Like all of NBC's Thursday night comedies, Community aired it's Halloween themed episode last night; an episode with a strong initial resemblance to The Simpson famous Treehouse of Horror series. The episode starts off with Britta approaching Jeff about the results of the personality tests that she had the group take in credits of 3x3. The results appear to suggest that one member of the group of psychologically disturbed. Rather than confront her friends, Britta decides that the best course of action is to tell a series of scary stories and gauge the group's reaction to them. Each character takes a turn telling their story, of which they are all a part of. Each story is not just a reflection of what entertains and scares them respectively, but is a reflection of their own personalities and ideals.
Informally, no reaction to "Horror Fiction" could be complete without gratuitous keyboard mashing and gross, uncontrollable sobbing. The episode takes all of the strongest elements of what makes Community a great series and balls them all into one crazy episode; complete with murder, mayhem, and Twilight fan service. It is easily one of the strongest episodes of the series to date; holding it's own even after following the incredible "Remedial Chaos Theory".
Britta is the first to tell her story, which bares a striking resemblance to her personality; awkward, sloppy, and full of self praise. This fragmented tale features her and Jeff as a couple, with Jeff as an oversexed "bro" type, and her as a logical young woman. In between their makeout session, the radio announcer makes a fragmented announcement that a hook man is on the loose. Britta senses danger, but Jeff is skeptical and leaves the car; at which point the two are attacked and Jeff dies as Britta proclaims that she was right all along. Surprise surprise.
Britta's story was hilarious to us, but also 99% poor execution, so of course, it didn't go too well with the group. Abed in particular was offended by the abuse of horror tropes, and insisted that the characters would be more likable if they were more savvy.
Abed's new and improved version of this tale follows both himself and an Abed-ified Britta girlfriend, who has a thing for elevator music and logical men. This is amusing because in canon, Abed and Britta rarely interact and often clash..making her an odd choice as his romantic partner in this story. The two also share a sexy kiss, finally bringing the mouth to mouth between 5 of the 7 group members full circle. This time, once the radio chimes in , both characters are diligent about taking proper precaution to ensure that they survive; including calling the cops immediately and standing back to back silently with kitchen knives. There is something beyond the hilarity that gives value to Abed's story. It's really a good and clear glimpse into how he sees the world and the way people communicate. Abed's version of Britta's character was clinical, direct, and probably slightly autistic. Watching him court her will probably give you flashbacks to the season 2 finale and how he behaved with Annie.
It soon becomes apparent that Abed is more focused on keeping his characters well rounded than actually making his story scary. That is where Annie comes in, with her very mixed genre tale that is nothing short of Annie-like. Let me explain.
Jeff is a vampire and Annie is a beautiful and innocent girl that he is instantly drawn to, giving him the desire to attempt to abstain from human blood. His cravings are physically manifested via Britta; who is more or less a disposable blood whore that he keeps in his house that he uses whenever he is hungry.Yes, this is all actually happening. If any of the stories are ripe with in world symbolism, this one is the mother load, and really gives you a good look at just how Annie views the love triangle that she is in; where she views herself as Jeff's savior, and Britta as a liability to Jeff's evolution. But could it be that she is starting to doubt she will ever find happiness with him?
In a very 1700's style mixture of Twilight and Beauty and the Beast, Annie's character seems to be pulling vampire Jeff into a positive place, teaching him how to read and love. This might also be a perfect time to say that Joel McHale hasn't ever made me laugh so hard as Jeff. Playing the dopey vampire actually suits him and his brand of verbal humor very well.
Anyway, When Jeff can no longer control his cravings, he makes a move for Annie, who (as it turns out) has actually been a werewolf the entire time. We are faded out of Annie's story, but that doesn't stop her from letting the group know just what a mangled mess she makes of the vampire that scorned her in highly graphic detail. That, she says, is the "twist"...and what a twist it was. Perhaps a warning for a certain playboy.
Next up, is Troy, giving us the weirdest bromantic story of the night featuring him, Abed, and Pierce. Troy and Abed are fighter pilots in this story, who are wounded and happen upon a cabin owned by an evil scientist. Scientist Pierce knocks the two boys out and sews them together, somehow giving them telepathy. As an act of revenge, the boys force Pierce on the table and steal his perfect sandwich using their psychic powers. When Pierce awakens, his butt is sewn on his chest, and his feet and hards are switched so he won't be able to fondle his new butt breasts. It is exactly the story that you would expect Troy to tell, and yet somehow it still takes you completely by surprise in terms of being completely bizarre.
Pierce of course, isn't terribly happy with his portrayal, and takes his turn to concoct a revenge story, with Pierce as a ladies man that is keeping Shirley, Britta, and Annie as a harem. He is a fancy and rich man, sipping fine wine and sporting a full head of hair. His relaxing night is ruined when two racist gangster versions of Troy and Abed show up looking to rob him. Pierce foils the robbers with ease and begins to congratulate himself, but the group is less than thrilled. Going along perfectly with who pierce is as a person, his story ended up being completely irrelevant, and 100% focused on one upping and punishing the people in the group that he feels has wronged him. How in the world did Troy manage to live with him for a year?
Finally, Shirley tells her story. Disappointed by the violence portrayed in the other tales, Shirley promises something different, and follows through with her promise to an extent. Her story opens with the group partying. Britta is eating a container of weed while everyone rocks out to death metal and falsely executes alternative phrases Their party is interrupted by an NPR broadcast that lets them know that the end of days is upon them, and all of the true Christians have been raptured while they are left to suffer at Satan's hand. Satan (The Dean) bursts in to bring them details about their fate, only to be wiped away by an angelic Shirley, who comes back one more time to tell the group "I told you so". She then spirits to heaven and leaves her friends to suffer the wrath of the underworld for the rest of eternity. The irony seems lost to Shirley
Having sat through 5 deeply disturbing stories, Britta has basically given up on the indirect approach and tells everyone the truth about what she is trying to uncover. The group collectively panics until they realize that Britta had entered their tests upside down, giving the wrong rests to everyone. Once the tests are screened again, the group finds out that all but one of them is certifiably insane, and decides not to pursue who that person is to maintain their follie a deux. Once they have all left the room, the names on the tests are revealed, showing that Abed was the only sane one among them.
The best part about this episode was the fact that the writers managed to weave a collection of very funny plot lines into an honest to god character study; giving us a little nugget of insight into the hearts and minds of the study group. I'd say it's up to question whether we are being given spoilers that we are unaware of, and if we will see the thoughts and feelings of these stories used in future episodes. Community tends to do a good job laying inconspicuous continuity easter eggs, so whether or not we will see "Horror Fiction" peppered into future episodes is still up for debate. One thing is abundantly clear for now; Community does kick ass holiday episodes, and this is no exception.
