Line #110 Recap/CommunityS5E05GeothermalEscapism


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/8vqn4jg_7538.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Troy and Abed, Intimidation Stance.]]
3
4	->'''Britta:''' [[SeriousBusiness Doesn't it seem like everyone is taking this game way too seriously?]]\
5	'''Jeff:''' Seems normal enough for a school that's on 911's blocked caller list.
6
7	As Troy prepares to leave Greendale, Abed plans an epic going-away party; subsequently a game of "The Floor is Lava" transforms into a high-stakes ''Thunderdome''-esque competition.
8
9	----
10	!! The ''Series/{{Community}}'' episode "Geothermal Escapism" provides examples of:
11
12	* ActionDad: Hickey gets invested in the game because he wants the prize money to pay for his son's wedding. He's consistently the most dangerous player throughout the episode and only loses because Britta backstabs him during the climax.
13	* AdrenalineMakeover: Britta, after she's LeftForDead by the main cast and joins up with Hickey's group.
14	* AffectionateParody: Of [[AfterTheEnd post-apocalypse]] movies like ''Film/MadMax'' and ''Film/{{Waterworld}}''.
15	* AllThereInTheManual: The group (well, half the group) already played "The Floor is Lava" before in one of the Study Break mini-episodes. That one was much more subdued while in this episode, Abed cranks it up to eleven.
16	* AntiVillain:
17	** Hickey is the main antagonist for the study group. Even after learning about Abed's hallucination, he's still determined to make them lose. But for him, it was all merely a game that would help him pay for his son's wedding. His continued antagonism after Troy reveals that Abed is actually seeing lava is also explained by the fact that, having only known Abed a few weeks by this point, Hickey has less experience with Abed's condition and various other breakdowns than the rest of the study group.
18	** Also Britta. She's definitely the killjoy of the group, trying to spoil the fun everyone's having with the game, but she's only doing so because she doesn't want them to waste their final hours with Troy and is concerned about Abed's mental state. While she does join Hickey in leading the assault against Shirley Island, she's only doing so because Troy and Abed abandoned her for "dead".
19	--->'''Britta:''' You can't outrun your emotions! I will ''force'' you two to grieve properly, even if it KILLS US ALL!
20	* TheApunkalypse: What Greendale becomes when a children's game is given high stakes.
21	* BadassBoast[=/=]FacingTheBulletsOneLiner: Parodied, when Shirley sacrifices herself to give Troy and Abed the Orb:
22	-->'''Shirley:''' You tell Buzz Hickey that Shirley Bennet said... well, I don't wanna waste your time. Just think of something cool and give me the credit.
23	* BadassesWearBandanas: Annie and Abed wear bandanas during the game.
24	* BattleCry: The Chair Walkers' ''"Ah-OOOOH!!!"''
25	* BigBad:
26	** Buzz Hickey is the group's biggest enemy in the Lava Game, complete with BaldOfEvil and BeardOfEvil.
27	** Britta becomes TheDragon for Hickey after getting abandoned by Troy and Abed. She does a HeelFaceTurn after learning from Troy that Abed is seeing actual lava.
28	* BigDamnHeroes: Notice the swelling of the music:
29	** Jeff disabling Duncan when the latter goes after Britta.
30	** Troy and Abed showing up when Chang and his men start looting Britta, Jeff and Annie.
31	* BondOneLiner: Britta, after she knocks Jeff onto the ground:
32	-->"Who's there, bitch? Floor! FLOOOOOORR!"
33	* BookshelfDominoes: When shelves in the basement topple over one after the other.
34	* BringIt: Hickey gives Troy and Abed a wordless "come get some" hand gesture.
35	* CallBack:
36	** "The Floor is Lava" degenerates into a quasi-apocalyptic war across the Greendale campus, much like their [[Recap/CommunityS1E23ModernWarfare paint]][[Recap/CommunityS2E23AFistfulOfPaintballs ball]] [[Recap/CommunityS2E24ForAFewPaintballsMore games]] tend to.
37	** This isn't the first time [[Recap/CommunityS2E11AbedsUncontrollableChristmas Abed's had a huge emotional crisis and saw hallucinations because of it]]. But this time, he's aware that the lava was fake from the start and really wants to stop seeing it. Unfortunately, he can't.
38	** Along that same line, [[Recap/CommunityS3E22IntroductionToFinality it's not the first time Abed has struggled to accept being separated from Troy and suffered a breakdown because of it]]. The major differences are that Abed convinced himself that becoming Evil!Abed from the Darkest Timeline was the best option, here he actively realizes he's having a breakdown; and that whilst Britta went along with the Evil!Abed delusion and wound up emotionally distraught over it, this time she tries to get Abed to face the reality of Troy leaving. On top of that, whilst Abed thanked Britta for her efforts and making him realize he does need help, here she actively helps Abed face up to Troy's departure.
39	** The photo of Britta that is posted on the wall of the "fallen" at Shirley Island shows her wearing her [[Recap/CommunityS1E25PascalsTriangleRevisited Tranny Queen Sash]].
40	** Shirley creates Shirley Island, a safe zone in the cafeteria, much like Pierce's Fort Hawthorne in "[[Recap/CommunityS2E23AFistfulOfPaintballs A Fistful of Paintballs]]."
41	** [[Recap/CommunityS2E06Epidemiology This isn't the first time Troy and Abed have retreated into the basement to escape from outside forces trying to take them down]] (although Jeff isn't with them this time).
42	** Again, the Dean is forced to watch as a friendly game is turned into a campus-wide obsession thanks to someone offering a massive cash prize- Abed in this episode, Dean Spreck in "[[Recap/CommunityS2E23AFistfulOfPaintballs A Fistful of Paintballs]]."
43	** Abed once again leaves Britta for "dead" in a setting he created after [[Recap/CommunityS2E11AbedsUncontrollableChristmas she tries to get him to face his emotional pain]].
44	** When Troy sees that Creator/LeVarBurton is the man accompanying him on his worldwide voyage, he briefly adopts the facial expression he made when first meeting him in "[[Recap/CommunityS2E16IntermediateDocumentaryFilmmaking Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking]]". Burton himself expresses concern for Troy's HeroicBSOD that he suffered when first meeting him, only for Troy to brush it off by saying that [[ItMakesSenseInContext he's a clone of the original Troy, and so doesn't have to worry about it happening again]].
45	** Troy's final farewell provides a callback to this season 1 moment:
46	--->'''Troy:''' [[Recap/CommunityS1E09Debate109 Why am I crying? Did I accidentally listen to "Come Sail Away" by Styx again?]]
47	* TheCameo: Creator/LeVarBurton reappears, having been assigned to accompany Troy on his voyage to ensure he doesn't cheat.
48	* CelebrityParadox: Chang's same-sex celebrity crush is Creator/NathanFillion, who guest stars in the ''next'' episode of the season.
49	* CerebusRetcon: It was obvious from the start that the Lava game was designed to deal with Abed's emotional turmoil. But it takes on a whole new level of meaning when it's revealed that Abed ACTUALLY sees lava on the ground and wanted everyone to play so that they could see what he sees.
50	* CharacterDevelopment:
51	** Instead of being initially reluctant to join the school's hijinks as usual, Jeff gave up his OnlySaneMan position as he fully got into the Lava game and not just for greed. He happily jumped into it even before the cash prize was announced. He also thought it was a cool way of Abed sending Troy off.
52	** When Troy told Jeff he was the coolest person he knew, Jeff confessed to him that he never left Colorado and remarked that Troy would be much cooler than him after his worldwide voyage. Looks like he learned something about [[Recap/CommunityS5E04CooperativePolygraphy honesty after Pierce's round of questioning]].
53	** A subtle one with Abed. [[Recap/CommunityS2E11AbedsUncontrollableChristmas Once again, he was hallucinating when facing an emotional crisis.]] But this time, he knew it was fake right off the bat and tried his best to reject it. And when he can't, he still decides by himself that he needs to let go.
54	** Troy is now able to converse with Levar Burton, after spending [[Recap/CommunityS2E16IntermediateDocumentaryFilmmaking their last meeting frozen in wide-eyed shock]].
55	** Britta, while still a bit incompetent, is a lot more effective and insightful as a psychologist than she's previously been. She also manages to help Abed on his terms by using her imagination and embracing, at least partially, his way of looking at the world. She also manages to verbally outwit Jeff when he attempts to mock her with a 'knock-knock' joke about her ending up on the floor.
56	* CloneDegeneration:
57	** Abed's "clone" does not share the original's wild emotionality, which enables him to let go of Troy.
58	** And Troy's "clone" has some homing pigeon DNA... which will manifest as a compulsion to return home.
59	%%* DarkActionGirl: Britta turns into after being LeftForDead by Troy and Abed.
60	* ADayInTheLimelight: An odd case. Britta has the lion's share of the screentime among the main cast for most of the episode, but the primary focus here is on Abed and Troy's relationship -- that is, its breakdown as a result of Troy leaving Greendale.
61	* DidntThinkThisThrough: Creator/LeVarBurton notes in TheTag that starting a sailing trip from land-locked Colorado wasn't the best idea. They spend hours with the boat on the back of a truck stuck in traffic before they even reach a river, much less the ocean.
62	* DumbassHasAPoint: One of the few times Britta's psych evaluations are right, when she deduces that the group (and particularly Abed) are using giddiness and the game to distract themselves from the sorrow of Troy leaving.
63	* EveryoneHasStandards:
64	** Hickey helps Britta stay in the game after Troy and Abed abandon her to be eliminated, purely because he wasn't pleased with the boys doing so.
65	** Jeff, Annie and Shirley aren't exactly impressed when they find out about it, partially because Abed lied about leaving Britta behind. It's underplayed, due to Hickey and Britta leading a force in the destruction of Shirley Island.
66	* EvilCostumeSwitch: Britta adopts a different hairstyle and black leather outfit when she joins forces with Hickey.
67	* FakeAmerican: In-universe: It turns out Magnitude is one.
68	--> '''Magnitude''': ''[in an upper-class English accent]'' I'm actually British!
69	* FantasyPantheon: PlayedForLaughs. As part of the ridiculous [[TheApunkalypse Apunkalypse]], the players have begun developing new religions.
70	-->'''Troy:''' You used that bench to upset the balance. By the vapors of Magmarath, we will restore it.\
71	'''Britta:''' [[LampshadeHanging You have GODS?]]
72	* {{Foreshadowing}}: Abed sitting on top of the table while making his announcement showed that he was ready to start playing the Lava Game from the get-go. But it also hints that he's been seeing lava before the game ever started.
73	* FromCataclysmToMyth: Garrett's story in Shirley Island refers to the [[AfterTheEnd "Now-Now Time"]] following the arrival of the "Burny-Touch", with everyone gasping in amazement. For perspective, this is a few hours into a children's game about imaginary lava covering the floor we're talking about here.
74	* FutureSlang: {{Lampshade\|Hanging}}d by Britta, who refuses to learn the new names of anything.
75	* GilliganCut: Britta refused to learn any new words when joining Jeff and Annie. Cut to Annie commenting on "centipeding" not being the fastest form of travel.
76	* TheGroundIsLava: Abed calls a school-wide game of "hot lava" as a going-away gift for Troy. It evolves into an all-out war, with the study group centipeding by putting chairs in front of each other, Chang leading the "Locker Boys" who spring out from lockers, and the students' only safe space being "Shirley Island", a massive clump of furniture within the cafeteria.
77	* HeroicBSOD: The whole game is Abed's attempt to [[DefiedTrope avoid]] this.
78	* HolierThanThou: While posting up photos of the "dead" on Shirley Island, Shirley makes a point of dividing them into "Christian" and "Secular" groups.
79	* HypocriticalHumour:
80	** For all of Britta's asserting that "the adults are here," the force she leads with Hickey is still actively playing the game.
81	--->'''Britta:''' The adults are here and we're going to tear down your fort! Chair Walkers, attack! (Battle Cry)
82	** Annie scoffs at Britta's initial refusal to immerse herself in the game along with everyone else and announces that she's perfectly willing to force Britta out of the game because of it ("You wanna join this alliance or do you wanna join the lava?"). She then protests when Britta ends up embracing the game and knocks her out of it.
83	--->'''Annie:''' Britta, I'm your ''friend''.\
84	'''Britta:''' I can't hear dead people, Annie, I'm in a world of imagination.
85	* IfItsYouItsOkay: Chang asserts that everyone has a same-sex celebrity crush. For him, it's Creator/NathanFillion.
86	* JerkassHasAPoint:
87	** For a given value of jerkass; everyone in the study group assumes Britta is just being a humorless killjoy and ignores her when she protests about playing the lava game, but she's really only doing so because she doesn't want them to waste their last hours with Troy in childish denial over his leaving without admitting how much he means to them and is concerned about Abed's mental state.
88	** Again with Britta, she becomes TheDragon to Hickey, leads his forces against Shirley's Island with a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech about how they're all in childish denial, and gets pretty much all of her friends knocked out of the game. But considering that Troy and Abed abandoned her for dead and everyone else has been treating her and her insights about Abed and the game with dismissive sneering, they all arguably [[LaserGuidedKarma had it coming]] to some degree or other.
89	* LameComeback: Jeff and Britta trade a whole load of these as they each attempt to get in a PreAsskickingOneLiner.
90	* LargeHam: When Britta gives up and finally decides to embrace the game to deal with Abed on his terms, she ''really'' gets into it. Buzz Hickey also counts, as he introduces himself having built a ''massive'' contraption capable of knocking over most players, all as he's laughing maniacally.
91	* LaserGuidedKarma: Troy and Abed abandon Britta for 'dead'. In return, Britta joins up with Professor Hickey and his 'chair walkers' and they attack Shirley's Island with Troy and Abed inside.
92	* LavaAddsAwesome: Even imaginary lava is enough to turn Greendale into a post-apocalyptic hellscape.
93	* LeftForDead: Britta's fate before being picked up by Hickey.
94	-->'''Troy:''' ''[guilty]'' ... We kind of... l-left her?\
95	'''Annie:''' [[WhatTheHellHero Left her for dead?!]]\
96	'''Abed:''' It sounds bad when you put it that way. Can you put it in a way that sounds good?
97	* LousyLoversAreLosers: The fact that Jeff's lack of emotional connection makes him bad at sex gets brought up again. Britta confirms that Troy (the nicest of the study group) was better.
98	-->'''Troy''': I'm better at sex than Jeff, right?\
99	'''Britta''': I've yet to have anyone worse.
100	* LuredIntoATrap: Jeff, Britta and Annie were lured by Chang's Locker Boys using a stack of chairs.
101	* MistreatmentInducedBetrayal: After Abed abandons Britta, she joins Hickey and lays siege on Shirley Island.
102	* NonindicativeTitle: While they're waiting to reach the ocean, Troy takes the opportunity to question Levar Burton about why ''Franchise/StarTrek'' wasn't called 'Planet Trek':
103	-->'''Troy:''' You never went to a star. Not one episode. [[note]]In fact, many episodes involve the crew visiting, studying and interacting with stars, and at least one episode has ''The Enterprise'' physically entering a star's corona.[[/note]]
104	* NotSoAboveItAll: Britta as regards the hot lava game. It's for the best, really. She's the one who has the idea of cloning Abed.
105	* NotSoStoic: Despite Abed trying to keep a straight face and continue having fun with Troy while trying to come to terms with his best friend's departure, his emotions briefly crack through at times as he admits that while he ''wants'' to accept what's happening, he's still breaking down over the idea of losing Troy for good.
106	* OhCrap:
107	** Both Britta and Troy, no doubt remembering back to "[[Recap/CommunityS2E11AbedsUncontrollableChristmas Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas]]", have this reaction when they learn that Abed actually ''is'' seeing lava on the floor, and they immediately drop their involvement in the game out of concern for him (while still abiding by the rules).
108	** Shirley when she realizes that Hickey brought [[VerberCreature Chair Walkers]].
109	** Troy and Abed were clearly not expecting Hickey to take pity on Britta, and are clearly aware that they're in trouble when Britta reveals that she's still 'alive'.
110	* OilSlick: The Shirley Island defenders put liquid butter on the floor to bring down the Chair Walkers.
111	* OneWomanWail: Downplayed example. There is a female voice singing in the scene where Abed drops into the lava.
112	* OnlyInItForTheMoney: Hickey freely admits that he's only playing the game to win the prize so he can help pay for his son's gay wedding, although he does seem to get plenty of enjoyment out of being a ''Mad Max''-style villain as well.
113	* OnlySaneMan: Britta is the only one who points out how stupid the whole thing is, mainly because of the absurd lengths everyone's going to embrace TheApunkalypse fantasy rather than actually confront the fact that they're upset that Troy's leaving. Eventually she reveals herself to be NotSoAboveItAll, when Abed abandons her to her "death" she decides to really confront him about his abandonment issues, by going as crazy as everyone else.
114	* PreAsskickingOneLiner:
115	** When Jeff and Annie pull out the rolling chairs against the Chair-Walkers.
116	---> '''Jeff:''' Hey, seat-feet! ''[[{{Pun}} Chair]]'' to dance?
117	** Jeff tries to pull this on Britta with a knock-knock joke, but she refuses to play along. Their back-and-forth argument about the subject ends up getting him so riled up that she's able to knock him onto the floor... and to add insult to injury, she then delivers the same putdown he was going to deliver to her as a BondOneLiner.
118	* PutOnABus: Troy leaves Greendale [[Recap/CommunityS5E04CooperativePolygraphy to fulfill the stipulations stated in Pierce's will to gain his bequeathal]].
119	* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Britta delivers one to the study group, along with the rest of the inhabitants of Shirley Island, after joining forces with Hickey:
120	-->'''Britta:''' I wanna say some things to you guys about mental health. You ''do'' realize that this isn't just a pile of chairs, right? This is a crib. And you're curled up inside there, sucking your thumbs, because you're too scared to say goodbye. Well, it's time to grow up. The adults are here and we're gonna tear down your fort.
121	* ReplacementGoldfish Britta and Troy clone Abed after his death. Also Abed suggests cloning Troy and sending his clone away.
122	* RestrainedRevenge: After Britta shoves Professor Hickey to the floor, he vows to shove her back... after the game's over.
123	* ScaredOfWhatsBehindYou: Abed and Troy believe Chang's men are retreating because of them but it's actually Professor Hickey arriving in his truck behind them that makes the gang lose their shit.
124	* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Abed and Troy ditch Britta when they see Hickey's steampunk tractor-thing (and because Abed doesn't like the fact that Britta's pegged his abandonment issues and is trying to make him confront them, and Troy is too weak-willed to challenge Abed). Hickey's not pleased and picks Britta up to join him.
125	* SeriesContinuityError: When Jeff is saying goodbye to Troy, he claims that he's never set foot outside of Colorado. In "[[Recap/CommunityS1E16CommunicationStudies Communication Studies]]", though, he told Britta that he once went to Disney World on a company retreat and got into a drunken fight with the animatronic Ben Franklin in the Hall of Presidents.
126	* SeriousBusiness: Abed intentionally turns "The Floor is Lava" into this by offering a comic book worth $50,000 as the prize. This being Greendale, of ''course'' it ends up with everyone acting like it's TheApunkalypse.
127	* ShipTease: Jeff and Annie partner up in the Lava War, and this is ''meaningful'' especially considering how the Dean called them on it in a previous episode since they use things like this to "get close to each other and hold hands in the dark" as a way of "addressing their urges." At one point Annie uses Jeff's binoculars while he's still wearing them in a transparent attempt to get closer; they didn't even need to use the binoculars at all.
128	* ShoutOut:
129	** The stance Jeff and Annie took when challenging Britta to a Lava Joust is similar to the [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender Fire Nation stance]].
130	** Abed falling into lava and being resurrected by cloning is a nod to ''Film/{{Alien 3}}'' and ''Film/AlienResurrection''.
131	** Hickey's desk-tank would not be entirely out of place among the other cobbled-together vehicles in ''Film/MadMax''.
132	** "Lava World" for ''Film/WaterWorld'', continuing TheApunkalypse theme. Shirley Island resembles the Atoll, and if you gave Professor Hickey an eye patch he'd almost be a match for the villain of that movie, played by Dennis Hopper.
133	** When Shirley says the Orb ''is'' Shirley Island, Abed asks if it's in a cool way like [[Film/TheUsualSuspects Keyser Soze]] or a [[TakeThat lame way]] like Film/TheJewelOfTheNile.
134	* SpecialEditionTitle
135	* StarterVillain: Duncan antagonizes Britta for all of 20 seconds at the start of the episode proper, before getting taken out by Jeff and Annie.
136	* StealthPun: Early in the episode, Britta's status as the group's resident buzzkill is restated, and in the end [[spoiler:she figuratively kills Professor Buzz Hickey]].
137	* SteamPunk: Hickey's bulldozer emits excessive steam.
138	* StiffUpperLip: Averted with Duncan, who when he loses the game whines that this is why the British always lose at sports -- because everyone else cheats. He then runs out of the room, practically in tears.
139	* TechnoBabble: When Britta comes up with sci-fi buzzwords to describe Abed's cloning process.
140	-->"Okay, I'm placing this cellular regeneration sequencer on the spot where he died. This is a laser guidance system that keeps the regeneration sequence from, um... jib-jabbing."
141	* ThisIsForEmphasisBitch: Britta, knocking Jeff into the "lava" after he repeatedly tries to bait her into a KnockKnockJoke while they're fighting:
142	-->'''Britta:''' Who's there, bitch?! Floor! [[LargeHam FLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOR!!!]]
143	* VerberCreature: The game has Floor Striders and Chair Walkers.
144	* WarMemorial: Shirley Island has a wall with photos of the fallen.
145	* WastelandElder: Shirley.
146	* WhamLine:
147	** Abed, over the loudspeaker, announcing the rules of the game.
148	--->'''Abed''': Oh, and because the not-awesome often need incentive to do awesome stuff, the final survivor will win my near-mint-condition #1 Issue of ''Space Clone''. Valued by the comics authority at ''$50,000''.
149	** Also:
150	--->'''Abed:''' It's NotAGame for me, Troy.
151	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse:
152	** We never see Dean Pelton following the countdown to the start of the game, so we never learn how or if he gets "killed".
153	** We never hear of the prize money again that Britta obviously won.
154	*** It's a good guess Britta gave the comic back to Abed. That likely would have been the result for any member of the committee winning (except maybe Hickey).
155	* WhatTheHellHero:
156	** Britta to Abed after he gets Troy to leave her to "die".
157	** Jeff, Shirley and Annie to Troy and Abed upon learning that they abandoned Britta.
158	** Annie to Britta after she laughs at Annie's elimination from the game due to her chair tripping over some rope.
159	** Hickey to Britta after she eliminates him from the game.
160	** Troy gives a mild, gentle one to Abed when he starts getting confrontational with Shirley about "The Orb", pointing out that since they already abandoned Britta he really doesn't want his last day at Greendale to end up with everyone hating him.
161	* WouldHitAGirl:
162	-->'''Duncan''': I'm not afraid to push a girl into make-believe lava! In fact, it's been my primary strategy.
163	* YankTheDogsChain: At one point, Star-Burns is seen making his way through the corridors, and upon getting no response to his cries of "Hello?" comes to believe he has won the game. He takes a moment to joyfully celebrate winning $50,000 ("That's fifty-thousand lottery tickets!"). Then he gets knocked down and run over by Troy and Abed while they're in a large plastic bubble.
164	* YouAreAlreadyDead: Hickey holds up his knife with which he slit Troy and Abed's airball during their combat scene. Then we hear a hissing sound.

Context Recap / CommunityS5E05GeothermalEscapism