We were treated to another 1 hour episode of The Office Thursday night, one that promised to bring good ol’ Dunder-Mifflin into the new age of doing business. First things first though, we start with hidden office romance being brought to the fore. Actually, THE office romance was brought into the light: Jim and Pam. Toby, in a fit of jealousy, spills the beans about Jim and Pam (and their public displays of affection) to the entire office. The two lovebirds seem to handle it well, with neither of them denying the fact that they have been dating.
Ryan, the former temp, returns to the Scranton branch with a shiny, new corporate job and an ego to match. The only problem is that all his former coworkers want to treat him like he’s a kid still. After a few of Michael’s typical shenanigans, he has to yell at his former boss in order to command some respect. It’s strange to see Ryan as the boss now; seems like a stretch that a guy that never made a sale is now a company “hotshot.” But the writers cleverly made each Scranton employee only see him as the former quite, temp worker. His ex-girlfriend, Kelly confronts him desperately trying to get him to express some type of feelings for what they once had. She even goes as far as dropping a fake bombshell on him stating that she’s pregnant.
Ryan’s has a grand plan to make the company cutting-edge; using a website and blackberries, of all things, to make the company “younger, faster, and more efficient.” Creed sees this plan as an attempt to get rid of the older folks and he dyes his hair with office toner to prove he’s still a young employee. After Jan later explains to her boyfriend that the company is using ageism to out the the older workers, Michael concocts and cunning plan to stop Ryan. His plan is to using gourmet gift baskets in order to win clients back. Of course, it doesn’t work and he drives his car into a lake in the process of attempting to show why technology sucks.
Another shocking development this episode was the break-up of Angela and Dwight. Angela remained pissed off at Dwight for killing her cat, despite the fact that he tries to replace “Sprinkles” with another feline. She tells him that she can no longer “do this,” meaning it’s over between the office’s weirdest couple. Expect a reconciliation before the end of the season.
So far, these hour-long episodes have felt a little long, contrasting to the short-but-sweet 30 minute episodes of prior seasons (we’re in for 2 more hour long episodes after this one). Also, Jim and Pam are actually a little boring to watch now that they are public. Look for the writers to send them some rocky waters soon to make things interesting.
What will happen next on The Office? Will Angela and Dwight get back together? Will Jim and Pam be able to make it last? Will Toby ever be any fun? Will Michael gain any sense?
Photos courtesy of NBC.com
