Cooperative Calligraphy

Did You Know?

• Annie's missing purple gel grip pen is eventually revealed to have been taken by Troy's monkey, Annie's Boobs, who has a cache of stolen objects including all of Annie's missing pens.
• The group cuts open Pierce's leg casts looking for the pen, but it is not there.

Plot

In the second season of Community, the eighth episode finds the study group finishing a diorama for anthropology class when Dean Pelton invites them to a puppy parade. Annie discovers her purple gel grip pen is missing, but the others brush it off. Frustrated, she insists everyone stay until it is found, tired of her belongings not being returned. Abed, who is aware of television tropes, remarks they are about to enter a bottle episode within the sitcom of their lives. The search fails, and as the group tries to leave, Annie accuses Britta of stealing the pen. This sparks a full search of everyone’s belongings, with accusations flying. Annie asks Jeff to take charge, but his advice is misinterpreted as a confession, so he declares a lockdown, forcing everyone to remain in the room until the pen turns up.

As they go through bags, unsettling secrets emerge. Abed’s journal reveals he has been tracking the menstrual cycles of the three women to know the best times to talk to them. A pregnancy test is found in Shirley’s bag; she says she reconnected with her ex-husband over Labor Day weekend, but Abed notes his charts show she was ovulating during Halloween. Troy recalls Shirley had sex with Chang on Halloween, leading him to suspect Chang could be the father. Shirley and Britta argue heatedly about religion and sex until Jeff snaps and tears the room apart searching for the pen. The group suggests strip-searching to prove innocence, splitting by gender to search themselves, but find nothing. They then decide Pierce must have hidden the pen in one of his leg casts, which they cut open, only to find no pen.

Regretful, the group sits together until Jeff argues that their bonds are so strong that no one could have taken the pen without confessing. He says it would be more reasonable to believe a ghost took it. Satisfied, they leave the wrecked study room, missing the puppy parade. After they go, Troy’s monkey, Annie’s Boobs, emerges from a vent, snatches a spoon, and returns to a hidden stash of stolen items that includes all of Annie’s missing pens.

Reception

In its original broadcast, "Cooperative Calligraphy" reached approximately 5.635 million households with a 2.0 rating/6% share in the 18-49 demographic. The episode received positive reviews from critics, with Michelle St. James of Daemon's TV writing, "From Annie's primal scream to almost every single Troy line ('Do they find thoughts in our butts? I knew I should have read that book.'), 'Cooperative Calligraphy' is packed with hilarity, character development, and puppies." Cory Barker of TVsurveillance wrote, "'Cooperative Calligraphy' is both the culmination of the last 15 episodes and the catalyst for a number of surely-awesome plots and episodes to come. It's a reminder that Community can be just as hilarious when telling intensely personal and small-scale stories as it is when riffing on pop culture's biggest genres and formats. And that's why it is television's best comedy."