"First off, pop pop!"

It is difficult for me to express how much I love Community. Last night as I was falling asleep, I had a hypnogogic vision that I was dying in a hospital bed. “Bring me Community dvds please,” I said, and in that moment I regained enough consciousness to note how deep my devotion to this show goes. It is literally the show I want brightening my last moments on this earth.

I'm not going to go into a whole plot recap – it was too fabulous for that, and besides, you should go watch it yourself. But I will talk about the noteworthy moments.

For as great as “A Fistful Of Paintballs” was, there's no doubt that “For A Few Paintballs More” took that momentum and ran with it. Josh Holloway was a little underutilized in his role as the Black Rider, serving mostly to provoke Jeff's insecurities. The western theme was fun, gave Annie some great (and sexy) work to do, tied nicely into the “Pierce being kicked out of the group” plot, and made us want more. But there was no way it was going to beat a Star Wars homage. Abed as Han Solo, Jeff and Troy duking it out for the leadership role, Shirley kicking ass just so she can go home, Darth Vader in an ice cream cone, Britta's unlikely partnership with Leonard – all gold.

There is just too much for paragraph form, so here come the paintballs:

• Obviously everyone had a chance to shine in these two episodes, but if I had to pick one star it is totally Jim Rash. His unabashed portrayal of Dean Pelton is definitely one of the highlights of the show every week, and if he doesn't have his own little corner on the cootie-catcher next season I'm going to be really disappointed. He's such an important part of the cast, and that deserves recognition.
• As a corollary, every time the Dean from City College shows up, you know things are gon' get zoppity. Just watching how turned on Dean Pelton gets from what is essentially a black version of himself is spellbinding.
• I have never paid any attention to Joel McHale's forehead until they brought it up here. I mean, I guess “it's not small”, but he definitely doesn't have too much EFT (Excess Forehead Tissue), which is a real thing that I have seen.
  
  
  
• Ok, we HAVE to talk about The Kiss. Firstly, it was wonderful to see Abed making out with someone, and to have that someone be Annie subtly called back to her interest in him doing Don Draper. Secondly, HOTTTTT! Thirdly, I loved that the season finale included a kiss that has no potential to go anywhere romantically and that does not bring up any cliffhanger-type will they/won't they situation. Just easy, clean, and sexy fun. Plus, Abed does an amazing Han Solo (Gimme the vest, Laserbreath”).
  
  
  
• Moving on to the Pierce issue. After Pierce saved the day and won the paintball game, I wrote in my notes, “Does one big heroic act make up for a season of dickishness?” and initially my answer was no. He really has been a terrible person all year. But man am I a sucker for honest self-awareness, and Pierce's evaluation of his behavior patterns totally won me over. I know he had to leave for the finale to have maximum impact, but I am looking forward to watching the group try and succeed in winning him back next year. The big question now is: where is Troy going to live???
  
  
  
• Speaking of Troy, I was so happy that he was given a chance to really come into his own here. His character has been maturing all season and Donald Glover is absolutely a comedy powerhouse who can do nothing more but flex his eyebrows and have us all busting up laughing. I recently went back and watched most of the episodes from the entire second season, and Troy's growth has been apparent – certainly in Mixology Certification, but even if you look at the trampoline episode (one of my favorites), you see the spark of maturity he's nurturing. And yes, I'll fully admit that if I were that librarian from 21^st Century Romanticism, I would not have been able to choose between Abed and Troy, I would want them both (though not at the same time), but I really love how Glover has been able to take a role as simple as “dumb jock” and transform it into a wonderfully complex, hilarious, and real character.
  

Watching “A Few Paintballs More” enlightened me to one of the reasons I love Community so much. It's not just that the continuity on the show is FLAWLESS, even better than Lost, and they never contradict or ignore previously established incidents. It's that they celebrate this continuity, making the show most enjoyable for people like me who love it so much. I LOVED the blink-and-you'll-miss-it mention of Troy's plumbing savvy, and Quendra and Magnitude and all of it. I love that at the end of the year there is a payoff that resonates back through the season. I'm a little wistful that I've now got 3-4 months without any Community at all, but I have to admit, this work of art that some may refer to as a television series always brings me nothing but joy.

HUGE Notes & Quotes!

A Fistful Of Paintballs:

• I love that they brought Anthony Michael Hall in for a minute long cameo. Awesome.
• “That was a game. This is paintball.”
• Annie looks really hot in a cameo choker.
• “I'm a deputy. I deputize.”
• “She's a dance major, Jeff! And she loves Twinkies!”
• “What kind of ice cream company does this???!!!”
• “The key's in my shorts... …. ….”
• “Ok, Black Rider, now let's see who's attractive!”
  “Dude, you have a problem.”
• Seriously, Allison Brie is so effing hot this whole episode! Her hair looks amazing.
  
  
  
• “Last week he did it to get out of giving me a piece of gum.”

For A Few Paintballs More:

• “Why would someone who gets paid to do things be at Greendale?”
• “But if we surrender our individuality to form a faceless regime, how are we any better than them?
  “You're the worst.”
  “She is just saying that to fit in.”
• “I think it's called a taint.”
• “I'm calling dibs on the Han Solo role before Jeff slouches into it by default.”
  
  
  
• “Damnit, Shirley, forget your newborn child and think about the people who need you!”
• “Pop what? What is he trying to say?????”
• “Go Jeff Winger's study group! Those guys are ballers, yo. I hope you like getting balled.”
• “What does 'liberal arts' even mean?”
• “Which I will have rigged, using my super plumbing skills...”
• “Are we The Little Rascals?”
  “I was.” What a great joke for Leonard, especially in that bowler.
• “What took them so long?”
  
  
• “Let's kick some taint!”
• “Commence Operation Troy's Awesome Leadership Is Never In Doubt”
• “Cool.”
• “I've seen this behavior before...in cats...my cats...”
• The tag with the custodian was awesome – just one more example of how small details (like how the school gets cleaned up) are never ignored, and great guest stars always come back for more greatness.

Well, that's it! You can bet I'll be talking at least a little about Community over the summer (I've been wanting to do a post about the smaller characters like Starburns and Professor Duncan for a while), but for now, we must bid a fond farewell to Greendale. Until next semester, kids.

Images via iGossip, Wikinoticia, Paste Magazine, TVFanatic, TVGuide, MeanMassive, BuddyTV