Plot[]
 Conflicts like this will ultimately bring us together as an unlikely family.
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| — Abed |
| At Greendale, the Dean is making the morning announcements as Jeff arrives late for school in his Lexus. In the study room, the group awaits his arrival. Britta is annoyed everyone is concerned about Jeff instead of social injustices like journalists in Guatemala killed by their government. Jeff finally shows up for the meeting and charms everyone except Britta. Jeff tries to smooth things over afterwards but is rebuffed. Britta criticizes him for exploiting the group and Pierce advises him not to pursue her so desperately. He then makes a failed attempt himself to spend time with Jeff.
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| Outside the library, Shirley and Annie want to protest something and are told by Britta to research Guatemalan journalist Chacata Panecos. In the Spanish classroom, the instructor Señor Ben Chang gives a lengthy tirade about being an Asian Spanish teacher. He then explains the latest class assignment where the students pair up, practice Spanish phrases and give a presentation. He divides the class up by giving them each corresponding cards. Upon learning Abed is paired with Britta Jeff makes a deal to exchange cards. Jeff approaches Britta at the end of class suggesting they have dinner. He discovers that she switched her card too, and his partner is Pierce.
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| Later in the study room, Jeff and Pierce are supposed to working on their assignment, but Pierce insists on trying to bond with him. Meanwhile, Britta is displeased when she sees the overly flashy protest Shirley and Annie have organized. She calls their efforts "tacky and lame" but gets criticized by Shirley for preaching about injustices but not actually doing anything about them. Britta then apologizes and asks how she can help. Back in the study room, Jeff is becoming frustrated at the lack of progress he and Pierce are making on the project. Troy and Abed show up and inform them of the protest Britta is now involved in.
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| Jeff gets angry at Pierce for having wasted his time and leaves. Once outside, Jeff joins the protest which has become a candle light vigil. He quickly finds Britta and she apologizes to him for how judgemental she was of him earlier. A drunk Pierce stumbles out of the library and calls out Jeff for how dismissively he treated him. He tries to punch Jeff, but ends up igniting the sleeve of his coat when it touches a protester's candle. He manages to extinguish himself by jumping into a fountain. The next day in the Spanish classroom, Shirley and Annie excitedly tell Britta about how the protest got briefly mentioned in a local newspaper.
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| Jeff arrives and apologizes to Britta for Pierce ruining her protest. She explains that Pierce was only looking to get close to Jeff because he's lonely and sees the study group as an opportunity to be with a family he never had. Pierce then arrives with Chang animatedly discussing something with him. Chang then approaches Jeff to let him know that he will automatically get a passing grade since Pierce and him had a falling out. Jeff declines the offer and convinces Pierce to let him help with the presentation they both created. They deliver a very long and elaborate performance that has very little to do with Spanish. ("Wise Up")
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| When they finish, Chang gives both of them a failing grade. Afterwards, Britta compliments Jeff for his actions but tells him that there's no way any woman in class who saw the presentation could ever think of him as a viable sexual candidate. Undeterred, Jeff sees hope when he notices that as Britta walks away she looks back at him. ("Daylight") Pierce sneaks up behind him and tells Jeff he did a good job. They walk off together as Pierce gives Jeff advice on improving his performance for the next time they work together.
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End tag[]
| The first end tag of the show, where Troy and Abed perform the Spanish rap.
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Recurring themes[]
Continuity[]
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Running gags[]
| List of Running gags |
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Recurring or debuting running gags in this episode:
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Pop culture references[]
| List of Pop culture references |
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References to popular culture in this episode:
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Trivia[]
Additional notes[]
- The opening credit sequence along with the theme song of the show "At Least It Was Here" makes its debut.
- The show's first end tag debuts with Troy and Abed's Spanish rap.
- The cards Chang hands out in Spanish class have the Italian flag on one side, a possible foreshadowing to the fact that Chang is not in fact a Spanish genius, as he claims to be. (It could also be the Mexican flag without the coat of arms in the center.)
- When Chang introduces himself, he asks rhetorical questions such as why he teaches Spanish and not math. In additional to a play on stereotypes of East Asians, it may also foreshadow Chang becoming a math teacher in Season Five.
- Frequent background extra Long haired guy played by Andy Lobo makes the first of 65 episode appearances. He's sitting in front of Troy in Spanish class and later is front row for Pierce and Jeff's performance.
Quotes[]
- “You're like Jodie Foster or Susan Sarandon: you'd rather keep it real than be likeable.”— Annie while asking Britta about Guatemala
- “"YA BIT!"”— Senor Chang
- “Okay, tell me what I've got so far.”— Pierce
- “What we have so far? Well, what we have is something incredibly long and very confusing, and a little homophobic. And really, really, specifically, surprisingly, and gratuitously critical of Israel. And it's called Two Conquistadors, should probably be dos. I mean it is Spanish class. Oh, which reminds me, the only thing not included in this epic are the five phrases required to get me a passing grade.”— Jeff
- “You're right. Needs more work.”— Pierce
- “Conflicts like this will ultimately bring us together as an unlikely family.”— Abed upon seeing Pierce confront Jeff at the protest
| Season One Episodes | ||
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1. "Pilot" |
14. "Interpretive Dance" |
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| Season One • Season Two • Season Three • Season Four • Season Five • Season Six | ||
