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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/curriculum_unavailable.jpg]]
2
3Two months have passed since the "Greendale Seven" [[Recap/CommunityS3E18CourseListingUnavailable were expelled]]. Having spent the intervening time drinking, eating unhealthy meals at Troy and Abed's apartment, and generally dwelling on their years at Greendale to an obsessive degree, they are forced to face their situation when Abed is discovered in full JustForFun/InspectorSpacetime costume on the community college campus [[NoodleIncident again]]. Taken into custody and insisting that the Dean has been replaced by a fraud, he is given the choice between therapy and jail time, and the entire group accompanies him to see a recommended psychiatrist (Creator/JohnHodgman). Soon, however, they discover that all may not be as it seems and the therapy visit could change their lives forever.
4
5----
6!! Tropes appearing in this episode of ''Series/{{Community}}'' include:
7* ActorAllusion:
8** It's not surprising that the camera cuts to Annie after Abed does his [[Series/MadMen Don Draper]] impression again. It also counts as a CallBack to when Abed used this impression to hit on Annie.
9** Though [[https://twitter.com/#!/hodgman/status/200940727910404096 he claims it was unintentional]], it's hard not to think of the ''Judge John Hodgman'' podcast when Dr. Heidi says "I think I have everything I need to make my decision."
10* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: The reasons stated for various study group members being at Greendale include divorce, lost scholarship, pill addiction, and disbarment. Pierce's reason is simply stated as "old."
11* BabyTalk: In one flashback, it would appear that Greendale offers a class on this.
12* BedlamHouse: The fictional Greendale Asylum; patients are crammed into locked, badly lit wards in straitjackets, while orderlies either watch their antics in amusement or abet sadistic experiments performed by the [[MadScientist lab-coated doctors]] in charge.
13* BigNo: Subverted. Abed's reaction to having to see ''Theatre/{{Chicago}}'' is not a BigNo as would be expected, but a "Big ''Lame''."
14** Alternately, it could have been over the Dean [[HeroicSacrifice taking paintballs for him and "dying"]].
15* BlatantLies: They're briefly suckered in, but it takes the study group all of five seconds after leaving his office to realize that Dr. Heidi has been feeding them these and they have loads of evidence to prove him wrong. This doesn't stop him from trying to convince them that he's the Devil and they're in purgatory, however. Only [[TheDitz Troy]] actually falls for it.
16** Also this:
17--->'''Dr. Heidi:''' Well, if it looks like I'm sneaking out the window, that's just a symptom of your deepening psychosis. ''Don't hurt me.''
18** Lampshaded by Jeff: "These aren't even good lies."
19* BookSafe: Shirley finds a book in the library with a handgun-shaped cutout.
20* BreadEggsBreadedEggs:
21-->'''Dr. Heidi:''' Well, Abed, I don't deal in crazy. I deal in help. ''[to everyone]'' So, how long has Abed needed a crazy amount of help?
22* BrickJoke: Officer Cackowski recommends against using the brick to prop open the outer door as it was used in "[[Recap/CommunityS3E04RemedialChaosTheory Remedial Chaos Theory]]" (Annie, who removed the brick last time, glares at Troy) ... [[BaitAndSwitch because it's an antique worth $60]]. Then he [[DoubleSubversion warns them that rapes are up eight percent.]] Bonus points for actually involving a brick (compare to the buttered NoodleIncident from "[[Recap/CommunityS3E09FoosballAndNocturnalVigilantism Foosball and Nocturnal Vigilantism]]").
23* CassandraTruth: Abed knew that the Dean had been replaced for the entire two skipped months.
24* CastingGag: John Hodgman plays a psychologist. The ''other'' psychologist in the show is ''also'' played by a ''[[Series/TheDailyShow Daily Show]]'' correspondent named Creator/{{John|Oliver}}.
25* CallBack:
26** The homeless guy in the study room from "[[Recap/CommunityS1E02Spanish101 Spanish 101]]":
27--->'''Dean:''' ''[through the library’s PA system]'' In order to increase awareness of the homelessness, security has been given binoculars.
28** The psych test results from "[[Recap/CommunityS3E05HorrorFictionInSevenSpookySteps Horror Fiction in Seven Spooky Steps]]":
29--->'''Jeff:''' I mean, if anything, Abed's more sane than any of us.
30** Annie does her trial of "Troy and Abed and Annie in the Morning" wearing the same outfit as [[Recap/CommunityS3E16VirtualSystemsAnalysis her guest spot]] on "Troy and Abed in the Morning".
31** At the "Wigging Out" party, Jeff has the same fixation with his jacket as in "[[Recap/CommunityS2E06Epidemiology Epidemiology]]".
32** Abed abridges his [[Series/MadMen Don Draper]] impression from "[[Recap/CommunityS1E17PhysicalEducation Physical Education]]" with Annie again visibly affected by it.
33** Dr. Heidi asks if the group can speak Spanish. Of course they can't -- [[Recap/CommunityS1E24EnglishAsASecondLanguage they didn't learn any]]. Heidi knows this detail because Chang briefed him.
34** The fact that the Dean was announcing a fire through a megaphone makes sense when you remember that [[Recap/CommunityS2E22AppliedAnthropologyAndCulinaryArts Greendale's fire alarm system is fake]]. His fireman costume ties in with his [[Recap/CommunityS3E03CompetitiveEcology fireman fetish]].
35*** Actually some of [[Recap/CommunityS2E24ForAFewPaintballsMore them do work]], but either the dean presumably doesn't know which ones do, or that flashback took place between "[[Recap/CommunityS2E22AppliedAnthropologyAndCulinaryArts Applied Anthropology and Culinary Arts]]" and "[[Recap/CommunityS2E23AFistfulOfPaintballs A Fistful of Paintballs]]." Or the sprinkler system is functional but isn't hooked up to anything.
36** The Greendale Asylum flashbacks: [[Recap/CommunityS2E07AerodynamicsOfGender the trampoline]], [[Recap/CommunityS2E24ForAFewPaintballsMore paintball combat]], [[Recap/CommunityS3E10RegionalHolidayMusic "Baby Boomer Santa"]], doing a [[Recap/CommunityS2E21ParadigmsOfHumanMemory clip show]], doing a [[Recap/CommunityS2E08CooperativeCalligraphy bottle episode]], [[Recap/CommunityS2E24ForAFewPaintballsMore Harrison Ford]], [[Recap/CommunityS2E21ParadigmsOfHumanMemory Abed remembering camping and painting the nursery causing Troy's scream]], [[Recap/CommunityS3E04RemedialChaosTheory Pierce's random interjection of having sex with Eartha Kitt]], and [[Recap/CommunityS2E08CooperativeCalligraphy Annie's lost pen]].
37*** It's also not the first time they've [[Recap/CommunityS2E21ParadigmsOfHumanMemory been shown in the crazy house...]]
38** In the background of the "Wigging Out" party can be heard the song "Party Where Your Heart Is" from "[[Recap/CommunityS1E22TheArtOfDiscourse The Art of Discourse]]."
39** Abed [[NoodleIncident trying to remove his own tonsils in order to avoid seeing a doctor]] was probably brought about by negative experiences with hospitalization when he was a kid, as shown in [[Recap/CommunityS1E03IntroductionToFilm his autobiographical documentary]].
40*** His reluctance to see Dr. Heidi also calls back to "[[Recap/CommunityS2E11AbedsUncontrollableChristmas Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas]]", where he also automatically responded to Professor Duncan's suggestions of therapy with "I don't need therapy." The earlier episode also required the entire study group to be there to help him through it as well.
41** It's not the first time [[Recap/CommunityS1E19BeginnerPottery Abed narrated someone's life]].
42** Troy says [[Recap/CommunityS3E13DigitalExplorationOfInteriorDesign "Uh oh"]] after Pierce shows off more of his senility.
43** One flashback has Abed freaking out at the concept of daylight savings. Back in [[Recap/CommunityS2E21ParadigmsOfHumanMemory "Paradigms of Human Memory"]], one flashback had Dean announcing the event in question.
44* CeilingBanger[=/=]BigShutUp: Annie resorts to this in TheTag. Just like when she was still living in her [[Recap/CommunityS2E13CelebrityPharmacology terrible neighborhood]].
45* CerebusRetcon: The Study Group, and by extension the audience, is led to believe this is happening to the entire three years at Greendale. Subverted when it takes the study group all of five seconds after leaving Dr. Heidi's office (well, it takes Pierce a bit longer) to realize that he's feeding them a load of horseshit and that they have copious amounts of evidence to prove him wrong.
46* ClipShow: Like "[[Recap/CommunityS2E21ParadigmsOfHumanMemory Paradigms of Human Memory]]" the idea is spoofed. Hell, it even references "Paradigms of Human Memory."
47* TheCuckoolanderWasRight: The very "monomania" which gets Abed to emergency management.
48* ComicallyMissingThePoint:
49** Dr. Heidi's dramatic declaration that Greendale Community College does not exist causes Troy to realize... that he parked by a meter.
50** Troy again, when he rides a brand new quad-bike into the study room in a flashback:
51--->'''Annie:''' Troy, you can't bring that in here!\
52'''Troy:''' Yes I can! It's all-terrain, dummy!
53* CordonBleughChef: Troy's dish made entirely of junk food.
54* CuckooNest: The ending essentially lampoons these and TV series that use them: Dr. Heidi reveals that the study group are in fact psychiatric patients, and their experiences at Greendale were all just a shared psychosis! Except they're not, they weren't, it takes the group all of five seconds after leaving his office to realize that this makes no sense whatsoever, and they provide a lengthy list of reasons why this cannot be the case at all. Then Dr. Heidi reveals that they're in purgatory and he's the Devil! Which they dismiss completely out of hand.
55* DelayedReaction: Troy takes long to process Dr. Heidi's WhamLine about Greendale College being a figment of their imagination.
56* DeliberatelyMonochrome: The FilmNoir paintball flashback.
57* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: The Dean mentions "Jeffrey" twice in his non-birthday song to the group in one of the flashbacks.
58* DiedInYourArmsTonight: The Dean and Abed during the FilmNoir paintball NoodleIncident.
59* DiggingYourselfDeeper: A flashback shows Abed freaking out about the janitor moving the clock back thanks to his AbsurdPhobia regarding Daylight Savings Time:
60-->'''Abed:''' ''[whimpering]''\
61'''Troy:''' ''[stroking Abed's head]'' It's okay, buddy. Just a few more minutes and we're good till spring, okay?\
62'''Abed:''' ''[panicked]'' But it doesn't make any sense!\
63'''Annie:''' Well, think of it this way: we get the hour ''back'' later in the year!\
64'''Troy:''' Yeah!\
65'''Abed:''' ''[{{Beat}}, [[OhCrap eyes widen]]]'' '''''AAAAA--''''' ''[scene change]''
66* DramaticThunder: Once Dr. Heidi [[TheReveal reveals]] the AwfulTruth (which is a lie).
67* DressesTheSame: The Dean runs Darcy off due to her wearing the same clothes as Annie.
68* DutchAngle: Just before the revelation of Greendale Asylum, there are several rapid shots that use this technique. Troy also gets an individual one when he's the only one who buys into Dr. Heidi's suggestion that they're dead and he's the Devil before Jeff [[GetAHoldOfYourselfMan slaps him out of it.]]
69* EveryoneIsJesusInPurgatory: Dr. Heidi literally [[InvokedTrope invokes]] this at one point, although by this point no one ([[TheDitz except Troy]]) is buying it.
70* FailedASpotCheck: While the group is remembering some of the deranged things Chang has done, Dr. Heidi sneaks out the window without any of them noticing.
71* {{Foreshadowing}}: Upon returning Abed to the apartment, Officer Cackowski mentions that it was the Dean who gave him Dr. Heidi's card and recommendation. Considering we saw the Dean get replaced by Fauxby in the previous episode, it's a pretty big clue for the audience (if not at that point the characters) that Dr. Heidi is not entirely on the level.
72* FreezeFrameBonus: The chalkboard behind Troy when he rides into the Study Room says:
73-->1. They may not want to play with you any more.\
742. It can lead to permanent buzz kill.\
753. It could cause them to need meds the rest of their life.\
764. Meth can turn present fun into future numb.\
775. It turned [[Recap/CommunityS3E17BasicLupineUrology Star Burns]] into [[Recap/CommunityS3E18CourseListingUnavailable Star Burned]].\
78So if someone offers to tell you a "meth time story" ... pass.\
79"If grieving you is wrong... I don't want to be right." [[MeaningfulName C. Hawk Bored]]
80* FunnyBackgroundEvent: When Troy is in the centre of a dramatic DutchAngle and music sting when he's the only one to buy into Dr. Heidi's claim of being the Devil, Jeff can audibly be heard incredulously/skeptically yelling ''"What?!"''
81* {{Gaslighting}}: Dr. Heidi tries to screw with minds of the study group in order to make them settle into the CuckooNest story. However, it doesn't take them very long to realize he's just making stuff up.
82* GetAHoldOfYourselfMan: Jeff slaps Troy to keep him from falling for another of Heidi's MindScrew "explanations".
83* GilliganCut:
84-->'''Jeff:''' Wait... give me a break! That made ''no'' sense!\
85''[Cut to]''\
86'''Dr. Heidi:''' Yeah, It's me. No, I think they bought it.
87* GlassesPull: Dr. Heidi does this at one point as part of his ruse.
88* GoryDiscretionShot: The camera cuts away before Troy's [[WhatTheFuAreYouDoing karate chop strikes the table]].
89* GroinAttack: Chang uses a [[StaticStunGun stun gun]] on himself ''twice'', possibly as TrainingFromHell.
90* GroupHug: The group has one at the end, contrasting with the Dean's failed one last episode.
91* HiddenDepths: Officer Cackowski, the recurring police officer, is a fan of ''JustForFun/InspectorSpacetime'' ("If this were Comic-Con, I'd [[TakingTheBullet take a bullet]] for that kid.") and watches a lot of ''Series/AntiquesRoadshow'' to the point where he is able to identify an antique pre-[[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar Civil War]] brick.
92* HongKongDub: PlayedForLaughs. In the asylum scenes, Garrett as an evil psychiatrist is very obviously dubbed over.
93* HumanChess: Used to determine parking spaces.
94* HypocriticalHumor:
95** Britta announces that the stories they've just told Dr. Heidi are a reflection of the study group's solidarity ... seconds before squeezing Troy's wounded hand.
96--->'''Britta:''' Sorry!\
97'''Troy:''' We just finished telling him about it, and then you grab it and '''''squeeze it'''?!''
98*** And then ''Troy'' offers it to Abed in a handshake, before pulling away.
99** At the potluck dinner in the beginning of the episode, Britta whines about all the "poison" food and how she needs organic food... to help her hangover.
100* IHaveThisFriend: Britta is wondering how long peyote lasts, you know, for a friend.
101* ImADoctorNotAPlaceholder: Parodied.
102-->'''Dr. Heidi:''' I'm a fake psychiatrist, not a fake ethnologist!
103* InstantlyProvenWrong: When Troy tries to assure the policeman that Abed is not crazy, the latter goes off into a monologue about the Dean being replaced by an identical life form. [[TheCuckoolanderWasRight It only sounded insane at the time, though.]]
104* KarmaHoudini: Dr. Heidi runs out the window when the group is distracted by memories of Chang being violent or illogical. As Jeff lampshades, they lost their only lead.
105* LampshadeHanging:
106** Literally, Dr. Heidi's office has an unusually large number of lampshades.
107** Jeff calling out Dr. Heidi's plan to somehow permanently convince all seven of them that Greendale was always an asylum also works as a [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall fourth wall lean]], as, upon closer inspection, it doesn't make any sense for the viewers at home, either.
108--->'''Jeff:''' How long did you think we'd buy that?\
109'''Annie:''' I'm literally carrying a Greendale backpack.\
110'''Abed:''' I have like 1000 photos of the campus on my phone.\
111'''Shirley:''' I have children I see everyday. I have definitely not been locked up!
112* LateToThePunchline: Troy, then Pierce.
113* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: In "Troy and Abed and Annie in the Morning."
114-->'''Troy:''' What are all these cameras doing here?
115* TheMainCharactersDoEverything: Lampshaded by the psychiatrist regarding the Study Group; he uses this is "evidence" that everything they did was imaginary.
116* MoodWhiplash: The asylum scenes are played completely seriously. They show the doctors like Garret casually torturing their patients, Jeff and Troy deluding themselves into believing a mattress is a trampoline, and Anne LaughingMad. Oh, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Chang is a doctor]].
117* MundaneMadeAwesome: Greendale has classes about holding your breath, what items you fry, and ladders. Not using ladders, just ladders.
118* MushroomSamba: In one of the flashbacks, Britta shows up to the study room with wild, frizzed hair full of various small items, ruined day-old makeup, and presumably a banana in her pants. As she sits down, she nonchalantly asks [[IHaveThisFriend for a friend]] how long peyote lasts.
119* NarratingThePresent: Played with in a flashback scene:
120-->'''Abed''': Time enough at last to eat a sandwich. Though even he knew that this sandwich was nearer his last sandwich than his first.\
121'''Pierce''': Abed, I'm trying to eat.\
122'''Abed''': He said, oldly. His brittle bones straining to support the weight of his wrinkly skin.\
123'''Pierce''': Stop narrating me.\
124'''Abed''': He shouted, to no one. Just a man, alone in time with nothing but the cold squishiness of tuna salad to comfort him.\
125'''Pierce''': ''[getting up and leaving]'' I take it back, I don't want to be in your novel.\
126'''Abed''': Pierce Hawthorne had nearly lost his grip on reality. Lately he'd begun to think that he was in a novel.
127* NiceJobFixingItVillain:
128** Chang could have dealt with Abed by pressing charges and getting a restraining order or sending him to jail. The alternate solution of getting Abed committed snowballs into an attempt to convince the whole study group that they're crazy and drive them away from Greendale. The session just serves to help them realize that Abed's right and that the Dean has been replaced with an impostor.
129** Keep in mind that even if the "Dean" did press charges against Abed, it could have blown up in his face too. Such as the study group confronting the "Dean" and realizing he was a fake by themselves.
130* NoodleIncident:
131** Due to Abed's [[AfraidOfDoctors aversion to doctors]], the group had to prevent him from removing his own tonsils.
132** As with "[[Recap/CommunityS2E21ParadigmsOfHumanMemory Paradigms of Human Memory]]," all the flashbacks are things which happened in episodes we didn't see.
133* NotSoAboveItAll: One flashback shows that City College's Dean Spreck played HumanChess with the dean for a better parking space.
134* OutOfFocus: Lampshaded when Pierce doesn't get a "crazy-town banana pants" flashback and later complains that he isn't in most of the stories.
135* PaintballEpisode: Averted, but [[Recap/CommunityS1E23ModernWarfare another]] [[Recap/CommunityS2E23AFistfulOfPaintballs one]] happened off-screen. This time it was with a FilmNoir theme and Abed won. After the therapy session, [[SelfDeprecation the group all agree that the idea is played out]].
136* PsychoPsychologist: Within the Greendale Asylum fantasy, Evil Psychiatrist Garrett withholds treatment to see what reactions he can elicit by playing mind games with his patients.
137* ProtagonistCenteredMorality: Discussed by the psychiatrist. He mentions that a lot of their antics wouldn't be tolerated at other institutions and tries to use this to justify his BlatantLies that Greendale was actually an asylum.
138* RageBreakingPoint: Not towards him, but towards cinephiles in general; Shirley learns the hard way not to favorably compare Creator/BrettRatner with Creator/StevenSpielberg in front of Abed.
139-->'''Shirley:''' I rented ''Film/TowerHeist'' last night and while I'm not gonna spoil the ending for you, it was quite the hilarious thrill-ride. Brett Ratner? Hmmm! He's a master at comedic action-adventure! ''[Abed looks increasingly annoyed during the following]'' A master at storytelling, just a master at making movies in general! I'm gonna say it; he's the new Spielberg!\
140''[Abed slams his cutlery down on the table with a sudden force that surprises everyone. He delicately wipes his mouth with a napkin]''\
141'''Abed:''' ''[A bit too calm]'' [[TranquilFury I have to go.]]\
142''[Abed begins to storm off, but before he leaves cannot restrain himself from pointing right at Shirley and snapping:]''\
143'''Abed:''' You're a bad person. ''You're a bad person.''
144* RealMenHateAffection: After Troy misunderstands "little misadventures", he breaks off from putting his arm around Abed to shake with his injured hand.
145* RevealShot: A total shot of Dr. Heidi's room reveals that the entire group came to join Abed for his session.
146* RevengeByProxy: Shirley's kids eat some cookies that she made for the study group. As punishment, she gives away their favorite possessions to the study group.
147** May also count as DisproportionateRetribution, since one of those possessions includes a ''martial arts tournament trophy''.
148* SeriousBusiness: One of the examples of Greendale being a weird place is that they have a class call "Can I Fry That". Which is just students saying whatever ridiculous thing they can think of and the professor saying that they can fry it. One student says "fries?" and is instantly kicked out of the class because the professor "won't tolerate clowning".
149* ShoutOut:
150** The whole MindScrew/layered hallucinations/BedlamHouse motif is reminiscent of ''Film/SuckerPunch''.
151** Troy describes Abed as adorable-weird like [[Series/MorkAndMindy Mork from Ork]] and then creepy-weird like Creator/RobinWilliams in the present.
152** Shirley's gushing about ''Film/TowerHeist'' and its director Creator/BrettRatner infuriates Abed.
153** Abed narrates that Pierce has "[[Series/TheTwilightZone1959 Time Enough at Last]]" to eat a sandwich. As Pierce leaves in frustration, Abed narrates that [[Film/StrangerThanFiction he believes that he is in a novel]].
154** The Dean reveals that the paintball prize is tickets to a ''Theatre/{{Chicago}}'' performance featuring George Wendt (''{{Series/Cheers}}'') and Stefanie Powers (''Series/HartToHart''). His short black wig resembles Velma Kelly.
155** Chang exclaims "I said hot damn!" in the style of Creator/UmaThurman's Mia Wallace in ''Film/PulpFiction'' (which is itself [[WaxingLyrical a quote of]] Music/{{Steppenwolf}}'s ''The Pusher'') after [[ICantBelieveItsNotHeroin snorting crushed corn chips]]. He attempts to predict future crime by forcing Garrett to [[InstantOracleJustAddWater float in an inflatable wading pool]] like the [[{{Seers}} pre-cogs]] of ''Film/MinorityReport''.
156** Both of the psychiatrist's "revelations" about Greendale that they were in an asylum the whole time and that they were trapped in purgatory were two of the more popular fan theories about the crash survivors in ''Series/{{Lost}}''.
157** The asylum setting homages ''Film/ShutterIsland''.
158*** "We have to go back" are ArcWords used in ''Series/{{Lost}}''.
159** "Dr. Heidi" might be a reference to "[[Film/TheHumanCentipede Dr. Heiter]]".
160** Chang shocking himself with the Taser while shouting ''"You're WEAK!"'' is similar to a scene in ''Film/TheDaVinciCode''.
161* ShipTease:
162** Annie once again looks very taken with Abed's "[[Series/MadMen Don Draper]]" impression. Their kiss in the Season 2 finale is also called back to as seen in the Greendale Asylum scenes. She also ends up clinging to him when Dr. Heidi says he should be committed.
163** Jeff and Annie share a moment together in the Wigging Out Dance in the flashbacks, with him [[YouMustBeCold giving his jacket to her because she seems cold]].
164** Britta attempts to hold Troy's very bruised hand. HilarityEnsues.
165** When Dr. Heidi asks if the group always indulges in Abed's "misadventures", Troy mishears and says the adventures are very manly while putting his arm around Abed, before realizing what he's doing halfway. Later he ends up in tears when Heidi says Abed should be committed.
166* SkywardScream: "Lame!"
167* StealthPun: [[http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m3rf3p0t2X1r2luwko1_1280.jpg Dr. Heidi, PsyD]].
168* TakeThat:
169** Dr. Heidi's example of a shared delusion is the swing dance music revival in TheNineties.
170** To director Creator/BrettRatner.
171** "You have to understand about Abed; he's usually, you know, adorable-weird, like [[Series/MorkAndMindy Mork from Ork]]. But since we got expelled, he's been creepy-weird like present-day Creator/RobinWilliams."
172** Dr. Heidi's lie about Greendale actually being an insane asylum and how quickly it's debunked seems to be one to fan theories that claim the series takes place in a mental institution with the events being just a delusion. It seems to be an all-purpose one to stories which rely heavily on AllJustADream / All Just a Delusion.
173* TakingTheBullet: During the paintball flashback, the Dean covers Abed with his body.
174* TeachersPet: Inverted; they don't do a lot of sucking up to him in this episode (or over the series in general) but there's a lengthy montage that establishes, if this wasn't already abundantly quite clear, that the study group are the Dean's favorite students in the entire school. It's what helps the group realize that there's something wrong at Greendale and that the Dean would never have stabbed them in the back like they were led to believe he did; he loves them too much.
175* TimeSkip:
176** The biggest one on the show so far, with the exception of past summer breaks. The narrative picks up two uneventful months after the cliffhanger at the end of the last episode, and the viewer is brought up to speed with a few seconds of dialogue.
177** A two-month TimeSkip also allows the show to get back to ThePresentDay, since the spring premiere was delayed by almost exactly two months.
178* UmpteenthCustomer: Pierce's 10,000th flush.
179* WhamEpisode: Subverted, since [[TheReveal the big reveal]] that would have made this a WhamEpisode turns out to have been completely made up. Double-subverted when the gang realizes that the Dean has been kidnapped, and they can't prove it due to being banned from campus. Jeff tells everyone the only solution is to rescue the Dean and take down Chang. Meanwhile, Chang finds out Dr. Heidi failed him and starts "Phase Two." Then he starts asking the kids for ideas.
180* WhamLine:
181** {{Subverted|Trope}}: this one is debunked before the end of the episode.
182--->'''Dr. Heidi:''' But you can't ''go'' back to Greendale!\
183'''Britta:''' Why, because it isn't healthy?\
184'''Dr. Heidi:''' Because it doesn't exist.
185** Later, {{averted|Trope}} and lampshaded:
186--->'''Troy:''' I knew it!\
187'''Jeff:''' [''[[GetAHoldOfYourselfMan slaps Troy]]''] Stop letting him make you realize things.
188* WhatTheFuAreYouDoing: Troy believes that Shirley's son's karate trophy is an UpgradeArtifact and attempts to break the table.
189* WorstWhateverEver:
190-->'''Annie:''' Worst pizza day ever!
191* YouMustBeCold: Jeff to Annie at the "Wigging Out" party. But immediately after giving her his jacket, he rattles off a lengthy list of care instructions to make sure it stays in good condition, and finally decides to take it back from her mere seconds after giving it to her in the first place.

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