The of Community's study group are all brilliantly funny in their own way. Chevy Chase's Pierce Hawthorne is often the butt of the joke, as he is old and out of touch with reality, technology, and political correctness.
Often described as the worst member of the study group, and in the words of Jeff Winger, "the oldest, craziest, and most racist," Pierce remains in the group as they are his closest (and possibly only) friends, and are willing to put up with his bigoted viewpoint and occasional villainy. Pierce's mix of old man humor and physical comedy make his moments on the show stand out.
Getting High On Paint While Fixing Annie's Apartment
In season 3, Pierce and the study group help Annie move into Troy and Abed's apartment, but when Pierce offers to stay behind and fix a plug socket, he spills paint on the floor and starts hallucinating that he is a piano player surrounded by beautiful women.
Pierce's hallucination is hilarious and underpins the sequence of the study group each having their own adventure, creating a mini music video. Pierce's antics create a great pay-off when Annie's landlord finds him high on paint fumes and Pierce asks him if he has any requests, making a perfect ending to the already amazing scene.
Playing Drugs In Annie's Anti-Drug Play
Annie puts together an anti-drug performance for a group of students that are visiting Greendale and enlists the study group to be a part of it. Pierce's villainy comes to the forefront here as he bribes Annie to make him the star of the show, turning the study group against him once again.
Pierce's antics as the star of the show, Drugs, give way to several brilliant moments, such as a little girl exclaiming "I love you, Drugs!". Pierce is an attention-seeker, and feeds off the children's laughter, trying to be funnier and funnier to earn their approval.
Enacting Personalised Revenge From His Hospital Bed
Feeling left out and ridiculed by the study group, Pierce brings them all to a hospital to enact revenge against them, for example pretending that he has found Jeff's father. Pierce knows his friends very well, finding the perfect buttons to push to make his friends break down.
Pierce's funniest moments in this episode are those featuring Jeff. Pierce puts on a video of a fireplace before he talks to Jeff, itting that he had imagined this same sequence but with himself as a hologram, to which Jeff is incredulous. Pierce infuriates Jeff but creates a memorable, funny moment with his antagonistic motivations.
Pretending To Have A Heart Attack To Save Greendale
Season 2's second paintball episode features the group navigating a Star Wars-themed campus, with Pierce becoming a supposed traitor to the study group alliance. In a rare moment of redemption, Pierce saves the school by faking a heart attack, dres as the enemy, and winning the game for Greendale.
Pierce's funniest moment in this episode is his tactical move to pretend to help City College's Dean and waste time eating pudding cups in his office. Pierce relishes being the center of attention and gives the Dean false information, eventually using his fake heart attack trick to save Greendale.
Becoming The Villain During A Dungeons & Dragons Game
Pierce's worst trait, his all-around despicable behavior, reaches a new height in this episode. The study group tries to help Fat Neil with a Dungeons and Dragons game, in which Pierce sinks into a villainous role, having been left out of the game due to his insensitivity.
Pierce builds himself a throne and steals Neil's sword, bringing a dragon into the game to shake things up. Chevy Chase clearly relishes the villain role in this episode, bringing out the worst in Pierce so that the study group has something to fight against. His funniest moment is standing behind Abed and controlling him, gleefully grinning as he undoes all of the study group's plans.
Singing The Catchiest Song As He s The Glee Club
In a wonderful subversion of the sitcom musical episode, Abed tries to get the study group to fill in for the Glee Club in the Christmas pageant.
Troy and Abed pander to Pierce's narcissism, enticing him into the Glee Club by listing things that Pierce's generation has done. Pierce's joy at hearing Troy and Abed compliment him is hilarious, and he jumps into the song with gusto, finishing the song with a flourish.
Becoming A Wizard For April Fools' Day
The study group likes to play pranks on Pierce because he takes everything seriously. Jeff, Troy, and Abed collaborate to make Pierce think he has leveled up in his cult-like religion, and give him a wizard costume and a cookie wand, pretending it's actually ceremonial robes and a piece of meteor.
Pierce's narcissism and gullibility make this prank perfect, as he tries to magically attack the Dean and read Jeff's mind. Pierce raises his hand to the Dean and makes weird sounds, trying to zap the Dean with his magic powers. He refuses to it that he isn't really magic until the end and becomes genuinely excited when he is given his wand.
Giving Troy A Norwegian Troll As A Housewarming Gift
The best episode of season 3, according to IMDB, follows a housewarming party as the study group decides who should go downstairs to fetch their pizza. Jealous that Troy has moved in with Abed, Pierce gifts Troy a Norwegian troll doll that Troy hated while living in Pierce's mansion, to get back at Troy for leaving him alone.
Pierce has some great moments in this episode, such as his laugh whenever Jeff gets hit by the fan and his scream when he gets shot in the leg, but the best is Pierce holding the troll in front of Troy and yelling while Troy is visibly terrified.
Becoming The Ultimate Weapon In Troy & Abed's Pillow Fight
Troy and Abed have a falling out and decide to settle their dispute with a campus-wide pillow fight. Ben Chang uses his security interns to attack Abed's army. To combat the group, Pierce has the amazing idea to duct tape pillows to himself and create Pillow Man, an "unstoppably plush" force capable of taking down pretty much anything.
Pillow Man is a highlight of the episode, suddenly appearing like the Hulk to take down the interns. Pierce's glee at being able to hit children is very apparent, and his idea is genuinely fun to watch as the kids are scared off and Pierce punches the air in victory.
Going Space-Crazy In The KFC Space Simulator
The Dean decides to 'launch' a KFC-themed space simulator to combat City College, creating a hilarious episode where the study group is confined into one tiny space. Pierce becomes claustrophobic and feverish, hallucinating that Colonel Sanders is talking to and threatening him on the mini TV screen.
The best Pierce moment is when the study group returns home and Pierce bursts out of the simulator screaming, scaring people around him, running off into the distance. Another hilarious moment is when the study group locks Pierce up in a cage at the back of the simulator, making him go even crazier.