Community 4.9: Intro to Felt Surrogacy
Posted By Arturo Garcia on April 15, 2013
The Greendale gang becomes wee puppet people in “Intro to Felt Surrogacy.”
What often made Community’s “gimmick” episodes work was the show would sneak strong enough stories to not only justify the themes, but give them more to work with. “Intro to Felt Surrogacy,” on the other hand, went all-in on the Whimsy, much to its own detriment.
The plot, such as it is, centers around the Greendale Seven being at odds, and the Dean taking it upon himself to find out why, with the help of a few conveniently put-together puppet surrogates. (The less said about them, the better, as the episode manages to drag the Dean’s crush on Jeff to even more problematic depths.)
Unfortunately, writer Gene Hong and the creative team use one gimmick to lead to another as the episode turns into an impromptu musical account of their “adventure” on a balloon, without much of a story to support either concept. While it is nice to hear Yvette Nicole Brown’s singing voice get put to more use here than in last season’s Christmas episode, almost nothing goes on after their balloon lands in the woods.
Things threaten to get interesting after Jason Alexander’s creepy woodland dude drugs them all, but instead of putting the gang in a real trial by (camp)fire, we get a song in which everybody reveals “dark” secrets that seem even sillier than the puppets. But silly isn’t always the same as funny, which robs both that sequence and the ensuing reconciliation of weight, emotionally or otherwise.
On the contrary, the gang’s lack of concern for Pierce, who gets left behind, comes off as petty following the events of both Thanksgiving and the Sadie Hawkins Dance. Even if the show isn’t strictly serialized, “Felt Surrogacy” feels like it was displaced from the early part of the season, blunting whatever momentum was generated over the past few episodes, and leaving the Group looking like puppets, alright — just without any strings.
Comments
Leave a Reply
Please note: Comment moderation is currently enabled so there will be a delay between when you post your comment and when it shows up. Patience is a virtue; there is no need to re-submit your comment.