In the second installment of the season 3 finale of Community, Troy (Donald Glover) sacrificed himself to save the lives of the study group. Has NBC sacrificed Dan Harmon to save Community? This column will dissect the unintentional parallels between the finale and the firing.

It is eerie when television shows foreshadow real life. But I contend that this is just what happened with the second to last episode of Community; it foreshadowed Dan’s departure.

In the second-to-last episode, the study group finds themselves in a pickle. Chang has locked the “Greendale 7” and Dean Pelton (Jim Rash) in the basement of Greendale. Chang will kill them all and burn down the school, for no apparent reason, unless the study group can escape. There seems to be no way out, when Troy looks to the sky and nods. He will volunteer himself to be the martyr. He will leave his life behind to join Dean Laybourne’s (John Goodman) air conditioning repair school. His sacrifice saves their lives and the school in one foul swoop. (Who knew Constable Reggie could save the universe without the Inspector?) At the end of the episode, we watched him say goodbye to the study group and more importantly, to Abed (“He said, ‘I know you hate when this happens in movies.’”) And with that, Troy’s off to a different life, forever (or so they say) separated from his pals.

Now let’s switch gears to real life. Here we have a sitcom that is dying, not for lack of talent or trying, but because of low ratings. It’s not mainstream. It can’t appeal to the lowest common denominator. It looked like the plug was going to be pulled on Community, yet again, by NBC (and yes I am, in fact, comparing NBC to Chang … who is that more insulting to?). It’s limping back with a half season next year, but in order for the show to survive, who will take the fall? Who must take the hit so that the series can be renewed and potentially make NBC money? Dan Harmon. He must give up his creation, all that he loves, so that the show can “survive” without him.

Important distinction: Dan Harmon didn’t have a choice. Troy did. This makes a big difference. Troy gave himself up, while Dan Harmon was forced out behind closed doors and without his knowledge.

Important similarity: What is the study group without Troy? What is Community without Dan Harmon?

Dan Harmon created this show (his name is literally carved on the table as creator in the credits). Are we truly to that stage in the world where the creator can be forced from his creation without even being consulted? Low blow. Now look, it’s been rumored that Dan Harmon is a difficult man. He himself admits it. Here are some examples that Vulture had to offer:

Harmon and Sony have been at odds since the first season of Community, clashing over everything from the show’s creative direction (the studio and NBC have both, at times, asked Harmon to make the show at least somewhat broader in its appeal) to Harmon’s management style (the producer admitted as recently as last month that he was “damn bad” at key elements of his job not related to what gets on the screen).

So he may not be the most perfect guy in the world and we all know the feud with Chevy was ridiculous, but gosh, does he deserve this? To be removed without even a courtesy phone call?

The sad truth is that Troy managed to return to the study group in the final installment of the finale, but Dan Harmon will not be staying on the show and there is little that any of us can do about it besides raise hell. Can Harmon become the Messiah of NBC to return to the show? Probably not.

This is, it seems, the darkest timeline.