Community season 6 introduced a mystery surrounding the identity of a paintball shooter named "Silver Ballz," but the truth was there all along. The season, which aired in 2015, served as the show's final installment before permanent cancellation. Dan Harmon's comedy previously ran on NBC for five seasons before the network became discouraged by viewership numbers. The series starring names like Joel McHale, Alison Brie, and Danny Pudi has recently regained popularity due to streaming, which has propelled more interest in a Community sequel movie.
Playing paintball had always been a major aspect of Community throughout the show's six seasons. The study group in focus always took part in the campus-wide competitions of what Greendale Community College called "Paintball Assassin." In total, the series featured a paintball tournament in all but one season. The games usually included appealing prizes like priority registration for the upcoming semester or a significant amount of cash. Unfortunately, the students and staff often left the campus in complete disarray after the destructive game.
The final game of paintball assassin came in Community season 6's "Modern Espionage." Frankie Dart banned the annual tournament, but she learned that an underground game was still taking place. She put Jeff Winger in charge of investigating the game only to find that much of the campus, as well as his old study group, was participating. They found that an unknown figure who used silver paintballs was behind the event. Since Jeff was presenting an award to the deputy custodian, Lapari, at the "Cleaner Greendale" gala, the group decided to patrol the event in the search for Silver Ballz. Though his identity was never directly stated, Lapari was the secret silver paintball assassin.
All Signs Pointed To Lapari Being The Silver Ballz Shooter In Community Season 6
Lapari, who was played by Kumail Nanjiani, was first introduced in Community season 5 when Annie Edison and Professor Buzz Hickey went to the Greendale custodians for help putting up a new bulletin board. The character then disappeared until he was scheduled to be honored at the gala. It turned out the custodial staff partnered with rival City College to fight Frankie and her effort to clean up the school. When paintball duels broke out during the gala, Lapari can be seen using a gun that fired silver paintballs. This gun was also shown as the weapon when Silver Ballz took out a few victims earlier in the episode.
The opening scene actually provided the best evidence that Lapari was Silver Ballz all along. The episode began with Star-Burns and Todd taking part in the underground game of paintball assassin in the parking garage. Before one emerged as the victor, Silver Ballz appeared, hitting them both with signature silver paintballs. The voice of the unknown figure undoubtedly matches that of Nanjiani. It was odd that Community never made an effort to clearly state the fact that Lapari was Silver Ballz. Then again, the show failed to solve the mystery of the Ass Crack Bandit's identity so Harmon must enjoy lingering questions.