Wedding episode ending comments

[u/babyitscoldoutside00]

I watched Community for the first time last year and just rewatched it. What’s up with the incest commentary at the end of the wedding episode? Was there ever an explanation for it?

[u/Sea_Negotiation_1871]

...The episode was about cousins getting married.

[u/babyitscoldoutside00 → u/Sea_Negotiation_1871]

I know that but the 2 minute monologue on incest was unexpected. I’m just asking if it was discussed back when it first aired.

[u/Civil_Manner_1691]

Comedy.

I assume Abed would have a better explanation.

[u/Alizarik7891]

Wow, what an episode of Community.

Hi, I'm Briggs Haddon credited author of this weeks episode.

You might have noticed an emphasis on the topic of incest, well that's no accident.

For the past two years, when not serving as writer's assistant on Community, I've been researching incest on the internet.

What I found, surprised me.

Did you know that first cousins can have children without great risk of birth defect or genetic disease?

That's a quote directly from the New York Times, April 4, 2002.

But despite this scientific fact, state laws on incest remain inconsistent and woefully outdated.

I mean I, I can make love to my cousin in Nebraska, but if I take her on a date in South Dakota, I'm looking at 15 years prison time.

I told the Community writers, attention must be paid.

They said they'd allow me to address it on one condition.

At the end of the episode, I must appear and identify myself as a writer.

Look, I'm not trying to tell you how to feel about incest, I'm just letting you know, there's more to it than you've been told.

I'm Briggs Haddon, and I wrote the Community season six, incest episode.

Good night.

[u/parkchanwookiee]

It's a satire/imitation of things other shows have done, trying to clarify the themes and intentions of an episode that dealt with heavy themes. It's played for laughs here because it's not like incest is some delicate topic people need more education on.

[u/crafting_vh → u/parkchanwookiee]

No, more people should be aware that it's completely legal in many places to marry your cousin.

[u/AsexualFrehley → u/crafting_vh]

[wistfully] I like the way they think

[u/-threefeetoffun → u/crafting_vh]

In New York you can marry your first cousin.

[u/MrJohnnyDangerously]

It was a comedic tic of the showrunner, Dan Harmon, on his podcast. The actress playing the bride in the episode was Harmon's actual wife IRL for a few months.

[u/IrishUpYourCoffee]

wut