Troy alerts the rest of the study group to Pierce's late-night shenanigans with the Hipsters. Pierce and Leonard are drinking out of paper bags when Dean Pelton emerges from his Prius with Shirley—leaving his keys behind. Pierce is talked into a drunken joyride in the dean's car with the other Hipsters. The Hipsters crash at extremely low speed into a light pole due to one of their members' sudden genuine confusion. Pierce stays with his fellow, as the other Hipsters run off. In the cafeteria, the dean explains that Shirley has filed an official complaint on the grounds of separation of church and state but is convinced by Abed that his film is not about Jesus, as it is allegorical. Abed realizes in post-production that his film is a "self-indulgent, adolescent mess" which will ensure that he never has a real career. He prays to God to save him from himself which Shirley overhears. She destroys the equipment with a baseball bat, ensuring that Abed's film will never be seen. Jeff, after being called by the administration, reluctantly comes to collect Pierce and learns that Leonard only acts this way because his kids abandoned him. In anthropology class again, Abed convinces the professor to show the film Shirley had imagined, which he had unbeknownst to her completed - a video of Troy rapping about Jesus. Cultural references Director and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman is mentioned more than once in the episode. The dialogue between Abed and Shirley about film within a film resembles Kaufman's film Synecdoche, New York. Troy's rap video at the end of the episode is a clear nod towards the song "Jesus Walks" by Kanye West as well as perhaps to Donald Glover's burgeoning career as his rap persona Childish Gambino. Reception Around 4.46 million Americans watched "Messianic Myths and Ancient Peoples". Emily VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club rated the episode A, citing the fact that the show's structure creates believable opportunities for people with different beliefs to interact and engage with one another. She also focuses approvingly on the fact that Shirley and Pierce, unlikely comedic heroes, are given the reins in this particular episode. References External links "Messianic Myths and Ancient Peoples" at NBC.com Community (season 2) episodes 2010 American television episodes Television episodes about religion Television episodes about filmmaking