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a guide to the most polarizing relationship in community
Thursday, October 16th, 2025 07:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hyojungssfor this post i will start off with one of my favorite activities, which is pulling quotes i said before. i think this will be particularly fun because i think i’ve changed my mind harder on this topic than anything ever. i always thought i was a pretty consistent person so it really surprises me that this was possible... but given the complexities of this i also completely understand why. i went into the archives for this one
here we are in the year 2025...
i remember reading one of the writers of community talking about how jeff and annie was not a planned pairing from the beginning (obviously jeff/britta was the og - and lately i've also been appreciating their classic will they won't they denied sexual tension but i agree with how every time the show teased putting them together permanently (the impromptu marriage moments) it was really to show how they were never going to last. anyway) and how it was really just the natural chemistry that jeff/annie (joel/alison) had which made it into a real long-lasting dynamic to continue exploring.
the canonical age gap as established in s5 is 16 years, but the original age gap was implied to be smaller, roughly 12 years (ie. the age retcon). s1 jeff ~34 (with the fanbase believing he was closer to 30) and annie ~18 → s6 jeff ~40 annie ~24. for me i think that was always the biggest issue, i was 16 when i started watching this show and after the initial tv drama excitement, the more it got pushed in show the more i hated it!
these days what i appreciate about them is how despite their temperamental differences and the maturity gap which correlates with the age gap, they still do make each other better because of navigating those differences, and they each grow because of it. there's a compatibility to their differences. i like how they just... have conversations about themselves and their lives (s1 finale, s6 finale) in a way that feels really genuine, like friends that are just navigating their own lives and sharing that with each other because they care about each other.
i do think annie naively idealized jeff at the beginning and jeff was gross for kissing her at the time, and yet with the perspective of some time i feel like as a whole jeff and annie were both written to pull back and learn from their mistakes ("how long did it take you to kiss jeff after i told him that i loved him"), and by ~season 5 and 6 the story is great we're friends and both definitely adults, but it's still not really appropriate for us to pursue a romantic or sexual relationship (3x02, 5x03) and we don't really talk about that openly until the series finale.
i wouldn't say that i actively want or need them to specifically get together to end the narrative... because for one thing i don't really consider them 'cute' despite all of this, but also where we left off they were in different stages of life, and who's to say where they will be if we ever get #andamovie... but i do appreciate the entire build-up of their friendship/whatevership, whereas when i was younger i avoided rewatching any episode that had a significant j/a moment unless it had something else i really wanted to watch lol because i simply could not enjoy the content.
i think this is because now i can appreciate that some things which felt significant when i was younger just aren't so big of a deal when you have more life experience, and because i sympathize with being in a position where you actually do have a deep connection to one of your friends but feel there are some invisible barriers to actually trying to make it something more, even if it's just the what will people say of it all. it's specifically because they stay friends and "partner up on cutesy capers so you can hold hands in the dark and address your urges in semi-acceptable scenarios" that their relationship is compelling to me and it wouldn't be if they started dating in like, season 3 or the gas leak year... or ever maybe but i think what happens is less important than how it's written. something i like to remind myself of is that relationships don't have to be endgame to be significant and important and formative in someone's life, and that's how i cope with the concept of not ending up with the love of your life lmao. could annie end up with someone else, realistically yes, but there's always going to be that connection that the two of them have that can never really be erased or diminished.
-
1x18
-
2x12
ANNIE I'm sick of this. One minute, I'm too young to date, the next, you're trying to get rid of guys I like. Either you want me, or you don't. What's it gonna be?
JEFF Annie, stop. You're acting like a little schoolgirl and not in a hot way.
-
5x03
DEAN Let me ask you two something. Let me be, like, the 50th person at this school to ask, what is this, huh? What is this creepy business?
April 3, 2014
why are so many people jeff/annie shippers???????
legitimately i dont understand
(+2 years of haterisms in my personal journal)
why are so many people jeff/annie shippers???????
legitimately i dont understand
(+2 years of haterisms in my personal journal)
@/locked
[...]
risa @/haengseol · Jun 20, 2020
the canonical age diff is too big for me but it's messy because alison is so much older than annie lol
[...]
risa @/haengseol · Jun 20, 2020
the canonical age diff is too big for me but it's messy because alison is so much older than annie lol
May 22, 2021
side note i just realized that i really don't get the appeal of the two main r/s for these characters (sayaka-kirari and annie-jeff) and i think this two character trend of irrational love interests is appalling. i know i left a lot out in annie's section and maybe i selectively chose te moments. a lot of the show is about her maturing and trying to figure out who she is but there's also a lot of hopeless romanticism from her end and i wonder if that's overcompensating for the rigidness that comes from the si... "We're just in love with the idea of being loved. And if we can teach a guy like Jeff to do it, we'll never be unloved." ya.... this is why i like this r/s a lot better as a growth arc than as an endgame (and i don't even like it in the first place because the age gap is ridiculous)
side note i just realized that i really don't get the appeal of the two main r/s for these characters (sayaka-kirari and annie-jeff) and i think this two character trend of irrational love interests is appalling. i know i left a lot out in annie's section and maybe i selectively chose te moments. a lot of the show is about her maturing and trying to figure out who she is but there's also a lot of hopeless romanticism from her end and i wonder if that's overcompensating for the rigidness that comes from the si... "We're just in love with the idea of being loved. And if we can teach a guy like Jeff to do it, we'll never be unloved." ya.... this is why i like this r/s a lot better as a growth arc than as an endgame (and i don't even like it in the first place because the age gap is ridiculous)
@/[locked] · Jan 24, 2022
suddenly deciding last year that i didnt wanna enjoy toxic rships anymore has really ruined my enjoyment of MEDIA!!!!!
risa @/haengseol · Jan 24, 2022
i cant stop thinking about this because i just made the decision to enjoy a tv r/s that i previously hated through the acknowledgement that it's not healthy LOL
suddenly deciding last year that i didnt wanna enjoy toxic rships anymore has really ruined my enjoyment of MEDIA!!!!!
risa @/haengseol · Jan 24, 2022
i cant stop thinking about this because i just made the decision to enjoy a tv r/s that i previously hated through the acknowledgement that it's not healthy LOL
Jan 30, 2022
I want to make it very clear that I have never liked J/A but as the years went on I grew to appreciate the role that their relationship has in the show and in each of their stories. Moreso A -> J than the other way around because it was so clearly a case of idealization and looking upwards and frankly being taken advantage of!!. It always drove me insane how people actually want them to end up together when they're 16 years apart in age ("Men are monsters who crave young flesh", etc) but like, whatever!! I understand that they bring out some good traits in each other - I understand Alison is super attractive and a lot older than her character at any given time - I am also aware they have to leave it open ended because of the polarization in the viewership. But to me. They really should not end up together (speaking in context of potential #andamovie).
I want to make it very clear that I have never liked J/A but as the years went on I grew to appreciate the role that their relationship has in the show and in each of their stories. Moreso A -> J than the other way around because it was so clearly a case of idealization and looking upwards and frankly being taken advantage of!!. It always drove me insane how people actually want them to end up together when they're 16 years apart in age ("Men are monsters who crave young flesh", etc) but like, whatever!! I understand that they bring out some good traits in each other - I understand Alison is super attractive and a lot older than her character at any given time - I am also aware they have to leave it open ended because of the polarization in the viewership. But to me. They really should not end up together (speaking in context of potential #andamovie).
April 1, 2022
btw i think often about the inspector spacetime ep of community season 4 because a lot of people said it ruined annies character (this is. the one where she accidentally gets called jeff's wife and then she goes along with it including making a public scene of him cheating to "save face") but i think it makes so much sense for her character LOL because it's a childish fantasy and that's really what is j/a. anyways
btw i think often about the inspector spacetime ep of community season 4 because a lot of people said it ruined annies character (this is. the one where she accidentally gets called jeff's wife and then she goes along with it including making a public scene of him cheating to "save face") but i think it makes so much sense for her character LOL because it's a childish fantasy and that's really what is j/a. anyways
✧ @/likewaterising · Oct 14, 2022
local j/a anti wants to write a post detailing why its such a complex rs....
✧ @/likewaterising · Nov 8, 2022
laughing bc i just opened dw to make a post for the first time in forever and my browser prompted me to restore from draft "a guide to the most polarizing relationship in community"
✧ @/likewaterising · Nov 8, 2022
i'm unlikely to finish writing the post because its too much work but the point is that age gap + overage casting + age retcon + ust/chemistry + moral contrast + maturity gap + experience gap + indv issues + idealization + growth arcs, makes them a great r/s study
local j/a anti wants to write a post detailing why its such a complex rs....
✧ @/likewaterising · Nov 8, 2022
laughing bc i just opened dw to make a post for the first time in forever and my browser prompted me to restore from draft "a guide to the most polarizing relationship in community"
✧ @/likewaterising · Nov 8, 2022
i'm unlikely to finish writing the post because its too much work but the point is that age gap + overage casting + age retcon + ust/chemistry + moral contrast + maturity gap + experience gap + indv issues + idealization + growth arcs, makes them a great r/s study
here we are in the year 2025...
i remember reading one of the writers of community talking about how jeff and annie was not a planned pairing from the beginning (obviously jeff/britta was the og - and lately i've also been appreciating their classic will they won't they denied sexual tension but i agree with how every time the show teased putting them together permanently (the impromptu marriage moments) it was really to show how they were never going to last. anyway) and how it was really just the natural chemistry that jeff/annie (joel/alison) had which made it into a real long-lasting dynamic to continue exploring.
the canonical age gap as established in s5 is 16 years, but the original age gap was implied to be smaller, roughly 12 years (ie. the age retcon). s1 jeff ~34 (with the fanbase believing he was closer to 30) and annie ~18 → s6 jeff ~40 annie ~24. for me i think that was always the biggest issue, i was 16 when i started watching this show and after the initial tv drama excitement, the more it got pushed in show the more i hated it!
these days what i appreciate about them is how despite their temperamental differences and the maturity gap which correlates with the age gap, they still do make each other better because of navigating those differences, and they each grow because of it. there's a compatibility to their differences. i like how they just... have conversations about themselves and their lives (s1 finale, s6 finale) in a way that feels really genuine, like friends that are just navigating their own lives and sharing that with each other because they care about each other.
i do think annie naively idealized jeff at the beginning and jeff was gross for kissing her at the time, and yet with the perspective of some time i feel like as a whole jeff and annie were both written to pull back and learn from their mistakes ("how long did it take you to kiss jeff after i told him that i loved him"), and by ~season 5 and 6 the story is great we're friends and both definitely adults, but it's still not really appropriate for us to pursue a romantic or sexual relationship (3x02, 5x03) and we don't really talk about that openly until the series finale.
i wouldn't say that i actively want or need them to specifically get together to end the narrative... because for one thing i don't really consider them 'cute' despite all of this, but also where we left off they were in different stages of life, and who's to say where they will be if we ever get #andamovie... but i do appreciate the entire build-up of their friendship/whatevership, whereas when i was younger i avoided rewatching any episode that had a significant j/a moment unless it had something else i really wanted to watch lol because i simply could not enjoy the content.
i think this is because now i can appreciate that some things which felt significant when i was younger just aren't so big of a deal when you have more life experience, and because i sympathize with being in a position where you actually do have a deep connection to one of your friends but feel there are some invisible barriers to actually trying to make it something more, even if it's just the what will people say of it all. it's specifically because they stay friends and "partner up on cutesy capers so you can hold hands in the dark and address your urges in semi-acceptable scenarios" that their relationship is compelling to me and it wouldn't be if they started dating in like, season 3 or the gas leak year... or ever maybe but i think what happens is less important than how it's written. something i like to remind myself of is that relationships don't have to be endgame to be significant and important and formative in someone's life, and that's how i cope with the concept of not ending up with the love of your life lmao. could annie end up with someone else, realistically yes, but there's always going to be that connection that the two of them have that can never really be erased or diminished.
-
1x18
ANNIE Well, it sounds like you've got it all figured out. So why are you talking to me about it?
JEFF Because... You're... You know...
ANNIE A decent person?
JEFF Maybe.
ANNIE And you knew that talking to me about it would make you feel like a bad friend? And you wanted to feel like a bad friend, because you wanna be a good friend?
JEFF You really suck, you know that?
-
2x12
ANNIE I'm sick of this. One minute, I'm too young to date, the next, you're trying to get rid of guys I like. Either you want me, or you don't. What's it gonna be?
JEFF I wish I could give you an answer that makes sense. Relationships are complicated. And we're in the men's room.
-
2x17
JEFF You should have stayed in the running. You're the only real candidate.
-
2x17
JEFF You should have stayed in the running. You're the only real candidate.
ANNIE No, I was just another jerk trying to win a contest. You were right the whole time. I just couldn't admit it until I saw you running away crying.
JEFF Yay.
ANNIE I care what you think about me, you know?
ANNIE I care what you think about me, you know?
JEFF Yeah, well, I care what you think about me. That's why this happened.
-
3x02
-
3x02
JEFF Annie, stop. You're acting like a little schoolgirl and not in a hot way.
JEFF Okay. Uh, that made me sound creepy. But-- but here's the thing.
/
/
ANNIE I wanted to destroy her. All because I can't handle the thought of anyone getting more gold stars than me. I'm such a child.
JEFF You're not. Listen, when you really hate someone the way you hate Annie Kim, or when you feel the way I feel about you, the easy loophole through the creepiness and danger is to treat them like a child. "A chip off the old block, you're the best, kiddo." It's a crutch. It's a way for me to tell you how important you are, from a distance. But now you're becoming this... mature, self-possessed, intelligent young woman, and I can't keep patting you on the head or talking down to you.
ANNIE But I like how close we are. I don't want to grow up if it means losing what we have.
JEFF Well, tough, Annie. You have to grow up because the world needs more women like you. Can't keep doing this forever, kiddo.
ANNIE Can't we?
-
3x16
ABED AS ANNIE Why are you blowing our magic moment with Jeff?
-
4x03
JEFF Well, I can tell you one thing your fantasy got wrong. If we were married, you wouldn't find me flirting with another woman in a hotel bar. But there are a lot of things that you think are fun that I wouldn't want to do because I'm...
-
3x16
ABED AS ANNIE Why are you blowing our magic moment with Jeff?
ANNIE It's not magic. It's not even real.
ABED AS ANNIE But we love Jeff.
ANNIE No, we don't. We're just in love with the idea of being loved. And if we can teach a guy like Jeff to do it, we'll never be unloved. So we keep running the same scenario over and over hoping for a different result.
-
4x03
JEFF Well, I can tell you one thing your fantasy got wrong. If we were married, you wouldn't find me flirting with another woman in a hotel bar. But there are a lot of things that you think are fun that I wouldn't want to do because I'm...
ANNIE Older?
JEFF Not lame. Do you want to hang out now? Can I buy you a drink? What do you want?
ANNIE An appletini.
JEFF Oh, God, don't make me order that. Please?
ANNIE Please?
-
5x03
DEAN Let me ask you two something. Let me be, like, the 50th person at this school to ask, what is this, huh? What is this creepy business?
ANNIE/JEFF What?
DEAN I think you two like to partner up on cutesy capers so you can hold hands in the dark and address your urges in semi-acceptable scenarios.
JEFF Whoa, not cool!
DEAN You not cool! You unprofessional!
/
ACB I've enjoyed our game of cat and mouse. It's funny how close your two little helpers came to catching me. I liked watching them run in circles. Although sometimes I wonder, are they chasing me as an excuse to get near each other? I mean, get a room already.
/
ACB I've enjoyed our game of cat and mouse. It's funny how close your two little helpers came to catching me. I liked watching them run in circles. Although sometimes I wonder, are they chasing me as an excuse to get near each other? I mean, get a room already.
JEFF We're friends!
/
/
ANNIE Maybe I was wrong. Or maybe the Dean was right about us.
JEFF What? No. Annie, I took this case because I wanted to help you.
ANNIE Then what is this?
JEFF It's platonic shoulder holding.
-
-
6x13
ANNIE You're gonna be fine, you know.
ANNIE You're gonna be fine, you know.
JEFF I don't wanna be fine. I wanna be 25 and heading out into the world. I wanna fall asleep on a beach and be able to walk the next day, or stay up all night on accident. I wanna wear a white t-shirt without looking like I forgot to get dressed. I want to be terrified of AIDS, I want to have an opinion about those, boring ass Marvel movies. And I want those opinions to be of any concern to the people making them.
ANNIE Well I want to live in the same home for more than a year, order wine without feeling nervous, have a resume full of crazy mistakes instead of crazy lies. I want stories and wisdom, perspective. I wanna have so much behind me I'm not a slave to what's in front of me, especially these flavorless unremarkable Marvel movies.
[...]
[...]
ANNIE I think you should kiss me goodbye or you might regret it for the rest of your life.
JEFF What about you?
ANNIE Oh, I'll regret the kiss for a week, I'm in my 20s.
no subject
Date: Thu, Oct. 23rd, 2025 01:07 pm (UTC)Also one my the J/A moments I love is early on when Jeff is like "maybe we're both bad friends" (or smth) and Annie is like "really? because I'm a 19 year old girl and you just made me cry" lmao
no subject
Date: Thu, Oct. 30th, 2025 09:45 pm (UTC)