The Office Season Finale - Initial Thoughts

That was the most satisfying end tag I have ever seen. I've been dying for poor Dwight to best Andy the entire season and FINALLY, a victory for the man who cries like Chewbacca. It's kind of this weird mirroring of what went on in Season Two with Jim-Pam-Roy. Who would've guessed that Pam could show more restraint than Angela?! Also, I loved the fact that Phyllis walked in on them. I feel bad for Phyllis, but at the same time, she's got enough blackmail on Angela to plan all parties from here on in. Mwahahaha. Also, I enjoyed the fact that to satisfy the "anti-gravity" requirement, Phyllis rented a ferris wheel -- genius!

I was so sad about Pam and Jim. I think they'll weather this, but yikes! To have your perfect moment usurped by a guy who's been carrying a ring around with him for six years waiting to pounce on some poor random girl...Andy's speech about taking advantage of perfect moments was endearing, but at the same time, isn't there beauty in planning that proposal out for a specific person? Choosing a ring that you think she'd like, buying a crap load of fireworks...I think it's awesome that Pam got into that great art program and I love how supportive Jim is (that "see how easy that is?" part -- I don't think Jim Halpert can set the boyfriend bar any higher). I'll be so upset if this turns into Splitsville because of a timing issue.

I wonder if David Wallace is going to offer Jim the job now that Ryan's facing white collar crime charges? Oooo -- better yet, I wonder if Wallace was in on it... As of right now, I'm thinking that either Ryan or Andy are most likely to be part of the spin-off. I'm leaning more towards Andy though -- he'll find out that Angela cheated over the summer hiatus and leave Scranton -- Ed Helms is amazing and could totally star in his own show (plus, it would be a cool full-circle type deal, since Ed Helms started out on the Daily Show, just like Steve Carell!). But BJ Novak could be an excellent straight man. I have to agree with Oscar -- the greatest crime is definitely the douche-beard. Who knew that the five o'clock shadow could foreshadow such a dark transformation?

See what I did there?

So much to talk about! Amy Ryan as Holly was fantastic! I hope that they keep her forever and ever. Holly and Michael were terribly cute -- it was so amazing to watch Michael make such an effort to restrain himself. I found it hilarious that Holly totally bought into his attempts to disguise the planned telling-off of Toby. Jan would so not have believed any of it. I also loved the Yoda part. And her touching him, and him being SO excited about connecting. They have pretty incredible chemistry together, and I loved that from that first tense meeting, Michael almost immediately picked up on the fact that he'd just met somebody who really got him. I think this is a great new story to add to the show. And I love that they're keeping Jan around -- I love Jan, and I love that she's there to make things more difficult for Michael and Holly. Love. Love, love, love. I need a thesaurus.

My favorite lines (so far, because you can bet your Stanley nickels that I'll be watching this episode again later):

10. Creed: Quabity assurance.
9. Michael: If the devil were to explode and evil were gone forever, what kind of party would you throw?
8. Dwight: Hazing is a fun way to show a new employee that she's neither welcomed nor liked.
7. Toby: DOES ANYONE HAVE A CAMERA HERE?!
6. Jim: Let's start with the "I love you" level.
5. Holly: I'd love to hear "Beers in Heaven" sometime.
4. Oscar: The real crime, I think, was the beard.
3. Michael: What about you, Phyllis? Think you can handle it?
Phyllis: Yes.
2. Andy: Mr. Andrew Bernard. It has a nice ring to it.
1. A tie: Michael: I'm pretty sure she's baked on a professional level.
and: Pam: So how much anti-gravity potion do you want?

I also loved Kelly's lines about visiting Ryan in jail, but I'm going to wait until I have it all so that I can post it and totally geek out on this episode in a SECOND entry. I loved it! I'll miss poor Toby, but I'm glad Paul Lieberstein is staying on as a writer. And I really hope they keep Amy Ryan because seriously, she kicks ass. Woohoo!