Holly’s gone, Pam’s supposed to be coming back and Angela and Andy are getting married at Schrute Farms. It used to be difficult to tell, but there have been enough episodes and enough plot revelations in this season to allow me to say, without reservation, that The Office has changed. But is it for better or for worse?
SPOILER ALERT!
This episode, like pretty much every other one in season five, is chock-full of plot and character revelations. Michael, ever the optimist, goes to Canada with Andy and Oscar to make a big sale. For David Wallace, Dunder-Mifflin’s chief financial officer, this is a chance to make up to Michael for transferring Holly (the proverbial yin to Michael’s yang) to New Hampshire. It all starts off well, as Andy tries hooking Michael up with the concierge, Marie, and it seems to have been a success. But then she kicks him out of her room. At the end of the episode, Steve Carrell busts out his acting chops and confronts Wallace on the phone. Hopeless and down about his entire situation, this is arguably Michael’s best moment thus far. The moment is genuine, and one of the the few in which Michael really gives in to his emotions without feeling the need to maintain his pride.
Meanwhile, back in Scranton, Ryan tries desperately to win over Kelly. Eventually, through some pretty weak pick-up strategies, he impresses her enough to take him back. They make out a lot, and Kelly breaks up with Darryl. And, like always, Darryl’s cool with it. It’s then that Ryan realizes that he’s out of the freezer and into the frying pan. In his words, “I realized that for whatever reason, I just couldn’t do better than Kelly.”
Andy, who goes on the trip to Canada, goes to a bar with Oscar and really bonds with him there. As the night goes on, the two get smashed together. Oscar finds out that Andy and Angela actually have yet to have sex. In what becomes a hard-to watch scene, Andy drunk-dials Angela, who is with Dwight. Andy, too nervous and intoxicated to notice, rambles on about how he wants sex. The next day, we find that Angela’s demoted him to first base, which for Angela, is a kiss on the forehead. Ouch.
Lastly, there’s Pam and Jim. It’s been a hard few months since our beloved Pam went off to New York to study, and there have been a few too many close calls with some of those guys at her school. But whatever, she’s coming back! Jim and the rest of the Scranton staff eagerly await her return. But, no, something isn’t right. Pam calls, and no, it couldn’t be that easy. She’s failed a class, which means she has to stay for another 3 months. At which point, we all turn off the TV and leave.
Well, not really. As with Jim’s proposal, the writers trick us once again. At the end of the episode, Pam shows up at the office, saying she’s decided not to stay to make up her class. So she is coming back!
The Times They Are A-Changin’
Believe it or not, there was a time when not every Office episode came hand-in-hand with a dramatic revelation. Take Season 2’s “The Fight”. Dwight and Michael fight each other in a dojo, and Jim goes a little too far in flirting with Pam, who’s still with Roy. The fight – that is, the comedy – is the focus of the episode. With “Business Trip”, the focus of the episode is the plot and the drama.
Whether you like this or not is up to you. The writers, who know well that their faithful viewers will keep watching, have successfully changed the show to cater to the needs of those who value the relationships above the straight-up comedy. Meet the new Office, now with more universal appeal and a stronger audience draw. Take it or leave it, The Office is still a great show. And if becoming shamelessly dramatic means getting out of Steve Carrell what we got in “Business Trip”, you can most definitely count me in.