Abed films Garrett's proposal and wedding for his latest documentary.
The Community episode Wedding Videography provides examples of:
- A Day in the Limelight: After appearing as a recurring character throughout the show, Garrett finally gets to be the main part of an episode here.
- A God Am I: Todd isn't saying he's definitely God, only that it'd be wrong to dismiss the possibility out of hand.
- The Alcoholic: Jeff is seen drinking throughout the episode and he is not even trying to hide the fact that he drinks while he is teaching. He even converted the bottom drawer of his desk into an ice chest
- And Knowing Is Half the Battle: Both parodied and played straight. The information in The Tag about first cousin marriage is actually true
, and Garrett and his new wife aren't even first cousins. (Garrett's great-aunt is Stacey's grandmother, making them second cousins). Still, the writer who ostensibly pitched this as a story idea seems to take a very personal interest in the subject. - Apathetic Teacher: Jeff has reached a new low. His entire lesson plan for the day is to write "LAW" on the blackboard and then spend the rest of the class time sitting and drinking. Even Duncan tried to get the class to watch YouTube videos.
- Artistic License – Law: A very mild example. Garrett mentions that cousin marriage is legal in the state of Colorado, which is true, but not actually relevant to their situation. He and Stacey are actually second cousins. Marriage between second cousins is allowed everywhere in the US, and in most jurisdictions globally (and is historically pretty common). It's unsurprising that they'd be a bit squicked out by the idea, but there are no legal obstacles, no matter where they live.
- Blatant Lies: The Dean states that before he met the Study Group he was actually a good dean."You can't disprove it!"
- Call-Back:
- Once again, Abed films his friends for a documentary, and mentions how easy it is to make.
- "Separate cabs? Separate cabs? Separate cabs?"
- Casting Gag: Garrett's bride Stacy is played by creator Dan Harmon's then-wife, Erin McGathy.
- Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: Jeff bringing the old woman onto the dance floor and the confusion over whether she's "Meemaw" or "Aunt Polly" soon lead everyone to figure out she's both and Garrett and Stacy are cousins.
- Faint in Shock: Garrett's mother faints after the reveal that her son is marrying his cousin.
- Foreshadowing: During the reception Annie and Frankie can't agree whether Annie danced with "Meemaw" or "Aunt Polly".
- Godwin's Law: Invoked. Apparently Britta goes to the "Hitler well" a lot for her arguments.Britta: What are you, Hitler Hitler?
- Happier Home Movie: Invoked. Annie plays The Lost Lenore in a video Abed is shooting.Britta: What are you doing?
Abed: We're doing Annie's "missing lover" footage.
Annie: You know in movies where the hero's wife or girlfriend is dead or missing and so he sits in the dark and he watches her in a home movie.
Abed: Or a hologram.
Annie: Or hologram, and she's always beautiful and full of love almost to the point of being stupid. We're making footage of that for me in case I get kidnapped or murdered! - Hilariously Abusive Childhood: A young Frankie was once invited to a slumber party and the other girls ended up throwing stones at her.
- Incest Standards Are Relative: Garrett and his bride Stacey discover — at the wedding no less — that they're actually second cousins. Everyone present, themselves included, initially treat this as a dealbreaker (despite the fact that second-cousin marriage is perfectly legal, even in states where first-cousin marriage isn't), though they do ultimately decide to go through with it anyway. The episode ends with a monologue by the (supposed) writer about the moral and ethical issues surrounding cousin marriage and the inconsistent US laws regarding it, a matter which seems to be of personal concern to him (it's all but outright stated that he's sleeping with his own cousin).
- Insistent Terminology: Jeff keeps describing the Study Group's dynamic as "synergy". Frankie keeps pointing out that he is actually describing "co-dependence".
- Jerk Ass Has A Point: For once, Chang makes sense when he points out "this family is so screwed up, you thought you were two different families!"
- Kissing Cousins: During his best man speech Jeff accidentally uncovers that Garrett and his new wife are second cousins.
- Literal Metaphor: Frankie mentions that she once turned a sleepover into a stoning. No, not a pot party, she means the other girls started throwing rocks at her.
- Magical Negro: Parodied with Elroy's addiction to "encouraging white people."Elroy: I learned the cheat code: White people like encouragement. It really doesn't matter what for. I never felt like a sellout. I never laughed at anything unfunny, never said anything untrue. The thing is — and this will sound racist — white people are very discouraged, and very discouraging to each other. So, the day you start telling them 'Hey! Just do what you're doing!', you feel like a superhero!
- Mic Drop: Garrett, after telling the party to "Stay and eat cake, or go to hell!"
- Mood Whiplash: When Frankie talks about her retarded sister and Jeff dashes into the room in party mode.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Jeff's fabulous toast ruins the wedding. Although to be fair, Mr. and Mrs. Lambert would have figured it out eventually.
- No Social Skills: When Annie and Britta press Frankie about what she's been up to, she tells them she's been "working... and tending to my personal affairs". When she can sense that they're unsatisfied with that level of detail, she overcorrects and tries telling them about her family, leading with some decidedly un-light tidbits.Frankie: I don't know if I mentioned, one of my sisters — well, you know — one of my sisters is deceased... and the other is, uh, mentally retarded.
- Out of Focus: Abed's presence in this episode is limited to being behind the documentary camera, only occasionally chiming in when appropriate. This is because Danny Pudi wasn't actually on-set due to committing to another project, limiting him to providing voiceover for when it was needed.
- Person as Verb: Abed refers to anyone glancing at the camera as "jimming".
- Separated from the Adults: Subverted. As the group is rushing out the door to the wedding, Chang is in the other room and emerges to find them gone. He wails "I'm Home Alone!" but barely a moment passes before Jeff pops back in to impatiently tell him to hurry up.
- Spotlight-Stealing Squad: The group makes a big scene arriving late to Garrett's vows. Garrett's mother puts them in their place for being terrible guests and asks them to fade in the background. Instead, they decide to redeem themselves by being the best wedding guests ever. While they do have good intentions, this ends up leading to the revelation that Garrett and his wife are cousins.
- Surprise Incest: "Aunt Polly" and "Meemaw" are the same person, meaning Garrett and his new wife are second cousins.
- Take That!: The group decides that Chang's Christian Slater impression is kind of just a poor man's Jack Nicholson impression, echoing a common knock on the former's acting career in real life.
- This Is Gonna Suck: Jeff give a dismayed "Oh, Garrett..." when he realizes that Garrett is about to propose in the middle of class. He repeats the line, this time with surprise and elation, when Stacy actually accepts.
- Trivially Obvious: Elroy's words of encouragement include "Now that's a container for liquid!" and "This man should keep wearing his pants!"
- Wacky Marriage Proposal: Garrett proposes to Stacy under the pretext of doing an extra credit class presentation on Marriage Law for Jeff's class.
- Wedding Episode: Abed films Garrett's wedding in this episode and the group obnoxiously attends the wedding and reception.
- Wham Line: A fairly standard Wedding Episode takes a sharp turn with The Reveal that the bride and the groom are cousins.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Garrett's mother point-blank tells the group that they are being horrible wedding guests. It devastates them...before they pick themselves up and try to fix it.
- Writer on Board: Played with. While the episode itself isn't especially heavy-handed, The Tag ostensibly by the episode's writer makes it clear that he felt he had a Very Important Message to get across.
