Community Episode 5.09 VCR Maintenance and Educational Publishing

Abed arrives at the Save Greendale Committee meeting with Rachel, the coat closet girl, who is also his new girlfriend. He seems much happier with Rachel in his life, and she genuinely seems to like him, too. Annie and Abed agree to a night of hanging out with Rachel and Annie's brother, Anthony, who is in town for the weekend. The dean interrupts the meeting in a giant Payday candy bar costume to perform a rap song about how the staff's paychecks will be delayed by a week.

Back at Abed and Annie's apartment, Annie is preparing a low-budget dinner with her antisocial brother, who immediately fixes the refrigerator door, a problem Annie and Abed have been hopelessly tolerating for months. Annie has an epiphany: her brother should move in with them and take Troy's old room! Abed is not so sure about the proposition, though, because he wants Rachel to take the room instead.

Meanwhile, Hickey, Jeff and Shirley are cleaning out a Greendale supply room when they discover a vent filled with brand new textbooks. Hickey suggests they sell the treasure trove on the textbook black market for an immense profit. Shirley is reluctant at first, but eventually she comes around to the scheme. They contact Britta to secure a buyer for the books.

Annie and Abed are torn as to which guest should be invited to move in. Finally, they secretly decide that the only fair way to make a decision is with a rousing round of "Pile of Bullets," a retro 90's VCR game. Rachel and Anthony are less than enthusiastic about the game, but Annie and Abed force the issue. The VCR game begins, and everyone is immediately confused by the complex system of rules. The game quickly devolves to the four players randomly yelling at the TV. Annie and Abed take the game way too seriously, and eventually they're forced to reveal their true intentions: they're competing in the game to see whose friend gets to move in to the apartment. Upon hearing the news, Rachel becomes upset and leaves in a huff. Anthony decides to leave as well, noting that while he would love to live in the apartment with his sister, Abed and Annie clearly have some unfinished business involving Troy.

Back in the storage room, Britta blackmails Chang to keep quiet about the books. Jeff tries to back out of the deal, but Hickey hogties him to prevent him from leaving. With Jeff and Chang tied up, Britta finally secures a buyer for the textbooks. Suspicion looms in the storage room though, and eventually Shirley ties up Hickey and Britta so that she can sell the books by herself. Shirley meets with Britta's buyer, who immediately informs her that the books are worthless, since they don't have page numbers. Shirley and the gang wasted their time and friendships on misprinted textbooks.

The next day, Abed finds Rachel at her locker and executes a flawless "third act apology in the rain" routine to win her over again. Rachel forgives Abed, with the caveat that he no longer manipulate or deceive her. He agrees. In the study room, Abed and Annie realize that Troy was somehow the sane roommate that held them together. Finding a suitable replacement won't be easy. Meanwhile, Dean Pelton continues to work on his rap lyrics, which are terrible.