The fourth Office season finale was as satisfying as I could have hoped for. It had big shoes to fill, what with “Casino Night” and “The Job” looming in the distance, but it tied up the season in a way that left me optimistic and hungry for season five. It’s hands-down one of the funniest episodes of the season, and is definitely the episode where the most happens — did I mention the introduction of a new, awesome character? I’ll soon explain why this episode signifies a fresh start for The Office, but I’ll let the plot do the talking for now.
SPOILER ALERT!!!
In this episode, major things happen to every single character. I’ll pair up some characters and introduce one, so be prepared for that.
Ryan is arrested for fraud. It’s finally happened, but in the words of Oscar, “The real crime, I think, was the beard.”
Holly is the new HR representative, and she’s taking Toby’s job! Who is Holly? Well, we don’t know much about her, but she’s pretty much one of my favorite characters from what I’ve seen of her so far. First of all, she’s a caricature. She’s real, and she reminds me of either Jim, Pam or Karen. The only difference between her and them, though, is that she’s the most understanding and open character in the show (as far as I’ve seen). Yes, she can deal with Michael’s foolishness, and she can deal with Kevin after Dwight tricks her into thinking he’s mentally slow.
Kevin, who thinks Holly’s awkwardly generous understanding comes from her attraction to him, eventually says he wishes to “bang her”.
But Michael wants Holly, too. Not so surprisingly, he immediately falls in love with her, but takes Jim’s advice and decides to take it slow. This eventually leads to frustration, as Holly really starts digging Michael and even asks him to grab dessert with her, but he denies.
Enter Jan, who we haven’t seen since “Dinner Party”, and who runs into Kevin at the market as he looks for BBQ sauce for Toby’s going away party. She is pregnant. Uh huh. Knocked up. Apparently, it was while she and Michael were together! But, she went to a sperm bank. Weird. She sees Michael in the episode and tells him. He’s surprised, of course, but when Jan asks him to go out with her the next day, Michael turns her down! But then, later on in the episode, he says he’s going to start attending Lamaze class, so you decide.
Toby is going to Costa Rica, as we all know, but he’s being a total creep toward Pam. And she responds to him awkwardly at first, but then says she thought he was kind of cute… This is somewhat of an anomaly in the show, and it’s just really weird. If Pam’s relationship with Toby doesn’t ever escalate in any way, I’ll have to assume that the writers were just using this as filler drama, which is okay, but kind of disappointing. Anyway, “Goodbye Toby”.
Speaking of saying our goodbyes to Toby, Phyllis is the one planning this party. Yes, Angela, who refuses to plan due to Michael’s ludicrous expectations, steps down. And this is the best party in the history of The Office. There’s a bounce house, a ferris wheel, and a live band, among other things. The perfect place for a proposal…
Jim buys fireworks for the party, and makes plans on proposing to Pam there. Before I tell you what happens, it’s important to note that Pam has gotten accepted to a school of design in New York, and plans on attending for three full months. Oh yes, the proposal.
Andy decides out of nowhere that he’s going to propose to Angela, and she accepts with an “okay.”
The surprise scene at the end had to live up to the cathartic Pam-Jim kiss, and also the surprise date at the end of “The Job”. This season — Phyllis walks in on Dwight and Angela making love in the office.
Season Five, Here We Come…
Drama, drama, drama. This season finale was completely different from any other Office finale to date. Everything has changed except for Pam and Jim’s relationship, which not just something we didn’t expect, it was something we didn’t think was possible. The proposal’s build-up amounted to nothing in the end, but with all the other hot stuff brewing, office drama is at a head here.
The introduction of Holly was a great touch. Not only is she a great character, but her understanding is something that may actually make Michael a more likable guy around the office. Sure, that’s not probable, but Michael’s got Jan to worry about. Can’t help but wonder what’s going to happen to her…
Pam will be two hours away from Jim, so who knows what kind of long-distance relationship drama will unfold there. And what about Ryan? Who’s going to take his place? Oh, and let’s not forget Angela and Dwight… remember, Andy has anger management problems.
The possibilities for season five are endless, folks, and The Office is in full form. Whereas the only real drama we got from seasons one through three revolved around Pam and Jim, now everyone’s branching out. Everyone has stuff to deal with, and as things shift, we’re going to be watching something very different next season from what we’ve seen thus far.