don't you wonder what's inside?

NBC's Community

Season One Episode Notes

EP01: Community

  • Britta has two older brothers, one of whom works with (presumably) autistic children. This may or may not influence the way she tends to infantalize Abed, particularly in these first handful of seasons.
  • Jeff's text trying to get Abed out of the room was apparently the first text he'd ever gotten; though I do like to think that his entire reaction to that text was a Bit he was pulling on Jeff.
  • This episode establishes that Troy dislocated his shoulders in the keg flip, which is later contridicted.
  • Also establishes the trend of Jeff basically always immediately understanding Abed's media references.
  • Annie and Troy recognize each other from high school but not Abed; they could have simply gone to different schools but I think that Abed is actually a couple of years older than they are, and that's the actual cause.
  • First incidence of Abed having a meltdown in the scene where Britta and Jeff talk before the first Winger Speech - we can hear him screaming through the glass window and he's on the floor covering his ears when Jeff finally walks into the room.
  • Also good use of Echolalia in his reintegration of Jeff's "I see your value now" line.

EP02: Spanish 101

  • "In order to increase awareness of homelessness, security has been given binoculars" is a favorite joke of mine.
  • Contrasting, Do Not like Britta's condescending 'You know real life and TV are different' spiel, nor the way she holds onto his shoulders for it - the annoyed quirk to Abed's mouth when he nods in response makes me think he feels similarly about the whole thing.
  • This is a more self-indulgent note to take but Annie's invocation of lesbians on the news is a point in favor of my Lesbian Annie Headcanon.
  • Abed taking Jeff's shirt is another point in the "Abed deliberately trying to see how hard he can push other people before they push back" column; the answer is that he can get away with a lot.
  • Jeff immediately selling Abed's shirt to Pierce is pretty funny though - so is the follow-through where Jeff changed his shirt but Abed is still wearing Jeff's in later scenes.
  • "Good chance to put some miles on this shirt" - First indication that Abed gets a Lot of ass.
  • Troy and Abed's spanish rap established.

EP03: Introduction to Film

  • If I bought a textbook for a class and the prof told me to throw it away I'd lose it lol; I know there's a broad price difference between 2009 college and 2016-2021 college, but that's a lot of money to toss down the garbage.
  • Abed doesn't like Robin Williams movies because there's always an authority figure that gets mad at him for making people laugh
  • Britta initially just offers to pay for a film class for Abed, somewhere along the line this turns into her supplementing/managing his finances. Since Abed's dad doesn't actually give any sort of indication that he's cutting Abed off as a punishment for taking the class, I have to assume this is just a role she gave herself, and Abed was like ‘well i guess i’ll go ahead and see how far i can push this one for the sake of art’ and then he did.
  • I do also wonder how much Abed's past negative experiences with peers influenced Gobi's reaction to finding out Britta was 'getting involved in [his] family's business'. In a later episode Abed talks about how people would try to 'help' him and when they couldn't, they shoved him in a clothes' dryer. Adds some context to why he's so sharp with Britta right off the bat.
  • Abed as a baby emerging from the moon in his movie is very reminiscent of the autism mood of 'feeling like an alien'
  • Abed's parents started taking him to doctors when he was four. His mom left when he was six.
  • "I never said I blamed you for her leaving." "You never had to say it" hhhh
  • I do love Gobi getting emotional about Abed finally having a medium he can effectively communicate with - finally being able to understand Abed in a more direct way. Also very fond of the way Gobi rests his hands on Abed's shoulders as he leaves instead of going for a hug that would be the standard trope for a moment like this.

EP04: Social Psychology

  • Love that Abed identifies himself as Pheobe in the "Chandler and Pheobe" analogy. It does make sense for his character traits, but I'm glad they didn't take the easy rode of the gendered roles
  • Troy breaks after three hours of waiting. Confused about the timeline here. The experiment starts at 9; Troy says he'd wasted "all day" there for Annie. Is it 9AM or 9PM?
  • Abed waits 26 hours. His subdued reactions towards the end of this waiting period - his particularly monotone 'okie-dokie' and the failure to follow through with his 'Cool Cool Cool' repetition - betrays his annoyance at having done this, but it's subtle enough that the NT characters don't pick up on it. At least until he says outright "Yeah, I was livid."
  • Another autism joke - Rain Man flavor
  • I maintain that Abed's actions are understandable here. Even without the "because you asked me to stay and you said we were friends" aspect; if I was waiting for something to begin and someone kept coming out to reassure me that they just needed a little while longer to get ready, I would also feel obligated to stay until They left first. At the very least I wouldn't be able to leave without talking to someone first, even as we edged into absurdist levels of terrible time-management.
  • Annie changed after leaving the experiment - Abed did not.
  • Appreciate the fact that Abed is the only one to admit to Vaughn that they were laughing at him. Abed is not above making fun of other people, but he Does appreciate the importance of at least being upfront about it
  • Appreciate that Annie took the time to find an actually relevant and meaningful gift to give to Abed as an apology

EP05: Advanced Criminal Law

  • Abed's face falling and his annoyed headshake at Chang's "Kumar" joke. It's extremely rare that Abed actually speaks up against racist/ableist jokes made to his face.
  • Love Abed laughing at his own joke though
  • Realizing that Abed's method of telling 'messing with you' jokes is strikingly similar to my own lol
  • I love when the camera uses a 'talking head' shot where you can tell that Abed isn't making direct eye contact with whoever he's talking to
  • Abed going all in with his attempt to follow through with what Troy told him friends do because he wants Troy to like him and continue being his friend is very brittanyspearsyeah.gif

EP06: Football, Feminism and You

  • Note to Self - Make sure to start a page of notes on Troy's autistic traits as well
  • Abed taking Jeff's comment about the way he speaks and interpreting it as 'Hang around the others less' and not 'alter my speech patterns' is very Something
  • When Troy talks about the kegflip he says he hurt himself on purpose, not that he faked the injury
  • Abed does actually take the time to call out Jeff for a shitty racial joke at the end scene in this one

EP07: Introduction to Statistics

  • "I am being assertive, and I am making eye-contact, and I am achieving results" - Annie Autism Moments
  • Abed specifically saying that "Annie is Feeling unpopular" is very sweet to me
  • "I know I'm not Batman; you could try not being a jerk"
  • I do appreciate the sound of Abed's Batman voice though; also his dedication to the bit/character
  • Shoutout to Abed's chapstick
  • "It's cool to know other people think about this stuff too" - Love that for them

EP08: Home Economics

  • Notes on the season one living situations: Abed lives in the dorms, Troy lives at his parents' house, Annie has her own apartment, Pierce also lives in his parents' house. Jeff has an apartment in every episode but this one, where he lives in his car lol
  • "You can do whatever you want, you just have to know what that is. For me, it's Lucky Charms and TV." Iconic
  • Abed's ability to make his media references flow so smoothly in conversation is enviable. My "This is just like --" method doesn't yield many positive reactions
  • can't lie, "Getting Rid of Britta" kind of slaps :/
  • The parallel between Jeff and Abed gets called into light with their "TV raised me" conversation. The difference is that Abed has genuine self-confidence in who he is and Jeff tries really hard to mask and put on a more 'normal' front. The two of them tend to have a lot of synergy in scenes actually, they're just very quick and subtle about it so dynamics like Troy and Abed seem a lot more obvious
  • "We're friends now, which is great for me, but bad for him" - Does Abed think back to this moment when Troy leaves in Geothermal Escapism in order to 'become his own person'?
  • Britta breaking in to Jeff's old apartment to steal him his fancy faucets back is very cool and sexy of her
  • "You're pretty cool, Abed" "You're a huge nerd" - Love it. Also, another win for 'Abed noticeably avoiding eye contact in conversations'
  • Love his little wink to Britta over Jeff's shoulder as well

EP09: Debate 109

  • Think it's funny that Abed wholesale used the study groups' names in his films. Makes sense considering he's self-admittedly bad at naming characters
  • "Will I accidentally listen to 'Come Sail Away' by Styx again?" - Moments that hurt more in season 5. The amount of follow-through/pay-off you get with this show is Incredibly good
  • "By the way, Jeff, I think your shirt's trying to get out of your pants" - Possibly the single funniest Pierce line
  • Abed's panicky run after Shirley because he's suddenly worried about Werewolves (because he has to be Just In Case, because What IF??) is very on brand - Psychosis Moments
  • Love Troy getting involved and invested in helping Abed with his film project.

EP10: Environmental Science

  • "I choose not to be around rats because they are unpopular"
  • Fond of the way Abed does make an attempt to accommodate Troy's fear of mice, like trying to give him a warning before he opens the cage
  • Love the little flashes of Abed's 'Outside of the Group' Social Life that we get, like with his "Abed." "El Tigre." exchange with Chang.
  • "Try to join the rest of us in reality, Britta" - Abed finally taking a stand against Britta's infantilization of him
  • Troy and Abed's duet, top movie singing moments of all time

EP11: The Politics of Human Sexuality

  • This whole episode is another win for the Lesbian Annie headcanon
  • Love moments when Abed puts on a Character - putting on the backwards cap just to armwrestle Troy
  • I do love Troy and Abed a lot; the way they try to uplift and accommodate each other, it's excellent
  • To say nothing of how much I love the credits scene in this episode; though the implication that Troy spent the night on the couch in the library when Abed has a dorm room with an empty bed on campus is as hilarious as the scene is sweet

EP12: Comparative Religion

  • Think it's strange that the guy bullying Abed over the cookies decides to respond to the situation by knocking all the cookies out of Abed's hands onto the floor instead of maybe.. asking for one?
  • "Merry Happy" is pretty funny though
  • Troy's "This is a story" story is very reltable; sometimes words just get lost somewhere
  • Annie telling the baby Jesus statue "We know you were one of us" and then tucking him into the christmas tree is very fun
  • Troy having the consistent character trait of "bad at lying under pressure" is such a funny detail
  • I appreciate the little moments Jeff gets where it becomes clear his interests aren't all that different from Abed's/Troy's, it's just that he's constantly fronting a persona around other people, which he can finally let down around them. It's like a far more subtle version of Troy being able to let loose around Abed - possibly because he's older and more attached to the method of social coping than Troy was

EP13: Investigative Journalism

  • MASH references my beloved
  • The timing joke with the intro is also SO good, the pacing in this show is absolutely incredible
  • "This isa warning that I can't be killed" - Very powerful line
  • Pierce's flat dehumanization of Abed is a running joke that I wish didn't exist. It's definitely consistent - all the way through to the episode where he dies - but I can't stand it. The "3 boys, 3 girls, and now 2 weirdos" joke IS just meant for goofs, but all I can hear is the way he degenders/effectively dehumanizes Abed again and again
  • Jeff's fondness for Abed, on the other hand, is a lot better. Appreciate the "Rakishly good looking" line
  • Also appreciate the slow slide of Abed and Jeff's clothing into MASH-typical outfits. Later in this episode Jeff admits he's never seen MASH; did Abed tell him about the hawaiian shirt or was it just coincidence?
  • Glad Abed got his "Radar" moment

EP14: Interpretive Dance

  • I don't like Slater very much but her little pout when she realizes Jeff was right about the study group seeing them through the window is very cute and funny
  • The physical comedy bit of Jeff awkwardly trying to say goodbye to women he has romantic entanglement in (like in S01E09 as well as here) is a pretty good one
  • Troy's consistent insecurity in how his gender and sexuality is perceived... here's to hoping the movie eventually exists and chooses to unpack that. Let Troy Be Gay!!
  • Do think it's funny that Britta is in a tap class for adults and they're still putting on kindergarden variety shows
  • The palpable pleased intensity in Troy's face when he dances,,, oghh I love him so much
  • Abed's little dance just for himself is also so fun. The importance of having things/showing off just for yourself I love him having a moment to just express himself so openly and energetically

EP15: Romantic Expressionism

  • Love the detail that Troy and Abed hold hands on the regular; little moments of casual physical intimacy are my favorite
  • Torn on whether Abed is genuinely not picking up on the cue of everyone else wanting to exclude Pierce from the next movie viewing or if he ignores them on purpose because he'd rather hang out with someone he doesn't like than be a perceived 'bully' by excluding them on purpose (thinking about his refusal to deny that they're making fun of Vaughn in Ep04)
  • The speed in which Troy affirms he's cleared his head is a good bit
  • Troy talking about Abed by saying "I'm not looking for my other half" - top 10 lines in this entire show
  • The stilted way Troy flirts with Annie and his immediate assertion that he's into butt stuff - another win for Gay Troy
  • "They're just jealous"
  • The 'group looking around at each other in consideration' bit is fun on a variety of levels. Lesbian Annie makes another reappearance. Abed wiggling his eyebrows at Jeff. The memory I get to pull up of Donald Glover doing an over the top cartoon reaction to Yvette Nicole Brown because she said he wasn't reacting to her well enough.
  • Autism Moments: Abed having an obvious disgusted sensory reaction to the lipstick he's wearing for the Kickpuncher film

EP16: Communication Studies

  • Autism Moments: Abed's exaggerated sarcasm voice
  • Autism Moments: Troy falling into routine and accidentally signing his fake valentine's card with his own name
  • Abed choosing to use a child actor for Chang's character is an objectively hilarious choice
  • "I can't feel things with you studying me like a beige praying mantis" - lines that may or may not have informed my recent fascination with praying mantises
  • That said, I wish the writers had maybe put more of an effort into making Abed Muslim in practice. I can't speak with any authority on the subject, but other people have said it before and I will echo that sentiment. Same for Annie's Judaism, I feel like the only actual religious focus we get in any episode is either on Christian tradition or Pierce's cult lol; other details could have been more interesting for sure
  • Abed has a decent collection of stuffed animals, it would seem, which I love for him
  • All jokes aside, Troy looks decent enough in his pantsuit. Though, I think you can see hints of bra strap through the fabric when he first walks over to Chang? Full commitment to the bit
  • Confirmed: Troy has his own car

EP17: Physical Education

  • Jeff's leather jacket and wallet chain... bro
  • Another Rain Man reference; this time one Abed made on his own
  • Too bad they cut Annie off before she can just outright say that Abed is autistic lmao
  • Jeff being firmly in Abed's corner on this episode, while generally just a good indication of their friendship, is also something I choose to interpret as Jeff having slept with Abed and knowing exactly how much ass he gets
  • Think this is my first time properly connecting that the woman who approaches Jeff about Abed was in his Pool class to begin with. Another win for face blindness
  • "I wouldn't go over there" "How do you know that?" "A lifetime of observation"
  • "Everybody wants me to be happy. Everybody wants to help me, but usually when they find out they can't But usually when they find out they can't, they get frustrated and stop talking to me. Or they trick me into buying them ice cream and then shove me into a clothes dryer."
  • "Britta, I got self-esteem falling out of my butt. That's why I was willing to change for you, because when you really know who you are and what you like about yourself changing for other people isn't such a big deal." -- Iconic Abed lines that make you want to reevaluate your own self-perception
  • The knowledge that everyone on set is reacting genuinely to Joel McHale lifting his leg onto the pool table like that - thanks to the flimsy cover they had him wearing - is a favored bts detail of mine
  • OGH the bert and ernie bit is one of my absolute favorite scenes

EP18: Basic Genealogy

  • Once again I will reiterate that I'm not convinced that Gobi isn't Also supposed to be autistic and just doesn't know it
  • Especially wrt his freaking out about his shirt getting wet and having to change it to a shirt he likes even less; Autism Moments
  • "They're playing hide and seek" "Where?" "I don't think that's how it works"
  • Troy sympathy crying over Britta's stubborn dedication to proving her point LOL
  • Love little details about Abed's body language, like the way he accepts Shirley's hug without reciprocating it
  • I don't like Pierce but I can appreciate him having a moment where he genuinely tries to comfort Jeff about his break up

EP19: Beginner Pottery

  • "Look at him christen! If that were me I would've broken the bottle" - Love it when Troy has lines like this
  • Another good one is Troy going for the "Mermaid's car" fix instead of something more 'natural' like a Rock
  • The blank way Abed glances around before asking "a What?" when Jeff calls Rich a 'ringer' - relatable
  • Weirdly specific but I love the way Abed and Troy use their hands, like they both have a very smoothly rigid way of gesturing that i cannot get enough of
  • Jeff doing a mental edit of his mom's specialness speech; good for him

EP20: The Science of Illusion

  • Troy's self-satisfaction in and Abed's genuine appreciation of the snake in a can misdirect is so fun
  • Think it's nice that everyone lets Abed tag along to observe the buddy cop nonsense, but I guess it generally is for their benefit since he's the only one with a decent grasp of what to do lol
  • Troy reaching back for a high five and Abed giving him one - another moment I hadn't noticed before
  • Jeff's fumbling attempts at sincerity only undermined by how his shirt clearly doesn't fit him right lmao; his buttons are Bursting open
  • Abed going over to sit with Jeff to observe the rest of the groups' display of emotion
  • The first run of the iconic Troy and Abed in the Morning

EP21: Contemporary American Poultry

  • "The idea that you compulsively filter yourself makes your lack of flavor kind of a flavor" - Another iconic line that makes you want to re-evaluate your own self-perception
  • "And he always knew when to slap the table" I do enjoy it when Abed expresses that he knows about body language in a Narrative sense due to his familiarity with movies and film, but can't figure out how to apply the knowledge Practically when he's actually communicating with other people
  • "I understand people and they finally understand me." IDK i think the phrasing is notable here, that Abed's biggest concern isn't and has never been changing himself so that he fits the NT definitions of understandable but being understood as he is by the wider NT population

EP22:

EP23:

EP24:

EP25:


Abed Nadir Notes

Autism

Abed's autism is well-established at least as a joke by the first episode, and remains a consistent fact of his character throughout the entire course of the show. This compiled list is largely canon, with a few headcanons that fit in with the characterization while not necessarily being explicitly stated. Points that are backed up by specific moments in the show will include a footnote to the relevant episode. Many points have too many canon moments to list out individually though.

SOCIAL
  • Tendency to be logical and see things at “face value” and take figures of speech, jokes, sarcasm, metaphors, etc. literally
  • Difficulty understanding “social rules,” may be unaware of boundaries and personal space
  • Dislikes and avoids eye contact, eyes may wander during conversation
  • Appears rude due to lack of understanding of “social rules,” not making eye contact or using “appropriate” body language, or dominating discussion/reverting discussion back to self
  • Difficulty understanding social cues such as body language, gestures, tone of voice, and facial expressions, may not be able to read emotion
  • Taught self how to act “properly” in social situations and/or read emotion, may mimic people in real life or on television
  • Tendency to be bullied, shunned, mocked, teased, or ostracized by peers
  • Considered annoying by peers, “unable to take a hint”
  • You've always felt different from other people - you may have thought when you were younger that you were a different species or there was something wrong with you or everyone else (s01eo3)
  • You like to talk about facts in conversation rather than people or smalltalk (for example, sharing facts about a topic you're interested in VS. talking about your day)
SPECIAL INTERESTS
  • When you're interested in something , you involve it in everything else and try to find ways to work it into all aspects of your life, or you get upset when you can't engage with it
  • You want to connect with people over interests rather than traits, and you're drawn to smalltalk about facts rather than emotions or personal stories
  • You are most passionate and happy when you're researching or engaging with an interest of yours
IMAGINATION / EMPATHY
  • Escapes through imagination, may have maladaptive daydreaming disorder (MDD)
  • Intense, overwhelming emotions (s05e0_)
  • Fantasy brings comfort and relief (s04e0)
  • Prefers fantasy over reality (s04e0)
ROUTINE/STRUCTURE
  • Resistance to and/or inability to cope with change, which causes anxiety (s0e0)
  • Likes to sit in the same seat in the car or at meals, wear the same outfit, or eat the same food (s0e0)
  • You like to follow a strict routine, either of specific times or specific activities (e.g. I eat a specific brand of chocolate pudding in my specific chair once a day)
  • Familiarity is more satisfying to you than novelty
  • People tell you you need to be more flexible
SENSORY
  • Experiences meltdowns/shutdowns when stressed, overwhelmed, or tired, may cry, scream, become snappy/irritated/impatient, or become withdrawn (may appear to be a “temper tantrum”)
  • Sensory issues, sensitive to textures, touch, sound, taste, smells, light, etc. (s0e0)
  • Engages in self-stimulating behavior to soothe, cope with sensory input, and/or express emotion, known as “stimming” by autistic community
  • Prefers comfortable clothes over stylish clothes, may have a favorite shirt or outfit, may cut tags off of clothes due to sensory issues
  • Has an odd tone of voice, may speak with an odd inflection, in a monotone voice, with an accent, or too loudly/softly for a situation
  • You sometimes don't notice pain / notice you have scratches or bruises and don't know where you got them from (nociceptive hyposensitivity) (s04e0)
LEARNING/EXECUTIVE FUNCTION
  • Difficulty reading clocks and telling time (s0e0)
  • Difficulty lying, may appear to be naïve, gullible, trusting, or a “pushover”
  • Odd combination of strengths and weaknesses in regards to memory, executive functioning, motor skills, academics, intelligence, and interests
  • Repeated the first grade because ""(s0e0)
ETC.
  • Has difficulty telling his left from his right

Stims

  • Hands up by chest
    • Not Quite 'raptor hands', but close. Basically a constant.
  • Screaming / Whining / Shrieking
    • Bad reaction; usually indicator of a meltdown.
  • Chews the inside of his cheeks
  • Spinning a piece of paper impaled on a pencil
    • Handy self-made stim toy.
  • Finger twitching/waving/fluttering
    • Another constant. Sometimes used for emphasis - particularly with a raised index finger or flicking of his fingers - mostly self-stimulatory. Becomes more pronounced/rigid when he gets upset.
  • Hand held That Particular Way
  • Fortune Teller Origami
    • More self-made stim toys. we love autistic ingenuity

Delusions / Psychosis

Abed's meta jokes are understood as such because we have that perspective as an audience member, but in the context of the narrative itself Abed's comments about being in a TV show are textually delusions. Ranges in how much it affects him, from using terminology like 'seasons' instead of 'years' to being genuinely maladaptive, such as in __ when he spends the entire episode trying to outrun "the camera" or __ when he becomes increasingly distressed by his inability to conjure up a 'flashback'.

The most notable example of Abed's delusions/hallucinations is the Christmas episode __ where Abed perceives the world around him as being stop-motion animated. Interesting to note that in s05e0_ it's mentioned that Annie slipped the study group amphetamines in order to study for an Anthropology final, and since Duncan phoned in the first semester's exam, it's safe enough to assume that the second final for the class was the incident in question. Abed's psychotic break occurs on December 9th, the last day of class, meaning he was on the tail end of the 3 days of insomnia he suffered through after being drugged, which likely exacerbated his psychotic symptoms to make them that unmanageable.

Another notable example is in S05e0_ "Geothermal Escapism" when Troy's imminent departure triggers another break where Abed hallucinates being surrounded by lava. Abed's line "It's embarrassing. I don't want to be crazy, but I am crazy, so-," line strikes particularly close to home. As does his desperate sounding attempt to assure Troy that he isn't doing it on purpose. While a manifestation of his stress and anxieties, the fact that he's hallucinating and doesn't seem particularly disturbed by it indicates his familiarity with dealing with these kinds of situations.

Abed's fixation on the Darkest Timeline concept is another example of a delusion. While it only starts to genuinely interfere with his life in __, when Abed 'becomes' Evil Abed and attempts to amputate Jeff's arm, the perserveration on the subject and his seeming running awareness of what's going on in those timelines is indicative of a delusion. It makes sense that this is a variety of delusion wherein a Weird Feeling catches your brain's attention and it retroactively tries to come up with a cause for it, triggering a delusion. IE) at the end of __ Abed visibly reacts to some perceived upset, and his brain subsequently fixates on trying to figure out a trigger, and since this happened in conjunction with Jeff's dice and the potential for conceptual timelines, the timeline issue switches from a vague concept to a indubitable Fact

Unlisted Ramblins

I have a lot of fondness for Abed, both as a conceptual character and an individual one. For there to be an actual character who is canonically autistic and psychotic is nearly unheard of, and the fact that he's just a regular dude who is generally well-liked by his peers makes him even better. The narrative is kind of mean to him, frequently, but by and large the other characters who don't understand him at least make a frequent effort to try, and that means a lot too.

There's also just like, Abed is a character I understand intrinsically. There's a lot of projection that can happen with favorite characters, but Abed is a character - possibly the only character I've met - who doesn't actually Require any level of projection; him as he is already is incredibly similar to me as I am. The fact that he's autistic and psychotic is only part of the trend. He uses fiction as a medium with which to navigate the world and relate to the people in it, his meta 'jokes' actually strike very close to similar delusions I've had, he strikes a good level of tension between "comfortable being alone and by myself" and "wanting to be liked by other people", and so on. He's just, such an incredible character.

It feels a bit cliche to say, but he's really the kind of character that feels like being given permission to be myself. Abed is strange and he doesn't hide from that fact. People don't always appreciate or tolerate his media references, but he keeps using them because that's just who he is - he isn't making them for other people's enjoyment, he does them for his own benefit. He doesn't ever really make an effort to express himself to more neurotypical standards - not in his speech patterns or in his phsyical displays of emotion, he has a flat affect and the show doesn't shy away from it or put him down for it. People don't always understand him - his behaviors, his sense of humor, his interests - and Abed doesn't care! He has the self-confidence to know exactly who he is and know that other people can either take him or leave him, and he's okay with that.

My parents keep teasing me because I watch this show over and over. "You know there are other shows out there, right?" but like, I feel like there are so few other shows where I can watch them and see a character like me display over and over again that it's OK to be yourself. It's a common TV/Movie message, 'be yourself', but when the characters learning that lesson are Actually Like You it hits so much different. Abed really says it best in the finale - "It's TV. It's Comfort", like there's something so incredibly comforting, reassuring, lovely, in seeing a character like Abed be allowed to be who he is and be celabrated for it. Of course I watch this show over and over again; with Abed in it, it's like a warm weighted blanket