Hatrack River Forum: The Office season finale(SPOILERS)

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Posted by Strider (Member # 1807) on :

Who watched this last night? I thought it was pretty brilliant.

Michael's jubilance at Toby's leaving and his cringe worthy interactions with Holly. Holly and Kevin's interactions had me falling off the couch. Jim and Michael's talks about Holly. Michael's song at the party was just fantastic too.

The only upsetting thing about the episode was how it ended with the Pam and Jim. Not because he ended up not proposing, but just that sort of nothing happened between them at the end. I was fine with Andy stealing his thunder and the very end with Dwight. This will also give the show a chance to have Jim propose in an even more cute(and more importantly) funny way. I was just hoping there would be some kind of satisfactory interaction between the two of them before the episode ended.

edit - oh, Michael being smitten with Holly and then deciding to go back to Jan was gut wrenching.

Posted by Jon Boy (Member # 4284) on :

Agreed. It was fine if Andy upstaged him, but then . . . nothing. We're just left with Pam saying, "I really thought he was going to propose," and that's it. Their relationship was one of the largest plot lines this season, so it really felt like something should have happened.

The thing with Kevin was hilarious, but it felt a little too clever for a prank from Dwight. It's the kind of thing that Jim would think up if he had the motivation. The raccoon in the car was the kind of prank I'd expect Dwight to pull.

And yeah, Michael sticking with Jan was awful. He's always had a blind spot to the horrible things she's done to him, and this was the worst of all.

Posted by Jon Boy (Member # 4284) on :

Oh, and I'm happy to see Ryan go, because I've never thought he was a good character to begin with, but it felt a little anticlimactic to me, especially since it felt like Jim's jobs was on the ropes. I was half expecting Jim to propose and then find out he'd been fired.

Posted by scifibum (Member # 7625) on :

Jon Boy:

Yeah, I had also predicted Jim would get fired. But I saw Ryan getting fired as soon as he told Jim on the phone "log it again anyway." I figured there'd be more of a showdown first though. I guess they didn't have time for that, and wanted to resolve that plotline.

You make a good point about the unlikely cleverness of the Kevin prank, but it was so brilliant anyway that I forgive the writers. Kevin acted completely the same as always and it fit the prank perfectly. I give that part an A+.

Angela accepting Andy's proposal seemed wrong to me. She's been cold toward Andy the whole time.

I'm glad there'll be another season. At the beginning of this one, I thought they had worn out the show, but it really picked up steam the last few episodes. (The dinner party was the most cringing I've done since the 1st season.)

Edit to add: The Pam/Jim courtship is good for a few more episodes, at least, of suspense. At least I think that's what the writers are thinking. I think they don't want to wrap up the proposal thing before Pam goes off to NY...so there'll be some doubt in her mind about what Jim wants at that point.

Posted by Phanto (Member # 5897) on :

The odd thing is do we have any reason to believe Kevin is of normal intelligence?

Posted by LargeTuna (Member # 10512) on :

Absolutely i watched it!!!

I was freaking out at the end, i thought it would be andy and angela, not dwight and angela. I think they set it up for pam to dump jim cuz he wont propose [Frown]

i hope they dont do that
also i didnt like the new hr rep shes better than Toby, but she either is just trying to be nice to everyone, or she is generally strange

Posted by Elmer's Glue (Member # 9313) on :

Yeah, that's not happening Tuna.
I thought it was a great episode. I loved the whole Kevin thing. The episode was pretty predictable for me, but still great.

Posted by Strider (Member # 1807) on :

Just wanted to note again how much I loved seeing Michael's pure unadulterated joy while singing "Goodbye Toby". What a great mental picture.

I actually liked Ryan's character a whole lot more when he started acting like an Ahole. I think he played it well and it was funny to watch.

Posted by Launchywiggin (Member # 9116) on :

I remember an episode of Conan way back after the series premiere where he made a comment along the lines of "Jim and Pam....there's enough sexual tension there to milk this for a good 4 seasons". Hey, why not 5? It makes perfect sense to keep drawing out the Jim/Pam thing as long as the show's on the air.

Hilarious finale. I was cracking up in just about every scene. I had a feeling Holly was a plant from Corporate to review the efficiency of the office, but maybe she's for real. I love the actress, I've been seeing her popping everywhere since I saw her in season 2 of The Wire.

It makes sense to me that Angela would say "ok" to Andy to avoid the awkwardness, then go off with Dwight.

I'd also like to add that Pam looked positively gorgeous in that pink shirt.

Posted by Leonide (Member # 4157) on :

quote:
I actually liked Ryan's character a whole lot more when he started acting like an Ahole. I think he played it well and it was funny to watch.

Ryan was always an Ahole. It was obvious during his early interviews on the show. He only kept it pretty well hidden during "normal" filming because he had to put up with Michael and everyone while he was trying to get a better job. Remember the comments he said about Jim in Season 2, re: Jim not really going to take his trip. And despite Kelly's obnoxiousness, he was still a complete turd to her. I think that's what I like best about the Ryan character -- the fact that he's remained completely consistent through all the seasons. Being in a position of power now just enables him to be more vocal about his Jerkwadness [Smile]

Re: the last episode of this season, I loved Pam's comment about always thinking Toby was cute -- awesome. I liked that Michael didn't have a "change of heart" and still hated Toby through to the end. I loved Holly's and Michael's Yoda impressions [Smile]

And of course Holly and Kevin -- amazing. Definitely could've used more SOMETHING with the Pam and Jim dealio -- basically what everyone else has said.

Just watched all four seasons in the last four days. Majorly overloaded with the funny. I got three hours of sleep Monday night because I had to finished the second season...I probably should've waited until closer to the start of Season 5 to do all this. Now to go finish Lost...

Posted by Orincoro (Member # 8854) on :

It would be out of character for the show to end with Pam and Jim's engagement. The engagement will, imo, happen during the offseason, and be taken as a given by the staff and crew when the show returns. Then the engagement and marriage date are fodder for awkwardness.

I also predict Toby's triumphant return.

Posted by Zalmoxis (Member # 2327) on :

Isn't Toby going to be in the spin-off show?

Posted by Strider (Member # 1807) on :

Orincoro, I really doubt they would deprive the fans of seeing Jim propose. and Pam's reaction.

Posted by Jon Boy (Member # 4284) on :

There's going to be a spin-off now?

Posted by LargeTuna (Member # 10512) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Zalmoxis:
Isn't Toby going to be in the spin-off show?

Ahhg! I hate Toby [Mad]

The greatest moment was "Goodbye Toby" cant they spinoff someone else?

Posted by Leonide (Member # 4157) on :

I doubt the spin-off will revolve around Toby, he'll probably just be a character it...but How can anyone hate Toby? The point is that he is a genuinely nice guy (despite trying to foil Jim in his plans to woo Pam) who doesn't deserve any of the hatred Michael spews at him. He's like the scapegoat of the show. I like the fact that he and the actress who plays Phyllis were both just crew members (writer, script reader) who just fit the roles so nicely they were then cast. It makes the show feel very intimate and collaborative -- I would love to be a part of creating something like this.

Posted by LargeTuna (Member # 10512) on :

i dont care if he's a nice awkward guy, he creeps me out [ROFL]

Posted by Saephon (Member # 9623) on :

I used to really feel for Toby, and I guess I still kind of pity him, but I have to admit that somewhere along the line his cute, sad feelings for Pam turned into aggressive jealousy. His actions bother me a lot now.