The Office: 3x23

The Office

3x23
The Job
SEASON 3 FINALE

"It's a date."

One we have to wait FOUR months for! Holy. Crap. So... I can't say this was the funniest episode of the season (not that that's EVEN the point right now), but as usual, by tomorrow afternoon, I'll be laughing at things I never noticed tonight. Best thing, bar none, about The Office - it gets better with time! Good stuff friends, good stuff. Still, I realize a lot of other things happened besides the last talking head...

And I'll try (won't promise) to focus...

1. The cold open was really funny. Should've known Michael would get the day wrong, but you gotta love his confidence!

2. Dwight. I think, if you go back to my Safety Training blog, I mention how, "Dwight and Andy are SO going to love one another." And here we have them, painting the town - or the office - black in the season finale. Not sure it was all about love, what with Andy cleaning out Dwight's cup, but it was funny to watch. Especially the "interview."

3. Creed.

4. I don't even know WHAT to say about Jan. The boobs. The boobs. God, the boobs. The meltdown was sort of, tragically funny. I mean, my word, what is with that woman? And they've definitely created an interesting dynamic for next season. Michael looked super excited about Jan waiting at home for him in her stretch pants... wow. And props to all the smart speculators over at Office Tally. That's where I first heard rumbles that the "big" thing between Michael and Jan was her boob job. I should have figured the episode title had a little extra meaning.

5. RYAN? What? Sorta shocking. I'd love a count on the number of times this season someone has mentioned that the kid's made NO sales. Interesting. I saw a theory from someone who thinks it's possible Ryan got A corporate job, not THE corporate job. Who knows. Wallace said he was interviewing "low level" people, so maybe Ryan's MBA made up for his sales record. And I'm thinking Kelly won't take this break-up lying down.

6. Kevin and his "list."

7. Meredith wanting Jim to "turn around" and show off his sexy, hot haircut.

8. The Jim/Dwight Hell dream.

9. Pam's secret job in Dwight's regime.

Jim and Karen...

It must be discussed (and I never really have before, so this could be lengthy). The minute he came in with the haircut, I knew it was Karen's idea... as I'm sure almost everyone did. She's competing with something she can't understand and the reaction is to hold on tight... I think we all (at least I do) get that feeling, and the night in New York, the overcompensating, the conversation about moving together... were all her way of laying it out on the table. Interesting, though, how Jim never really answered her questions... As for Karen's "sudden" bitchiness toward Pam - I think it was natural, considering what happened at the beach, and she's taking every opportunity to get Jim out of Scranton, where she knows they can't co-exist with Pam. It pained me to watch them flit around New York, because it shows they do have a connection. Still, it all seemed so unnatural. So non-Office. But I think that was kind of the point. We needed a visual reminder of who Jim is, opposed to who she's wanting him to be. It makes me a little sad for Karen, because even though I never wanted them together, she is a great girl... just not for our Tuna. I honestly never really believed she knew the same Jim we do, and that's not her fault. (On a side note: did anyone else ever find her a bit dismissive of his feelings? Deflecting Jim's concerns over Dwight, telling him he has homeless hair, talking down to him as "Adult Jim," etc?) Overall point? If you have to change someone to be with them, probably not gonna work. Still, I do hope we find out what went down between the two of them come season premiere time... did they actually break up? (Obviously the did.) Do we get to see how it happened? What did he tell her?

PAM: The lady gets her own section tonight!

When our girl makes a decision, she's all in (just like Luke, *sniff*). And I'm love, love, LOVING it. No qualms discussing Jim, her feelings or standing up for herself - even if it's a little bitchy - to Karen. And it's not like Karen wasn't a little witchy herself (and I get it, I'd have been in protect mode, too, if the girl for my boyfriend, laid it all out there). Still, I was actually rooting for Pam in the Karen scene. Yeah, the beach wasn't her best choice in timing, but backing down would have taken away from it. She's sticking to her guns, making her desires known... and hey, that's what we've been waiting for all along, right? Best part... she's most concerned about Jim's happiness, not hers. Well, I mean, we all know she wants him and loves him (I'm sorry, even if we don't hear it 'til the last episode, she does. Did you see the look on her face at the end when she said, "Everybody loves him..."? MmmHmm. Pam loves him.) but she's trying to be okay if it doesn't go her way, 'cause she just wants him to be happy. Cliches and all. And lucky for her (and us), looks like they might finally have the timing right... *grin*

And speaking of good timing...

Wow, wow, wow, wow. I'm not gonna lie, when they showed Jim and Karen all cutesy in NYC, I got a little nervous. I should have known they'd take it down to the wire, but I was at a friend's house and we kept looking at each other during commercials saying, "What the crap is gonna happen?" Then... everything happened!

To start, I was just SO happy to see Jim and Pam smiling at each other during the haircut exchange and laughing in their way over Jan's "growth" later on. It's always been the little things with those two and tonight we FINALLY saw it returning again. I think one of the best scenes was Jim, alone in the corporate lobby, hearing someone else answer the Dunder-Mifflin phone. He gave up on New York a little, then.

And then, there's the note. Herein lies the beauty of Jim and Pam. She's supporting him and, at the same time, promising she remembers everything, and she just... knows. The yogurt lid from Office Olympics was a perfect choice. Loved it. And someone was hitting us hard with the symbolism when David asked Jim where he saw himself in 10 years and it cut to Jim and Pam at the beach. I'm a fan of that scene, her asking him to finally come back. What am I saying, I'm a fan of the last 10 minutes in general!

And then there's the talking head at the end... wow. So, Jim's obviously made a choice. (A good one, I think.) And Jenna was fantastic, the tears in her eyes and the goofy smile on her face. My friend and I both screamed, "WHAT!" And immediately rewound it to watch again. I think we ended up with the goofy smiles and the choked up feeling, just like Pam. So, so good.

Who knows what we'll pick up with in September. It makes sense to me (and this is just me), that after everything they've been through, whatever state Jim and Pam are in at the beginning of the year, they'll be taking it slow. I hope they are... I want to see some Season 2, flirty love. And it really doesn't seem realistic that they'd jump right into this thing. They have lots to sort out, lots to talk about (I'm still waiting on a good fight, honestly), but I'm okay with that. I'm okay with slow...

Because they finally got the timing right!