After seeing tonight’s episode, all I can really say is that things just got real. The raw drama that this episode dished out was more intense and more consequential than anything that has happened since “Casino Night”. In the context of all of the major drama that unfolded, events that would be considered major plot on any other night were mere details in this juicy gasp-inducing episode.
SPOILER ALERT!
This episode follows the nights of two groups:
Michael Scott, Dwight Schrute, and Ryan Howard, who party together in New York City all night long in an effort to hook Michael up, and Pam, Jim, Toby, and the rest of the office employees, who get locked in the office’s parking lot after working late.
The Drama:
Michael just can’t seem to find a woman… go figure. After being rejected by nearly every girl he goes up to at the club, his dignity actually goes down one more notch when he calls his mom with his complaints on the difficulty of picking up chicks.
Dwight has a make-out session with a college athlete at one of the clubs. When Michael see his buddy hard-core macking, he does what comes naturally to him and takes pictures of the liplock on his cell phone. He then sends this picture to the office workers, all of whom are stuck at Dunder-Mifflin.
Toby, one of the employees stuck at the office, looks introspective and even worried when we see him. His intense state of thought manifests itself when he rests his hand on Pam’s lap for a sufficiently creepy amount of time. He then thinks to himself, works up courage, and delivers a major blow: he’s moving to Costa Rica. With no further explanation except that his decision was well-thought-out, he jumps the fence and leaves.
Ryan is acting strange from the beginning of the episode. But when he welcomes Dwight and Michael with open arms at the club, it’s obvious that something strange is going on. There are drinks at the party, so it looks like Ryan’s had one beer too many. Things start getting serious, though, when he gets shaky and starts going to the bathroom every couple of minutes. Suspicions of drug use are all but confirmed when Ryan gets sick at the party. Ryan’s friend immediately takes off, telling Dwight and Michael not to take Ryan to a hospital.
Serious Implications:
This episode shocked me because of the fact that the plot’s intensity was filtered into outlets besides Pam and Jim. It also displayed the diversity of The Office in a way I haven’t experienced since Pam and Jim’s kiss on “Casino Night”. But what will this all mean?
First of all, Pam and Jim will remain central to The Office’s plot, but for different reasons. The drama in lives of characters like Jan, Kevin, Ryan, and Toby, will take a place of drama of Pam/Jim quality. And this new drama’s not just the dragged-out struggle we saw in seasons 1-3. We’re now dealing with unrequited love, addiction, loneliness, and rejection.
Lots of people were worried about whether the show would be good if Pam and Jim were actually dating. I think it’s safe to say that we have sufficient proof that it will be.