis.

The Bottom Line: Virtual Systems Analysis was a fantastic conceptual episode that showed us great insight into Abed and Annie, and gave us a lot more of the Dreamatorium. Keep it up, Community.

Grade: 90% (Almost Perfect)

Memorable Moments

-Pierce's pneumonic device: Kevin, Please Come Over For Gay Sex.

-Dean: "Can I be perfectly honest with you guys? I think I went too far with this one (His DualiDean of Man costume). I have to go.. to the bank today. What am I supposed to tell people in line? I had good news and bad news? C'mon Craig. Get your life together."

-Abed: "It's Blorgons with an 'R'. Blogon means 'thank you' in Blorgon".

-Dream Troy or Troybed gets injected with truth serum: "I saw Abed's name in the hospital files. I love butt stuff. I hate spiders. I stole a pen from the back. I cried during About A Boy... The Soundtrack. I don't wash my hands before a surgery. I can see why women find Clive Owen attractive to the point where 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 pyjamas than lingerie. I just wanna know they feel comfortable. I didn't get Inception! I didn't get Inception! Ooh! It's so many layers!"

-Dream Pierce: "Can I just interject and say I don't know what the hell's going on?"

-Dean: "The people at the bank LOVED my outfit and they had all kinds of questions about it and my answers seemed to amuse and, and even liberate them a little. A few of us went to lunch and I had the deepest conversation of my life. I gotta go. I've been telling everybody."

-The Troy and Abed in the morning theme has been a bit overused this season, but it didn't make me any less excited when an actual Troy and Abed in the Morning popped up tonight, complete with Annie breaking Abed again, causing Troy to need to hold up a technical difficulties sign, while humming Daybreak.