Bobby and Angie's Non-Future, Travis' Bleak Future

Cougar Town, S03E07

Bobby imagined that he was going to finally settle down with Angie, only to see that she hadn't considered their relationship to be exclusive nor anything above superficial.  Jules was excited to have her first real set of wedding photos until Travis offered to take them and showed her his horrific style of photography.  She worried further that a career as a photographer was one that would ensure her son would struggle in life.  Ellie teased Laurie with a Simon, but eventually let her know that everyone is stupid about something in life.

I was not expecting Angie to be the one that put a cork in the romance for she and Bobby.  He's such a loveable oaf, you forget that he has a past of numerous affairs while married to Jules.  I guess it's a little karma for him, but I felt bad for him.  He was on top of the world (literally kicking his heels), and Angie showed him in a big way that she was just interested in having fun.  Luckily, Bobby came to his senses and stopped sleeping with her eventually.  He's not made of steel, so it's expected that he would succumb to pleasure a few times, but in the end his heart took over and he ended it with her.  Sad to see Angie go, but she was doing Bobby no good.  Maybe she'll realize that losing him was a mistake one day.

I never thought Travis' photography would amount to more than a class, nor was I thinking that his taste of subjects would be things like open sores and severed body parts.  Although, twisted family begets twisted children, I guess.  I can't believe how much she loves Travis that she couldn't disappoint him right away.  After looking at his portfolio, it's a given that anyone would want proof that he could actually take more elegant and romantic photos.  Instead, Jules lied that she wanted him to do it, and then lied again to tell him she didn't.  Only after Angie talked him about his actual talent did Jules feel comfortable enough to hire him once again.  She's a damn fool.  One random picture that he took that seemed okay (the one of her sleeping) wouldn't be enough to convince me, nor the ramblings of an unbalanced teacher like Angie.  She may win an award for supporting her son in a pointless career of his own choosing, but she's probably going to regret the photos she gets for her wedding later on.

I felt Laurie's pain with that Simon.  I could never be as skillful with one as Ellie in a million years.  But I'm glad Ellie didn't just torture her with something she was better at, but also showed her own intellectual weakness (basic math that doesn't go beyond reducing the nanny's pay for damages).  She may have a bitch coating, but in the inside, she's all marshmallow fluff.  I think that she really likes Laurie a lot more than she'd like to admit.

This episode was good, but I wish that we had more scenes of Grayson being a dad and sucking at it or something.  I did like how Jules and Ellie wouldn't listen to him about being a parent as he was too new to put his two cents in about Travis.  I hope that Bobby won't be all depressed in the next episode, but I'm sure that Andy will be there to stroke his hair (most likely literally).  Really hope there will be a better Ellie-centered story in the future--I'm getting tired of her being sort of an afterthought.  When she's not in the spotlight, I can't seem to find the story to be all that entertaining.

Pillows Versus Blankets, Part Two

Community, S03E14

The conclusion of Abed and Troy's epic pillow fort battle was told to us in a mock documentary style, narrated by Keith David.  There seemed to be no reasoning with the two commanders of Blanketsburg and Pillowtown, even with Jeff's weakest attempts.  In fact, Jeff was content to stay on the sidelines, texting and occasionally giving speeches to the two sides to prolong the battle as long as possible to keep himself out of class.  Thanks to Annie, he gradually changed his position to be neutral and tried to get the two friends to reconcile.  Meanwhile, Pierce was battling Chang's army of kids, and Shirley was knocking down as many people as she could with her mighty pillow attacks.  It was Jeff who got Abed and Troy to eventually put down their pillows, but it was them losing their chance to get the world record that made the rest of the "soldiers" throw in the towel (or blanket, if you will).

Hearing Keith David's voice and watching the format of this episode, made me feel like I was back in class for a minute.  I really enjoyed that since they were mapping out Greendale like a real battlefield.  The serious way that they presented the story emphasized how little meaning the fight had at all.  It was easier to laugh at it, instead of getting annoyed about how Troy and Abed were acting like kids who just needed to make up already.

I particularly liked that the narrator was making fun of Greta's photographing skills.  He made a good point that just because it's in black and white, doesn't mean that it's good.  Greta's pictures looked like the stuff people take by mistake from their pockets with their camera phones.  He gave her credit for capturing the moment that Abed and Troy became one again, but she just got lucky when she was trying to get the light hitting off of a stack of pancakes.  What??  Who takes pictures like that?? I loved the stupidity.

What I didn't love was the cheap shots that Abed and Troy were making on each other.  Abed wrote an email that listed all of Troy's weaknesses, making it seem like he didn't have an ounce of respect for him or his feelings.  Troy, in return, told Abed that Troy was his only hope for a friend because no one else would have the patience.  They were being so mean to each other!  The worst kind of mean where it's nothing but the ugly truth.  But I guess it's good they got some things off their chest.  A friendship without any arguments sounds a little too good to be true (even for TV).

Usually, when Jeff comes to "save the day," it just makes me roll my eyes.  But this time, when he used Abed and Troy's child-like nature to prove they valued their friendship, I thought he was sweet.  I mean, he didn't just pretend to put their friendship hats on them again, he went back to the dean's office, pretended to find them, fixed them, and then brought them back to place on their heads.  Way to go above and beyond, Jeff.  He may never stop being self-centered, but he does care about his friends on some level.  Even if Annie needs to push him (though, I feel like he's always trying to please her because he wants to date her), he'll eventually get it through his thick skull what the right thing is to do.

On a random note that I meant to mention last time, it's pretty annoying that Subway is sponsoring Community.  Advertising on shows is nothing new, but I absolutely hate it when it's so obvious (an example that comes to mind is recent episodes of Psych where they practically have a commercial within an episode).  I suppose now with Subway being a part of the cafeteria, we will have to see a glimpse of their brand in every episode now.  Boo.  It might be necessary for funding or whatever, but can't we make these things subtle??  Ugh.  I'm not going to go to Subway because I like this show.

Anyway, as long as Troy and Abed got back together (and we got to see them doing their routine extra at the end of the episode--pledge drive), I liked the episode.  I wish their battle was a little more exciting and less of a joke, frankly.  It was good, but it could have been better (I'm shooting for the stars because the paintball episodes were so good).  Also, I liked how it ended with Jeff talking with the narrator and him asking if he was in The Cape.  The narrator pauses and says no, but we know that Keith David surely was.  Good ending to a good episode.