(S05E05) [Jay couldn't be here tonight, as he's off being Jay Black somewhere.] Tonight's theme seemed to be about relationship crossroads. We had three storylines interweaving, and all of them centered on the three major hook-ups on the show. Dwight decided that the only way to come to terms with how he felt about Andy and Angela's impending nuptials was to goad Andy into a pointless feud. Michael and Holly had to deal with the fallout of David Wallace discovering that they'd become romantically involved (the hint is in the episode title), and Pam had to have quite possibly the most awkward lunch in history with Jim's brothers.As always, The Office manages to weave slapstick humor brilliantly with moments of raw emotion and pathos. Particularly, again, with a wonderful performance by Steve Carell. With most of the action centering on the major storylines, we didn't get much work out of the supporting cast, so it was at least good to see them having some costume fun in the cold open. Don't forget the rest of the cast, writers, we love them all!
So they're getting rid of Amy Ryan by shipping her character to the New Hampshire branch. Which means she's still a part of Dunder-Mifflin ... and could still come back! You know, lots of Oscar nominated stars slum it on television these days, Amy. Look at Glenn Close. She's doing great!
Considering all the crap Darryl puts up with from Michael, he still cheered him up on the truck ride home by trying to help him sing the blues. And it was so appropriate that Michael absolutely didn't get how to do it but made it work anyway. Dammit, Holly was such a perfect match for Michael. It was genuinely heartbreaking when she essentially broke up with him on the ride.
I've missed the pranks that Pam and Jim used to play around the office on Dwight, so it was great to see Pam wanting to pull one on Jim. It's a side to their personalities, and a huge part of the show, that I almost hadn't realized was wanting. Too bad it wound up being horribly butchered by his brothers.
What it proved, though, was that Jim and Pam's relationship is absolutely for real. Even in the face of downright stupidity, they always come out of it stronger than ever. As much as I know that conflict makes great storytelling, I really really really don't want the writers messing up this couple. They're the heart and soul of the show and they deserve each other.
The rest of the episode was following through on the engagement announcement of Andy and Angela. In classic Dwight fashion, he decided to "handle" the situation by driving Andy crazy. Lest we forget, Andy has anger issues, so Dwight was easily able to bait him by pretending to be a new application to Cornell, where Andy went to college.
The dynamic that's developed between Dwight and Andy is great. I love that Andy started off as a slight variation on Dwight's personality and has evolved into a wholly unique and equally bizarre character on the show. And he's proving to be an even better foil for Dwight than Jim because he buys into it and plays along to the point of insanity. It really makes you wonder about the kinds of guys Angela is drawn to, though.
Office Memos
- Great costume cold open. Poor Pam, stuck in a Charlie Chaplin costume in the void of "no costumes or fun" at corporate. "And I can't even take off my hat," she laments. "Because then I'm Hitler."
- Damn, Creed looks great as the Joker. He even had a great Joker voice. Who knew Heath Ledger was channeling a 65-year old former Grass Roots guitarist for the role.
- "I'll walk you out." Classic Jim moment, right after being put in charge of the office, he instead leaves for the day right next to Michael, carrying his bag and heads straight for his car. "You can let people go a couple minutes early if you want." "We'll see."
- Aw yeah, Darryl! Sing it! "Life is a highway, and you're on it with Michael Scott! For seven long hours!" ... it works better when you sing out loud to the tune.
- Wow, Jim's brothers are horrible at pranks. And he's such a natural , I guess he didn't learn it from them.
- "Did Darryl touch you?" Are you kidding me? Hilarious!
Gareth David-Lloyd of Torchwood: The TV Squad Interview 
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
10-31-2008 @ 12:19AM
StevieG21 said...
This is the first episode this season that has disappointed me. Both the Michael/Holly and Jim/Pam storylines felt incomplete. While funny, too much time was spent on the Dwight/Andy story. It also felt out of character for Dwight to pull a prank like that. That seemed like Jim not Dwight.
I'm very sad to see Amy Ryan go. She was great. Very likeable and natural. Wonderful chemistry with Steve Carell. Maybe we can put a curse on her movie career so that she can come back to "The Office."
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10-31-2008 @ 12:46AM
comctrl6 said...
Creed's joker was the best costume. Ever.
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10-31-2008 @ 1:02AM
Will B. said...
The entire show seemed, to me, incredibly disjointed. None of the storylines resolved by the end. I felt like I saw a show that had been thrown together from random clips they found on the cutting room floor.
Case in point: the Halloween costumes we saw at the beginning of the show led us to believe it was October 31, and then right after the first commercial they started an entirely new day, apparently--no costumes, and now Dwight is in the Cornell outfit. Meanwhile, it seems that the trip to New Hampshire that was only supposed to take "7 hours" has now spread out over three days. I don't know about the rest of you, but I found myself having trouble finding a frame of reference, which I *never* have with this show. It felt like no one had evaluated it for continuity.
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10-31-2008 @ 8:23AM
Kate said...
I could not agree with you more. I came on here expecting the time frame to be talked about by more people. It really bothered me last night and I had trouble getting into the episode.
10-31-2008 @ 1:14AM
Brent Schmidt said...
Taken from another site, but is exactly what I'm thinking...
This show has turned into the San Diego Chargers of tv. They've got a great cast with good actors and one (Steve) who is beyond brilliant. They've had good success in the past. You look at it on paper and think it should be great every week and yet it's not that good and you can't figure out why it's not getting better.
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10-31-2008 @ 2:12PM
Dan said...
As a San Diego resident, I can appreciate the comparison...but I actually thought this was a Funny episode. Sure, it was a little all-over-the-place, but I laughed really hard a few times and it developed the storyline further. I'd rather watch "The Office" than 90% of anything else out there. But I can appreciate your analogy, that's how I feel about "Family Guy". I love three or four of the characters, but it only makes me laugh every so often...the last episode being an exception instead of the rule.
10-31-2008 @ 2:59AM
Monkeydog said...
I was disappointed this week, but still, a disappointing episode for The Office is still better than a lot of stuff on TV.
My favourite line was from Creed:
"It's pronounced Colonel and it's the highest rank in the military"
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10-31-2008 @ 3:02AM
Monkeydog said...
Oh and I have to say...I don't know what it is about it...but I think Micheal's eventual break down in the car and saying he hates Jan was the highlight of this episode...and seems to me to be the only thing to take out of this episode, really.
10-31-2008 @ 4:48AM
stonedwill said...
http://www.zimbio.com/The+Office/articles/2/Watch+Office+season+5+EPISODES+online
All "The Office" season 5 episodes online, updated regularly.
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10-31-2008 @ 6:24AM
Christian H. said...
One word: Noooooooooooooooooooooo!
I really hope they bring back Amy Ryan as soon as possible.
Otherwise I thought it was a good episode, not awesome but also not disappointing as others thought. It was light on the funny, but that's okay with me. And I totally got a kick out of Holly, Michael and Darryl singing in the car together.
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10-31-2008 @ 8:13AM
Bill said...
So was I the only one thinking Dwight's Cornell thing was to paint Andy as unstable after his conversations with Phyllis last week? I think this was more strategy than spite.
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10-31-2008 @ 8:17AM
Galley said...
Holly was the female version of Michael. They were too perfect together, and thus too annoying. One of them had to go.
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10-31-2008 @ 8:42AM
Jimmy said...
Everyone saying this episode felt "off" should revisit the rest of this year's episodes. Sure, it's still one of the best shows on TV, but it pales in comparison to Seasons 2 and 3 and the show's ultimate triumph: last year's finale. I won't say The Office jumped the shark, but I'm afraid it has peaked.
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10-31-2008 @ 9:16AM
Maria T C G said...
I dont understand why everyone is so negative about this epi. It was fun light and silly. The only thing that was disjointed was the halloween. Everything else seemed to flow. It was funny, sad, and insane. I dont see the issue that everyone here sees. I AM bummed that they broke up. They were amazing together. Two Michaels? Thats way better than one. I hated the Jan story line in the end and this was just so great to come back from.
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10-31-2008 @ 9:21AM
KR said...
Hey, I can't complain about the episode especially since my actual brother played Jim's older brother!!! Gotta give him props for pulling "jackass" off rather well... I remember a few of those kinds of moments myself growing up. ;)
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10-31-2008 @ 1:27PM
ac said...
Is he coming back so Jim and Pam can prank on him for being bald?
10-31-2008 @ 9:30AM
Jack said...
"Who are you, Larry King?"
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10-31-2008 @ 2:12PM
Dan said...
Loved that! Even better because he was arrested in the office in disgrace just like Gordon Gekko!
10-31-2008 @ 9:44AM
nattyff said...
it was a great episode
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10-31-2008 @ 10:12AM
Calum said...
I didn't find discontinuity with the episode at all, the cold open just happened on a different day to what the rest of the episode did, and I don't think its the first time that its been implied that the cold open has been on a different day its just that it was more blatant this episode because of the costumes. The only other possible discontinuity was that Andy spoke to Cornell and got permission to do Andy's interview all in a couple of hours.
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