Build-Up to The Office Finale

[Squiggy]

They made Andy as much of an abusive partner as one can and keep at TVPG rating.

 

[J.T.B.]

I did love Dwight's impression of him though.

Yeah that was funny. I have to say, too, that Dwight's interview of Trevor the week before was the hardest I've laughed all season. Trevor's appearances have all been good, really.

 

[Mr Light]

I don't like what they did with Andy. He spent all that time and effort to win back Erin at the end of last season, then immediately ditches her and disappears for three months without talking to her? Bull. They should have just written her off the show while he was gone and had them away together. Do they really need to be destroying the Andy/Erin and Jim/Pam and Angela relationships all at once???

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I like what they're doing with Jim & Pam. After making them the token romance of the entire show they've found a believable way to put their relationship in serious jeopardy that makes neither of them the bad guy.

I don't like the way they handled Andy. I mean, Office has relied too much on the 'good guy/bad guy' romance. First, Pam: Good guy Jim, bad guy Roy. Then Angela: Good guy Dwight, bad guy Andy. Then Erin: Good guy Andy, bad guy Gabe. Then Erin: Good guy re-Jim, bad guy Andy. Enough already with the trope!

After working so hard to make Andy likeable they should have wrote him out in a way that stayed likable instead of self-destructing him.

And I like the way they incorporated the camera crew, I thought that was clever. The only previous time they've acknowledged the concept that the office is being filmed for a television show is when Michael took off his mic in his final scene.

And I like the way they're giving Dwight all the hero moments this season. The way he handled the Angela/Oscar situation was paragon-like. This season we're seeing far more of his likable qualities than his obnoxious ones.

My general feeling of the Office is this.
Season 1: B
Season 2: A
Season 3: A-
Season 4: D-
Season 5: C-
Season 6: B+
Season 7: C+
Season 8: C-
Season 9: B-

After the very beginning when the show was great, the show descended into predictable gimmickry for a few years. The show was revitalized a little by the Sabre acquisition and the character of Gabe, and then they focused an entire season on Michael's ending and a new CEO, Robert California, who ended up being a waste of James Spader who was far more interesting in concept than in execution. But I like this season and the gut wrenching schism between Jim and Pam. I'm excited to see how this turns out.

It's a shame if Steve Carrell isn't going to come back for a final appearance. It'd be gratifying to see him walk in carrying a baby, then interact with the group as equals for the first time. Almost as bad as Cuddy not appearing in the House finale.

 

[the G-man]

They made Andy as much of an abusive partner as one can and keep at TVPG rating.

The writers have always struggled with whether Andy is a good guy or a bad guy. But this latest heel turn is just shitty daytime soap opera writing.

Between this, the 'cousin Oliver' cameraman and the manufactured Jim and Pam drama, this is a master class in how to not do a final season.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

They made Andy as much of an abusive partner as one can and keep at TVPG rating.

The writers have always struggled with whether Andy is a good guy or a bad guy. But this latest heel turn is just shitty daytime soap opera writing.

Between this, the 'cousin Oliver' cameraman and the manufactured Jim and Pam drama, this is a master class in how to not do a final season.

I agree about Andy, that storyline has been terrible, but Jim and Pam's storyline manufactured?

I find their arc this season incredibly realistic. Jim has hated his job for years, now he has a chance for a job he likes so he jumps at the opportunity. This opportunity forces him to spend much of his time in Philadelphia, making Pam lonely and giving her the sole burden of child-rearing while he's away. And her own established insecurities force her to lash out in ways that don't address the actual issue, her loneliness and her stress, and her knowledge that this is Jim's best chance to have a job he loves.

This is how real couples break up. They start to want different things out of life. I feel like they're going to end up staying together at the end, but they've done a good job creating that doubt and that drama.

 

[Kitty Worrier]

I have to agree with many here about Andy and Erin, the writer's really went a bad direction here. First I was upset about Erin dumping him, but realized, he was being an ass and he deserved it.

So after all the time spent to win her over with the cool (Christmas?) present years ago and winning her back last season, the writers do this? Make him a jerk again? I saw it coming early on with new-Jim, so I was not shocked it happened. Just dissapointed they went that direction.

 

[trekkiebaggio]

They've never seemed to have a good handle on the Erin/Andy romance. Even when they almost got together before she ended up with Gabe because of some silly reason.

JirinPanthosa I don't think Steve Carell is going to come back. So far he's said that he considers Michael's story complete.

 

[the G-man]

I agree about Andy, that storyline has been terrible, but Jim and Pam's storyline manufactured?

it's manufactured because it never came up with a credible reason why Pam would have such loyalty to a failed company in a dying town after years of being a character who seemed very willing to leave (see: her time in NY art school). In fact, in the past, the only thing that seemed to keep Pam in Scranton was her partner (first Roy, then Jim).

 

[Mr Light]

Well, they do have two kids now. Maybe she doesn't want to lose the income of their Dunder Mifflin jobs.

 

[trekkiebaggio]

The other reason seems to be that she's doing this mural for the senator.

 

[1001001]

I'm fine with the Jim/Pam arc. I'm still confident they will have a good ending.

I did not like Andy's return at all. The guy is a douchebag, and the fact that David Wallace didn't notice Andy was gone for three months? That's lame. I'm glad Erin dumped him. She is so cute!

 

[the G-man]

Well, they do have two kids now. Maybe she doesn't want to lose the income of their Dunder Mifflin jobs.

Those could be a legitimate reasons if those were the reasons the writers gave in the script.

I admit to having missed a few episodes due to a busted DVR.

However in the episodes I watched Pam's only reason for being against this was because she loved Scranton and hated Philadelphia. That's not consistent with the way she's been portrayed in the past. Therefore to me it seems manufactured

 

[Kronos]

Well, they do have two kids now. Maybe she doesn't want to lose the income of their Dunder Mifflin jobs.

A company that has almost gone under multiple times and has been circling the drain for the entire series? that's not very smart of her.

 

[Mr Light]

The company seems to be doing okay in the past few seasons, right?

 

[the G-man]

Sabre had printers that caught on fire and their attempt at creating a tablet and a computer store were both disasters. Right now the company is practically a start up again, what with David Wallace having bought it out. More to the point, and completely realistic, an ongoing theme on the show has always been that a small paper company, in the digital age and trying to compete with places like Staples, is doomed sooner or later.

 

[trekkiebaggio]

Also, it's usually been the case that the Scranton branch is one of the better performing branches of the company.

 

[Yoda]

What in the fuck did I just watch? Was that like the pilot for the Dwight spinoff? That spinoff's not going forward right? Oh thank god.

 

[Ood Sigma]

^ Yeah, that was awful. I thought I'd have interest in a Dwight spin-off but not if it resembled that. Ugh.

I'm also curious to know if that was Dwight's last episode or not. I hope not.

 

[Mr Light]

So at the end of the episode, the brother and the sister left but Dwight got to keep the huge farm? But the will said all three of them had to stay. I'm confused.