The popular television show, “The Office,” has always been a source of lighthearted humor, but in the past few episodes the series has taken an unexpected darker tone. After the shocking plot development of Michael Scott quitting at Dunder Mifflin, many of characters have been forced to examine their own flaws and strengths. With the creation of the brilliantly titled Michael Scott Paper Company, “The Office” experienced a refreshing jump start; narrowly avoiding entering into the tired, repetitive territory of most sitcoms that last to be five season long.
This particular episode dealt further with the development of the Michael Scott Company. The entire company is built around Pam (no sales experience), Ryan (lack of motivation), and Michael (questionable sanity). This scenario would spell out disaster if it was placed in a realistic context, but I believe this plot development was partially designed to show how much everyone has underestimated Michael.
Sure throughout the five-season-long history, we’ve been provided with a few examples of how Michael can be quite clever, despite how hilariously crazy his methods may be sometimes. Now that Michael is placed in an environment where he can’t simply sit back and crack jokes, he will be forced to demonstrate his competency, which will definitely shock and impress all the other characters that initially dismissed him as hopeless. I believe that Michael will eventually achieve success with his paper company, which could result in Kevin trying to hire him back, or other Dunder Mifflin employees coming to join him.
Another aspect of this new plot development has been the introduction of Charles, the new boss. Now, I really don’t like Charles, partially because I’ve had bosses like that before, with that overall lack of fun and good humor. The character of Charles is probably intended to spark massive aversion in “The Office” fan base, given that his character is the absolute opposite of Michael Scott. Despite the reasoning behind several of his arguments, I think that he is a little too overcritical for the Dunder Mifflin crew to simply endure his presence for eternity. This lends a hint of credence to my theory that several of the Dundies will eventually join Michael and rival against Charles.
Charles’ strict observance of rules would naturally attract Dwight eventually. This made for a particularly interesting episode, as Dwight struggled between his devotion towards Michael and his promotion in status and responsibility offered by Charles. Deep down inside, I believe that Dwight’s true alliances and respect are motivated by those who offer some form of recognition towards the work he does. As bad as it sounds, Michael hasn’t really done very much to help Dwight in this category besides giving him a fictional title (assistant to the regional manager). So in the end, it makes sense that Dwight would have chosen Charles’ offer. This led to some truly funny encounters between Dwight and Michael, as the former friends were pitted against each other.
Some of the great scenes in this episodes included Dwight stripping to prove that he wasn’t wired, Dwight planting a fish in Michael’s office, and Jim’s prank on Andy. I still can’t believe that Dwight would stoop to the level of stealing Michael’s contacts, but I guess that kind of fits in with his character… The best moment of the episode would definitely have to be the cheese puffs scene. I wonder how many takes they used before they were able to perfect those shots. Despite how difficult that scene probably was to film, the end result was absolutely worth it – comedic brilliance!! Props to Steve Carell, Jenna Fischer, and Ed Helms for delivering the best acting in this episode. I give this episode 8/10
