I am all a-twitter over last ...
Question: I am all a-twitter over last week's finale of
The Office! I have the same butterflies that I had when
Ross and Rachel shared their first kiss. Instead of feeling like they jumped the gun and brought Jim and Pam together too quickly in the show's run, I feel lots of anticipation about the consequences of Jim's declaration and kiss. And, might I add,
Steve Carell did a brilliant job of writing the episode! What did you think of the finale, and are you already looking forward to next season already?
Answer: Since the Jim-and-Pam relationship is by far my favorite element of
The Office, I was floored by Jim opening up to her, her awkward response, his tearful departure and then his coming back while she was on the phone, opening up to her mom, for the climactic kiss. Superb. I didn't see it coming, because I figured she might still be nursing her wounded pride from the week before (when it was revealed Jim had complained about her making her wedding arrangements so public, prompting him to look into a job transfer). Also enjoyed the episode itself a great deal. The more the series uses everyone in the office to score comic points, the better off it is. (The more Michael, and especially Dwight, take too much of the spotlight, the worse it becomes.) Michael's hatred of Toby slays me. ("Why are you the way that you are?" Michael says when Toby harshes his buzz. "I hate so much about the things that you choose to be." Hilarious!) And then Toby creams him on the first hand, calling his stupid poker bluff. Also brilliantly done: Jan's self-loathing at actually accepting Michael's invitation to the party, then actually being upset that it didn't turn into a sleep-over. She had good reason to be jealous. The real-estate lady is Steve Carell's real-life wife,
Nancy Walls. And how inspired was the tape of Kevin's retro cover band Scrantonicity? Given how I felt about the show a year ago after its underwhelming midseason run, I have done a near-total about face on
The Office. I look very forward to next season. The Jim-Pam office romance will just be icing on the cake.