Review: Community - ‘Analysis of Cork-Based Networking’

With the last two episodes of Community being truly top-notch and a 4-week break before we get to see episode 7, I was really hoping that they team would put all their cards on the table and kick some major butt. Unfortunately, ‘Analysis of Cork-Based Networking’, while it does have a few high moments, ultimately falls onto the list of episodes that I won’t be randomly revisiting when I need a quick Community fix.

We begin with the Community team, lead by the almighty Annie, trying to figure out ways to help Greendale improve. She has a long list and sets people to tasks. Most of the crew ends up with the job of preparing the midterm dance. Annie and Professor Hickey, however, end up with the complicated task of trying to have a corkboard raised.

Team A struggles along to create their midterm dance theme, a side-story that introduces a few amusing jokes but doesn’t present much to the overall plot. The main story revolves around Annie and Hickey. They must navigate the corrupt world of Greendale, arranging favors for people in order to get favors in return so that they can ultimately get their corkboard approved within a timely manner. Annie ends up neck-deep in the corruption while Hickey tries to warn her of the consequences of her actions.

And, perhaps the more interesting part of the story, Abed, in an effort to stop Britta from feeding him spoilers about the Community equivalent of Game of Thrones, deafens himself to her voice via earmuffs. He meets a deaf girl along the way and hits it off with her. Unfortunately for him, things are not as they truly seem.

There were a few good gags here and there, but the main arc of Annie and Hickey becoming mired in petty corruption was lost due to a lack of atmosphere. It felt like a moral story, but it also could have been a great opportunity for some of Harmon’s signature references to pop culture. But they don’t go very deep into it, so it just plays out in a middling fashion. The rest of the stories are pretty much the same. In the end, this episode felt more like one of the higher points of season 4 and less like Harmon’s hand was on the wheel.

Hopefully, next episode will be better, though we’ve got weeks to wait (stupid Winter Olympics). And since there are no proper trailers or even previews of the next episode, I invite you to instead read this interview with Harmon from last week in which he talks more about the loss of some key characters from the show. See you all on February 27^th!

Photo Credits -

Community courtesy of hypable.com