Community 4.8: Herstory Of Dance

Somewhat to his own surprise, Abed (Danny Pudi) meets a partner in crime — and maybe more — in Rachel (Brie Larson) on “Community.”

“Herstory of Dance” is an odd duck of an episode. It’s basically a well-executed bad story.

At least, that’s what comes out if you stop and think about it. Because in deciding to take two women to two different dances behind their backs, Abed rather blithely plays to an actual trope that’s not just retro, it’s downright reactionary. Adding to the problem is that neither Kat (Wendy McColm) nor Jessica (Kristen Henry King) ever catches on to his ruse. And even after their respective matchmakers, Annie and Shirley, find out, they only call Abed out for a few seconds before letting him off the hook.

That writer Jack Kukoda’s story works at all despite this is a credit to both Danny Pudi and the woman he does end up wanting to “grow” for, Rachel, played by Brie Larson, worlds away from here Clash at Demonhead. It’s a little sketchy that, even being as geeky as Abed, Rachel would be so willing to play along with his scheme. But Larson and Pudi have a natural chemistry that helps this play out palatably, if not quite plausibly. (It also helps that, even for a Manic Pixie Dream Girl, Rachel comes off less … well, manic than poor, quirky Kat.)

In fact, for an episode centered around a Sadie Hawkins Dance, most of the women involved get short-changed. Despite appearances, that’s also the case for Britta’s bid attempt to organize a “Sophie B. Hawkins Dance” out of sheer spite. It’s one thing for her to push an innocent slip beyond the breaking point in an attempt to finally get Jeff to stop heckling her. And it’s not wrong, in and of itself, for Pierce to emerge as a Douche Ex Machina on her behalf; that he references the events of Jeff and Britta’s Thanksgiving outing is actually a nice touch. But for Britta to not be aware of Pierce’s aid and not care about that makes her look like a dunce, even in “victory,” despite both Gillian Jacobs’ best efforts and Hawkins emerging from the pop-culture wilderness. (For what it’s worth, I liked both of her hits.)

On the bright side, this episode at least does a good job of presenting its sunnier tone if you don’t want to consider the implications underneath. And it’s worth speculating what this means for those at the center of it. With Troy paired off with Britta, will Rachel get to stick around to have a real shot at joining Abed in a relationship beyond the Group? Also, since Troy is paired off with Britta, what do we make of these new developments in her friendship with Jeff? Could the series’ original ‘ship be back on course? And, most importantly, will each of these women end up getting a fair shake?