Economics of Marine Biology (Season 4, Ep 7)

You Can Watch the Episode Here

Whale Wars?

This episode was a Whale of a Fail Tale

We find the Gang, (minus Pierce), being briefed by the Dean on an important mission. The Dean explains that the school is trying to recruit a new student but he has something that the school needs: monay! Archie, the intended target is also highly unmotivated and is a complete buffoon. He scored a zero on his SAT and recently was arrested for trying to sell weed to a cop....in a police station. Since his parents are obscenely rich, if Archie goes to Greendale, he will provide Greendale with a steady stream of income for years to come. The Dean explains that amongst community colleges, he is considered a 'whale' due to this treasure trove of funds.  This is why he is asking the Gang to help convince Archie to come time Greendale. Annie and Britta both agree to help so their clubs can use some of the money, while Jeff decides to join because it requires them to be away from Pierce (this backfires on him). Troy and Shirley have their own plot line in which they attend a Physical Education Education class (not a typo). But more on that later.

What is interesting about this plot line is a single line that Archie drops which causes the Dean to go a little crazy. Archie pulls up to Greendale in a moped which he said City College, the rival and competitor of Greendale, had given to him when he visited their campus. Originally, the Dean didn't want to lie about the school, but now afraid that Archie will go to City College, is willing to do anything to get Archie to attend. The Dean starts to lie about classes, amenities, and throws a raging party to sway him. Annie and eventually the Dean realize that they have gone to far when they cause Magnitude to give up his catch phrase and give it to Archie. Point being, the Dean eventually stands up to Archie who has a magical realization that he just wants to be treated like a normal person instead of the son of a rich guy. Convenient? Yes, but this may be setting up a back lash from City College which would then cause them to activate whatever plan they had with Chang. OR this could just be the weak episode that I thought it was because with out this plot point to tie it with the rest of the season, it doesn't matter when it happened and it has no effect on larger plot lines.


Those Who Can't Teach...

For example, the Troy/Shirley Physical Education Education plot line was pointless. What do we gain from it? That Shirley's mothering experience has made her able to control children, that Troy isn't good at teaching, and the two of them are a bit closer...maybe. These three things along with the fact that there is a class that teaches Greendale students to teach Physical Education will not be relevant ever again in a Community episode. If the Shirley/ Troy friendship does grow, I will be surprised. They are just very different people.

The last plot line, was between Pierce and Jeff. Jeff has to keep Pierce away from campus. The Dean explains that Pierce has been a whale for Greendale and may become jealous of the attention that Archie is getting. So Jeff spends some time with him to get Pierce off campus. They end up going to a classic Italian barber shop to get shaves with straight blades (Think sweeney todd). (I actually have one of these in my home town but they don't serve scotch/ brandy. I'll submit the suggestion). Instead of the disaster of an afternoon Jeff was expecting, he actually enjoys his time with Pierce but things fall apart when he predictably finds out about why they are hanging together. Jeff later apologizes and Piece forgives him, aww, how nice. I think this was just another episode of make Pierce seem nicer and to give Chevy some screen time. If you guys watched the PaleyFest panel for Community from this year. You'll see that they hit that Chevy may not return if there is another season which, in my opinion, make the show better. I know there are those who love him, if you are one of those people please explain to me why you do (in the comments) because I have no clue why you would.

Over all, a fluffy episode, fun to eat (like a Let's Potato Chip) but no nutritional content. Looking forward to the next episode. I think it has something to do with dancing... not sure. I'll leave you guys with one of the minor but hilarious plot lines from this episode where Abed creates the Delta Cubes.

See you all next week,
Tom