Jeff and Britta engage in a dangerous game of relationship one-upsmanship in response to Britta's embarrassing moment at the end of the previous school year, which could cause the entire study group to fall apart.
Jeff blows off the study group and their break-dancing competition to hang out with his old co-workers at the law firm, but Annie tries to prove that one of them is the person who turned him in and got him fired.
Pierce's religion convinces him that the spirit of his dead mother is captured in a cheap lava lamp, Jeff has a crisis of faith when he learns he has high cholesterol, and Britta and Annie try to raise money for the oil spill.
Everyone in the study group except Abed is stuck in a crude 1980s space simulator as it is towed off campus, and Abed leads the team given the difficult assignment of bringing them home.
Shirley asks Abed to make a film about Jesus, but he quickly angers Shirley by turning it into a self-indulgent mess. Meanwhile, Pierce begins blowing off the study group to hang out with the "hipsters."
Britta, Annie and Shirley discover that Abed is skilled at insulting the mean girls, so they use him to their advantage. Meanwhile, Troy and Jeff find a secret garden with a trampoline, which they use for relaxation.
Dean Pelton tries to bust Jeff for a phony night school credit, which only unveils a series of conspiracies, plots, and double-crosses between Jeff, Annie, and the dean.
The study group takes Troy out to a bar to celebrate his 21st birthday. While there, Annie assumes a new identity, Abed is propositioned by a man, one of Shirley's secrets is discovered, and Britta and Jeff fight over the "cool" bars.
When Abed wakes up to discover that everything is in stop motion animation, Professor Duncan and the study group help him try to discover the true meaning of Christmas.
Annie lobbies for her new crush, who is also Jeff's rival, to join the study group, but a jealous Jeff counters with Chang. Meanwhile, Shirley announces that she's pregnant, but she doesn't know that it could be Chang's.
Pierce bribes Annie into getting him a bigger role in her anti-drug play, Jeff gets in trouble when he sends a lewd text message from Britta's phone, and Shirley rejects Chang's attempts to be friendly to her.
The study group plays Dungeons & Dragons with another classmate to improve his spirits, but Pierce's jealousies cause their good intentions to backfire.
Jeff hangs out with Professor Duncan after a fight with the study group, but Chang tags along and starts a party. Meanwhile, Abed and Troy fight for a librarian's affection, and Britta goes to a dance with a girl she thinks is a lesbian.
Pierce pretends to be dying so that he can bequeath a series of cryptic and sometimes mean-spirited gifts to his study partners, and Abed decides to shoot a documentary film of the situation.
Anticipating a visit from the vice president, dean Pelton holds an election for student body president. An idealistic Annie decides to run, but Jeff decides to run against her to spite her and show how stupid politics can be.
Jeff uses Shirley's parental rights waiver against Chang as a way to get Chang out of the apartment, while Britta is afraid to tell Abed and Troy that their new friend is a war criminal.
