"Baby Shower", the third episode in what's turning out to be a stellar fifth season for The Office, begins with what can only be described as the Best. Opening. Ever. The episode begins with Dwight helping Michael practice for the birth of Jan's sperm donor baby while Dunder Mifflin's too-horrified-to-look-away crew witnesses this hilarious, disturbing and perfectly-Office-esque spectacle. When even Creed is repulsed, you've reached a new level.
It almost seems redundant to pick out "highlights" from the opening scene since the entire sequence was comedic gold, but here are the parts that really stood out for me:
Jim's diagram
A perfect and much-needed visual to summarize the central plot of the episode and describe the opening scene
"My cervix is ripening!"
Dwight's sudden escalation of his "pregnancy" when Michael asks if Andy would like his baby. I loved the dueling man-labor poses of Dwight and Andy as they continue their rivalry for Michael's affection. It was like two cocks flaring their feathers as they prepare to fight — only the exact opposite.
Creed, Horrified
The look on Creed's face as he sees Dwight's spread-eagle legs getting ready for "birth" provided some keen insight into my favorite character. This was the perpetually nonplussed man who had seen it all and done it all suddenly realizing that he could still be shocked, after all. Quabbity Control indeed.
MMMM ... Buttery Watermelon
But the best, most disturbing scene that will simultaneously haunt and amuse me for many years to come was when after the birth of Dwight's buttered-up watermelon ("Newborns are slippery"), we cut to a shot of Michael eating the fruit while Dwight is zipping up his pants. There are clearly some complex issues at play as Michael sucks on his juicy watermelon while Dwight's butt and crotch are in the frame, but I don't have the intellectual capacity to clearly articulate them.
Amazingly enough, this episode that started out as brilliant farce by the end pivoted to poignancy, in a way that only The Office can. There tends to be a sweetness in every episode of The Office that's almost Chaplin-esque, so although throughout the rest of "Baby Shower" there are laugh-out-loud moments — I particularly liked Dwight's assault on Jan's baby stroller as well as Michael yelling about wanting a "Golden Shower" — I thought the highlight of "Baby Shower" after the opening scene was the unexpected and sudden maturation of Michael Scott, who asks Holly on a date immediately after Jan specifically asked him not to. I was frankly surprised at this sudden turn - I just assumed that Michael would be conflicted by and yet still heed Jan's request — but this is another reason The Office is my favorite show — its perpetual ability to catch me off guard by revealing depths to its characters that I didn't think they were capable of.
So, what did you guys think? Was this indeed the best Office opening ever, or can you name others? How about Michael and Holly — did you see this happening as quickly as it has, or were you surprised, like me, that Michael was able to so quickly and decisively shed his feelings for Jan and the baby?
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"Baby Shower", the third episode in what's turning out to be a stellar fifth season for
The Office, begins with what can only be described as the Best. Opening. Ever. The episode begins with Dwight helping Michael practice for the birth of Jan's sperm donor baby while Dunder Mifflin's too-horrified-to-look-away crew witnesses this hilarious, disturbing and perfectly-
Office-esque spectacle. When even Creed is repulsed, you've reached a new level.
Read on for the full, fun-filled recap.
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