In this episode, Annie Edison (Alison Brie) and Professor Buzz Hickey (Jonathan Banks) confront numerous Greendale heads—including the head custodian Bob Waite (Nathan Fillion)—while others prepare the cafeteria for the midterm dance.
The episode received generally positive reviews, with many praising the show's use of guest stars; however, some noted Troy Barnes’ (Donald Glover) absence negatively.
Meanwhile, Jeff (Joel McHale), Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown), Chang (Ken Jeong), and Duncan (John Oliver) set the decorations for the dance.
After all of the decorations are finished, Neil (Charley Koontz) enters and reacts negatively to the theme, since it makes light of a gruesome bear attack at a little boy's birthday party in Wisconsin that was on the news earlier that day.
After Abed shows interest in her, even becoming conversant in ASL in only a day, it is revealed that Britta has bribed her to spoil the ending of Bloodlines of Conquest in sign language.
In the credits scene, Prof. Duncan tries to call Greendale Faculty Office Supplies for new staples, but accidentally directs himself to a military line and activates the "Arcadia Protocol".
[4] Other references include a shot of Rick and Morty (an animated show co-created by Dan Harmon) when Abed and Rachel are watching television, the Jim Henson film Labyrinth, as well as Gary Oldman's performance in Léon: The Professional.
[4] In a nod to the previous episode, when Professor Hickey is watching the news, the ticker at the bottom of the screen reads "Levar Burton and non-celebrity companion captured by pirates in the Gulf of Mexico.
Eric Goldman of IGN gave the episode an 8.8 out of 10, signifying positive reviews, saying "On one hand, “Analysis of Cork-Based Networking" felt a bit all over the place.
“Analysis” had the same flavor — essence — of the first two seasons, which I suppose is appropriate, considering the first episode of the season was literally titled “Repilot.” Sure, there were a lot of guest stars (Criminal Minds’ Paget Brewster; Robert Patrick; Nathan Fillion [right on the tail of Chang’s celebrity crush confession, no less]; Brie Larson), a move typically reserved for struggling shows looking for a bump and/or renewal consideration, but they weren't too flashy or pointed (I don’t think a single one of them claimed more than a minute of screen time).
"[8] In regard to Katie Leclerc's appearance as a deaf student who befriends Abed, Laurel Brown of Zap2it called it "a possible match made in silent heaven.
It's too bad, because bringing in actors like Nathan Fillion, Katie Leclerc, Robert Patrick, Paget Brewster and more should have made "Analysis of Cork-Based Networking" one of the best "Community" episodes ever.