By Kevin McCarthy
As I’ve remarked before, part of what differentiates the American OFFICE from its British predecessor is that the comedy is often balanced by a tender sensibility. The creators avoid the original’s nastier humor in an effort to provide their version with an emotional center. The characters are more likeable – including Carell’s Michael Scott and Wilson’s Dwight Schrute – which goes a long way towards winning fans over. In Thursday’s episode, the audience sympathizes with Michael and Dwight as they deal with their separate issues and it never feels unnatural.
Michael’s girlfriend Jan is redecorating their condo and it puts a serious strain on their finances. Jan hasn’t worked since being fired last season and doesn’t look about to start anytime soon. It doesn’t help that Michael is prone to senseless purchases himself. He picks up a second job as a telemarketer to supplant his income, but it isn’t long before his new job starts to impede on his time at Dunder-Mifflin. Meanwhile, Dwight has opened a bed and breakfast at the Shrute family beet farm where he lives. Pam and Jim hear Dwight taking reservations at work and immediately call to book a night. Dwight, fearing a poor review online, accepts. A romance seems to be blossoming between Ryan’s old squeeze Kelly and warehouse worker Darryl. But Kelly is only affectionate towards him when Ryan is around, which seems to bother both men. He tells Kelly that he likes her but she better figure out what she wants; she’s taken aback by someone who actually says exactly what he feels.
Michael gets along with his fellow telemarketers but fails to make a sale. His new boss, Mr. Figaro, doesn’t appreciate Michael spending most of his shift socializing. He quits after being scolded by Ryan for not preparing a PowerPoint presentation, the new boss’ first assignment. Without the extra money, Michael’s debt mounts and he fishes for a way out. Creed suggests bankruptcy, which Michael thinks means yelling, “I declare bankruptcy.” Oscar convinces him that he needs to tell Jan. During their night at the Schrute farm, Jim and Pam don’t get much sleep. For one thing, Dwight keeps them up with his moaning over losing Angela.
The situation is compounded the following day when Andy surprises Angela with a cat he found in the warehouse and wins himself a date. Dwight is crushed. As he sulks in the stairwell, Jim goes to him and opens up about what it was like to be rejected by Pam. At least Pam was nice about it. Angela is being a pretty big bitch on account of her dead cat. Jan catches Michael before he escapes on a freight train and the two share a tender moment, planning to get through the crisis together.
THE OFFICE has a wonderful way of getting the audience to accept its characters as they are. Michael may not be a great boss, and Dwight is a terrible coworker, but they’re just being themselves. The show wouldn’t be nearly as funny if they were bad guys or even slightly more self-aware. Moreover, they can handle the more dramatic turns as seen in last night’s episode.
The ending was a welcome high note to an episode that saw the women characters not being as charming as their male counterparts. On top of Kelly’s scheme to hurt Ryan, Angela makes a point of showing no sympathy for Dwight, who’s obviously having a hard time with the breakup. Jan has a well-documented history of muscling Michael around, and he’s genuinely afraid to share his money problems with her – although it’s clear she’s the main contributing factor. The women generally hold the power in OFFICE relationships (perhaps with the exception of Ryan and Kelly but that looks to be shifting again) but I wonder if this won’t lead to the show becoming two male-centric. Let’s wait and see.
I figured I’d leave you with a question and I’ll address your responses (if there are any) in next week’s post. Which two members of THE OFFICE do you want to see hook up? Personally, I think Creed and Meredith are a match made in Heaven.