Oh my god, who's pregnant? Britta? It's Britta, isn't it? At least the father isn't Chang. I hope. Alternately, who is buying a lawnmower?

Britta is now apparently living with Abed and Annie, which makes a ton of sense, actually. Unfortunately, her cats have not taken a liking to Abed. They brought the cats to Greendale to get acquainted with their new humans, and now one has disappeared under the study room couch. He winds up severely bitten for his troubles. Britta is embarrassed about being poor, so Abed tells everyone that she's going to live on his couch for no reason.

The Dean comes in dressed like a dinosaur. He announces that he's bought a VR system, to which Frankie automatically objects. Jeff, too, doesn't understand why they need one post-90s. However, he volunteers to help get it set up, mostly so he can avoid helping Britta move. Opening credits, still depressing as ever.

Frankie questions the purpose of the VR, which the Dean attempts to deflect. Once the Dean is into the system, we get the cool gimmick this episode has been built on - that is, '90s computer animation. It is glorious. He is mesmerized. Jeff comments that his phone does all the same things automatically.

When Britta arrives at her new home, she is so overcome that she bursts into tears, especially when she realizes they've bought her a new couch. However, she is suspicious when she notices that her name is on the delivery slip. They try to distract her with movie night. This week's feature - "Portuguese Gremlins", which is exactly what it sounds like.

Meanwhile, the Dean is still entranced with the virtual world. Frankie, who appears to have taken over as the group's Official Buzzkill, desperately tries to find a way to return it. Honestly, I wouldn't have the heart, this guy's having the time of his life. They force him to run to a monastery called "settings", where he goes through a bunch of file cabinets until he finds "serial number". Guys, I don't remember the era of VR, but if it was anything like this, why did we ever abandon it?

However, once he has the number, he goes on a power trip and "runs away" with it, determined to stay in VR forever. He "deletes" the file (drowning it in a fountain), leaving them with no way to return it. Frankie bemoans having to find five grand in the budget.

Abed and Annie discuss Gremlin politics while Britta slips away. She calls the furniture and determines that someone named Perry did indeed buy it - her parents. Furious, she demands that Abed and Annie explain. Turns out the Perrys have been concerned about their little girl all along, so they reached out to her friends on Facebook. They're supplementing Britta's rent, buying her furniture, everything. Britta is so enraged that all she can do is choke. Clearly, there's a lot of history there, but Britta won't explain further. Chang shows up again, his cat bite festering fiercely.

The Dean now has a massive God complex, related entirely to virtual file folders. Can I say higher education staff, folks? Britta confronts Jeff in the hallway, but he is utterly uninterested in her problems. Furthermore, he's known about the charade from the beginning - and it's been going on for years. Britta is outraged. Jeff takes her to task for being the world's biggest mooch. All she can do is stutter. She concludes that she has no friends. Meanwhile, Chang's hand just gets bigger.

Jeff manages to track down the VR developer (KEITH FRIGGIN' DAVID), now living in an RV in a parking lot. The developer, Elroy (yes, like Jetson) is totally enamored with the world he created and does not see the problem with the Dean's addiction. Jeff tries to call him on his bullshit. Elroy is having none of it, and ejects him from the RV.

Britta pulls up in front of a bland suburban house in a bland suburban neighbourhood. Her parents are overjoyed to see her. She angrily gives them a cheque, postdated for a year from now, by which time she will have moved far away, somewhere they can never find her. Honestly, her parents seem like pretty sweet people who care about their daughter (it helps that they're played by Martin Mull and Lesley Ann Warren, and holy cow are they really 71 and 68??). I certainly wouldn't be that nice. Okay, they're a little smothering, but still. Britta is enraged by their parental concerns. You, they weren't always that warm and loving - covert drug tests, extreme campaigning against alcohol and cross-dressing, etc. They in turn blame it all on her. So not such a sunny family after all.

Abed and Annie appear at that moment. Britta, feeling betrayed by friends and family alike, hits them all with a pillow. Finally, she runs from the house, screaming at them to stop infantilizing her. She then steals a little kid's trike. Mrs Perry discreetly pays the kid off.

The Dean is still wrapped up in his new universe. Finally, Frankie gives up on trying to reach him and enlists Jeff to help. He's about to beat up his boss when Elroy shows up. He admits that his program is "lame" and a waste of time, and offers a refund. The Dean refuses to leave. He lashes out at them, but due to hist restraints, cannot be moved. Elroy wonders if this guy really runs a school. With a sigh, he gets another VR set and prepares to "go in".

Frankie gets into her car, only to be stunned to find Britta in the back. She flips out at her unexpected guest, who feels alone and friendless. Turns out Frankie can sympathize - she didn't have perfect parents, either. She tells her that "we all suck" and part of growing up is realizing that. And Britta can rely on her for help, if she needs it.

Keith David's voice appears in the VR world, along with a cool silver avatar-dude. I keep thinking something cool's going to happen, but no, his job is just to keep the Dean distracted for a few seconds until Jeff can rip the helmet off. The Dean throws a hissy fit. They calm him down by showing him how to manipulate file folders on his laptop. We are informed that Jeff and Elroy are getting a spinoff, "Hard Drive and Wing Man". Hell, I'd watch.

Frankie brings Britta back to her parents. Abed is mostly concerned with the kid's missing trike, but Britta has other things on her mind. She apologizes to her family, and admits that maybe she never really grew up. "All that matters is that we're all going to die," she concludes. If she got that advice from Frankie, I'm actually kind of wondering if Frankie truly is a robot.

So the Perrys have reconciled, kind of. Britta assumes that she is sliding down a tunnel into suburban mediocrity. Chang arrives, his hand more grotesque than ever, and the Perrys help "Benjamin" with some well-timed antibiotics.

The Dean thanks Elroy for the help, which includes a refund, and gives him $500 as payment for his great day. Elroy admits that he has no direction in life. Gee, guess what the answer to that one is?

Jeff concludes that he will never escape Greendale. The Dean gives a Grey's Anatomy-style narration over a montage. Britta is happy with her new home, Chang gets treatment for his hand, and Elroy joins the study group. The Dean, meanwhile, still has an affection for a certain type of goggles...

Tag scene - a clip from Portuguese Gremlins. I have to say, the crew has the tone of low-budget European horror absolutely pitch-perfect. There is no movie that wouldn't be better off with a gun-toting priest.

The word I would apply to this episode is promise. It wasn't Greendale's biggest concept or funniest script, but it offered a good plot and served as more set-up for the new season. As the second half of the premiere, it was fine. I'm excited for Keith David, and also pleased that Frankie seems to be settling into the show's universe. So between the two episodes, yeah, it was a pretty nice start. I'm eager to see what comes next.

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