Episode Commentary: The Politics of Human Sexuality

It’s been a while since an episode did not focus primarily on Jeff (Joel McHale). This week, Annie (Alison Brie) takes center stage as she continues her academic pursuits of overachievement by helping Dean Pelton (Jim Rash) head this year’s STD fair – “Catch Knowledge!”

As a former pill-addict, she’s desperate to regain scholastic notoriety and must therefore gain the Dean’s trust, who wants to give her the honor of performing the condom demonstration.

There’s only one problem. Innocent Annie has never actually seen a “P-Word,” though according to Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown), virginity’s a proud rarity in this day and age – Annie’s like a unicorn. She may not actually be a virgin, but close enough.

This is where the ladies come in, as Britta (Gillian Jacobs) and Shirley must now help her to break into the Dean’s office to finally get a look at the feat she is to tackle.

Meanwhile, Pierce (Chevy Chase) has somehow managed to nab a date with a remarkably charming and sophisticated escort, much to Jeff’s surprise, who rises to the challenge by scoring one of his routine bimbos, who apparently thinks that it’s degrading to women to be called a “secretary” and instead identifies herself as someone who does “officy things.”

Finally, Troy (Donald Glover) and Abed (Danny Pudi) are at it again, providing quite possibly the only source of truly dependable comedy thus far. Troy is the athlete – he’s always been the most talented sports enthusiast and participant he’s known. Unfortunately for him, Abed seems to be beating him at everything – from arm-wrestling, to basketball – even to running. It’s interesting to see Troy continue to slide down his once-towering former Prom King pedestal. The real world is not the same one he knew in high school, where he safely sat atop his untouchable throne. He’s losing to Abed, he’s missing a following, and he very much feels like a fish out of the water – almost like a younger, more naïve version of Jeff.

Incidentally, the ex-attorney finally hit a truly undeniable step in his road to redemption. He turned down no-strings-attached sex with the ditzy date and, instead, changed “Hot Blonde from Spanish Class” to “Britta” in his phone. It’s a slow journey, but it could not effectively be pursued in any other way. Jeff’s progression into adulthood is handled with grace and care – with slow, methodical and often witty strokes.

Overall, the funniest scenes in “The Politics of Human Sexuality” are centered on the fair, if only for Senor Chang’s (Ken Jeong) ridiculously spiteful and over-the-top responses to Dean Pelton’s predictable failures. Here’s a hint: condoms don’t hold up well against the apparently raw power of ink.

Pelton’s incompetence is going to be difficult to outdo, even for him. As Shirley throws a party next week in “Comparative Religion,” we’ll have to see what he comes up with next.

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