What I’m Watching: The Office

The Office: Season 6, Episode 19 “St. Patrick’s Day” (B+)

I’m back reviewing this show after Nancy stepped in last week to review the special birth episode. I agree with her thoughts and really enjoyed that installment. This one is a great follow-up, transitioning Jim back into the swing of things in an amusing and ridiculous way. Dwight’s excitement over the concept of Megadesk was great, and it’s always satisfying when Jim manages to outsmart Dwight in the end. The rest of this episode could have been just another instance of Michael being awkward and embarrassing himself by realizing that someone doesn’t like him nearly as much as he thinks they do. It managed to work pretty well though, partially due to the awesomeness of Kathy Bates as well as Michael’s ultimate uniting ability which time after time seems to serve as the reason he’s lasted this long in his managerial position. I liked Jo’s comment about working hard or marrying rich to get ahead and how she did both. Michael standing up to Jo was a great moment that once again asserted Michael’s surprising ability to get his job done right every once in a while. It’s certainly good that Andy and Erin are finally started to date, it’s a really shame that it panned out the way it did, especially since Andy now seems to have lost much of his hope. Andy faking sick so that he too could get sent home was cute. Erin’s relationship with her brother, however, was far too reminiscent of the Yeti’s inappropriate closeness with his sister which ended up driving Rachel away on “Friends.”