What I’m Watching: The Office

The Office: Season 8, Episode 3 “Lotto” (B+)

After a completely irrelevant cold open with a dog mysteriously trapped in a car with no owner in sight, this show had some of its characters win the lottery, which didn’t send it overboard into unbelievable territory but instead gave its characters an unfortunate reality check as they started to become less productive and fantasize about what they might do if they too won the lottery. Jim and Pam talking about their conflicting dream lives and ultimately coming to a compromise was funny and sweet, and all that speculation and talk provided a good backdrop for the episode. I like that Jim managed to motivate Dwight to volunteer so easily by purporting to be the strongest in the office, and after Dwight’s forklift mishap, the grease-propelled floor slide was a massive production disaster. Darryl was quite understandably upset about the warehouse guys no longer including him on the ticket, and even more so about Justine wanting to call a warehouse guy rather than be with him. Andy’s initial efforts to motivate him and their interview pool were pretty dismal and uninspired. What was truly surprising and affirming about this episode, however, was Andy’s response to Darryl asking him to fire him and then telling him to give him his job, calling him out on not trying hard enough and following through on his aspirations. Their friendship has rarely been serious in nature, so to see Andy motivate Darryl is a true change of pace. Maybe Andy does have what it takes to be a manager after all.