[rating=6.00] “Basic RV Repair and Palmistry”
“Three weeks earlier,” is the first line uttered on this week’s Community. Though in most instances it would generally lead to a flashback of three weeks earlier, Abed’s unexplainable movie magic doesn’t generally rear its head unless no one is around to see it. Instead of the usual library set up, this week the gang is cruising along in Elroy’s camper, hauling what looks like a giant fiber glass hand. No explanation, just a shot of a bunch of very annoyed looking people sitting in close quarters. After the failed flashback, Jeff roots around for booze in Elroy’s counters. He’s unhappy with the whole situation, and pulls the Dean to the front for an aside. As there’s no privacy on a camper, the gang is privy to the whole conversation. Elroy is running out of gas, and there’s nothing they can do about it. Jeff encourages everyone to charge their phones, causing the vehicle to shut down quicker. After a dramatic stop next to a cliff, we’re officially set up for whatever hi-jinx the rest of the episode has to throw at us.
The battery is dead, and it turns out, a big part of that came from the gang comically charging their devices in the RV. Elroy finds a ball of cords and cellphones, and even a hairdryer, callously plugged into a power strip. As they argue, Abed asserts his need to flash back which is quickly brushed off. After continued arguments, and Abed sitting alone in the dark making stupid faces, he does it. Is this successful flashback indicative of the magic that Abed could be harboring? In his flashback, he keeps stressing the need for flashbacks in the coming series of events. He’s rebuffed. Back in the present, an explanation is finally given for their adventure. The dean purchased a giant hand he intended to place in the quad, spending money couldn’t afford. In an effort to fix his mistake, Frankie sold the hand on eBay, and the gang was enlisted to get it delivered across Colorado. As it gets later and the gang gets colder, tensions run high. Abed continues his attempts to flashback to three weeks later, which at this point he’s convinced is time traveling.
In some ways the episode feels like a throw away. We know there’s a paintball episode coming up, and this could be the calm before the storm. At the same time though, it could be leading up to the series finale where the community college attendees could find out they’ve really been on a show all along. Abed wasn’t crazy after all. He does tend to break the fourth wall, and at this point even Jeff acknowledges when it’s happening. It would make sense, all of the little vignettes occurring at the end of each episode, the kooky happenings from week to week. But, until we get confirmation, we’ll still have to assume it’s all in Abed’s head.
Fingers are pointed, and the Dean has a mild freak out. As the rest of the gang stands their ground against the Dean’s fit, Abed needs to process his new found abilities outside. In another flashback, he tries to explain to the gang that they need to acknowledge their current state as the beginning of their adventure, as to avoid any big disaster later. Of course, like always, no one listens to him.
Back in the present, he and the Dean are sitting atop the RV, snuggled on the giant hand. As Abed worries that the worst is yet to come, a strap holding up the hand breaks. In an attempt to avoid catastrophe, Abed shares his secret of time travel with the Dean. They flash back to three weeks ago, demanding thick straps when they transport the hand. The dean then tases Jeff, and the two dance around the table singing about thick straps. Back in the present, Abed is certain it has worked, but in truth it’s all been in his head. The other strap breaks, and the Dean and the giant hand tumble off the RV.
The gang runs out into the cold to check on the Dean and Abed’s well-being. As they move the giant hand, the Dean reveals himself. He was faking and simply wanted to get back at everyone for not believing in his big hand idea. As the gang gets locked outside, Jeff begs Abed to plant himself in reality and appeal to the Dean. Abed malfunctions, this isn’t something he’s great at. Frankie steps in, she knows that Abed needs the boundaries of his movie universe to make sense of anything. In an effort to get the Dean out, she explains to Abed that this isn’t the real story, it’s simply a flashback. Abed flashes forward to the future where everything makes sense once more. He and Frankie are elders, worried for the well-being of humanity. Abed comes back to the present, and with the knowledge of the future he gets the Dean out of the camper, saving the day.
Immediately following, we get a montage. The gang made it back to Greendale. The hand sits proudly in the quad. And Chang shows up covered in feathers as they all sit around the library table giggling and swapping stories. In the final vignette, the eBay buyer attempts to contact the Dean. He’s been waiting for the hand, and has a giant watch ready to accessorize. He fights with his wife, and it comes out that the need from the giant hand comes from his son going missing. He gave him a giant kite that flew away. The giant hand is a symbol for giant hand he needed to keep his son from blowing away. “I’m going to walk to dog and eventually leave you…” his wife says, as he crumples in tears.
There were some really solid jokes throughout the episode, but that didn’t stop it from feeling a little like a throw away. Abed’s continued existence as the sole proprietor of his movie universe will hopefully lead to a finale that explains all the weirdness that plagues Greendale Though it wasn’t the best episode, it’s still keeping with the solidness that has come in the later part of the season. Community is evolving, and with the possibility of a movie still on the table it could very well end as the greatest series to ever…to…well, to get cancelled and come back on Yahoo Screen, anyway.
