It’s the first episode of The Office’s fifth season, and anything can happen.The short-but-sweet fourth season ended in an episode that could be the setup for anything from a farce to a tragedy – accidental pregnancy, marriage proposal, and steamy affair included.Yes, things are getting serious, and no, I’m not accidentally blogging Grey’s.Here’s season 5, episode 1:“Weight Loss”.
SPOILER ALERT!
Indeed, things started falling apart at the end of season four – between Toby leaving, the development of the Angela-Dwight-Andy love triangle, Ryan’s stint with drugs, and Jan’s revelation, I couldn’t help but ask, “What the hell?”
I know that’s what I was doing for the better part of this one-hour season opener, in which Dunder-Mifflin starts a weight-loss initiative.There’s room for some pretty good Biggest Loser parody, but though the jokes don’t really work because the majority of the characters are unlikeable.
Pam is gone to art school in New York, where she makes a new guy-friend who seems too much like Roy for anyone’s good.
Michael has found a new potential mate in Holly.Unfortunately, when Holly sees him with the pregnant Jan, she gets the wrong idea and decides to pursue somebody else.
Angela and Dwight maintain a usual practice of fornicating in the warehouse as the oblivious Andy does his best to plan for his wedding with Angela.
Ryan Howard comes back to the office as a temp, this time taking Pam’s old position as receptionist.He seems to have changed, but still has “ass” written all over him.
Things start getting really ugly when Dwight drops Phyllis off at a warehouse in a sketchy part of town, forcing her to walk back to the office alone.
It all starts getting really ugly for multiple reasons, but fret not; the writers have had something up their sleeve all summer long. In what is soon to become a classic Office moment, the episode reaches a high that the series hasn’t even come close to since season two.Jim, who hasn’t seen Pam since she left for college, calls her from work and makes plans to meet her at a gas station halfway between the office and the school.It’s in front of this gas station, in the pouring rain, that Jim asks Pam to marry him.And she says yes, she will!
Caught you off guard, didn’t it?
After that, it’s all downhill – Michael accidentally turns down Holly through showing his discontent toward her new date.The Scranton branch loses the weight-loss competition to Utica by eight pounds, and lastly, it’s revealed that Toby broke his neck upon arriving in Costa Rica, and spent the last five weeks there recovering.
So now what, Office?
Things are changing at Dunder-Mifflin, and it’s impossible to know what to expect from here.The Office has transformed in its comedy and its plot, and as we prepare for the rest of this new season, things can go either way.The show is walking a thin line between farce and overdone dramatics, and all we can hope is that it doesn’t fall onto the dramatic side.This episode was scary enough as it is, but if it said anything about the rest of the season, it’s to expect the unexpected.
Photo coutesy NBC Universal Inc.