Community/Recap/S2/E18 Custody Law and Eastern European Diplomacy

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
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As the end of Shirley's pregnancy draws closer and the question of who the father of her child is comes nearer to an answer, Senor Chang is increasingly insistent on inserting himself into the child's life -- and by extension, Shirley's. Equally eager to keep him out of their lives as much as possible, Shirley asks Jeff to persuade Chang to sign away his parental rights in the event of the child being his; however, Jeff is soon torn between keeping his promise to Shirley and seizing an opportunity to get Chang, in persuading him to change his ways in preparation for fatherhood, out of his apartment.

Troy and Abed have made a new videogame friend, Lukka, and beg Britta not to sleep with him, fearing the inevitable disillusionment which will come with her, having entered a failed relationship with him, spilling all of his embarrassing and awkward secrets. Unfortunately, this places Britta in a tight spot when she eventually learns the truth of what Lukka actually got up to during the ethnic cleansing in the Balkans.


The Community episode "Custody Law and Eastern European Diplomacy" contains examples of:

Britta: You guys have to believe me! He's so much worse than Tall Kyle!

Andre: I'll go ahead and consider that point missed.

  • Crazy Prepared: Abed subverts this. He doesn't have a security camera, he has a camera for a documentary that occasionally comes in handy.
  • Dramatic Pause: Britta attempts this ("May...be...we...do...!") but gets blank stares from Abed, Troy and Lukka.
  • Friendship Moment: Britta has one of these with Troy & Abed where they agree to go easier on her if she doesn't tell them details about guys she is dating. With the exception of if they have committed genocide or are left handed (Abed's making a chart).
  • Go Look At the Distraction: Jeff's quote in this episode is used on the trope page.

Jeff: Oh look, is that a reason to leave?

  • Guide Dang It: Abed's reaction to hearing about the situation in the Balkans.

Abed: If I ever go to the Balkans, I'm going to bring some serious cheat codes and walkthroughs.

Jeff: Oh look, is that a reason to leave?

Troy: I don't want to play any more.
Abed: I feel sick.
Lukka: She's strange.

  • What Happened to the Mouse?: Abed and Troy aren't friends with Lukka anymore...but there's still a Balkan war criminal loose in Greendale.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: Andre is horrified that Shirley and Jeff are conspiring to get Chang locked away for 20 to life for human trafficking (Jeff isn't above a little perjury) rather than just 3 to 5 for kidnapping.
  • Video Game Cruelty Potential: Lukka applies his real world knowledge to show how it can be done. Though honestly any game that awards points for killing unarmed villagers is just asking for this to happen.
    • It looks and sounds like a standard run & gun game, but apparently it contains sophisticated infrastructure systems to allow strategies like cutting off the enemy forces' supplies at the root by terrorizing the countryside. (I forget how exactly, does Lukka mention something about burning crops?) It seems the game is designed with cruelty potential on the genocidal level in mind. . .