The Office – Oh, the humanity

I have avoided the Holly/Michael plot on this season of The Office for as long as I possibly could, because I just couldn’t do it. I didn’t like Holly when she showed up before, and I had no interest in her return. Especially not now, with Steve Carell set to exit the show. There’s going out in a fiery blaze (a good thing), and there’s going out on fire. Literally on fire. Why would anyone want Michael Scott’s legacy to end this way?

But I’m getting ahead of myself. For now, all I can add to the conversation is that I felt ill watching Holly and Michael together. Working it into a lecture given by Gabe on romance in the workplace was fun, but not what got us to that point.

But back on solid ground. The PDA seminar turned into a funny conversation about who’s had sex in the office — Creed? — and on to a discussion regarding predetermined hookup zone’s around the office. I loved Dwight’s question: “What is the hookup zone policy on masturbation?” The yes answer was just gross.

I somewhat enjoyed Erin and Andy, but they’re both really sad. And how creepy is Gabe? There’s just something about him that screams yikes. The romantic treasure hunt was very sweet, but “The puzzle is the clue?” Really? Has Gabe met Erin? I hate to say she’s dumb, but maybe subtlety passes her by a little too often.

Back to another low point for a moment: Jim and Pam’s quest to find a place in the office to have sex. Their Valentine’s Day lunch was funny, but then it quickly went unpleasant watching them root around the office looking for somewhere semi-private just for the sake of being able to say that they’d done it. Or to deny that they’d done it. Either way, stupid.

And back to the positive again … I don’t want to revel in his sorrow, but the cold open was wonderful. Darryl looked like he was shedding real tears there when Andy was giving him his “birthday” punches. And I loved the personal messages on the card that everyone signed. “You deserve this” was just a hair better than the one about days like this not coming around often enough.

The best thing was that, like an old school episode of The Office, there were lots of great little moments interspersed among the bigger jokes. I loved when Andy told Erin he could help her until Stanley got over the fact that Andy “accidentally did his Sudoku.” Or the break room discussion about how uncomfortable Holly and Michael were making everyone. My mind raced with the possibilities while we waited for Kevin to finish his thought; even knowing him I didn’t get to “I enjoy watching them … because it makes me horny.” Yeah it does.

And don’t forget Kevin trying to get his name on the list of employees who’d had sex in the office. Who did he sleep with, you ask? “She goes to another school.”

Kevin’s sweet.

Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Feb 11, 2011 @ 15:00 EST5EDT