"Origins of Vampire Mythology"
◄   Season Three, Episode 15  ►
Air date	April 12, 2012 on
Written by	Dan Harmon
Directed by	Steven Tsuchida

“	You're monsters! You're Hitlers! You're racist pedophiles! You're the opposites of Batman!	”
–Britta

Summary: Annie, Troy, and Abed try to help Britta avoid an old flame who has returned to town while Jeff and Shirley set out to catch a glimpse of the mystery man. Elsewhere, Laybourne turns to Dean Pelton for help with his pursuit of Troy.

Contents 1 Plot 2 End tag 3 Recurring themes 3.1 Continuity: 3.2 Running gags: 3.3 Pop culture references: 3.4 Meta References: 4 Quotes 5 Comments

PlotEdit

Troy and Abed are resuming their normal antics in the study room along with the rest of the group after their recent separation. Dean Pelton arrives in the study room to announce that a carnival will be setting up in the school's parking lot over the weekend. Britta wonders aloud if it's the same carnival that an ex-boyfriend  Blade works. She goes on to explain how much power the guy has over her which causes mixed reactions in the group: Annie is confused, Shirley understands completely due to her past with Andre, and Jeff is intrigued. Later, Britta asks Annie to help her stay away from Blade handing over her cell phone and asking to stay at her apartment so she can be monitored.

In Dean Pelton's office, the Vice Dean Robert Laybourne interrupts his playtime and enlists his help in trying to get Troy to join his A/C repiar school. Over at Troy, Abed, and Annie's apartment, Britta is with them watching the movie Blade. She tries to trick Annie revealing her cell phones location but Annie is easily able to see through the ruse .Annoyed at them both for disturbing the movie, Troy accidentally reveals where the phone is which causes Britta to make a run for it. The three of them grab her before she can get to it and drag her into Annie's room, securing it with a recently installed lock. Abed answers a knock at their front door where he is confused to see Dean Pelton dressed in pajamas with potato chips and soda. Over at the carnival, Jeff and Shirley look for Britta's ex-boyfriend.

They are surprised to see Chang and Pierce there together on a man date. They locate Blade at the skeet shooting booth but are unimpressed by what they see. Jeff insists on a closer look and drags Shirley with him. Back at the apartment, Britta and Annie are playing a card game in her room. Britta thanks Annie for helping her and confesses she's always thought of Annie as a sister. She says that she's over her Blade obsession now and asks if she can have her cell phone back. Wanting to believe her sincerity, Annie complies and leaves the room to give her privacy. She informs the others of what she just did , claiming that she did it to establish a trust between them. She adds that she switched Blade's number in Britta's phone for her own just in case she is lying. Annie is saddened when her cell phone rings, and she sees it's a text from Britta to Blade.

At the skeet shooting booth, Jeff is playing the game while trying to get to know Blade better. After talking with him a bit, Shirley starts to understand the appeal as he seems relaxed and cool. Elsewhere, Pierce and Chang are enjoying their man date. Over at Casa de Trobed, Annie's phone is constantly ringing due to Britta believing that she is actually communicating with Blade. Annie attempts to put an end to it by sending her a mean text, but this only encourages Britta to call this time. With the help of Troy, Abed, and the Dean, she manages to keep the deception going. Back at the carnival, Jeff is still playing at Blade's booth and Shirley leaves after finding out that Jeff is only there to figure out the secrets to his magnetism. Meanwhile, Pierce and Chang's man date comes to an abrupt end when Chang suddenly has an emotional outburst and leaves.

At the apartment, Annie decides to resolve the situation by sending a really mean text. Troy, however, understands what needs to be done. Using Annie's phone, he types a text, sends it and then deletes it before Annie can see it. Britta then emerges from Annie's room in a calm and composed apparently no longer under Blade's spell. At the carnival, Jeff is about to give up trying to solve the mystery of Blade when the carnie decides to tell him his secret since he spent so much money at the shooting booth. Meanwhile, Annie's grabs Britta's phone to see what Troy had texted to her. Britta admits she was messaging Blade but refers to him as a loser because of his last text. Troy is hurt by this and goes off to sulk in his blanket fort. Reminded why he came, Pelton makes an attempt at getting Troy to join the A/C school and leaves when he recieves a negative response.

Annie reads Troy's text and is shocked that Britta would react so negatively to it. She then reveals that Britta had actually been texting her phone not Blade's. After hearing this, Britta tries to leave the apartment to go to Blade but is stopped by the sudden arrival of Jeff. He tells her he learned the source of Blade's bizarre magnetism: brain damage. After the part of his brain that felt shame was destroyed his uncaring nature made him irresistible to people who hate themselves. Jeff advises that everyone needs to stop putting their hatred of themselves onto other people. Troy exits the blanket fort disturbed by all the noise and Abed suggests that everyone join him in watching Blade. They all gather in the living room and Britta suddenly realizes that Troy sent her the text. She gets a silent confirmation from Annie, and looks over at Troy with a smile.

End tagEdit

Abed is performing a stand up routine in the study room in front of a fake brick wall reminiscent of the old A&E show "An Evening at the Improv".

Recurring themesEdit

Continuity:Edit

• That just happened: The Pillow/Blanket war from the previous episode is obliquely referenced by Jeff.
• History lesson: Britta's past love life is explored. Annie's past Adderall addiction is mentioned.
• School supplies: Jeff is now using his locker which he just found out about in "Digital Exploration of Interior Design". Let's Potato Chips are also featured.
• Returning faculty: Vice Dean Laybourne returns and enlists Dean Pelton's help in trying to get Troy to join his Air Conditioning Annex. 
• Googly Eyes: Developments in the Troy and Britta pairing as Britta realizes Troy sent the complimentary text and smiles at him. Annie ogles Jeff while he is changing shirts and the two share a look at the end of the episode.
• Winger speech: Jeff again imparts the lesson to be learned in this episode which is to stop putting their hatred of themselves onto other people and learn to love themselves first.
• Previously: Jeff, Annie, and Britta's interaction references their past romantic entanglements. Jeff becomes obsessed with learning whatever secret Blade has that can make women go crazy and Annie tries unsuccessfully to hide her own attraction to Jeff. 
• Double take: Pierce gives Annie his phone after his breakup with Chang much like Britta did at the beginning of the episode.

Running gags:Edit

• Awww!: Annie and Shirley coo when Pierce laments not having a best friend in the group. Annie "Awws!" a second time when she sees how upset Britta is by remembering Blade.
• Nice outfit: Dean Pelton is wearing a train conductor costume when he greets the group.
• Fan service: Jeff takes off his shirt in front of an appreciative Annie.
• Man crush: Pelton touches Jeff's shoulder when he enters the study room.
• Alert nerd!: Reverse invoked by Britta in this episode when Abed explains how the 1998 vampire hunter movie "Blade" was based on the 1973 comic book from Marvel Comics.
• Pansexual imp: The Dean implies that he once was whipped by a feminine product.
• Whoops!: Troy accidentally tells Britta where her phone is hidden.
• Made a bad impression: Annie does a less than flattering impersonation of Troy mocking him for letting it slip where Britta's phone is. She also does a bad impersonation of Blade.

Pop culture references:Edit

• Name that tune: Pierce and Chang's friendship is set to a song that I don't know. Please edit if you do.
• Shout out: Hitler, Batman, Blade (both the movie and the comic book character), Sandra Bullock.
• Product placement: Britta compares her addiction to Blade to Annie's addiction to Adderall.
• IMDB: The 1998 Wesley Snipes vampire hunter film Blade is mentioned frequently throughout the episode. Also, a movie poster of the Zac Efron film Charlie St. Cloud can be seen in the background of Annie's room.

Meta References:Edit

• Use your allusion:
  • The title of the episode may refer to Blade's effect on Britta which is similar to a vampire's ability to mesmerize and entrance women.
  • When Annie gawks at Jeff changing his shirt a passerby quotes, "I'll have what she's having," the famous line from "When Harry Met Sally".
• Up against the wall: Dean Pelton's quote, "It looks like my news has incited some doings and if that's not my job I don't know what is," works for his role in the show as well as on campus.

QuotesEdit

“She invoked friendship to undercut the laugh, and we're still laughing. That's how funny it is.”— Jeff

“I need to stay with you this weekend. Not just stay with you, I need to be on lockdown. You were a pillhead, so think of Blade as Adderall. And handcuff me to the radiator like a mother-flipping carny-banging werewolf!”— Britta

“You tell anyone we did this, I will stop letting you do things with me I'm afraid to tell anyone about.”— Jeff

“She was born in the 80's. She still uses her phone as a phone!”— Troy

Season Three Episodes
1. "Biology 101" 2. "Geography of Global Conflict" 3. "Remedial Chaos Theory" 4. "Competitive Ecology" 5. "Horror Fiction in Seven Spooky Steps" 6. "Advanced Gay" 7. "Studies in Modern Movement" 8. "Documentary Filmmaking: Redux" 9. "Foosball and Nocturnal Vigilantism" 10. "Regional Holiday Music" 11. "Contemporary Impressionists"	12. "Urban Matrimony and the Sandwich Arts" 13. "Digital Exploration of Interior Design 14. "Pillows and Blankets" 15. "Origins of Vampire Mythology" 16. "Virtual Systems Analysis" 17. "Basic Lupine Urology" 18. "Course Listing Unavailable" 19. "Curriculum Unavailable" 20. "Digital Estate Planning" 21. "First Chang Dynasty" 22. "Introduction to Finality"
Season One • Season Two • Season Three • Season Four • Season Five

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