The first thing you’ll notice when watching tonight’s episode of The Office, is that it focuses more on plot and character than the usual off-the-wall antics we’re used to. Of course, there was your expected level of comedy, but I’d have to consider this episode more of a setup to future antics.
We have two sub-stories in tonight’s episode. The first involving Pam trying to do some last minute planning for the big wedding. Apparantly, quite a few people haven’t RSVP’ed, and so Pam spends the majority of her day ‘shaking them down’to find out if they’re coming or not. The episode makes us aware that Kelly and Ryan still have that awkward ‘are they dating or not?’vibe about them. Kelly isn’t going to the wedding unless Ryan’s going. And Ryan can’t give more of an answer than ‘Maybe yes.’Meredith just wants whatever’s fanciest, and she’ll just text Pam the morning to get directions. Oh, and you’re probably wondering where the wedding is actually taking place. Jam (or Pim, however you want to refer to them) had an epiphany that if they had their wedding in Niagara Falls, no one from the office would be able to make the trip up. This would have been true, if not for the fact that Michael promised to give Friday and Monday off to any office member who was taking the drive up. That’s our Michael…always foiling the plans.
Our second sub-story was about Darryl trying to file a workman’s compensation complaint to pay for his broken ankle. Apparently he was moving some boxes on some of the top shelves in the warehouse. The ladder gave way and ended up on top of him, resulting in his injuries. Dwight of course assumes he’s lying and making the whole thing up. The good part of this little side-story is the fact that we get to see plenty of Toby and Dwight bonding. While on a stake out at Darryl’s house, they see a very Darryl-looking person carrying a large bag of dog food. This leads to the duo confronting ‘Darryl’and throwing all kinds of accusations of his faking the injury at him. Well it turns out the guy who looks like Darryl…is actually Darryl’s sister. A very manly looking sister, if I do say so myself. Darryl’s going to issue a complaint to corporate; Dwight’s going to issue a complaint to corporate; everyone’s issuing complaint’s to corporate.
Now, on to the meat and potatoes of the episode. We start things off with David Wallace inviting Jim into the conference room for a little meeting. Michael’s not invited. And when someone else has a meeting with Wallace, without Michael, it causes Michael to become a very nervous man. Through an ingenious plan, Andy manages to hide Michael in the bottom of a cracker and cheese cart. Andy wheels the cart into the conference room and manages to show off a wealth of cheese knowledge to Jim and Wallace. Too bad he came in at the end of the meeting. Finally, Michael gets his chance to talk to Wallace alone. It turns out that Jim is asking for a promotion. He wants to be branch manager. Of course, this make Michael a little upset. Assuming that Jim’s trying to take his job, Michael sabotages Jim’s change of getting the branch manager spot. Well, that’s too bad for Michael, because Jim’s idea involved Michael being promoted as well. Ouch.
Wallace asks Jim to walk him out to his car. After getting back, Jim realizes that Michael didn’t talk very favorably to Wallace about Jim. Jim really puts Michael on the spot here in what is easily one of the best character moments in the history of the show. Jim is awesome for these. Just when you think he’s nothing but a prankster, he’s able to pull stuff like this. He makes Michael feel terrible about ruining his chance of getting the job. Michael calls Wallace, and tries to get him to change his mind. The conversation is cut short when Wallace gets pulled over for talking on the phone while driving. After calling back, Wallace has a great idea. He’s going to make Michael and Jim Co-Managers of the Scranton branch. Jim is going to oversee day-to-day operations of the branch, and Michael will be responsible for client interactions. Great idea in my opinion. This keeps Michael in the branch, and I’m happy for Jim now that he’ll have more than enough financial stability to support a family. Good decision story-wise.
And that’s basically it. Like I said, not too many comical moments, but a lot of good setup for the rest of the season. In my opinion, the funniest part of the episode was the opening scene, which featured Michael asking Oscar for advice on how to get the most pleasure out of a colonoscopy. The Co-Manager aspect should be awesome. And Dwight’s reaction when he found out is priceless. Michael is going to have a difficult time adjusting, judging by the fact that he’s already called Jim ‘Co-Manager to the Manager.’I’m ready for next week already.
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