I kinda suspected that once Pam decided to retaliate against the Warehouse Guy for vandalizing her mural, that it would escalate to the point where the Guy would get into her face that it would prompt Brian, the Boom Guy to step in. Sure enough, that's what happened. I didn't foresee him actually punching him out though, which he did and that leads to his termination from the Crew. I really don't like where they are taking this. Also, I hated that whole Political Fundraiser. At least Angela and Oscar finally learn the truth that the Senator was only using each of them to tap into a demographic to get votes. And when I say tap.......



Overall. this was a pretty sub-par episode.

I thought I'd be happy to see Ed Helms return as Andy. That all went out the door 5 seconds in. He is so annoying and I can't stand the character. He just sucks the life out of the show. There was one upside to his return though. I did like the idea of the rest of the Office trying to sabotage him with false information so he would get in trouble with David Wallace. The payoff doesn't happen till the end of the episode though and that's all because of Erin, who FINALLY breaks up with him. Yay!

As for Jim and Pam, this story arc is just making me extremely uncomfortable. I keep telling myself their impending breakup can only be saved with the help of one person: Michael Scott. How awesome would that be? Leave it to the one person who had problems relating to other people for a long time on the series. In my head, I have it that Jim and Pam go to see Michael and Holly and they are the ones that save their marriage.

The Office for the past few years has become incredibly predictable. That is until now. I thought it was a fantastic move to bring back Gabe, a move instituted by Andy to get back at Erin for breaking up with him. Granted, I am not a fan of Gabe at all and hated pretty much all the episodes that he was featured in prominently. But I will say that in spite of this, it was a pretty good curve ball the writers threw into this episode.

Pretty good cameo by Bob Odenkirk who was basically the living embodiment of Michael Scott as Pam's potential new boss in Philly as an "Office Manager", which was really just another name for receptionist.There was one let down in the episode for sure and that was not getting to finally see who the Scranton Strangler was. I wish the writers would hurry up and course correct this whole Jim/Pam on the rocks arc. It's depressing and leaving me feeling anxious that the shoe is going to drop on their relationship.

One interesting thing did happen at the end where an Ad pops up on Oscar's computer monitor. The Ad said:

Coming this May:
The Office: An American Workplace. Ten years in the making, a look at the lives and loves of an average American small business office.

So, does this mean the show is going on hiatus till May? Ack!

As a Office episode, this was HORRIBLE. As a backdoor pilot for Dwight Schrute forthcoming new spin-off series, this was weak. Even before this season started, I knew they were setting up the spin-off and I knew back then that it would be a stretch and something that would most likely fail. Sure enough, the evidence is there. It won't work. It can't work. Who would have guessed that the only "good" thing about this episode would in fact turn out to be Todd Packer, who I've said on numerous occasion is a character that I hate with passion.

UPDATE:

I just did a search for the Spin-off. It is D.O.A. Thank God! Based on this episode, yeah, it was already doomed to fail before it ever got off the ground.

Promos is exactly what it is. The documentary in the Office reality of things is set to start airing soon and they are just now seeing the Promos for the first time. Some of the clips in the Promos is causing anxiety among the employees when they realize that the camera crews caught a lot more on film than they thought they would get. The best and funniest part actually involved Andy when he is getting trolled on the website that is hosting the Promos. So frickin' hilarious!! Turns out the Troll is actually Nellie. Priceless!!

In a nice roundabout way, they managed to get Michael Scott in an episode this season via the clips in the Promos. Nice. Also, as odd as it was, I thought bringing in Ryan Howard, the Phillies Superstar was a nice get. When the show first started and I heard BJ Novak's character was named Ryan Howard, my first thought was "oh, just like the baseball player". Would have been good if they had both Ryan's on the show sharing screen time together though.

This was easily one of the funniest episodes on The Office in the last couple of years and who would have thought that it would a Stanley-heavy episode at that? Oh my God, I couldn't stop laughing. It was funny when Dwight tranqed him once. But as soon as the tranq darts started hitting Stanley, I was gone. So funny. Then it became a question of how to transport Stanley's out-cold body down the stairs and into Dwight's car and get him to the sales call meeting. A bubble-wrapped Stanley does in fact go a long way. Hahahaha. What could possible top a slurred speaking Stanley? How about when he purposely stabs himself in the leg with one of the darts, just so that Dwight is responsible for getting Stanley up the stairs. Hahahahahah.

Kevin also had a moment when he was celebrating that he was able to keep Oscar's secret from the rest of the Office. The subplot was also good with Jim seeking help from Toby about his marital problems and Pam seeking help from Nellie. I hope they find a happy ending because it would suck if they don't make it. You know, they should have Michael and Holly pop up in the series finale episode and council them on how to make a marriage work. That would be beyond awesome.

Rosanne popping up at Andy's "Talent Agent" was unexpected. I didn't hear anything about her doing a guest-spot on the show.

I think those that are in charge of the series right now realize that this isn't the same show it once was and are going to the 'Michael Scott Well' in these last couple of episodes and finding ways to "bring him back" to the show. It's the only way and I'm okay with it. Whenever I see Michael, even if it is a flashback, it makes the episode just a tiny bit better than it would be without him. The whole Jim and Pam thing was uncomfortable to watch. Their "couple therapy" was a farce and can't be taken seriously when both are just "going through the motions" of reciting affirmations laced with resentment. I liked the ending when they finally put that bullsh*t aside and just hugged each other. Hopefully they are now over the hump and we can get on with the rest of the show without having to wallow in their crumbling marriage.

Loved Andy's "acting" that involved putting water in his eyes. So damn funny. The paper plane contest was wasted. Well, everything except Kevin that is. He was awesome as always.

Wow. I didn't think the series had it to bring back "old school" Office, but this was almost like watching an episode during their peak years. Some really great, funny moments. With Andy, it started off funny, but then it kinda got annoying with his flip flopping. But then they gave him a couple of great scenes that will be talked about forever by Office fans. One, him taking a dump on David Wallace's car....priceless. Two, his farewell song was damn good and finally gave us the notion that he could actually succeed as a singer.

Loved the whole thing regarding giving Dwight the Manager's position. It was fantastic. Loved seeing the old Jim and Pam chemistry again. It felt right. It felt perfect. But I think my favorite scenes involved Angela and Oscar. Her covered in cat hair and "drinking" from a large soda cup was a nice nod to Meredith. Awesome. Everyone got a nice scene to call their own, especially Creed jumping up on the desk and declaring himself the 'manager'. Hahaha.

One last episode left. I sure hope they can go out just as strong as they did when the burst onto our TV screens 9 years ago.