Cooperative Polygraphy

"Cooperative Polygraphy" is the fourth episode of the fifth season of Community, and the 88th episode overall in the series. It originally aired on January 16, 2014 on NBC; and was written by Alex Rubens and directed by Tristram Shapeero.

The episode received critical acclaim; however, the episode saw a ratings drop, with 3.07 million viewers watching.^[1]

Plot

Returning to the study-room after Pierce Hawthorne's (Chevy Chase) funeral, the study-group are greeted by Mr. Stone (Walton Goggins), Pierce's executor.

Pierce’s will stipulates that, no matter the apparent cause of his death, the group must undergo a polygraph examination as part of a private inquest to determine if any member of the group murdered him. During the session, the group is asked a series of personal questions that reveal selfish things they have done, such as Troy and Abed using Jeff's Netflix account without his permission, Abed hiding GPS tracking devices on everyone to track their locations, and Annie having slipped the members of the group pills in order to make them more alert for studying.

The group repeatedly becomes tense and confrontational. However, after a speech from Jeff Winger (Joel McHale), they decide to stick it out, as they will each receive a bequest upon the session's completion.

The session concludes with Pierce’s final words to each group member, which are surprisingly positive and uplifting. All are bequeathed gifts from Pierce, including a tiara for Annie, a used iPod for Britta, a bottle of scotch for Jeff, and frozen samples of Pierce's sperm for everyone. Troy (Donald Glover) is given the most exceptional bequest, Pierce's share of Hawthorne Wipes, valued at over $14 million, which Troy will receive after he fulfills a stipulation to sail around the world in Pierce's boat. This requirement is an experience Pierce believes will help Troy to discover the sort of man he truly is and an experience that Pierce was supposed to do for his father but never did, causing him lifelong regret. Troy decides to accept the offer, leaving the rest of the group, particularly Abed, in shock.

During the credits, Mr. Stone has become intoxicated after joining the group at a bar. After rambling about his aspirations, he reveals that Pierce died of dehydration while collecting the sperm samples he gave to the group.

Production

This episode introduces a plot line to explain Donald Glover's leaving the show. The name of Pierce’s boat, Childish Tycoon, is a nod to Glover’s stage name, Childish Gambino.^[2] It also resolves the character arc of Pierce, played by Chevy Chase who left the show after the previous season.

“Cooperative Polygraphy” is a bottle episode, with the entire episode, excluding the tag, taking place in the library study room, a primary set for the series. It also occurs in near real-time. The title is a reference to "Cooperative Calligraphy", another bottle episode set in the study room.

Continuity

The teaser featuring Troy inhaling Pierce's vapor may be a reference to the dialogue between these two characters in the season 2 episode "The Psychology of Letting Go". In this conversation, Pierce attempts to explain the Reformed Neo-Buddhism religion, mentioning that the believer gains levels, and at a certain point, can actually eat a ghost, for which Troy replies: "What? I wanna eat a ghost!".

The iPod Nano given to Britta is a reference to the closing sequence of the season 1 episode "The Art of Discourse", which mentioned Britta being the “proud owner” of a used iPod Nano in 2014.

The tiara given to Annie is the tiara Pierce originally tried to give her in season 2’s “Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking”. That episode is similar to this one, with Pierce giving the members of the group various bequests in a manipulative fashion.

Reception

The episode saw a significant drop in ratings from the previous episode, with 3.07 million American viewers watching and attaining an 18–49 rating/share of 1.1/4.^[1] The show placed third in its timeslot and ninth for the night.^[1]

Despite low ratings, the episode received critical acclaim. Todd VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club gave the episode an A, saying the episode was "easily the best episode of the show since the third season and maybe even since that magical stretch around the midpoint of season two. It's an episode that contains ample amounts of both the laughs and the deeply felt emotional core that make this show work so well at its best... [It's] also wildly, wildly funny."^[3] Eric Goldman of IGN gave the episode a rating of 9 out of 10, saying "Another great Season 5 episode [...] managed to feel like an effective spiritual sequel to both “Cooperative Calligraphy” and “Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking” the latter, the episode where Pierce acted like he was dying and first gave “bequeathments.” Completely dialogue-driven, it delivered a funny and involving scenario, incorporating Pierce’s voice into the group one last time, even without Pierce present."^[4]

Gabrielle Moss of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 4.5 out of 5, saying "Hawthorne's cranky, volatile rages [...] were regularly the weakest element of Community; and Hawthorne himself was often the weakest link, much funnier on paper than he was in action. Which is what made Community Season 5 Episode 4 the perfect tribute to Pierce – from weirdo religious cult to gross-out semen jokes, the episode played with Pierce as a concept, and served as a reminder to me of just how damned funny that concept was."^[5]

Tim Surette of TV.com also praised the episode, calling it "one heck of a great episode of Community, and the best of the revitalized Season 5. End of story. Well, not the end of this story, but at least the end of any lingering doubt that Community is back to form. "Repilot" showed us that Greendale could open its doors again, "Introduction to Teaching" showed us how the show could be given new life, and "Basic Intergluteal Numismatics" (aka "Intro to Butt Banking") showed us that Season 5 could handle a stunt episode. But "Cooperative Polygraphy"? This was Community at its finest no matter what part of its timeline you're talking about, a shoestring-budget masterpiece that maximized a simple premise to highlight the series' biggest strength: the bonds between the study group that make them a surrogate family for each other. Oh, and I laughed. A lot!"^[2]

Laurel Brown of Zap2it called the episode "a ridiculous, talkative and surprisingly touching tribute. [...] There probably was no better way to remember the oft-awful character than with a polygraph machine, Walton Goggins and one last Pierce-inspired fight."^[6]

References

External links

• "Cooperative Polygraphy" at NBC.com
• "Cooperative Polygraphy" at the Internet Movie Database
• "Cooperative Polygraphy" at TV.com