Grid Effect

There seems to be a ton of mixed feelings about this episode. If you peruse the TWoP message boards like I so embarrassingly did last night, you will come to find out that (at least this portion of the audience) is expecting a lot more out of this series than “just” comedy, which I think is a little unreasonable but I can agree that The Office brought it on themselves. When a good chunk of your storylines evolve from the incendiary and light-hearted into the emotional and sincere — and you are as successful at it has The Office has been — then you’re going to piss some people off when the dramatic notes do not register with them.

I actually enjoyed this episode for reasons I’m not sure I can fully explain. For one, I like it when Dwight and Michael are left to their own resources without any other coworkers around to babysit them. It’s like unleashing a pair of small children into a Bear cage at the zoo: the carnage is inevitable. Secondly, I think they’ve been pushing this all season, but Michael is slowly growing up. Sure, Dwight has to chase him through the building and the parking lot, but he eventually made the decision to phone in his info to Wallace.

Also, for whatever reason there seems to be grave concern for the livelihood of the Prince family. While I can understand not wanting to see them fail, its not like Dunder-Mifflin is exactly thriving. They’ve made this point numerous times throughout the course of the series and although Michael’s branch seems to be one of the more successful, it doesn’t mean the company at large is. Besides, if that place has been around since Vietnam they’re not going anywhere if Wallace steals a few of their customers, and that’s assuming they even can.

The B plot in the office was probably the highlight, as idiotic but greatly distracting superficial conversations like this are what make (in this case, literal) paper-pushing jobs tolerable. Everyone can participate because there’s really no right or wrong answer. We particularly enjoyed how everyone’s approach and argument towards the topic of Hilary Swank’s perceived “hotness” was fitting for each character. Oscar being too critical, Kelly being too complimentary about the celebrity, Phyllis holding her to high and unreasonable standards; it all just seemed… accurate.

I always get her and Amanda Peet confused. Because I'm an idiot, you see.

The standout from this storyline, however, was Kevin. Whose adamant and unwavering position on the non-hotness of Hilary Swank was a career moment for Brian Baumgartner. Actually, I shouldn’t say unwavering because he switched temporarily before delivering the caveat, “its not ‘would you bang her?’, it’s ‘is she hot?’”. He got a huge assist from John Krasinski leading the helm at the other end of the aisle. This rivaled Kennedy-Nixon as one of the defining moments in our nation’s history.

Notable lines:

“Nobody cares” -Jim, in response to Angela’s standard disagreeable response to any office activity. I wonder if his hostility was in part due to her cheating on Andy.

“Kevin’s not exactly a feminist.” -Jim, off-screen explaining why Kevin was siding the way he was.

Kevin’s sollilquy on his new approach to life, it’s too long to quote but I’m assuming you know what I’m referring too.

Oscar’s power-point presentation.

“Look whose the golden boy”-Dwight, creepily encouraging Michael’s decision to inform Wallace about the Prince family’s customer list.

“I mean, I’m alive” -Dwight’s verbal response perfectly accompanied his dismissive physical response to Michael’s “live and let live”.

All in all, a solid episode with several laughs. The only complaint we would have is there was no mention of the broken engagement and love affairs that happened last week, and in a way I prefer they didn’t dwell on it. It keeps the series lighter, especially since the only one who seemed effected by the outcome was Angela.

But I like how they are setting up this season for a grand, grand finale. There are so many character changes taking place that I feel like it’s all mounting towards something show-altering. Between all the cameos for the Super Bowl episode (and thereafter with Idris Elba, and potentially a familiar face), our only concern is it will be too distracting for what they’re working on with the characters they already have.

Probably some links later.