There's been a string of solid episodes ranging back several months, but Beginner Pottery" felt uneven and almost unfinished. The resolution and Senor Chang showing up briefly in two scenes wasn't enough. The weirdness of the episode and the charm of the show still made the episode enjoyable
The episode had two plots this week. Jeff decides to sign up for the pottery class as a "blow off class". A guy in Jeff's class is a doctor and great at pottery, and Jeff blows him off as expected, thinking he's better. We learned why Jeff has the need to be so cool and better than everyone else. His problems stem from his childhood, and the way we lThe scenes were pretty stupid as we see Jeff's mother talking to him as a child. They were neither compelling nor funny, and I'm not sure what they were supposed to convey other than Jeff's psychological problems. Jeff investigates into the doctor's past to catch him, and comes up with scant evidence, embarrassing himself as he tries to humiliate the doctor.
Pierce gets everyone to join a sailing class situated in the parking lot. Pierce obviously sucks at sailing as he does with everything else even though he claims to be an expert. Shirley, the captain of the ship, leaves Pierce to die when he is knocked off the ship. The simulation of the ship sitting on the land worked great since the scene was the usual wacky sentimentalism.
Pierce and Jeff's stories merge as they discuss failure and it didn't quite work either. Pierce tells Jeff that he knows he's not good at anything but tries anyways. Well, then. Pierce just admitted he knows he's a pompous asshole. This pushes Pierce to not give up on sailing, and he goes rowing back on wheels to the ship. Shirley embraces her own message of being nice to everyone, and "saves" Pierce, earning an A in the process. Pierce's words makes Jeff goes back to the pottery class to make his bad pottery.
Score: 8.6/10
