Following a bit of a divisive season 4 for Community due to creator Dan Harmon no longer being a part of the show, Harmon returned for season 5 of Community, and the result is a stronger season. Some people were a bit disappointed in seasons 4-6 of Community in comparison to seasons 1-3, but I do think that season 5 is the exception to this. I think it’s the strongest season in the show’s second half, and features some really great episodes that are just as good as some of the other classics.

The main thing that marks season 5, though, is that it was a huge transitional period for the show. I’ve already mentioned the fact that Dan Harmon returned to the show, but it was also a transition for both the cast and characters. This is around the time when the show’s cast started to diminish more and more. Without spoiling anything, Pierce is no longer on the show from the start of the season, Troy leaves about mid-season, and this is Shirley’s final season of the show before only making a few appearances in season 6. While I wasn’t really upset about losing Pierce or Shirley since they were the worst characters, Troy’s absence definitely leaves a hole in the show, and so you can tell that it was at this point that the show was needing to end.

It’s also a transitional period for the characters of the show. Outside of some of them leaving Greendale, this is year 5 of the show, and kids are usually only at college for four. So, the show needed to invent a reason for the cast to come back to Greendale after graduating at the end of season 4. I will admit that I think the storytelling is a bit weak here, because it winds up being a bit unbelievable why they all stay at Greendale. But…whatever, the point is that they all return to Greendale in various positions, but all with the intent of trying to make it a better place.

While not quite as strong as seasons 2 or 3, I thought that season 5 was really solid. After feeling a bit disingenuous to the characters in season 4, season 5 taps back into what makes the show special. The writing no longer feels off, and the jokes land a lot more often again. It does suffer a bit from all of the changes going on, but for the most part it still works really well. There’s another solid set of 13 episodes here, and I was happy to see some continuing adventures for a group of characters that had no real reason for staying together.

4/5