‘Community’ Breakdown: ‘Cooperative Polygraph’

SPOILERS AHEAD, so study up cautiously, Community buffs…

Season Five, Episode Four: “Cooperative Polygraph”

Written by: Alex Rubens; Directed by Tristram Shapeero

This week’s Community is the classic bottle episode of the season. Set entirely in the study room, the gang faces an inquisition into the death of Pierce. Secrets are revealed, and one character’s exit from the show is begun as well.

Quick Breakdown

The gang returns to the study after Pierce’s funeral dressed in blue robes with conical hats. He was part of a futuristic religious cult, and they make a few jokes about robots and unlocking unreal colors. But any fond remembrances they may have of Pierce are overshadowed by his lawyer’s arrival. Mr. Stone (Walter Goggins) arrives with some assistants to perform an extensive polygraph test on everyone as a private inquest into his death.

Mr. Stone reads questions off a list as Pierce wrote them. The loaded questions reveal what Pierce really thought about the group, riling them up, so they begin to turn on each other. He also reveals secrets told to him to pit the gang against each other. Like Troy and Abed still use Jeff’s Netflix account (to which he reacts far too harshly since you can now do separate profiles on one account) and Annie overcharges Troy and Abed for rent (so they can have some money “saved” up in case of emergency). Soon the entire table is arguing, but Mr. Stone silences them saying it’s time to begin. That was merely the calibration round.

Jeff is about to lead them all out of the room until Mr. Stone tells them that only those cleared of Pierce’s murder will have access to what he’s bequeathed them from his $20 million estate. Jeff warns them that Pierce is trying to “lure [them] into a labyrinth of emotional manipulation and strategic instigation,” but they stick around for the questions anyway.

Pierce’s questions continue to reveal secrets that everyone has kept from each other. He reveals (among other things) that Jeff has a collection of “trophies” of the women he slept with, that Troy’s special handshake with Abed is taken from a YouTube video, and that Abed implanted tracking devices in everyone in the group. Abed even went so far as to catfish Annie so that she would make pancakes in the morning (something she only does when happy in love). Soon everyone is shouting each other’s secrets at each other.

They soon note that it’s just like when Pierce was alive, antagonizing the gang. They don’t seem to be much better off without him. Mr. Stone reveals that there’s one more round of questions, but Jeff insists that everyone confess their secrets before, so that they have nothing to hide. A few limp secrets are revealed — Britta only gives money to homeless people when walking with someone, Shirley is passive aggressive — before they continue on.

But this round is special. Pierce has nice things to say to each of the group members, about how they inspired or affected him. And then he bequeaths random personalized gifts — an iPod Nano, a tiara — to each person along with everyone’s own cylinder of his sperm. But for Troy, whom Pierce says has the “heart of a hero,” he also leaves his shares in his company; but only if Troy rides his boat, the Childish Tycoon, around for a year to become his own man. Troy agrees, leaving everyone a little devastated by the imminent loss of their friend.

Rating

A

The bottle episodes are always some of the best. So many great lines, and the show is always at its best when the gang is all together. We also strayed from the Jeff Winger Show setup, giving everyone equal time. And now we know how they’re writing Troy off the show (next week will be his final episode).

Now for some random thoughts and my favorite moments of the night…

“Troy and Abed are in mour-ning.” – Troy and Abed’s ditty for Pierce’s funeral

Britta says, “I can’t believe Pierce thought we would murder him.” And Chang responds, “What a waste of murder. He was like 79.”

“If I wanted the government in my uterus I would fill it with oil and Hispanic voters.” –Britta when she finds out Shirley donates to a pro-life organization

“You guys are changing your faces. Are you mad at me or hungry?” – Troy after its revealed that he implanted trackers in everyone

The best running joke was everyone yelling at Stone’s assistant whenever she called them out for lying on the polygraph test.

The worst running joke was Chang’s masturbation habits.

In the tag, where Mr. Stone grabs a drink with everyone and let’s loose, he tells them that Pierce actually died from dehydration while filling up those cylinders.