Community Episode 2.02 Accounting for Lawyers

Dean Pelton brings posters to the gang's lunch table for the first annual Greendale Pop and Lock-a-thon, in celebration of Oktoberfest. He's trying to recruit students to join the competition. After lunch, Jeff and Abed bump into an old lawyer colleague of Jeff's, Alan, who's on campus to attend a Narcotics Anonymous (NA) meeting. Alan asks Jeff to grab a drink with him and catch up. Jeff obliges.

Chang performs a short Pop 'n' Lock routine for the gang in hopes of recruiting them. With Jeff not there to help make a decision, the gang tells Chang they'll have to get back to him about the competition. Jeff pops into the study group with his friend Alan to let everyone know he'll be a little late; he and Alan have other plans. Before they leave, Alan introduces himself to Annie. She can't quite place it, but he looks familiar to her.

Jeff and Alan leave the study group and head to a local bar. Alan invites Jeff to an office party his firm is throwing the following night. Jeff's hesitant to show his face around the people at the firm after getting disbarred. Alan assures him that people at the firm think of Jeff as a genius for managing to cheat on the LSAT, defraud the state bar, and con his way into a law firm. That puts Jeff at ease. Back at Greendale, the gang wonders what Jeff sees in Alan.

Annie's worried about that Jeff's been spending too much time with Alan and drinking too much, which she thinks is just a gateway to narcotics. Then it hits her. She knows Alan from Narcotics Anonymous. Annie puts it all together. Alan's the one that got Jeff disbarred. Just as she shares this information with the group, Jeff walks in. Annie tells Jeff that Alan bragged about sending an email to the bar association to get a rival colleague disbarred in an NA meeting. Annie's sure he didn't recognize her because her hair is a little different, her skin is clearer, and she's lost a lot of weight since her days in NA. Jeff doesn't believe her and calls her evidence circumstantial.

When Jeff confirms he won't be at the Pop 'n' Lock-a-thon, since he's attending the party at his former law firm instead, the gang agrees to join Chang's team for the competition. If Jeff chooses the firm, they choose Chang. Chang raises the stakes for the competition. If they win, he gets to join the study group. The next night at the party, Alan asks Jeff to put in a good word with the firm's owner Ted. Ted loves Jeff and Alan knows that Jeff's words and support will have a strong impact on Ted's decision to make him a partner at the firm.

The gang walks into the party and thanks to Pierce, makes a splashy entrance. Jeff immediately asks them to leave, but Britta points out that Alan invited them. When Jeff is called away to talk to Ted, the gang puts their plan in motion: breaking into Alan's office to retrieve the email, proving he's the one that got Jeff disbarred. While Annie, Troy and Abed make their way to Alan's office, Chang checks in for the Pop 'n' Lock-a-thon and assures Dean Pelton that the rest of his team will be there.

Before breaking into Alan's office, Abed pulls out traditional spy gear for the mission just in case they need it. Meanwhile, Jeff tells Ted to make Alan partner, just as Alan had hoped he would. Back in Alan's office, Abed and Troy find the email and print it. Just as they're getting ready to leave, the janitor finds them. Without an explanation, there's nowhere to go. Annie comes to their rescue, attacking the janitor and wrestling him to the ground, using the chloroform Abed brought. They run away leaving the janitor unconscious in Alan's office.

Back at Greendale, Chang has been on the dance floor representing his team for over four hours, alone. In pain, Chang keeps his eye on the prize. If they win, he gets into the study group. At the office party, Annie, Troy and Abed show Jeff the email they stole from Alan's office. Annie tells Jeff that Alan's a bad friend; he stabbed Jeff in the back for his own gain. Jeff finally comes around and agrees that Alan's a bad friend, even though he's a good lawyer. Jeff tells the gang to go back to Greendale and win the Pop 'n' Lock-a-thon, he'll see them on Monday.

Jeff heads back to the party to find Alan, who thanks him for speaking to Ted on his behalf. He tells Jeff that another lawyer, Thomas, is the one who turned him into the bar association. After realizing Alan used him to get a promotion and then lied to his face about getting him disbarred, Jeff knows who his true friends are.

The gang returns to Greendale to join Chang at the Pop 'n' Lock-a-thon. Troy takes over on the dance floor, giving Chang a much-needed break. With only two teams left, the win is in reach, but Troy just isn't into it. Just as the team is about to call it quits, Jeff joins Troy on the dance floor. Thanks to the help of his true friends, Jeff now has leverage over Alan. He wants to work at the firm one day, but prefers to hang out with cool people like them. When they all jump on the dance floor for a group hug, Dean Pelton disqualifies their team. Since losing doesn't get him into the study group, Chang is devastated.