Community: 10 Best Concept Episodes

The third and final paintball entry on the list is actually the first paintball episode ever. It’s true that other episodes which came after raised the stakes, but as many a movie franchise will tell you, sometimes you just can’t compete with the original.

There’s no core theme here aside from riffing off various action movies, but that gives Community more freedom to go its own way with it. There’s tension bubbling all throughout the episode, as the characters - who’ve only known each other a single season at this point - interact with each other in completely new ways.

The decision to have Britta and Jeff sleep together, cleaving apart their will-they won’t-they dynamic to make room for fresh plots in Season 2, proved inspired as well.

Perhaps the best part of the episode though is Chang. For the first time in Community, we see him truly unleashed as he bursts into the room in his colourful tux and starts to pepper Jeff and Britta with machine gun paint bullets. It’s clear from this episode why Community kept returning to paintballs again and again.