Community 2×18 – “Custody Law and Eastern European Diplomacy”

This week, Community was renewed for a third season on NBC, and there was much rejoicing.  Also, Britta ruined a friend for Troy and Abed, and Jeff tried to get rid of Chang by convincing him to try to impress Shirley.

Summary: Britta began dating a new friend of Troy and Abed’s, Luka (Dollhouse’s Enver Gjojak), and then found out he committed genocide in the Balkans (ruh roh!)  She struggled to find a way to tell them without making them hate her for wrecking their friendship.  Shirley tried to get Jeff to serve Chang with papers forfeiting any custody rights if the baby turns out to be his.  Instead, Jeff tries to encourage Chang to act like a real, responsible father, all with the ulterior motive of getting Chang off of his sofa.

Feminist & Comedy Thoughts: I’ve mentioned before how much I enjoy Britta now that the writers are making a joke out of her self-righteousness, but I sometimes worry that they go too far in that direction.  This episode struck a nice balance because, like the documentary episode, they showed that Britta really does have good intentions and her friends’ best interests in her heart.  I think the writers have a great sense of showing their characters’ flaws but laughing with them rather than at them.  I sense a lot of affection for Britta even as they make a point of her annoying qualities.  “Hit me with your genie’s bottle…”

Troy and Abed also brought up Britta’s annoying habit of “ruining” their male friends by going out with them and reporting back all of their weird habits (including Jeff’s “nipple play.”  I kind of don’t want to know what that is, even if it is Joel McHale, who is still looking better than ever with that scruff on his face).  We’ve never seen Britta do this before, so it was somewhat odd for Troy and Abed to comment on something she’s “always” doing.  Still, it does seem like something Britta would do.  I can easily see her oversharing in an attempt to achieve closeness, especially since she seems to have difficulty making friends.

Shirley had more of a plot this week than she’s had recently, even though it revolved more around Jeff and Chang.  But I like that her devious side is showing itself more and more often.  My favorite parts in the episode all involved Shirley.  “I know you’re not gonna make a pregnant woman run!”  “I know you’re not gonna make a pregnant woman walk this distance!”  It was topped off brilliantly with Jeff predicting her next move: “I’m not going to make a pregnant woman storm off?” complete with him storming off for her.  I also loved their evil plan to try to get Chang more jail time.  It was a nice callback to season 1 where they made fun of Vaughn behind Britta’s back.

I also like that the writers aren’t going with the obvious route of making Shirley’s husband a complete jerk.  There had to be a reason why Shirley stayed with him as long as she did, and there had to be a reason why she would take him back even after running off with a stripper.  He seems like a decent man – so decent that I have a hard time buying that he’s the type to run off in the first place.  But appearances can be deceiving.  “I’ve been a father for eleven years, and a good one for nine.”  HA!

My Verdict: “Oh look, is that a reason to leave?”  I have to work that in a conversation sometime.