#repilot

i need to figure out who i am.

i'll help you.

get out of my brain!

Repilot is the epitome of what I’m trying to say, it’s meta and dissecting the very essence of the show, since it’s a literal “do over” (Re-Pilot)

The ironic thing is that Jeff would have succeeded in his law practice if there wasn’t a season 5, but since we need him back at Greendale, Jeff fails.

Hard.

The episode is basically a huge mirror from the pilot episode.

The same character from season 1’s inciting incident, Allan, sends Jeff back to school. We see what Jeff would have become if he didn’t go to Greendale for four years, so we at least have this parallel to go on.

Our Jeff is not that defeated that he would go as low as Allan, right?

Right????

We already see Jeff’s delusion with the world, he’s back to his cynical self, drinking and wallowing. His red tie almost undone vs the red superhero suit in his commercial. It’s already darker but the narrative needs him in school, so it has to be a little extreme.

Then, Jeff goes back to Greendale. Immediately Leonard is there, blowing raspberries. Jeff sees his and Annie’s trophy. We’re having a much better time, even if it’s not for a long time.

Because Greendale has turned the camp and the chaos and the sheer stupidity to eleven. Because the narrative needs to remind us of how detached from reality the school is. Because it’s a TV show. There’s a class about ladders, for god’s sake.

It needs to be this wacky because the show has now shifted to: We’re gonna save Greendale. We’re gonna save the show, like it’s been saved on Yahoo.ca, whatever it takes.

When they get to the study room, the table has been buried - the show has been buried, too, but when everyone comes back (Abed: the Dean called me, I called everyone else) just like the pilot, they put life back into it.

Abed is still Jeff’s mirror here, and suggests that Jeff becomes a teacher at the school, because it would be the most TV-logical thing to do, especially since Jeff got his diploma in education hello!??

I LOVE how Jeff is like absolutely not. He’s still fighting the narrative, trying to make sense of his new role.

The Dean also has a very interesting speech about “Greendale is a good place for good people, that old spiel” basically having a cynical view of seasons 1-3 and making fun of the initial message of the show. We already know this, but Greendale has changed. Or maybe, Jeff has changed and is now starting to see the cracks.

Coming back to the study room, they immediately start to fall back into old patterns of bickering, because they all have something to hide and are too proud to admit they are miserable. Shirley brings them back to reality before they get too far. Once again, rooting us slowly into reality.

Jeff, for his part, forgot how good it felt to be bad. When he beats down Allan with his own tie… woof, that was rough. He takes the tie. Takes charge. Wants his own identity back, because it’s much easier to be bad than good. Much easier to pretend that he doesn’t care, than actually caring. Caring got him hurt.

Then Chang appears and makes fun of the absurdity of his character. It’s easy to see here, because when said out loud, Chang’s development is the most extreme. Like come on, amnesia? Get a grip, show!!!

Jeff then feels he has been robbed of his identity and starts to point out each character’s development:

Britta was an eclectic anarchist. She is now the airhead, which is heartbreaking and I don’t want to think about season 1 Britta too much or I go insane.

Shirley began the show by taking back her independence from her cheating husband and is now the one who cheated ???

Annie lost her go-getter attitude and settled for a job she hates.

Abed, multiple breakdowns. Like, at least one per season.

Troy’s Clive Owen Tumblr (what is his url u think) but no, seriously, always being with Abed and nothing else.

They did ended up like mixed up cartoons, and not only because of the “gas leak year”. They’ve become stereotypes, as sitcom characters often do. They’ve evolved, but perhaps not in the original direction intended, or not where we left then in season 3.

Now, it’s time for them to Get Something Back. Their narratives.

Annie says to Jeff: Greendale is in your hands. And it is. If Jeff talks long enough, he can make the people around him do things. It’s his power. Greendale’s fate is in his hands.

Then, Abed throws his words back at him: you make us see the right truth.

And that could be that Greendale is a place worth saving!!!! Jeff knows that, because, as usual, with one sentence, Abed has thrown off his resolve. Maybe Jeff needs to show them another thruth. But Jeff needs one last convincing first.

The Pierce hologram is my favorite. The fact that only Jeff could see it for some reason, echoes season 1 when Pierce was more of a grumpy grandpa that sometimes gave Jeff some nugget of wisdom and acted like a distorted father figure. Same here.

Jeff walks back in the school, screaming to the Dean about his power to destroy the place. But he won’t do it. He’s so desperate for something to matter once more and for that thing not to be dark and twisted.

And then. And Then. The Dean offers him a job.

Teacher.

The way Jeff looks up as he would be talking to god (non specific) when he whispers “Screw you Abed” as soon as he sees his path laid out for him: become a teacher at the school who, he thinks, stole 4 years of his life. He looks up like he’s delivering a monologue in theater, like he’s alone, like he’s praying.

As you can see, I feel VERY normal about the acting choices.

Screw you, Abed. Screw you, TV show. Screw you, logical way for my character to stay and have the rest of my story be mine, or trying to be.

The table burns, but that’s okay, because they build a new one together. This is truly theirs, now. They have the power to do anything.

And Jeff, well…

Jeff still, in his darkest moments, thought of his friends. In his most ironic moment, looked UP to Abed/his mirror/the narrative and said “Screw you…

IS THAT JEFF WINGER??? 🤯

Community gifs - 101/?

Season 5 Episode 1: Repilot

Outfit 1: Gray and White Cardigan

Classification: Cardigan

Rating: 5/5

I really like herr! she’s large, i like the soft gray and white colors, and I love how comfy it looks :)

Outfit 2: Green King Kong Hoodie

Classification: Hoodie

Rating: 5/5

Genuinely can’t believe they didn’t put Abed in any graphic hoodies earlier!!! I believe you get a better view of this hoodie in a later episode but i LOVE it. it’s soo cute. Also the green color is nice!

Outfit 2.5: Navy Work Apron

Classification: Apron

Rating: 3/5

Apron.

Outfit 3: Superhero Outfit

Classification: Costume

Rating: 5/5

Community gifs - 97/?