Every character in Dan Harmon's hit TV show, Community, brought something special to the series, but Britta, played by Gillian Jacobs, often got the short end of the stick. While the boundary-pushing sitcom couldn't have existed without any of the characters, Britta's evolution has a lot in common with the overall trajectory of the show. Each season of Community changed a lot as the series found its voice and faced complications behind the scenes, but looking at how Britta develops and how the series treats her tells us a lot about Community and its structure.

Since the Community movie is confirmed, it will be exciting to see where the characters will be in their lives when they come back together at Greendale. It's been a long time since most of the main characters were together onscreen, as Community lost many of its protagonists as the series progressed. However, Britta was a mainstay of the project until the final season, keeping the early tone and dynamic of the show alive. While Britta is a beloved character and vital to Community's success, there are some harsh realities about what she became as the show progressed.

Britta Was Once Community's Second Most Important Character

Britta & Jeff Were Positioned As The Show's Key Romantic Relationship

Jeff (Joel McHale) and Britta's relationship defined Community season 1, taking on the classic will-they-won't-they dynamic so popular in sitcom romances. Community originally positioned Jeff as the main character, with the study group slowly becoming more important to him and his college experience over time. Britta was a key piece of what made Jeff start to care about the study group and others. She was characterized as a moralizing voice of reason and a character with lots of emotional power over Jeff, which she used throughout the season. She was flawed, but respected by the other characters.

It could be argued that Community revolved around Britta as much as it did around Jeff. Britta had a character arc that was grounded in reality in season 1, as did most of the students at Greendale. However, Community didn't remain stagnant, and Harmon had a clear idea of the offbeat and meta directions that he wanted to take the show. It didn't take long for the romance angles of Community to fall away, and for the series to find its true voice and purpose. However, Britta's original characterization was a casualty of this change.

Community Eventually Turned Britta Into A Joke Of A Character

Her Flaws Were Exaggerated & Her Actions Were Played For Laughs

There are a number of reasons why Community changed Britta in the later seasons. Many of the alterations had to do with the series' overall direction, not just in of character. Each of the characters became more exaggerated and over-the-top as Community leaned into magical realism and played with genre and structure. However, Britta's character arc was the most significant of all the main characters. She wasn't just a little more goofy or chaotic, but also made incompetent and quickly served as the butt of almost every joke in Community​​​​​​.

This change also came very quickly, with Britta already losing the grounded aspects of her character by the beginning of season 2. There's no question that Community didn't shy away from "mean" humor that made fun of its characters, but this was typically balanced by plenty of heart and a stirring speech from Jeff at the end of an episode. While Britta began to be taken a little more seriously in seasons 5 and 6, when Harmon reed the team and focused the narrative, she's still virtually unrecognizable from season 1.

It's Hard To Rewatch Community Knowing What Happens To Britta

Britta's Trajectory Is One Of Community's Saddest Character Arcs

The Community feature the ensemble working together as a whole. It was important for Community to make these characters as hilarious as possible, so they fit into the heightened world of the story, but Britta didn't have to be as much of a punching bag as she became. Seeing her slowly become less important, fading into the background of many stories, only to be made fun of, can be difficult to witness. Looking back on her critical role in season 1 makes this reality even more obvious.

Britta was one of the few characters who had a disappointing arc on the show.

Where characters like Annie (Alison Brie) and Abed (Danny Pudi) evolve, becoming more complex and coming out of their shells as the show progresses, the opposite happened to Britta. It would have been fine if Britta had become sillier if she had also been given more depth, but she was made into a caricature instead of a fully developed part of the show. Community had a tendency to lean on archetypes and meta-textual references, but Britta was one of the few characters who had a disappointing arc on the show.