The Office: Casual Friday, 5.26

131 comments

1. Yeah! All the clients are back at Dunder Mifflin, Pam got the sales job, and Erin keeps her job!!

2. Ryan doesn’t have a job again? I’m confused.

3. Very funny, good Meredith episode.

4. I LOVED IT! that was one of my fave!! haha dwight with the secret pee notes! I can’t wait to re-watch it :)

5. Did that seem more like season 2 to anyone else? It had a certain feel to it and I appreciated that. Maybe it was the ensemble cast. I really liked that episode.

6. I’m getting a little tired of Dwight, but all in all it was a very good episode. I got lots of laughs from Jim’s interactions with people (which has always been one of the show’s biggest strengths, IMO).

   Prediction: Ryan works in the warehouse. That would be amazing.

7. “What did i tell you about building forts in my warehouse?”

   awesome

8. Lol, Kevin had a cold open! Very funny. This episode had kind of a weird vibe for me… I wonder how long the tension is going to keep up. Hopefully Michael has resolved most of it, but the new Michael Scott is really fun!

9. It was good to see everyone back in the office. Jim hanging out with Creed was hilarious. I was happy to see Michael doing talking heads from his office again. I loved the call back to season 1 with the fake firings. Overall a good episode

10. 2/Angie – Ryan’s going back to being a temp (that’s what Michael said, that he’d offered Ryan his old temp job and he was mad about it).

    Did that episode fly by, or what? Loved the chess scene – Creed was fantastic. And so great to see Toby back! Yay! We miss you, Toby! (I’m sure it’s not just me, right?)

11. Darryl’s line about forts was great, Kevin’s reaction to spilling everything was classic, and the ending was hilarious as well. I love this show.

    Oh, and the pic of Toby…bwahahahaha.

12. Toby: I was at a seminary for a while, but I left cuz I wanted to have sex with this girl named Kathy.

    LOL

13. I am glad Pam didn’t go back as being the secretary, but it looks like Erin might not be back for next season. I was hoping to see more interaction between Erin and Andy.

14. Good episode, but I sort of agree with AndIHaveWorms…the episode seemed kind of disjointed, so many different unrelated things going on (Jim playing games with Creed? So strange, yet everything with Creed is strange.)

    But, I think the tension was appropriate, it made sense that they would all be pissed about losing their clients and Michael playing favorites with Pam and Ryan. I wonder what will become of Ryan….

15. I keep dreaming that he’ll make a sale someday.

    The episode moved WAY too fast, IMO.

    But yeah… not one of my favorites tonight. I think I’m scarred for life after the Meredith stuff, LMAO.

16. Great episode. My prediction: Erin is fired and Ryan works as the receptionist.

17. Tiffany, that would have been brilliant! After all, the MSPC lasted a few, so it’s only fair they do the mutiny until the end of the season. Or until the next one, because it would have made a great cliffhanger!

18. This was a classic! I love that Dwight’s idea of casual is taking his tie off. I’m glad Pam is in sales, I love that Toby FINALLY got mad and the best part of all: “What I have told you about making Forts in my warehouse?”

19. Pam’s been “fired” twice by Michael in this series.

    I don’t think the writers have any idea what to do with Erin. Her lines/appearances are weird…nothing against the actress, it just seems like the character has not received any development and the writers don’t intend to give her any.

20. Someone needs to smack Phyllis. Ever since she got married, she has treated Pam like dirt. Why does she think she is better than Pam, calling her “secretary” and whatnot? I wish Pam would dump coffee on her stretch pants.

    Enough Phyllis-bashing. The best parts were in the warehouse: Darryl banning forts, Meredith hoping for a dog fight. Hahahaha!

21. Well first of all, I absolutely loved the cold open. I’m also really happy with the way the MSPC story line wrapped up (I was never big fan of Ryan). I’m interested to see how Pam does as a salesman. I love when Michael fakes fires people (or in Ryan’s case, fake hires him). I like that he fake fired Erin out of nowhere too. Has anyone else noticed how many receptionists they’ve gone through this season? Pam, Ronnie, Ryan, Pam again, Kevin, and now Erin. Hopefully that’s it for awhile…

22. YAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYY PAM! i knew she’d get it. and yeah, phyllis needs to be smacked… telling pam she looks like a trout! the nerve.

    i thought the cold open could have been scrapped, though. it just didn’t fit.

23. Best cold open in a really long time! Loved mad Toby and his Costa Rica sweater (I’m Costa Rican). Great episode!

24. I wish the mutiny would have lasted a couple episodes. Imagine: Dwight, Stanley, Phyllis, and Andy with some comic book name. The Avengers. That would have been awesome!

25. That cold open should have been just a few sec longer imo…i felt it cut to the theme too quickly/abruptly. Would have loved seeing Kevin sliding around a bit more.

    Other than that, win!

26. Toby getting mad and finally yelling at Dwight was by far my favorite part of the episode.

    I thought it was pretty crappy of Dwight, Phyllis, Andy & Stanley to trick Michael into giving them their clients back..how they said Michael hurt them. Guess I’m not surprised though. I think they could have been more welcoming to Michael being back and apologized!

27. #24:

    A lot of the cold opens on the show don’t have anything to do with the plot.

28. Did anybody else find the cold open incredibly sad? I felt so sorry for Kevin! Of course, I couldn’t help but laugh anyway.

    The rest of the episode was hilarious! I loved everyone’s casual outfits. Kelly’s J-Lo getup and Toby’s “amorphous blob of tan” outfit made me laugh hardest. And what will come of Ryan? I can’t wait to find out!

29. Does anyone else have that Season 2 feeling again? Every time I have gotten done with watching an episode lately, I feel very satisfied and content. What a great feeling to have!

30. With the exception of the awesome cold open, I thought this one started out okay and kept getting better and better! I loved Michael and Jim’s conversation! “Jim… take out the trash!”

31. I thought there were a lot of funny moments in this episode, but as a whole it wasn’t as good as the last two. Those two were pretty hard to top, though. I love Toby – I was happy to see a little more of Toby in this episode. And poor Jim, being stuck in the middle of everything!

32. Thanks for the Boscov’s shout out!! I used to work for that company. I just love hearing those Scranton area references.Plus the scenes with Meredith were so funny. Kate Flannery is fantastic. This ensemble cast is the best on any TV series.

33. Did anyone catch the awesome nods they made to the Office Pilot episode tonight? I just rewatched that, and realized Michael not only re-used the “trashcan = file drawer” bit… but he “fake fired” Pam in the Pilot as well! This was really the rebirth of Michael Scott tonight – can’t wait for the 100th!

34. Kate Flannery is a champion!

    Such a brave lady :O)

35. Creed makes a great Yoda-character.

36. Looooooved it!
    Wow, it had a real…I dunno…season 2 vibe. Anyone else getting that? Especially with that cold open with Kevin’s chilli, and the tiny side stories going on. Oscar’s toes…dress code…chess with Creed…I loved it!

    The Office just keeps getting better. :)

37. There were so so many great lines in this episode! Some that are so classic. My favorite for some reason being:

    “You don’t understand clothing, Toby. You’re dressed like this amorphous blob of khaki.”

38. I want to try Kevin’s chili, but only if it’s a batch that hasn’t been cleaned up off the carpet!

39. I enjoyed that! I don’t remember the last time I laughed so hard at a cold open.

    I loved Dwight painting with urine and using Ryan’s mug. That’s the type of subtle, not in-your-face humor I’ve been missing from the show lately.

40. Some say that Erin is kind of downplayed as a character, but I actually find that fact really funny…it’s like she’s this awkward appendage in the office that doesn’t quite fit. The writers want to make it realistic, I believe, and therefore can’t have her getting TOO comfortable in the receptionist’s chair just yet. We’re watching her go through the same things Pam and others went through (ie, the fake firing) and as she gets initiated into Michael’s world, I think we’ll see her true colors come out. Maybe at the company picnic?

41. Awesome episode! Great way to follow up last week’s show with a plot/subplot involving the ensemble cast.

    I hope Erin stays as receptionist. She and Andy would make a great story arch and that would accompany JAM and a possible Dwangela return.

42. I’m really surprised at how much people liked this episode. I really didn’t find it all that funny. Maybe upon second review I will like it better but I thought that it was just too tense, in a bad way, not in the classic Office way.

43. LOVED IT.

    Michael/Steve’s laugh is so contagious. It gets me laughing as hard as he is.
    Jim has been realllly funny the last two episodes. I love his little comments…
    “Pros: Environmentally conscious, because his mom drives him to work everyday”

    I also loved the lunch scene…PONY?!

44. For all intents and purposes, I shouldn’t have liked this episode. I don’t know why, but I was laughing the whole way through. Am I just in a good mood today (unlikely) or did the writers pull some sort of scheme on me?

45. Nerfin i totally agree with you about Michael’s/Steve’s laugh. I love it when he’s tickled about something!

    Why are people of the office being so mean to Michael?! It’s seriously driving me insane because over the seasons he’s getting more and more love-able and showing how much he cares about them and they never show him any kindness back with the ONE exception from Blood Drive. That said, I still thought this episode was funny and I LOVED the “memories” board!!

46. I once told a priest that he reminded me of Toby, then I saw the Toby seminarian bit and I was LMAO. I thought the Jim/Creed scenes were strangely endearing. Then Creed tried to set up “gay” Jim with his daughter, and I smiled and thought, “Welcome back Creed”.

47. This was probably one of the weaker episodes in awhile (which isn’t a bad thing; the office has been very strong lately), but i can’t hate on it because of the Creed and Jim scenes.

    Any episode with lots of Creed is a good episode.

48. The whole Ryan having to be fired from a sales position is pretty unrealistic. The sales team is going to be mainly paid by commission, so there wouldn’t be much cost involved in having another salesman. If there are not enough clients to go around, you have your sales team find new clients. Plus, Wallace wouldn’t hire Ryan just to fire him a couple of days later. Ryan should sue.

49. The cold open was really sad and made me feel sorry for kevin….but o well good episode!

50. Did anyone else find it really strange that Pam and Phyllis were wearing the exact same outfit? Somehow purple checkered shirt doesn’t say “Pam” to me.

    This was an interesting episode for me to watch. It has the classic Office vibe which I’ve missed these past several episodes, but at the same time we get to see how people are changing and growing. ALSO, Kevin and the chili…oh man. I had to spit out the water I was drinking, I was laughing so hard!

51. Will someone please GIVE JENNA FISCHER AN EMMY already!

52. Ditto, viva la Jam. I laughed so hard. And loved the semi typical office arguments. GREAT!

53. Did anyone else notice Dwight was using Ryan’s (sorry temps) coffee mug with his picture on it to hold the urine. It’s little details and jokes likes this why I love this show.

54. Laugh out loud funny, especially everything featuring Meredith (dogfight!) and Toby expressing his frustration for once. I also really enjoyed the whole Michael/Jim interaction about the choice between Pam and Ryan. And I agree that Phyllis was just plain mean in this episode. Poor Pam, she’s always having to put up with people casting rude comments about her appearance and her position in the office.

    Did anyone else feel that we saw the Angela of old in this episode?

    I really felt for poor Kevin too.

55. In comparison to the last two episodes? This one wasn’t really that funny, nor was it really very plot-essential. (Don’t get me wrong, I’d take a thousand more episodes of the office every season even if it meant dragging out the storyline.) But it felt like NOTHING happened in this one. Some funny moments, poor cold open. Nahh. Hope next week’s is better.

56. My favorite quote was, “Tell it to our complaint department. It’s a trash can!”

57. Lordie, did I laugh hard in this episode?
    This is odd, for the office lately has been missing that, for lack of a better word, LOL material.
    However, I was proven wrong tonight.

    Kelly with the receptionist(Erin?) – that little conversation made me laugh so hard, maybe because I came to realise just how much Kelly looks like one of those wacky rnb artists. that cap! awww, dear.

    Meredith is a god-sent. a genius.
    DWIGHT! – “It’s pony!” I was in tears and by the time, Darryl told Michael off for “buliding forts”, the office had destroyed me.
    I love office thursdays!

58. Good episode, though I was confused if Michael really meant Pam got the job, or he felt bad when he saw she was about to cry and decided to “fake fire” her. He’s done it before so I’m not shocked, but I was slightly confused by that.
    All in all, good episode. Still thought Broke was way better.

59. It was great to see the whole gang together in the same office again, & on a casual Friday!
    -Creed + Jim (LOL at Creed’s “challenge” after Michael put Jim’s letters on the board, trying to set Jim up w/his daughter)
    -Darryl’s warning to Michael about forts in his warehouse
    -Andy’s line to Toby being an “amorphous blob of khaki”
    -Kevin & his chili
    -Michael’s memories pics
    -Toby’s seminary pic
    -Creed’s fancy cell phone (esp since he doesn’t know what texting is LOL)

60. I LOVED it! And I really hate Phyllis now. And Ryan. But…I was a little confused. So Pam is sales, Erin’s the receptionist, and Ryan is what? A temp again? Or is he fired?

61. 48. Andrew: Ryan being fired from sales was completely realistic. If you’ve ever worked in sales, you know how hard it can be to get new clients. They’re in a bad economy, in a shrinking industry (paper), in a dying company. They need enough steady clients to produce enough commissions to support the sales team. It’s not just a matter of direct financial cost to the company. It’s about keeping a very experienced and successful team that is already unhappy and unstable.

62. @Brian – I noticed that too! High five!

    Even though I thought this episode was really funny, and I thought it was a good storyline, I felt it didn’t ‘flow’ properly. I can’t really put my finger on it. I thought Kelly’s outfit was brilliant and I loved Toby’s talking head but felt some things were kinda mashed in.

    Something that bugged me – why was Pam dressed like that? I mean, I know she’s not exactly cutting edge but she is usually dressed better than that, especially since she came back from New York.

63. I LOVED the Meredith dress scene! I had to rewind it a few times and watch it all over again. “Meredith, your boob is out!” HI-LARIOUS!

64. #30 – That’s what she said.

65. The cold open was great, and it made me feel genuinely sorry for Kevin. I was laughing and yet so sad!

    The episode itself was solid, but the one thing that won’t get out of my brain is that there was too much Meredith (quite literally). I feel like that gag got old after “Beach Games”, and this time it nearly disgusted me. Note to Greg: blurred Kate does not necessarily equal funny.

66. This was an interesting episode not because it was particuarly funny but because it showed some of the characters in a very different light–almost like an alternate universe. For the first time, I found myself agreeing totally with Dwight. Pam and Ryan were being favored simply because they “failed” with Michael. Pam was smug and obnoxious in the beginning of the episode.She was unlikeable when she began actually enjoying MIchael’s attention for a change and Phyllis was very well spoken as she explained to Michael the reasons for the sales force mutiny. Finally, Michael was completely right on when he suggested to Jim that Pam doesn’t see things to completion and has poor follow through. She isn’t perfect. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens from here. Everything seems very settled and resolved so what could the big cliffhanger be for the end of the season?

67. Forgot to mention my favorite line:

    “I don’t need to see Oscar’s toes!! He looks like he just got off the boat!!”- Angela

68. “You’re dressed like an amorphous blob of khaki!”

69. All I want for this season’s DVD commentary is to hear about John and Creed filming together…you know there are some awesome stories from this episode! haha

    I also really loved the call backs from the pilot in this ep. My only quibble with this ep is the continued and unexplained parallels between Phyllis and Pam. I think Pam needs to confront Phyllis about being such a B all the time.

70. This was a pretty good episode! Season 5 was doing good at first, and then started kind of losing steam, but then really picked it up with the Charles Minor arc and MSPC. It kind of felt a little forced, just because I don’t understand why Ryan is being taken out so fast. But Michael did say that he was offered Ryan his old temp job back, which maybe the writers are being serious about.

    to #48- DM Scranton probably has just about every customer that they could possibly get out of their area, so realistically they are going to be hard pressed to find even more new customers. which equals less money for everybody if 2 new salesmen are hired.

71. What about when Angela was yelling at Toby, saying he was soooo educated and trained to deal with hysterical women? In the same shot, Toby’s degree in psychology was hanging on the wall. :-)

72. Pretty good episode. I loved the Meredith bit, and Kelly’s outfit just made me laugh as soon as I saw it.

    What the heck was Creed wearing? He kills me. His conversation with Jim “I want to set you up with my daughter” followed immediately by “I thought you were gay”–funny stuff.

    Phyllis’ trout comment to Pam was great too. Every once in a while, we see that snarky side of Phyllis. Gotta love that.

73. Hated the cold open. Just didn’t feel it at all.

    The rest felt a lot like Drug Testing to me for some reason. Nothing specific, that was just the prevailing feeling I had. Thought I’d share that.

    Didn’t particulary love the narrative they told, especially how unrealistic the Ryan situation has been, but I did enjoy the episode. And I absolutely fell head over heels for the Jim/Creed dynamic. God, that was epic.

    Best line: “Why would you want to set me up with your daughter if you thought I was gay? / I don’t know.” So much awesome I think I experienced a joyverlode.

    Best little moment: Dwight not knowing Stanley’s last name. I was repeating that line all through the commercial break so kudos to the writer who came up with that gem. I also loved that Dwight’s idea of casual Friday is taking his tie off. Dwight using Ryan’s mug ruled, too.

    And I’m really digging Erin.

74. I just have to say that Jim looked amazing in his casual wear. I think we need to see casual Jim in every episode. (Oscar:”Meredith your boob is hanging out!”)

75. So question: how were there enough customers for Gardner, Martin, breastpump and Karen?

    Has Scranton been dropping some customers to the big box chains?

76. I LOVED THIS EPISODE

    #33 – YES. totally am loving the call backs to the first season……. I feel like I’m finally in on some inside joke :)

    #44 – I die laughing every time Jim makes fun of Ryan. I don’t know why…. it just is so damn amusing. That mom line was perfectly delivered too. lol

    Jim and Creed playing board games….priceless. I cannot wait for the blooper reel from that one. Oh and I love that the memory board of the Michael Scott Paper Company is up in Michael’s office now. I hope that stays there.

    Best moment though? Darryl’s line. That just was the absolute funniest thing I’ve seen in a long while. A wall of boxes move and Darryl’s standing there so angry and delivers a perfect line. Perfect.

    PLEASE keep it up Office Writers!!! We love it!

77. Also…… Dwight’s memo was hilarious.

    First off – the glee in his eyes when he said it was written in pee.

    Secondly writing it from out of Oscar’s mug – I thought that was funny since Angela was upset at Oscar for the toe thing. Maybe Dwight was striking back for her? hmmm

    Thirdly… “did you get the memo?” “Yes – all my files are in reverse alphabetical order” hehehehehehe I love that Dwight can pass out random memos and people follow them.

78. I can’t believe no one mentioned the two (or were there more) Howard Stern references…BaBaBooey – and Robin Quivers’ name (though not spelled correctly). I am crazy for those hidden gems!

79. Can someone help me? I thought the new receptionist was named Kelly. Kelly Kapoor kept hanging out near Jim so that every time Charles called for the receptionist, she could come running in. I specifically remember this because that’s my name and I very much wanted to be her! Did I just completely miss something?!

80. 78 – remember charles decided to call them both by not-kelly to decrease confusion. i guess it stuck.

    side note… I don’t know how I feel about this whole ‘pam is a saleswoman now’ thing.

81. 78, kelley-

    Problems arose because of the very thing you described, so Charles proposed calling them by their last names. The new Kelly asked to be called by her middle name, Erin. Thus, Kelly refers to Kelly Rajani Ghanda Kapoor, and Erin is for Kelly Erin Hannon.

    And I’m Jeremiah, in case there was any gender confusion over the screenname. ;)

82. #78 Kelley:

    Her name is Kelly but since Kelly Kapoor kept running in every time he called the receptionist, he decided to call them by different names and receptionist Kelly asked if she could be Erin because that is her middle name. Hope that clears things up for you!

83. 74, Wesley Willis-

    Stamford was consolidated into Scranton, not closed. I would assume they merely brought their old clients with them.

84. Meredith/Kate has absolutely gorgeous legs! Although we saw waaaay too much, even with the blur!!

85. This episode was pretty solid with a lot of great lines, but I hated the cold open. Kevin went to a lot of great trouble to make that chili in order to do something nice for the whole office, and he spills it all! Why is that funny? Why is it funny to laugh at someone who’s trying to do something nice, and it all goes wrong? I felt nothing but sadness watching that. What gives, Office writers?

86. Come on, people. Did someone murder your parents in a bowl of chili? That type of misfortune has been funny since the Laurel & Hardy days! And yet, it still worked in this context; simple stuff, but with an “Office” spin on it.

87. I didn’t much care for the cold open, either. There were, however, enough great lines to more than make up for it.

    This episode felt different. Like the pacing was off. it was kind of like..watching a very tall man fall down a flight of stairs. As limb crashes over limb and awkward angles form, it’s hard to tell if he’s falling very quickly or very slowly, but in the end, you probably had a few good laughs, right?

88. Loved Phyllis and Pam’s matching outfits, and that Dwight doesn’t know Stanley’s last name.

    Thought this was one of the best episodes all season!

89. #76. Joanna (CBM)
    –I think it was actually Ryan’s mug he was using! Even more fitting really.

90. What makes this episode so amazing to me is that everyone got a part. Kevin’s chili, Sales staff mutiny, Toby’s HR backstory, Creed’s games, Meredith’s flashing, Oscar’s sandals, Angela’s indignation,Daryl’s comment, Michal, Pam, Jim, and Ryan of course, and even new receptionist got hazed at the end!

    I LOVE you Office writers!!!

91. I think I made the mistake of watching this after rewatching a couple of season 2 episodes just before it. I’d been killing time rewatching The Client and Email Surveillance. Season 5’s been pretty mixed, but it is cataclismically awful when butted up against season 2. The whole firing thing at the end was unfunny, Kevin’s cold open went nowhere – did we ever see anyone else bring food or was it completely different day?, I cannot stand Dwight’s character any more, nor Michael’s. Jim’s right – Pam IS shrill – all the time, though, not just when she’s mad. I hate watching this show slowly sell out each character for a joke and then ask us to pretend that never happened. I found myself just sad watching this one.

92. I don’t know if this has been mentioned but I loved that Dwight’s idea of casual was to wear what he always does only without a tie.

93. Am I the only one who finds mean Phyllis hilarious? Sure, she was being unnecessarily rude to Pam, but the contrast between Phyllis’ sweet demeanor and her catty remarks strikes me as incredibly funny. And I love that she and Pam not only have the same taste in wedding attire, but casual wear as well!

94. #87- I agree. Something did feel very off and that analogy is perfect.

    Not my favorite episode, and honestly it was a tiny bit of a letdown after last week, but it was alright. Meredith showing up at the secret salesmen meeting was so, so funny. And I’m glad Creed got more spotlight this time. He’s such an under-appreciated character. There were definitely some good moments about it, but it wasn’t the best. I’m glad Pam got the spot though. I’m tired of Ryan.

95. Thank you all, that clears things up! I totally forgot that part of it!

    I still wish I could have been her… lol.

96. Wed night, I got out my Season 3 DVD’s and found a skit about Kevin cooking in the Office kitchen, so the cold open of this episode really tied in well with seeing that skit the night before.

    It is good that everybody is back together again. I loved it when Darryl reprimanded Michael for making a fort out of boxes of paper.

    This episode also reminded me of when Michael made Pam cry in the pilot episode because even then she was being “let go.”

    I noticed a number of NBC shows finished up this week, so we’re very luck with 2 episodes left!

97. Darryl’s expression was hands-down my fave part of this episode!!

98. I thought the cold open was one of the best! I laughed so hard when first the elevator was broken, and then of course when he spilled the chili and was rolling around in it trying to clean it up. Maybe it just hit me right because it was something that I could see happening at a family get together.

99. Cold open..not great. As others have said, it was just sad.

    The rest of the episode=great.

    Yes, it was a little “off” but I think it was supposed to be. You can’t expect Michael and crew to just waltz back in and the next day everything be back to normal. This conflict was necessary to keep the realism. So I would say this was a “necessary” episode.

100. Lynda –

     Funny I watch the old episodes all the time, and I love where the show has gone.

     Love Darryl – I laughed so hard when he came in that shoot. So Perfect.

101. 92:

     I’m not really sure why people are just noticing this, but a lot of the cold opens aren’t relevant to the plot. This isn’t anything new.

102. I could have sworn I saw JKras trying to stifle a laugh before he got up and left when Michael imitated Pam. “Honey! I want you to bring the garbage out! Cause I’m not going to have sex with you unless you bring out the garbage…”

103. This episode was setting up Dwight’s new opinion of Michael and the way he intends to play ball in the upcoming season. The whole episode was simply watering the flower. They’ve done this a couple times. Not a great episode, but it still felt good to be in ‘the office’.

104. I thought the Chili opening was funny, I didn’t laugh, but that’s because I don’t laugh at things unless i find it hysterical.

105. Great episode. I really liked that the tensions between the former MSPC employees and the Scranton branch were explored! Whooo–that sweet Phyllis has some barbs. I love that character, and have certainly worked with plenty of ladies just like her. And to think that Phyllis Smith just kind of fell into that role is pretty cool; she’s a great actress and her portrayal is perfect! The opening chili scene just about broke my heart and had me howling at the same time. And the new receptionist is going to be a fun character, I can just tell.

     I loved seeing all the characters getting good lines in this episode, and enjoyed the glimpse of what they wear when they can dress casual. When my husband said, “What’s up with Pam’s outfit?? Did she steal that from my mom’s closet?” I had to laugh! Then again, nice to see totally normal clothes on TV characters. Meredith’s outfit, on the other hand: what a scream!

106. it was an okay episode i guess. i really didn’t like the cold open, however. not because i felt bad for kevin or anything but rather because it just seemed like such cheap humour. i would have been fine with him spilling the chili on the floor and trying to clean it up or something but slipping and rolling around in it? really? how does that even happen? it was the dumbest thing i’ve ever seen.

107. The last few weeks have been great. This episode didn’t really click for me. There were some good moments (Meredith in her VERY casual dress) and uncomfortable moments (the mutiny).

     It is always the most interesting 30 minutes of television every week.

108. I’m all for comedy of errors but the cold open just made me sad. Poor Kevin. His life is already so pitiful. If it had been anyone else in the office, hilarious…

     Other than that, I thought it was a great episode.

109. does anyone else have a crush on kelly erin something or is it just me?

     that smile is mesmerizing

110. I think the writers are coming dangerously close to taking Phyllis past the point of no return on the likeability scale.
     I loved Toby showing some anger, it’s about time!
     Overall, I really liked the episode, but then again, I really like ALL the episodes. I wait all day Thursday to watch The Office!

111. Someone mentioned… I also like that Erin. She is cute. Michael fake firing her was kinda mean. After Charle’s episodes Michael still can be a jerk. LOL Also Michael told Pam he did Ryan in reverse and Ryan wasn’t happy at all. So Michael told Ryan he got sales job then told Ryan he was kidding. Yeah I could see why Ryan would be unhappy. LOL

112. “There may or may not be but definitely is a mutiny forming in the warehouse.”
     I loved the delivery of that…

113. Any Erin fans out there? I love her. She was super nice telling Kelly she looked like JLo, even when she looked fugly, LOL

114. #88, your comment is the most amazing comment I’ve ever read on this website.

115. I absolutely loved this! I didn’t expect Erin to laugh at Michael’s fake firing gag. When he told Pam to ask Erin to come in, I thought Oh geez, season 1 flashback. I thought Erin would cry like Pam did!

     Jim and Creed was hilarious! I loved that whole thing.

     I just hate that they’re ending season 5 and it’s getting so good! The Michael Scott Paper Company opened so many new doors for The Office.

116. Better than average episode. I liked the whole cast being involved. All of the character’s wardrobe mirrored their personalities, especially Toby! Yes, Meredith’s flashing has been done before (a few times, actually), but it’s always good for a laugh. Priceless comment by Kelly about the panties!

117. #58- ITA! I was still confused at the end of the episode. Did he feel bad and pretend he was fake firing and then decide to fire Erin so Pam could have her job, but then felt bad about that as well. Classic Michael avoidance tactics…

     Did Ryan actually leave? Those last 2 scenes were confusing, after he said he offered Ryan his temp job back.

     We came up with a snappy comeback for Pam vs Phyllis-
     Phy- Shut your mouth sweetie, you look like a trout.
     Pam- better a trout than a whale!

     BOO-yah!

118. #87: “Come on, people. Did someone murder your parents in a bowl of chili?” Now THAT’S funny! I thought this episode had more laugh-out-loud moments than any in a long time. Meredith was a hoot!

119. Has anyone else noticed that in the last few episodes, Ryan has been wearing the same shirt? Are we supposed to surmise that Ryan only has one shirt?

120. here is my take on the whole firing/fake firing scenario. first of all, when i re-watched the episode and the scene with michael and jim talking about who should get the job i felt like maybe michael was screwing with jim a little bit – like when he said he wouldn’t say anything bad about pam and michael pressed him. i felt like maybe michael was just trying to get jim to say something bad about pam for his own amusement. i think he was actually leaning towards pam the whole time. also, if he wasn’t going to give pam the job before she came into the office, why would he have fake-hired ryan? he would have really hired him if he was planning on really firing pam. i thought it was obviously a joke. and then when he said, so genuinely, that she was the best person for the job i felt certain that he had been leaning that way all along and was riling jim up. then i think he fake fired erin cause he was on a high after doing it to pam.

121. i actually really like the erin character too and think there is great potential there. especially for a possible andy romance, i feel like they are setting up similarities in their characters, particularly a need to be liked. i loved that at the end of the fake firing instead of starting to say “so am i really fired?” she was saying “so do people really not like me?”. my prediction/hope is that ryan stays on as a temp (figuring it’s a better gig than the bowling alley), pam is a sales person and erin stays on as the receptionist. i think her character could end up being a great addition. certainly better than ronnie, yuck! :P

122. I’m going to miss hearing, “Dunder Mifflin, this is Pam.”

     Great episode though. I just wanted to give Kevin a hug.

123. I would be very disappointed with Michael if he picked Ryan for the job. After all, it was Pam who went after Michael when he left. Michael went after Ryan, not otherwise.

124. They should have shown a stain on the floor from Kevin’s chili and then continue to subtly show it for the remainder of the series!

125. Is anyone else sick of Dictator Dwight, or is it just me? I mean I understand their anger and frustration with their sales and losing clients and whatnot, but I feel like they went a tad overboard.

     Loved the separate stories of Jim playing games with Creed, and the casual Friday issues Toby had.

     Oh and PS: I like white chocolate bark, Stanley! :P hahaha

126. i agree with people who didn’t love the cold open and who didn’t love meredith showing so much. but, as jan would say, “that’s not my sense of humor.” a lot of people do enjoy it, so whatever. there’s enough of the office to love for me to get past a couple of things.

     my favorite part of the episode was ryan agreeing with michael on everything (like shaking hands) when he’s been trying to distance himself from him for three years before this. i thought pam standing up for ryan was funny too.

127. #127 Amy – my first thought during the cold open was “is the stain going to be on the floor for the rest of the episode?” my second thought was flashback to ‘the carpet’ – bring back the cleaning lady!

128. I’m glad some others disliked Pam in this episode. Her interaction with Michael and Ryan was cringe-worthy. She was actually devoted to and enjoying them. Who wrote that in? She drank the Koolaid, so to speak. Pam from every episode prior to this one, including the MSPC episodes, would never be like that.

129. this was definitely one of my faves of the season.

     amorphous blob of khaki is probably andy’s most hilarious spoken line ever.

     dwight saying “gasp” was awesome.

130. I happened to love the cold opening. Yes, it was sad but that was the point. I like The Office for the range of different humors it exercises.

     I seriously think this was my favorite episode because EVERYONE had a part in it.

     And omg. I miss Toby so much. D’: Tobbbbbby. I can’t help but feel for him, and I was SO HAPPY he was standing up for himself now.

     I also loved Meredith’s part. I laughed so hard.

     Overall, I would love to see more of the other characters getting more spotlight in the next season.

131. for me, to be honest, I found that Pam has lost her cute side, you know what I mean. She is not innocent and shy anymore like she used to as receptionist couple seasons back. Maybe because now she is very happy with Jim. But she’s still great..