[7.1/10] A bit of a weird episode, and one of the earliest where the show started to take its meta-ness to the next level. I like Jeff’s arc here though. He tries not to be uptight anymore, subtly manipulates things anyway, and then when push comes to shove, steps into the leadership-esque role of the group but finds that there’s good to be done in that. The progression of it is a little clumsy, but it evolves Jeff in a believable fashion, and Abed’s Hawkeye metaphor goes from silly to meaningful.
I’m just not on board with all the Jack Black stuff. I like Jack Black! He’s a fun guy and he does good work. But he just has a strange energy for this show. Granted, that’s the point here, but maybe Black did his job too well, as he didn’t even work as a misfit and there weren’t a lot of laughs from his presence. That said, I did enjoy the ending with Owen Wilson accepting him into the cool kids’ group, and Buddy admitting that the Spanish study group was his “safety.”
Overall, not the show’s strongest outing, with Black being a weaker presence, but Jeff’s arc lifts it into “good” territory.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2018-03-01T05:29:24Z
[7.1/10] A bit of a weird episode, and one of the earliest where the show started to take its meta-ness to the next level. I like Jeff’s arc here though. He tries not to be uptight anymore, subtly manipulates things anyway, and then when push comes to shove, steps into the leadership-esque role of the group but finds that there’s good to be done in that. The progression of it is a little clumsy, but it evolves Jeff in a believable fashion, and Abed’s Hawkeye metaphor goes from silly to meaningful.
I’m just not on board with all the Jack Black stuff. I like Jack Black! He’s a fun guy and he does good work. But he just has a strange energy for this show. Granted, that’s the point here, but maybe Black did his job too well, as he didn’t even work as a misfit and there weren’t a lot of laughs from his presence. That said, I did enjoy the ending with Owen Wilson accepting him into the cool kids’ group, and Buddy admitting that the Spanish study group was his “safety.”
Overall, not the show’s strongest outing, with Black being a weaker presence, but Jeff’s arc lifts it into “good” territory.