Community - "Origins of Vampire Mythology"

Season 3, Episode 15

“We don’t have to go to anyone.”

After a heavy two-parter, as well as a way-too-weird episode, in many ways it feels comforting to have Community return to doing a “normal” episode, to get away from the gimmicks and focus on the characters. While I realize that saying that makes me sound like so many season two naysayers, but given the strong character focus that’s been a significant part of season three’s makeup, it feels like maybe these past few episodes have been lacking for losing that focus. (Except “Urban Matrimony and the Sandwich Arts”, that one was awesome.) On that level, “Origins of Vampire Mythology” works, and works well.

As Jeff lays out in the standard closing-of-the-episode speech (which perhaps wasn’t among the strongest that the show’s ever done, but whatever), this is an episode all about shame, or at least how out inherent need to be liked and respected by those around us drives out actions, sometime to self-destructive ends. It’s admittedly a weird lesson for a show that centers on a bunch of social misfits whose company tends to cause them to revel in their misfit-y nature, but I think it’s one that works.

The main reasons it works that this is a Britta-centric episode, and such episodes have always been good for the show since they finally figured out her character back in season one’s “The Science of Illusion”. Yes, Britta’s the worst, and the show gets a lot of mileage mining laughs out of that, so it sort of becomes hard to look over just how tragic a figure she is. Arguably Pierce is the most tragic member of the group, given what we know about his childhood and his relationship with his father, but since it’s so easy to hate the character, the tragedy hit harder with Britta, who’s the most tragic sympathetic character in the group.* When the show decides to explore that on a serious level, that’s when things start to get really good, even if the show sort of looses the comedy.**

Granted, making Britta the sort of girl who only seems attracted to guys who are aloof or just outright contemptuous of her isn’t the most original idea, but it’s certainly one that work with Britta’s character, and help explains why she and Jeff repeatedly hook up. (As well as why she hooked up with Luka in season two, and why her relationship with Vaughn was so doomed in season one.) It helps however that Britta is aware of this particular shortcoming of hers – at least in regards to Blade, though it’s possible she’s completely aware of her dating trend by the end of the episode – as it helps her to become less of a victim of society and more proactive in changing her destructive ways.

And then there is the way that her dating life ends up sucking in everybody else in group, to the extent that they were all in some way or another invested in the fate of Britta and Blade that night. (Again, there’s an exception with Pierce, but we’ll get to that. Also, Abed doesn’t count, but Abed never counts in these sorts of matters. Oh, you know what I mean.) The most powerful of these would probably be Annie and Britta’s interactions within Troy and Abed’s apartment. (Interesting how that’s been the domicile that provides the most story opportunities.) Annie is taken in by Brita’s talk of sisterhood, and deeply wants to trust her friend, which causes all sorts of problems when Britta uses that to her advantage. However, there’s also a connection that not even Britta knows to exploit, because Annie looks up to her not only as an older, experienced woman, but also as woman who knows how to get with emotionally unavailable men. In Annie’s case, that means hope for her and Jeff.

Speaking of Jeff, he spends most of the episode at the Carnival where Blade works, trying to discover just why it is that such social outcast has so much sway over people. I wasn’t as wild about this section of the episode, because while it’s always good to see Jeff and Shirley together, this was more about Jeff’s insane jealousy/begrudging respect for Blade, a man who is able to get women with a much smaller amount of effort than he is, and that sort of relegated her to sidelines. Additionally, while I think it was the logical move to have Jeff’s jealousy not be centered on any sort of feelings that he had for Britta, it’s also one that sucked the impact out of the proceedings by making the whole thing seem overly cold and calculating on Jeff’s part

Finally, back at the apartment, we have Troy’s own effort in helping to keep Britta away from Slade, which involves a supposedly nice text message sent under the guise of Blade that immediately ends her fascination with the carnie. The show was smart to not show the text message, as it allows out brain to fill in the gaps by playing off of what we know about Troy and Britta’s mutual attraction. Yet while this allows me to imagine that that was the sweetest message ever, I’m not sure I really buy that Britta would come around to appreciating what Troy said as quickly as she did, since supposedly open and honest communication is a turnoff for her. Sure she can appreciate the gesture and come to appreciate Troy’s romantic potential on that level, but I would have to assume that she would still feel a little distance from him because of the context of the message. That being said, seeing them eyeing each other they way that they did was really sweet, and I hope the show returns to this thread some more this season.

These apartment scenes were heightened by the presence of the Dean, who was there to help convince Troy to join the A/C Repair School, though the show sort of lost this thread about halfway through. (It also didn’t help that John Goodman’s scene in this episode was so brief.) Still, the Dean commenting on all that was happening within the apartment was great fun, and it, along with Jeff, Shirley and Pierce stopping by at the end of the episode, all helped to make for a very cohesive whole of an episode. That the bonds of friendships bring these characters together perhaps undermines Jeff’s little speech about the power of not having shame, but who knows? The show seems to revel in the idea, and if it allows for Troy and Britta to get together, and for Annie to stop lusting after Jeff and become a more mature woman, wouldn’t it all be worth it?

*I suppose one could argue that Chang could fit between Pierce and Britta in the overall tragic scale, but tragic nature is something that hard to determine in a character who cuckoo pants, so this probably isn’t the time to get into that.

**For the umpteenth time, a sitcom doesn’t always have to be funny to be good, and sometimes getting serious in an earned sort of way makes an episode even better.

Next Week: Are you ready to enter the Dreamatorium? 

Quotes and Other Thoughts:

Right, so about that Pierce and Chang runner: I have assume that the joke was in sticking together the two most maligned characters, not just within the show, but also by the show’s audience. And yet given the ugliness that has broken out between Chevy Chase and Dan Harmon over the past few weeks (if you missed it, here’s a pretty good overview of how it started here, plus Harmon’s response, and yet another leaked voicemail message from Chase), it’s hard not to see it as another ugly commentary on the contentious behind-the-scenes events. (It also doesn’t help that I’m not entirely sure what Pierce was referring to when he said he was so close to being friends with the group again, or whatever.)

Interesting how the show got Kirk Fox, who played the creepy Sewage Joe on Parks and Recreation, to play something of a ladies’ man here.

“On an unrelated note, I’m into trains now.”

“His name’s Blade? Is that legal? Shouldn’t Marvel being suing him?”

“A FANTASTIC kickboxing vampire movie.”

“You wanna watch Blade tonight?” “Yes….”

“I’ll have what she’s having.” “Oh, grow up, lady.”

“Left unattended, I will end up doing him like crossword.”

“A wonderful opportunity for a man of the….urban race.”

“Annie, control your guest.”

“That’s right Britta, it’s a banana.”

“You’re the opposite of Batman!” “You don’t even know what that means!”

“I need help reacting to something.”

“What do you want to do next?” “Russian roulette?” “What’d you say?” “Cotton candy sounds good….”

“To what? Templeton Ferrari III? That won’t change the way mustard tastes.”

“Britta’s born in the 80s. She still uses her phone as a phone.”

“She’s whipped by an imaginary douche.” “Hey, don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.”

“Ya’ll notice that cold spot in the hallway? That thing is freeeeeeeeezzzzzziinnnngggg.”

“TOASTER OVEN!....It’s from his album.”