Looking for our reviews of the other two Community episodes that aired Thursday night? You can find our review of the video game-themed "Digital Estate Planning" here. The season finale review will be up later this morning!
Full spoilers for the episode follow.
I love me a good heist movie. Heck, I love me a mediocre heist movie. So as it became clear where "The First Chang Dynasty" was going to take us, I was grinning from ear to ear. Sure, it was mostly a riff on Ocean's 11 and not the genre as a whole, but since said movie falls squarely in the "good" category, why complain? Where "Digital Estate Planning" faltered by feeling so out of place as an episode, "The First Chang Dynasty" continued (and ended) the story arcs we've been following for weeks.
Chang's rise to power had been a background story for much of the season. And I like that it's been in the background. Too much Chang can really wear thin. Tonight, we got some full on Chang, and since things have been leading to this, it was nice to give him free reign for a while. Britta perfectly summed up his leadership: "He's just like Stalin back in Russia times." The Chang posters around the campus, the aggressive security, the prescription throne-- all were exactly what we'd hope for once we got a clear look at Chang's rule.
Click on Chang's fearsome face to enter for your chance to win a Chang poster signed by Ken Jeong!
Watching the study group figure out a way to free Dean Pelton was a hoot. Once Troy got his inside info from the air conditioning repair school, the plan was put in place. Things unfolded perfectly, with Jeff going over the steps while split screens showed the action that was taking place. It was a delightfully perfect Community spin on Danny Ocean breaking into the Bellagio. And it was funny. This series always does an amazing job of smartly, often meticulously mimicking countless genres while never forgetting to make the audience laugh.
And even get emotional on occasion. After the failing plan that was all part of the plan actually failed, the study group found themselves locked up without a way out. This is where Troy stepped up and made his wordless pact with the AC school: "A man is only as good as his nod through a camera to a guy with a button." This brought us back to another storyline carrying through mush of this season. It took a while, but Troy was now promised to the repair school.
IGN TV Executive Editor took this pic of Alison Brie, Gillian Jacobs and Jim Rash on the set of "The First Chang Dynasty"
Really, "The First Chang Dynasty" brought some pitch perfect closure to numerous storylines running through Season 3. The Ocean's 11 riff was a fun way to wrap the package, but the gift on the inside was seeing how everything would come to an end. There was still one episode left, but "The First Chang Dynasty" worked perfectly as a conclusion to the season.
Source : http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/05/18/community-the-first-chang-dynasty-review
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