Community had many characters that were easy to love. One of these people, of course, was Shirley Bennett (Yvette Nicole Brown), who was a mother of three and a former Greendale student. She went on to earn a business degree and opened a successful sandwich shop on campus with Pierce Hawthorne (Chevy Chase).
Shirley was known to be the nicest member of the study group, always watching over her friends' well-being. However, it took her a while to get to this place as there were often moments that showed her to be passive-aggressive and self-centered. Here are 5 of Shirley's best moments (& her 5 worst) that sum up her time on the show.
WORST: Letting Jeff take the blame (S1 Ep4)
In the episode "Social Psychology", Jeff (Joel McHale) and Shirley's friendship grows as they gossip over Britta's (Gillian Jacobs) boyfriend. Earlier on, Jeff reveals to Britta that he can only deal with Shirley's personality in small doses. However, Shirley manages to form a bond with Jeff after noticing the lawyer's discouragement of Britta and Vaughn's (Eric Christian Olsen) romance.
As a result, Shirley begins to make fun of Vaughn to try and cheer Jeff up. It seems to work until Jeff takes a picture of the poem Vaughn wrote for Britta. Shirley shows a print out version to the study group, who all begin to mock Vaughn. At this point, Britta comes in with her boyfriend and sees the group laughing at him. Immediately, Shirley throws Jeff under the bus, allowing him to take all the blame.
BEST: Helping Britta master 'girl talk' (S1 Ep6)
Shirley helped Britta strengthen her relationship with Annie (Alison Brie) after she taught her how to speak 'girl'. Jeff raised this issue to Britta after she refused to go to the bathroom with Shirley. Britta agrees to go with her the next time but fails to see she upsets Shirley after going off on a political rant.
Britta confides with Shirley that women have always hated her and that she doesn't know how the bathroom bonding works. Shirley decides to teach Britta to be a better listener and advises her to try it with Annie. Britta is successful this time, with the political activist and Shirley celebrating after she helped to make Annie feel better.
WORST: Smashing up Slater's property (S1 Ep7)
When Jeff begins to express an interest in Professor Michelle Slater (Lauren Stamile), Shirley is seen to take it harder than Britta. Out of loyalty, she begins to call her "Professor Short Skirt" and "Professor Slim Calves"; she also comes up with the idea to snap the antenna off of Michelle's car. Shirley does go through with this as all the faculty can hear her saying Slater stole Jeff from a good woman.
When Shirley goes to flood Slater's office, it is revealed that she is projecting all her problems. Andre had asked Shirley for his ring back because he wants to give it to his new girlfriend. Shirley projected this hurt onto Britta, who understands her behavior. Yet, it still doesn't excuse her for mistreating Slater. Fans don't even see if she apologizes either.
BEST: Ruining Abed's religious film (S2 Ep5)
In the episode "Messianic Myths And Ancient Peoples", the study group's anthropology class is seen watching internet memes. Shirley asks Abed (Danny Pudi) if he could create a viral video with a Christian message, but decides to create it herself when Abed's ideas are deemed "too meta".
Shirley and Abed come to blows over his film, with Shirley threatening to shut his project down. However, she has a change of heart after hearing Abed's worries that the film could ruin his career. Shirley then walks into the cafeteria and destroys all footage. It's a brave moment for Shirley as she knows the incident would ostracize her from the rest of the campus.
WORST: Conning her friends (S2 Ep21)
In the episode "Paradigms of Human Memory", Jeff and Britta are shown to fall out with the rest of the study group after they are accused of being selfish. Jeff and Britta are offended by the accusations and reveal the group has been just as self-centered as them.
One of their examples includes Shirley and her cosmetics business. In a flashback, it is revealed that she invited Britta, Abed, and Annie to a business seminar; here, she pitches the idea that they could become Cosmetic Sales representatives. Shirley then instructs them to break the seal on their kits but charges the group $50 for doing so. The group looked shocked by her con.
BEST: Trying to save Inspector Spacetime (S4 Ep3)
"Conventions in Space and Time" sees the study group take a road trip to an Inspector Spacetime convention. As the group pairs off, Shirley and Pierce were taken by event officials to participate in a focus test. They ask the two if they could help provide some insights and opinions about the American version of Inspector Spacetime.
Knowing how important the show is to Abed, Shirley tries her best to stop Pierce from ruining the show. She also tells the runners that they should stay true to the original and to not change anything. It's nice to see one of them consider how their friends would feel.
WORST: Bullying Jeff when he was younger (S3 Ep9)
In the episode "Foosball and Nocturnal Vigilantism", fans find out that Jeff and Shirley have a history together. Jeff is seen to get into a rivalry with several exchange students over a game of foosball; he admits to Shirley that he used to love the game when he was young, but stopped playing because he got bullied.
It turned out that Shirley was Jeff's bully, who was responsible for him being called "Tinkle Town". Jeff reveals that he had to change schools, his appearance, and his personality because of it. At least she shows genuine remorse for it and takes the time to apologize, but it does show the darker side to Shirley's personality.
BEST: Standing up to Andre (S3 Ep11)
When Shirley first came to Greendale, fans learned she was a single mother who enrolled in the college to earn a business degree. She gets her first opportunity in the episode "Urban Matrimony and Sandwich Arts" when Pierce invests in 'Shirley's Sandwiches', pitching the idea to the Dean (Jim Rash). She had also reconciled with her husband, Andre (Malcolm Jamal-Warner).
This episode led to an iconic Shirley moment when she stands up to Andre for assuming she would be a housewife again. Shirley tells him that this is not what she wants anymore and has changed since he walked out. It's quite liberating to watch her put Andre in his place as she is usually quiet and polite.
WORST: Criticizing the group's different faiths (S1 Ep12)
In the episode "Comparative Religion", Shirley decides to host a Christmas dinner for the study group. She says she wants to celebrate the holidays with them because they are like her new family. Shirley then gives them bracelets with the acronym "WWBJD" to remind them of the true meaning of Christmas.
However, she fails to recognize that some members of the study group don't celebrate the holiday because they have different religions. She seems to struggle with the fact that none of them are Christians and forbids Jeff from coming to her party. The group looks uncomfortable when she asks them to sing hymns. She has also tried to secretly convert them to Christianity at some point.
BEST: Checking up on Abed after his breakdown (S5 Ep2)
"Introduction to Teaching" sees the study group take a film class about Nicolas Cage. Since Abed had challenged the TV studies professor by solving the Who's the Boss? question, he had gained a reputation for himself. However, he has a breakdown in class after failing to figure out where Nicolas Cage fits on the acting spectrum.
Shirley visits his apartment, saying she was worried about him. She manages to convince Abed to not throw away his films, telling him that it's not possible to understand every little thing. There is a pivotal moment in their friendship as they realize they have a similar taste in films.