Plot
 I usually have one foot out of reality and even I'm freaking out.
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| — Abed |
| The study group is in the cafeteria when Dean Pelton shows up and tells them about the upcoming "Pop and Locktober Fest" dance contest. While everyone else is excited about competing, Jeff is annoyed and leaves accompanied by Abed. He goes to the student lounge is shocked when he runs into a lawyer from his old law firm named Alan Conner. Jeff reluctantly reveals he is attending school to replace his degree while Alan freely admits he's here for a N.A. meeting. Jeff agrees when Alan proposes he ditch class to join him for a drink. Later in the study room , Chang is auditioning in for a spot in the study group's dance team. Troy tells him they'll think about it, as everyone wonders where Jeff is.
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| Annie believes they should all should be glad he reconnected with an old friend, but Abed worries that Alan will end up being a bad influence on Jeff. Jeff finally arrives with Alan in tow and introduces his ex-co-worker. Annie recognizes Alan but can't place him. After Alan ends up upsetting Pierce, the two men leave. Later at a bar, Jeff tells Alan how much he misses being a lawyer. Alan encourages him to visit the office and assures him his reputation is better now. They regard him as a legend for conning his way to a job at the firm. He invites Jeff to an office party, so he can see for himself. Back at school, Annie suddenly remembers where she knows Alan.
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| They both went to a N.A. meeting where he bragged about getting a colleague fired by sending an e-mail about his falsified credentials to the state bar. Convinced that person was Jeff, the group tells him this when he arrives. Jeff refuses to believe it without proof and tells them he'll be at an office party instead of the dance off. Chang appears, and the group reluctantly agrees to let him join the team. He demands that if he helps them win he be allowed to join the group. The night of the law firm's party, Alan admits he invited Jeff so he could talk to the head of the firm Ted on his behalf. It also turns out Alan also invited the study group although it was just so he could flirt with Annie whom he pulls away for a chat.
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| Jeff tells them all to leave before going to greet his old boss. As he departs, Britta goes over the plan with the others. Once Annie gets Alan's office number, Troy and Abed will break in and try to find evidence of the incriminating e-mail. Meanwhile, Ted and Jeff are reacquainting themselves when Alan interrupts. Ted ignores his brown nosing and instead announces to the party goers that Jeff is back. Over at Greendale, Chang signs in for the study group dance team the "Heather Pop-and-Lock-Lears" and assures Dean Pelton that the rest of them will show up. At the party, Jeff asks Ted why Alan isn't partner yet. Ted says it's because he dislikes him but might reconsider if Jeff can persuade him otherwise. Jeff then tells Ted how as a kid he admired the lawyer that handled his parents divorce.
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| He was a guy who put his personal feelings aside, focused on the bottom line and looked good doing it. Winning cases ultimately matters more then whether or not you actually like your employee. He summed it up by saying Alan has more then earned a partnership because of this. Impressed with his argument, Ted offers Jeff a consulting job at his firm. Jeff is flattered but before he can respond he notices Britta laughing it up at the bar. When he investigates he finds that Britta is considering an indecent proposal, Shirley is thinking of suing the stripper that stole her husband and Pierce just learned about an island where man is hunted for sport. Up in Alan's office, Troy and Abed manage to find the e-mail on Alan's computer.
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| They are interrupted by the sudden appearance of a janitor. Troy stalls him long enough to give Annie the opportunity to sneak up from behind. She chloroforms him, knocking him out and causing the three of them to panic over the situation. Abed suggests a plan, when the janitor comes to, they all pretend to be chloroformed as well. However, when the janitor awakens he sees through their deception and Annie is forced to chloroform him again. The trio decide to quickly flee the scene. Back at school, the Pop-and-Lock-a-Thon has been going on for hours and Chang is still dancing. He keeps himself going by dreaming about what it might be like once he joins the study group.
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| Downstairs at the law firm, Jeff escorts Britta, Shirley and Pierce out of the party. Abed, Annie and Troy then arrive and show Jeff the evidence they obtained. Jeff looks at a copy of the e-mail Alan sent but tells them it doesn't matter since backstabbing at his law firm is to be expected. He then repeats what he told Ted: Alan may not be likable but he's a good lawyer. Jeff tells them he appreciates them all caring but he can't afford to care himself if he wants to return to the law firm someday. He wishes them good luck at the Pop-and-Lock-a-thon and tells them he'll see them later. Jeff makes his way back to the party and finds Alan who tells him that Ted just promoted him to partner.
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| Alan decides to thank Jeff by revealing who it was at the firm that blew the whistle on him. Jeff doesn't show his disappointment when Alan lies and places the blame on somebody else. Back at the Pop-and-Lock-a-ton, the study group arrives and Troy takes over for an exhausted Chang who collapses onto the floor. Jeff then makes a surprise appearance and joins Troy on the dance floor. He explains to the group that while the law firm is where he wants to work, being here with them is where he wants to be. After hearing this, the others rush the dance floor for a group hug. It ends up getting them disqualified from the competition and provokes a delirious Chang into laughing maniacally for all his efforts being wasted.
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End tag
Abed tricks Troy into believing that a tunnel he painted on a wall is really a doorway to a cartoon reality.
Recurring themes
Continuity:
- Returning faculty: Dean Pelton appears and personally invites the study group to participate in the Pop-and-Lock-a-Thon.
- Returning students: Garrett returns.
- History lesson: Jeff's past as a lawyer is explored, and the details behind his disbarment are revealed. Annie mentions her past NA mettings.
- First appearance: Alan and Ted are introduced in this episode. Alan reappears in the Season Three finale "Introduction to Finality" with news for Jeff about Ted.
- This must be the place: The cafeteria, student lounge, and study room are all featured in this episode. The offices of Jeff's former firm is shown for the first time.
- Discontinuity: In the Season One episode "Advanced Criminal Law", Troy is smart enough to see through Abed's elaborate prank. In this episode end tag, he easily falls for a prank Abed pulls on him, believing that Abed has crossed over into the cartoon realm.
Running gags:
- Nice outfit: Dean wears Lederhosen in celebration of Oktoberfest.
- Annie's Boobs: Upon the group's arrival Alan greets Annie's boobs directly. Later, when Annie complains about only being used as bait and a distraction, Troy and Abed can't stop looking at her chest, resulting in her angrily storming off.
- Gay, he's so gay!: When Jeff misses a few study group meetings because of Alan, Troy asks what Alan has that they don't. Pierce says a butt for Jeff's wiener.
- Winger Speech: Jeff uses his powers of persuasion to convince Ted that Alan deserves to be a partner at the law firm.
- Made a bad impression: Britta tries to do an impression of Jon Stewart but Chang recognizes it as Stewart's impression of Johnny Carson.
- Biggest laugh of the night!:
- Ted shows off the hole in his hand by dropping an olive through it. He later shakes Jeff's hand which causes a loud "pop" sound to be heard.
- Pierce tries to casually pick up a glass of champagne and ends up knocking over several other glasses.
- When Annie chloroforms the janitor and knock him out, Troy jumps over his unconscious body and later trips over it while fleeing.
Pop culture references:
- Shout out:
- Britta mentions Jon Stewart when doing an impression of him. Chang mistakes it for a poor Johnny Carson impersonation.
- Abed compares Alan's relationship with Jeff to James Spader and Rob Lowe in Bad Influence.
- IMDB: Abed mentions the 1980 film Bad Influence when describing the effect Alan has on Jeff.
- Product placement: Troy mentions that Go-Gurt is actually just yogurt.
- TV Guide: Yo Gabba Gabba is sarcastically mentioned by Jeff when he questions the study group's assertion that Alan was responsible for his disbarment.
- Name that tune: The Flower Duet, from Léo Delibes' opera Lakmé, plays during Chang's fantasy about being part of the study group.
Meta references:
- Use your allusion: Alan calls Jeff "Tango", and Jeff calls him "Sundance", references to the movies Tango and Cash and Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid.
- Use your allusion: The dean, displeased by Ben's maniacal laughter, says "He's bringing us down...can we move him?" a reference the The Beach featuring Leonardo DiCaprio.
Quotes
- “You know what a therapist calls this kind of relationship?”— Jeff
- “A goldmine.”— Pierce
- “Co-dependent. You guys don't want me to be happy, you want me to need you. It's getting a little claustrophobic. I used to run full-speed through the boundless wilderness and now I'm in the zoo...where the horizon is wall-paper and the air is stale and nothing is ever at stake.”— Jeff
- “In other words, we're not cool.”— Britta
- “I never said it. You may have heard it, I may have thought it and it may be true but I never said it.”— Jeff
- “MY WHOLE BRAIN IS CRYING!”— Troy
- “Guys, guys! Do you know I actually have a civil case against the bitch that stole my husband?”— Shirley
- “Shirley, don't sue a stripper.”— Jeff
- “Why not?”— Shirley
- “She's a stripper, life sued her and she lost!”— Jeff
- “Jealous because we're fitting in with your cool friends?”— Pierce
- “No, I'm distracted watching you mutate. Britta, you're not a whore. Shirley, Jesus turned the other cheek he didn't garnish wages. Pierce, do I even need to say this? It is bad to hunt man for sport.”— Jeff
- “Bad ass!”— Pierce
| Season Two Episodes | ||
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1. "Anthropology 101" |
13. "Celebrity Pharmacology 212" |
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| Season One • Season Two • Season Three • Season Four • Season Five • Season Six | ||
