If there’s one thing that has become ridiculously clear in the past eight years on The Office, it’s that gimmicks are hit-or-miss. And quite often, they do in fact miss. But “The Incentive,” unlike many cheesier storylines, missed with integrity and cleverness.
The teaser was a welcome introduction to start off a well-executed episode. Kevin, in his search for simplification of life, chooses a weird route by means of a Tarzan-esque language. He says things like “thank” instead of “thank you,” a method Andy labels as “basically the speech equivalent to just wearing underpants.” Clearly this erred on the side of “stupid” funny, but its redemption was its serious execution. And, as with the rest of the episode, that really made the difference.
Andy, in an effort to gain enthusiasm in the office to please the ominous yet inspiring new CEO Robert California, arrives at the conclusion that his employees will aim to sell more efficiently if given the incentive of a system of point-earning towards children’s toys and trinket gifts. But his theory goes awry with his offhand suggestion that for five thousand points he would “tattoo anything on the stern of old S.S. Bernard”.
He didn’t realize they would take him up on his offer.
Until the very end, I was convinced that the sadism of The Office towards the Regional Manager had reached its peak and could go absolutely no further. I was annoyed at the impossibility of their cruelty and could not see the joke that became pretty predictable towards the end.
As Jim spells out in his talk with Andy outside the tattoo parlor, they really never expected old S.S. Bernard to really get a tattoo on his bum.
But Andy — good sport as always — chose to take a joke and make it even better, proving once again what an amazing replacement he is as the boss on this show that I worried would be heading downhill and off television.
The real shining moment of the episode was when the joke turned inward and became something wholly different: an expression of acceptance between members of The Office and their new head. Rather than the mean-spirited tattoo they’d planned for the Nard Dog, they had him represented by that which he’s nicknamed himself – A Dog with a name tag “Nard”.
The Office is such a heartfelt show at times. Even with characters like Dwight clouding up the screen with negativity –- however funny it may be –- about the new boss, there’s this sense of unity on The Office that has been missing and is just so nice to be reacquainted with.
This season is a brand new start and The Office has proven it can pick itself back up with all-around freshness and sincerity.