Director: Tristram Shapeero — Writer: Steve Basilone & Annie Mebane — Aired: May 12, 2012 —Season: Three — Number: Twenty-two Summary: Jeff faces Alan in a mock trial between Shirley and Pierce; Laybourne tells Troy about his destiny.
It's summer, and the study group has finished retaking Biology 101 and are preparing for the finals. Jeff tries to remain focused on studying but finds himself distracted by the turmoil in the group. Britta misses Troy, and Annie is worried about Abed. After Troy's departure, Abed has become withdrawn and hasn't left his apartment. Due to his depression, he agrees to see Britta for therapy. On top of this, Shirley and Pierce become involved in a dispute. Dean Pelton informs them Greendale has approved their sandwich shop business but only one of them can sign the contract and be named the sole owner. Back at Abed's apartment, Abed gets an unexpected visit in the form of Evil Abed.
Evil Abed returns.
At the Air Conditioning Repair Annex, Troy is distracted from his studies, as he misses all of his friends. His instructor, Murray, calls him out for his ambivalence to the class he is teaching, but his admonishment is cut off by the arrival of Vice Dean Robert Laybourne. He asks Troy to accompany him and shows off several relics from the air conditioning repair school's past. After showing him the Sun Chamber, he presents to TroyThe Air Conditioning Manual , which prophesied the coming of "The Truest Repairman". Laybourne believes Troy to be that messianic figure. Murray interrupts his musings by telling him that there's an urgent matter that requires his attention, and he leaves Troy to ponder what he told him.
The Truest Repairman.
Meanwhile, Abed is trying his best to ignore his doppelgänger. Evil Abed tells Abed that he understands his despair at losing Troy but that turning to Britta for help is useless. He suggests that he be allowed to talk to her instead. Back at school, Shirley locates Jeff in the library studying for his finals. When she asks for his help in her current problem, an angry Pierce suddenly appears. He states that if she tries to sign the contract without him, he'll sue. Dean Pelton hears the ruckus and offers to help resolve the issue. He proposes that later that day, they all meet at the Greendale Courthouse, where he will hear their case as the judge.
Pierce is great at camouflage.
Back at Abed's apartment, Britta arrives for the therapy session but is creeped out when she finds Abed in The Dreamatorium wearing a fake beard. At the air conditioning school, Troy sees a crowd gathering outside of a room. He learns that Laybourne was killed trying to repair a flow duct rupture after inhaling a lethal dose of Freon. At the Greendale Courthouse, Shirley and Jeff are surprised when Pierce's lawyer turns out to be Alan Connor. Although thrown off guard, Jeff reassures Shirley that he can handle Alan. He and Alan briefly confer, and they both agree to wrap the case up quickly. At Abed's apartment, Britta loses control of the therapy session after being intimidated by Evil Abed.
Alan is back.
Back at the air conditioning repair school, Troy confronts Murray over Laybourne's death. He questions how such an experienced repair man could make the rookie mistake of rupturing a Freon line. After learning that Murray is now the acting Vice Dean, Troy becomes even more suspicious. Murray becomes agitated and tells Troy that he is released from any obligations he had to the school. At the Greendale Courthouse, Alan is questioning Annie on the witness stand. Despite Jeff's objections, he ends up attacking Shirley's character. He portrays her as a bad mother who wasn't even sure who the father of one of her children is. Alan concludes that she's unfit to be a mother and therefore unfit to own a sandwich shop.
Troy has suspicions about Murray.
At Abed's apartment, Evil Abed has taken control of the therapy session. He has Britta recall past traumatic incidents from her childhood. He calls her the worst, saying she is always trying to bring everyone else down. Feeling that he's darkened the timeline enough by breaking her spirit, he tells her that he is leaving to do the same to Jeff. Meanwhile, Troy is about to leave the air conditioning school when an air vent blasts air at him. Troy sees a portrait of Laybourne and decides to go back. At the Greendale Courthouse, Jeff tricks Pierce into making offensive jokes, which turns the entire courtroom against him.
Timeline darkness at 12 percent and rising steadily...
During Murray's coronation ceremony as the new leader of the Air Conditioning Secret Society, Troy interrupts the event. Declaring himself "The Truest Repairman", he challenges Murray to a duel in The Sun Chamber. Back at the Greendale Courthouse, Alan asks Jeff to throw the case during recess. He tells him that the head of the law firm, Ted, has died, and Alan is the only one who can help Jeff get his old job back once he graduates. At the air conditioning school, the students witness the showdown between Troy and Murray. Both will be placed inside separate rooms in The Sun Chamber, each with a broken air conditioner. The chamber's temperature will steadily increase over time, and they must fix their AC unit before they pass out from the heat.
WELCOME TO THE SUN CHAMBER!!!
In the courtroom, Britta arrives, dejected from the therapy session and muses about dyeing her hair. Evil Abed then shows up, equipped with a bone saw and intent on cutting off Jeff's arm to mimic what happened to his evil counterpart. Meanwhile, Shirley learns about Alan's threat and tells Jeff to drop the case, as his career is more important. Back at the Sun Chamber, Troy easily fixes his AC unit while a frustrated Murray accidentally confesses to murdering Laybourne. Concurrently, Jeff begins his closing arguments with a speech about selflessness and helping others. At that moment, Troy sees an apparition of Laybourne and decides to save Murray by fixing his AC unit. In the courtroom, Pierce is inspired by Jeff's speech to drop the case. Evil Abed is moved by it as well before Abed forces him to "leave" his body.
The Winger speech brings it home: Selfishness is bad, selflessness is good.
Furious, Alan reveals to Jeff that he was the one who ratted Jeff out to the state bar about his fake credentials years ago. Jeff tells him that he already knew this and sincerely thanks Alan for doing it. Later, Pierce and Shirley ask Jeff to act as their attorney and sign off as the owner for both of them. Abed reconciles with Britta and apologizes for his actions. He tells her that he does need therapy, and she's the only one he trusts enough to help him. Troy then returns, having been anointed the "messiah" of the air conditioning school. He ordered them to run it like a regular school and had them take Murray to the police. Jeff is relieved that everything has returned to normal and turns his attention back to studying for his Biology finals.
The study group finally reunited.
A montage plays out, showing glimpses of the future. Shirley and Pierce open their sandwich shop. Jeff successfully passes his biology final and decides to track down his father. Dean Spreck plots against Greendale, with Chang secretly looking on. It's revealed that Star-Burns faked his death. "The Dreamatorium" is taken down, with Troy moving into the now-vacant room, and Abed steps into a miniature closet version of "The Dreamatorium" located in his blanket fort.
After three years of working towards his goal of being a lawyer again at his old law firm, Jeff decides to choose friendship over his career. Alan tells Jeff he was the one who ratted him out to the bar association, and Jeff genuinely thanks him for doing it.
The year-long build-up for the air conditioning storyline ends with a murder and a duel between Troy and Murray inside The Sun Chamber.
Identity crisis: Evil Abed returns and takes control of Abed.
Middle Eastern Magic 8 Ball: The ending montage reveals a few scenes that possibly foreshadow future story lines.
Previously:
Evil Abed gets Britta to talk about her traumatic experience with a transient in a dinosaur costume which Britta previously discussed with Ian Duncan in "Pascal's Triangle Revisited".
Alan references how Shirley did not know whether Chang or Andre Bennett was the father of her baby while she was pregnant.
Recurring or debuting running gags in this episode:
Britta'd: Evil Abed pointed out to his counterpart that Britta once stated her favorite superhero is "X-Man". While there is an actual comic book hero named "X-Man", it is unlikely Britta knew of him, as he's not a well-known character and was probably referring to the popular Fox-owned X-Men franchise. It is also likely that the episode writers themselves were not aware of this either. It could be explained that Evil Abed knew of the character himself but was mocking either Britta's ignorance of that fact or simply her choice of superhero.
Man crush: Pelton touches Jeff's shoulder again after making an announcement to the group.
My other half: Britta goes to hug Troy after he returns to the study group, but he ignores her at first and goes to hug Abed instead.
Nice outfit: Dean Pelton wears a construction worker outfit and then leaves to plan an Alpine costume. He later gets to dress like a judge. After a court recess, he returns as Blind Lady Justice.
Rhyme time: Alan swears to Jeff that he'll go easy on Shirley in court, saying, "Scout's honor, Sinéad O'Connor!"
Shut up, Leonard!: Britta delivers the joke this time and says to him, "I know about your crooked wang!", to which he responds, "There's no such thing as bad press!"
That's you: Annie makes a bad impression of Jeff when he refuses to get involved in Shirley and Pierce's fight.
You're the worst!: Evil Abed insults Britta by comparing her to a long list of horrible things.
Alan claims that Jeff drove him to threaten Jeff's chance at a position with Hamish, Hamish & Hamlin as if he were Miss Daisy, of Driving Miss Daisy.
A slightly modified excerpt from the USMC's Rifleman's Creed, popularized by Full Metal Jacket , is written on the blackboard in Troy's air conditioning repair class, replacing "rifle" with "Limpken wrench," a fictional tool.
Shout out: Jim Belushi gets dissed again. This time, by Evil Abed.
TV Guide:
Apparently, Britta gets depressed when she watches the reality show Dance Moms.
Evil Abed also compares Britta to the television network VH1.
Jeff tries to study for his Biology test by reading what mitosis is but gets interrupted every time, just like in Sabrina, The Teenage Witch in "The True Adventures of Rudy Kazootie" episode.
Parody: The Sun Chamber, along with its announcer Dennis, can be interpreted as poking fun at the Thunderdome from the Mad Max franchise.
Up against the wall: The closing shot of the episode is a white screen with the hashtag "#sixseasonsandamovie", which was a phrase used in the Season Two episode "Paradigms of Human Memory". It was later adopted by the Community fandom as a rallying cry during the show's brief hiatus at the beginning of 2012, which was also referred to as The Darkest Timeline.
Quotes[]
“Do you know what kind of person becomes a psychologist, Britta? A person that wishes, deep down, that everyone more special than them was sick, because healthy sounds so much more exciting than boring. You're average, Britta Perry. You're every kid on the playground that didn't get picked on. You're a business casual potted plant, a human white sale. You're VH1, Robocop 2 and Back to the Future 3. You're the center slice of a square cheese pizza. Actually, that sounds delicious. I'm the center slice of a square cheese pizza.”— Evil Abed
“Hey, uh, while I'm doing this, does anybody know any funny jokes?”— Jeff
“I do. An Irish and a Jew walk into a Chinese laundry, with a gay duck.”— Pierce