I think Community was more making a comment about how Lego has become less generic and more based on marketing. You could say this correlates to less creativity

I think Community was more making a comment about how Lego has become less generic and more based on marketing. You could say this correlates to less creativity in favor of recreating existing properties. The bits about smaller pieces and brand tie-ins line up with the changes mentioned in the article (more pieces per set, more brand specific sets).