9.5

A very triumphant return to the paintball episode. The underground nature of the game was a great way to incorporate the more "normal" (by Community standards) Greendale we've seen since Frankie's arrival, as well as some fans' (and possibly writers') weariness of paintball episodes, in order to make it seem fresh again. There were so many great action scenes in this one, though the two stand-outs are obviously the parking lot scene with Starburns and Todd, and the elevator scene with Dean.

Speaking of which, they did a great job of utilizing all the characters, even the side-characters. They all had stand-out moments, like Jeff dealing with the students that were trying to stop the students from shooting the group, Annie and Abed together at the party, Elroy and Britta's scenes together (on the computer and in the kitchen), and while I didn't care for the end-tag much the first time (and it's still probably my least favorite), I did actually like Garrett's odd style of comedy at the end. But in the end, I'd have to give Dean the MVP of the episode. On top of the elevator scene, he had a lot of great comedic moments in this episode, such as his sudden appearances, trying to get past the trash can, and his anti-custodian jokes. But more importantly, he (and Jeff to a lesser extent) gave the episode the great emotional core that helped give the episode a bit more weight. This season has obviously emphasized his ineptitude (Honda and the giant hand), and Frankie has obviously been a major counterpoint to this, so I love that they're following through with it. I'm hoping we'll get an even bigger pay-off for this dynamic (and Frankie's affect on Greendale as a whole) in the last couple episodes of the season.