Community makes a tradition out of iconic guest roles, and Josh Holloway shows up right when the TV series is at its best, stealing the show in one of the most memorable season finales of the past decade. Throughout six seasons, renowned actors such as Jack Black, John Goodman, and Brie Larson appeared on Community and added to the show's irreverent humor, but what makes Josh Holloway's guest role special is how his appearance is directly linked to one of the most iconic elements of the series: the paintball competitions.
Paintball is introduced in Community season 1, episode 23, "Modern Warfare," when a seemingly ordinary competition turns into a post-apocalyptical war zone, just because priority registration for classes is announced as the winning prize. The episode proved that Community was far from just another sitcom, escalating small-scale issues into problems of massive proportion and setting up the path for a promising season 2. Josh Holloway's appearance offers one of the best movie references Community ever did, and the actor's distinctive anti-hero performance makes it all the more compelling.
Josh Holloway Plays The Black Rider
Josh Holloway appears as The Black Rider in Community season 2, episode 23, "A Fistful of Paintballs," which is directed by Joe Russo and comes a whole season after Community's first paintball episode. As the title implies, the episode makes several references to Spaghetti Westerns, particularly A Fistful of Dollars. Holloway's character clearly satirizes Clint Eastwood's iconic Man with No Name: he also doesn't have a name, his intentions are mysterious, and most importantly, his skills with a paintball gun are terrifying.
The study group gives him the Black Rider nickname after he infiltrates Greendale's paintball game and proves himself to be an enemy to be feared. He single-handedly eliminates everyone in Pierce's (Chevy Chase) fort and ignites Jeff's (Joel McHale) anger by flirting with Annie (Alison Brie) whenever he has the chance. When a four-person expansion of a duel breaks out in typical Western fashion, the Black Rider is tricked by Pierce's fake heart attack and ends up shot by the old man.
The Black Rider Is A City College Pawn
The Black Rider's anti-hero nature is as thrilling as it is suspicious, and it doesn't take long until Community's study group finds out that he's the pawn of a plan orchestrated by City College, Greendale's rival, to win the show's paintball competition and take ahold of the disputed $100,000 prize. The Black Rider wears a traditional black gunslinger outfit and carries two pistols and two shotguns with him. From his Clint Eastwood references, one can assume he's a mercenary rather than a City College student. In the next episode, '"For a Few Paintballs More," The Black Rider gives way to season 2's true villain: Spreck, City College's Dean (Jordan Black).