What I’m Watching: The Office

The Office: Season 8, Episode 21 “Angry Andy” (C+)

 I’m not really sure what to make of this episode. Most of it was actually quite funny, but the fact that the office actually held a meeting on impotence and Robert asked everyone what their best erection was felt extremely unrealistic and unnecessary. Michael was no stranger to crossing boundaries to an egregious extent, but he was never guilty of something quite so explicitly public and vile. Everyone sharing how they’ve never been impotent was just awkward, and not in the good way for which this show is so famous. Nellie’s character in general is obnoxious and dominates the show too much, and I’m not sure what to make of Andy and Erin’s quitting since it’s unlikely they’ll start their very own Michael Scott Paper Company. Toby’s proclamation that HR has no power seems oddly timed given that he withstood so much hate from Michael and never gave up on his charge to keep the office running fairly. The supporting focus on Ryan and Kelly was, by contrast, enjoyable and unexpected, as Sendhil Ramamurthy’s pediatrician got Ryan acting jealous. Ryan is one of the show’s best characters, taken from a shy, disgruntled intern to the biggest jerk in the universe, adding a condition to every statement to ensure that he won’t trap himself in any remotely undesirable situation. It seems the one person he’s fooling is Kelly, who held out for so long but appeared to be making out with him at the end of his hapless and incomprehensible stint atop the horse.