This episode surprised me. When it started out, I was cringing. The setup was just so wacky and contrived and it felt like another “off” episode… until it got kind of awesome.
Dean Pelton himself, Jim Rash, actually wrote this episode – the first time the Oscar-winner (for The Descendants) has taken on this task on Community. And kudos to him for taking a concept that could have really collapsed and making it work.
There were some ways in which this week’s episode was similar to last week’s, in that it involved a core scenario (last week, the gang keeping Cornwallis tied up; this week, a body switch) that were especially ridiculous. Last week’s episode got stronger in the second half, even thought it never really sold the gang as all agreeing to, well, keeping a prisoner. But “Basic Human Anatomy” actually turned into something pretty great – both because, thank god, the body switch was never meant to be real, but also because there were so many solid laughs and, ultimately, poignant moments included.
First off, it was a lot of fun seeing Donald Glover and Danny Pudi do their versions of Troy and Abed. It wasn’t dead on, but it didn’t need to be, since these were two guys pretending they switched bodies, not the real thing. While their delivery was amusing throughout, I especially liked the expressions they did, as Glover perfectly did Abed’s cocked head to the side and Pudi broke into a huge Troy, skyward bound grin.
But using this storyline to deal with Britta and Troy was an especially good move. The relationship felt so half-baked all season, it definitely feels it's for the best ending it – though it was odd when "Troy"-Abed said they were trying really hard to act like a couple all year, since much of the time, they barely acted like a couple.
Still, it was not only good to see the relationship end, but it was impressively heartfelt getting there, as Britta realized what was happening. Gillian Jacobs was really strong here, as was Pudi, having to play the tricky role of a guy who doesn’t show emotions pretending to be a guy who does, who was doing something very difficult. It was hard not to feel bad for Britta and Troy here, even if they didn’t work as a couple, because we like these two people. It was also a good standout episode for Glover, as Troy the man-child had to man up and face his break up head on, not through a proxy. Amongst all this, the biggest aww moment of the episode was when Britta told “Troy”-Abed, “I want to thank Abed for being such a good friend to both of us.”
But among all this -- and an especially on-point Jeff message, aimed specifically at Troy about committing to someone and facing up to when it’s not working -- this episode was one of the funnier ones of the season. As mentioned, the Troy and Abed material had plenty of its own humor, before it got more dramatic, but in the meantime, Dean Pelton was just amazing this week.
Jim Rash gave himself some excellent material, that’s for sure, and was hysterical performing it. The Dean pretending to be Jeff was “Awwwesome!” – just like Annie said seeing it happen. Rash’s Winger-esque delivery was dead on, and the completely unprovoked ripping off of his shirt was just one of many standout moments. And considering how lame it’s been seeing Annie still act like an obsessed 12-year-old girl around Jeff at times this season, it was very fun to have this episode acknowledge that fact, by having her go crazy for the Dean simply acting like Jeff. Shirley asking, “What’s wrong with you?,” and Annie replying, “I don’t know!” said it all.
There were moments of the episode that didn’t work – not just the beginning, but also much of the Annie/Shirley competitive streak, which never really took off. But overall, I commend “Basic Human Anatomy” for taking such a precarious scenario and using it for some strong comedy and drama.
And yes, having what first looked to be Donald Glover/Danny Pudi outtakes during the closing credits actually turn out to be fake Troy and Abed outtakes was inspired. Eric Goldman is Executive Editor of IGN TV. You can follow him on Twitter at @EricIGN, IGN at ericgoldman-ign and Facebook at Facebook.com/TheEricGoldman.