[rating=7.00] “Grifting 101”
I’d like to take this time to dub the latter half of Community season 6 “A New Hope.” Partly because of yesterday’s Star Wars holiday, partly because of last week’s space themed episode, but, mostly because I feel confident in the momentum the series has been gaining. This week’s episode, “Grifting 101,” reminded fans of why they have held on to the idea of Community for so long.
This week’s opener has the gang pouring over the new course catalogue as they continue their “higher” education at Greendale. The consensus among the group (minus Jeff) seems to be leaning towards a new class offered, Grifting 101. Jeff asserts that by taking the class they will be falling victim to a grifter. The group persists, “This is one of those things where Jeff gets jealous of something dumb,” Annie points out. Which, in all likelihood is what’s going on. Of course, as they read more about the class it becomes obvious that it is probably a grift. The class description calls for everyone to bring a briefcase, and though Frankie volunteers her array of briefcases that she owns for some reason, Abed points out that they all need “regulation briefcases.” Grift 1, complete.
Both the beginning of the episode and the theme song use old timey western music to set up the tone of the episode. It gives us a sense of the old medicine shows where suckers would buy crap in hopes of a miracle that would cure them of all their ailments. This is added to by the title cards placed between each scene, detailing the transition from scene to scene. The group are easy targets; as we’ve seen in the past they are swayed quickly by smooth talkers and confident folk. Britta is especially easy as she’s spending everyone else’s money. Of course as we now know, her parents secretly pay for everything through the faked kindness of her friends. When brought up Britta simply denies it, “Tell them I spit on their wealth,” a heavy line followed by giggles and more old timey music. It’s interesting, the show has now found a rhythm different to past seasons, but still holding on to the charm and wit of the characters’ personalities.
As suspected, the grifting teacher is indeed, a grifter. As the class sits with their $100 regulation grifting briefcases, he wanders in wearing a white suit going by Rodger. He quickly points out that it’s probably not his real name, and begins asking the class their names in return, rebuking Annie for having “too real of a name.” They learn nothing, and quickly realize that they’ve been grifted (grift 2).
The study group turns to Jeff for help, who is casually waiting in the cafeteria, and after getting a satisfactory, “you were right” he decides to talk to ‘Rodger.’ Turns out, the two are office mates, and when Jeff walks in, Rodger is sitting at his desk drinking his liquor. Jeff commends Rodger on his grifting ways, trying to bond over a shared hobby. Rodger denies Jeff comradery, instead calling him a liar and gypsy for posing as a lawyer. Jeff, is not pleased. When he returns to the cafeteria the group is down in the dumps. Annie and Abed attempt to do their homework for the class (switching briefcases on the sly), Britta sulks, and Elroy begins to ponder the word “grift” fearing its power in replacing other words. Jeff explains that he’s ready to grift the grifter. Elroy, still perturbed by the word sadly questions their excitement in yelling “Grift the Grifter” as he’s lost all sense of reality, “you could be saying anything!” As the group literally jumps for joy those around them in the cafeteria stop and stare, it seems they’ve forgotten other people attend the school.
The next day in grifting class (where all the students now have two briefcases, (grift 3) Elroy receives a telegram. Apparently he has a large sum of money waiting for him in Africa that the government has seized control of. Annoyed at the possibility of being grifted himself, Rodger dismisses the class. He condemns the effort, writing Elroy off. After class, Jeff heads to the teacher’s lounge (which has somehow become a bar again) to talk to Rodger. The telegram carrier is there enjoying a beverage with another employee, and when Jeff enters he makes a hasty exit, leaving behind a mysterious piece of paper describing Elroy’s faked funds in detail. Jeff half-heartedly attempts to follow him, dangling more bait in front of Rodger’s face. Through the persistence, Rodger explains he knows it’s a grift. No one ever sends telegrams anymore, ‘because the internet’. Rodger is unyielding, keeping his guard up to the potential grift. Jeff plays dumb, and as Frankie breaks up happy hour, wanders off into the school. He meets up with the rest of the group, happy that Rodger didn’t take the bait as that was the bait. Of course, it turns out Jeff is making it up as he goes along. Per Annie’s comments earlier in the episode, he’s jealous of something stupid and can’t lose to the grifter.
Through this whole storyline the most important throw-away line is Rodger’s. ‘Because the Internet’ is of course Childish Gambino’s (aka, Troy!) latest album. Since the beginning of the season they’ve been mentioning Troy more and more in both obvious and obscure ways that leaves us wondering whether or not Donald Glover will indeed make a cameo this season. The way the show has settled into itself, it no longer needs the ties of the past, but damn if it wouldn’t be great to see Troy and Abed back together again…
After Jeff admits to winging it (Winger…winging it…HA!), he attempts to study great grifters of the past. He and the others do this by watching grifting movies. They come up short, and at the end of the day Rodger walks in on them trying to figure out what to do next. Britta, angry and plucky, ends up punching Rodger in the face and chasing him out of the room. Being a grifter, Rodger ends up running towards a staircase where he falls and seriously injures himself, or so we’re told. In an attempt to stop a lawsuit, the Dean and Frankie end up agreeing to give Rodger $50,000 to keep quiet and go away. In the process, the Dean expels Britta for starting the mess with a punch in the first place. The group argues the decree, and even Rodger stands up for her, well, he tries, “Britta is the heart of this group, she started it so…she could have sex with Troy? Is that right?” A defeated Britta stands at the center of the group, upset and lost, as Rodger rolls away with $50,000.
Happy and brimming with cash, Rodger makes his way to the elevator. But, before he can clear the building, Britta finds him, signaling to meet her in a supply closet. Turns out, Rodger had visited Britta at the bar she works at, and the two had come up with a plan to get him out of Greendale with money for both of them (grift 4). She definitely needs it as she’s always broke. And her big thing is that she wants to send him away because he makes Jeff annoying. Rodger was of course faking his injuries, and stands to make the transaction. Riding the high of cash and lies, she takes her half of the money, kisses Rodger, and sends him on his way. As he roles away, he notices a change in his briefcase. He opens it, the money is fake (grift 5). He spots Britta and Abed with briefcases at the end of the hall, and keeping up appearances, rolls towards them. Just then in an old timey hi-jinx, Leonard roles up in a bell boy uniform pushing a luggage cart full of briefcases. Rodger, who can’t get by without giving himself up, looks for another way to get to his money when a “briefcase parade” begins in the hallway, Britta in tow. Annoyed, Rodger stands and follows the parade into the cafeteria where a security officer, the Dean, and Frankie are all waiting. He has been grifted (grift 6? 100? So many grifts…) Jeff explains that he can leave, or give back the now missing $50,000 that he owes to Greendale for lying about being hurt. He leaves.
As the gang celebrates the return of the cash (and getting hotdogs for some reason?) Chang realizes that everyone was in on it all along, except for him, because he can’t be trusted, obviously. As a last joke we see Jeff back in his office, everything now settled. The telegram guy comes back to celebrate the win. “Do you need anything else?” he asks smiling. Jeff asks him if he’s still cool with helping him move a mattress over the weekend. He agrees, face falling as he walks out. Turns out he’s “The Guy from Jeff’s Gym”, a lost soul who was once saved by Jeff during a dead weight session. He felt he owed Jeff his life…and Jeff agreed. He now works every day to repay the debt, hoping that one day Jeff will set him free. He is, Ryan Ridley, “The Guy from Jeff’s Gym”.
Elroy pointing out the power of the “grift” early in the episode makes the continued use of the word a little more tolerable. It’s overused but necessary, so I’ll accept it. The continued trend of re-using previous problems (Jeff being jealous of someone else) and storylines (the gang getting duped) seems to be working for the series, again lending to the possibility of a reunion between some of our favorite characters. The fact that most of the episode is a grift itself plays into the continued Community trend of breaking the fourth wall without actually breaking it. We’re all being grifted by grifters, who grift just for the fun of grifting. We’ve got an upcoming paintball episode to look forward to, so for now I will sit in the glow of Yahoo Screen, accept the evolving Community universe, and hope the decent episodes we’ve been given aren’t the real grift.
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