COMMUNITY: Geothermal Escapism

This episode marks the departure of Donald Glover from the show, and as only Community could do, the episode is both sad, touching and over-the-top.

As only the study group can do, they throw Troy a Bon Voyage party, but instead of just having a series of nice goodbyes, Abed suggests a whole-school game of Hot Lava. Britta, as always the buzzkill, wants to talk Abed out of the idea as a way to prolong Troy’s stay, but every time she does, she just sounds more and more like herself amidst a sea of frenzied students and professors.

To that point, the school’s students and staff are really creative with ways to play – inchworms and centipedes of chairs, whatever Hickey managed to create (motorized and with the use of fire extinguishers) and even Shirley Island and the orb. In the end, Troy and Abed in the orb couldn’t save them from the reality of the situation and Abed admitted that the game was one way to hope that Troy would never leave.

Since nothing good can ever last, and because the show (and by extension Troy and Abed) have to find a resolution, Troy and Abed each die in the game and are cloned to better handle Troy’s departure. Just a little bit of each of them will remain with the other.

With the game over, Troy finally leaves with his ship Childish Tycoon (a very nice nod to Donald’s musical name Childish Gambino) and to make sure that Troy follows the rules, Levar Burton will be on the trip for the year. By the tag, it’s clear that Troy’s gotten over his emotional issues at meeting his hero – enough that he asks a series of questions about the way that production went on Star Trek: The Next Generation and some actual plot questions too.

Goodbye Troy Barnes. You’ll be missed by the study group, but they will all remember your best moments. Just like all the fans of the show will.