Community: 10 Best Standalone Episodes
6. Cooperative Calligraphy
It's never just a pen.
When her eighth pen goes missing, Annie refuses to let anyone leave until whoever took it comes forward. As tensions rise and shenanigans ensue, the study group finds themselves stuck in a good old fashioned bottle episode.
Cooperative Calligraphy isn't just one of Community's best standalone episodes, but probably season two's second best overall (we'll get to the first later). Seeing how each character reacts to the situation they've been stuck in is an absolute treat. As tension grows more and more, the personalities within the group unwind until they all are left both figuratively and literally exposed. Even Abed, the heart and soul of the team, snaps in a rare moment of outright anger.
Despite the heavy drama of the episode though, it, and the study group, never once comes across as mean spirited. Rather, it feels like we're just simply watching a group of friends have a overly dramatic kerfuffle.
Also, the reveal that Abed had been graphing Annie, Britta, and Shirley's menstrual cycles is pure gold.