The Office

The romantic twists of The Office finales.  We're used to it by now.  Season 2, it was “the kiss.”  Season 3, it was Jim rebuking the New York job in favor of a date with Pam.  This season, well, The Office tricked us a little.  Pam and Jim were involved, certainly, but the big romantic twists involved a number of other characters.  More so than any other Office finale (or random episode, for that matter), tonight's fourth season finale contained tons of significant story developments.  It truly was a case of The Office writers setting themselves up for the entirety of season 5.  It's hard to believe that so many massive personal events would happen in the span of one day, but this is a comedy.  These things can be forgiven.

It's Toby Flenderson's last day.  He's going to Costa Rica – he's fed up with the work, and he can't handle his super-crush on Pam any longer.  Michael Scott is incredibly excited – Toby is his sworn enemy, his nemesis.  Michael has the party planning committee plan a going away party for Toby.  When Michael gives them extra funds from his shoe (courtesy of his senile grandmother), he demands big things.  Angela refuses to look for the anti-gravity machine that Michael wants, so she quits the committee and Phyllis takes over.

Amy Ryan, Oscar nominee and former cast member of The Wire, guest stars as Holly, the new HR person taking over for Toby.  As part of his final day duties, Toby has to show Holly around.  Michael, obviously, comes in wanting to hate Holly.  However, Holly has an immediate effect on everyone – people like her.  Michael falls in love, hard, and employs Jim's advice, who tells Micheal to take it slow.  Pam gets accepted to design school, but she has to go to New York for three months.  Jim tells us, mid-episode, that he's going to propose to Pam.  He even shells out some cash to Phyllis in order to get some fireworks for the party. 

Ryan, oh Ryan.  Thanks to a YouTube video, the entire office watches as Ryan is led out of the Dunder-Mifflin offices in handcuffs.  In order to boost sales records, and make it look like his baby (the website) was working, he had been counting each paper sale twice – once in writing and once on the website.  That, as Oscar put it, is fraud.  Jim feels great because Ryan will now be off his back. 

The party gets started in the parking lot, and as the day has gone by, Michael and Holly seem to have hit it off.  They share a ferris wheel ride.  Darryl and his band play.  In lieu of an anti-gravity machine, Phyllis rents a bouncing tent.  As Michael and Holly are having a moment, Michael gets a call from Kevin, who is on a store run to pick up barbecue sauce.  Michael needs to go to the store.

Michael goes, and finds Jan there – she is pregnant.  Michael is ecstatic because he thinks it's his.  Jan breaks the bad news: it isn't.  When the two were going out, Jan decided to go to a sperm bank, for dubious reasons.  Michael is taken aback, but Jan tells Michael that he can accompany her to lamazze class the next morning.

It's night, and the party is still going.  The fireworks are going off, Darryl is singing The Temptations – the moment is right for Jim to propose.  He takes the ring out of his pocket, and is about to do it, when...Andy Bernard takes the stage.  His parents are in attendance, out of nowhere, and he proposes to Angela.  Angela, clearly not happy with this, says “OK” nonetheless.  Jim is put off, the moment is gone, so he doesn't propose.  Pam tells the cameras that she was expecting the proposal and is a little disappointed that it didn't happen.

In the very last scene of the episode, Phyllis goes to drop something off in the empty office, but as soon as she opens the door, carnal sounds are heard.  Angela and Dwight are hooking up.


Despite the lack of resolution in the Jim/Pam story, the finale was so full of other goodies that it doesn't matter.  Jan and Michael's kid is going to be a prevalent story line next season, and presumably so will Angela and Andy's sham engagement.  Ryan may be gone for good, and probably so is Toby.  If Holly is a regular character, they need to figure her out. 

I love Amy Ryan, but Holly was kind of an enigma tonight.  At the beginning, I thought she was simply playing everyone, getting on their good side by appealing to their sensibilities in an effort to make her job easier going forward.  While the whole "Holly thinks Kevin is mentally challenged" thing was funny, I thought it was an insult to both of their characters' intelligence.  Which goes into my issue – I don't know who Holly is.  Maybe I hold Amy Ryan is such high regard that I didn't buy her as the type of simpleton who becomes interested in Michael Scott. 

I wonder what the writers have in store for Jim and Pam.  Will Jim propose over the break?  Pam will have to go to New York, but I'm guessing by the time the series returns in the fall, she'll be back.  Will they insert some conflict between Jim and Pam?  Will Pam, maybe, meet someone new in New York?  Will Pam forever leave Dunder-Mifflin, or will Michael giver Pam her job back after going to school?

Overall, I'd say it was a solid finale.  The revelations were significant, and the laughs were there.  Can't ask for much more. 


Top 6 Quotes of the Episode
 
If the devil were to explode and evil were gone forever, what sort of party would you have?

So how much anti-gravity potion do you want?

What I failed to consider, however, is that not all monsters are bad.

I am totally going to bang Holly.

The real crime, I think, is the beard.

Total Eclipse of the Fart.


-Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image Courtesy of NBC)