COMMUNITY's Banned Episode "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons" Has Been Reinstated and Is Available to Stream Again
A few years ago, fans were excited to see the hit series Community land on Netflix. It was during the pandemic, and many were looking for a good series to binge watch for the first time, or rewatch after being a fan the first time it aired. But when they dug in, many viewers realized that one fan-favorite episode was missing.
Season 2 Episode 14 is titled “Advanced Dungeons & Dragons,” and its synopsis reads, “The study group plays Dungeons & Dragons with another classmate to improve his spirits, but Pierce's jealousies cause their good intentions to backfire.”
The episode, directed by Marvel’s Joe Russo, is about bullying, and it packs a lot of heart, but it came under fire when Ken Jeong’s character Chang appears at the D&D table completely covered in dark black paint, including his face.
He throws everything into playing this character, which he says is a “dark elf,” but at a glance, it could appear to some that he is in black face, which is super offensive.
His costume was even called out in a joke in the episode, when Yvette Nicole Brown’s Shirley asks everyone in the room if they are just going to “ignore the hate crime” that is Chang’s painted face.
But it’s really not the center of the episode, and the removal of it just took away the anti-bullying message that the story was centered around in the first place.
Now, the episodes has been reinstated, and can be viewed with the rest of the series on Peacock. The streamer is where the entire six-season library is now housed, and where the Community movie will be available when it premieres.
If you haven’t seen the episode, or it’s been over a decade, go check it out, and stay tuned for updates on the spinoff film that’s headed our way.