Love. So much love. This might be one of my favorite episodes of the whole series. I always enjoy the show's "fantasy" type episodes, which are often very over-the-top and meta (like the paintball episode or the claymation episode), so I was very excited for this one. And I was not disappointed!
Being a huge Lord of the Rings geek, the almost identical musical cues to Howard Shore's score as well as the running voice over filled me with such glee. I've only played something similar to D&D once, so I don't have much experience with the rules, however the episode was enjoyable to follow for the sheer absurdity of it, while still keeping in character.
I do find Britta annoying on occasion, but her outrage at the treatment of the goblins was perfect and one of my favorite parts of the episode, along with her distress over the death of the goblin waiter, Kyle (with an awesome performance from Abed, the dungeon master).
Annie pantomiming her character, Hector the Well-Endowed's, sex scene was outrageous and amazing on so many levels.
And then there was Chang...playing an elf...in black face. I said previously that Chang should be in every scene ever, but I kind of like what the show is doing with him, in that he normally comes in, acts completely and utterly ridiculous and hilarious for a little while, and then leaves. Makes you appreciate his genius all the more.
The one thing I had a problem with this episode was Pierce, mostly because it's really hard to like Pierce. Chevy Chase is fantastic and the character can be hilarious at times, but he's still a really horrible person, and this episode emphasized that. It's kind of hard to root for him as part of the group. There's part of me that kind of admires the show for just going with it and showing that Pierce isn't really an admirable human being at all, but there's another part that constantly wants to slap him.
Above all though, this episode had really great group dynamics and a Jeff who was sympathetic and trying to right a wrong by helping out Neil. I liked Jeff's characterization in this and I loved how everyone came together to help someone else. This episode really had it all and has further cemented this show as one of my personal favorites.
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