I cannot wait to find out who else is pregnant. I am hoping for Kelly. I will be so disappointed if it is Angela – her contract with Dwight was over last fall (so it couldn’t be his) and I would hate to have her tied to the gay senator over a baby.
I was thinking just the same thing, Janet. I hope it’s Kelly too (or Phyllis – that would actually be totally awesome – and don’t you dare say she’s too old!!). I’m still holding out hope for Dwangela at some point.
Hope Gabe didn’t get Erin pregnant. And I hope that Erin and Andy start to hangout more. Can’t wait to find out who the new manager is!!
If you want a hint on her “friend” then go check out Rainn Wilson’s twitter. I think he posted something about that a while back.
@ janet: i agree: i need Kelly to be be the other pregnant one, it would be hilarious!
it would be hysterical if Phyllis were pregnant
I don’t think it’s that another cast member is pregnant. I forgot where it says this but I remember reading that Pam turns to Dwight because her hormones go crazy. Maybe in the spoilers?
Angela’s the one who’s pregnant. Angela Kinsey herself stated that she and Pam will have a ‘frenemies’ storyline. As the season opens up, she’ll already be married to Robert Lipton too, so it makes sense.
Crossing my fingers that Angela is having Dwight’s baby. They have always been my favorite TO couple, I hope they reunite one day.
I resisted reading this synopsis, because I was afraid it would reveal who the new manager is, but no worries!
Add my hat to the “Angela’s Pregnant” ring. I’d be surprised if she’s already married to the (State) Senator, but then, The Office has always shot for awkward, so…
What if it’s Meredith who is pregnant; can you imagine? :P
It seems unlikely that Dwight could’ve gotten Angela pregnant. Angela voided the baby contract and started dating the senator (state senator) during the WUPHF.com episode. That was all the way back in November.
Guys, no where in the synopsis did it say someone else is pregnant and it has already been confirmed that someone has been hired to play a likeable friend for Pam.
Other pregnancy? I say it’s Holly
Hmm, the use of the modifier “unlikely” makes me wonder if it’s none of the above…
Well because Jenna Fischer (Pam) is pregnant in real life she’s got to be the one who is pregnant!
Isabel w/ Dwight’s baby!
I bet it’s Andy especially since the manager promises the unthinkable, Jim and Darryl would never do that and Dwight won’t be the manager.
I really hope it’s not, but I think Erin will be pregnant with Gabe’s (gulp) baby. I thought he was out of the show. Why was he still in the promo?
And I thought Pam would be manager (because of Gabe’s “heart attack” line in the promo), but now I’m not so sure. Now I’m jumping on the Stanley bandwagon.
Some recent promos at least appear to eliminate Angela and Phyllis from the “2nd pregnancy possibilities” list. I think it is Holly.
The pregnant friend is probably Teresa. Remember it’s a friend of Pam. She saw Dwight again when he was redoing their cabinets. So… It might be her. That’s my guess. ;)
@Daniel (#11) It can’t be Meredith because she had a hysterectomy (see Season 1, “Health Care”)
Jordan with Creed’s child.
i think it’s going to be angela that will be pregnant
they say “unlikely pregnancy friend”
and yes, someone besides pam is pregnant, both creed and john have confirmed this
@CinCIn, I hate to be a downer, but the person you are thinking of is named Isabel, and Dwight has seen her more recently than when he was redoing Pam and Jim’s cabinets. He saw her during “Happy Hour” later that season.
It can’t be Holly.. She’s in Colorado.
No one else is pregnant. A previous spoiler said Pam will realize under the influence of hormones that Dwight is the only one who is up front with her. Leading Pam to befriend Dwight and distrust everyone else.
Since the other pregnancy was already revealed…who’s the friend then? (Unless it’s just more interaction with that character). Maybe it’s Robert California? Jenna did say she had a storyline with him. I can’t imagine this is the one with Dwight yet. Rainn just tweeted like two weeks ago that they were filming it.
@28
Excellent! Pam and Dwight scenes are always gold.
“Unleash the power of the pyramid!”
Yeah, I think this season’s going to be good :)
This episode was 10 kinds of awesome. I loved it. I laughed so hard from beginning to end. So great to see the office coming together like old times. So loved it!
This episode really stepped up from the last one. Many LOL moments and I loved Robert’s last line about the “Underdog”.
Seriously great episode. Way better than the premier. The nard dog tattoo was great and I loved Andy sitting on Jim’s desk. LOL
This season seems to be a lot more raunchy than previous seasons before it, and while it feels a little odd to be dealing with so many sex jokes in one episode, I guess it’s just a different take on the inappropriate humor that Michael always brought to the table. That being said, I really thought this episode was funny. I’m glad Kevin was the star of the cold open, nice to see his seemingly downward spiral (not knowing the alphabet) of intelligence came to fruition. I am also glad to see Jim doing for Andy, what he always did for Mike, giving him that boost of confidence or just talking to him and letting Andy come to his own decisions. I loved seeing the office infused with a new energy, and if the writers keep up the arc of Andy as boss, continuously and accidentally finding new ways to motivate his staff, I think choosing Ed Helms to be the manager will have been one of the best decisions the writers/show runner/producers/etc have made in a while.
Oh yeah, Nard Dog for life.
I liked this one, though I wouldn’t say it was hilarious. A much more upbeat atmosphere than the premiere though. I really enjoyed the interaction between Andy and Jim. My biggest complaint is that both episodes so far have almost felt too rushed, like the storylines never had much time to develop. Maybe they will become arcs for the season? (for example, Darryl’s ex-wife and the Pam/Angela frenemies thing)
I dug the episode lots more than last week. Though I found the cold open pretty awful, and Andy setting himself on the desk knocking everything over to be a bit eye-rolling. It was a bit too Michael, but at the same time something that if Michael did I would have still not laughed. I did lose it when they showed Stanley going “Unleash the power of the pyramid!”
@ilovetheofficestrikesback While it was Isabel in that scene, i saw a spoiler talking about a friend of Pam’s name Teresa as well. I think she’s just confused.
Definitely a great choice to feature Ed Helms – he was wonderful tonight and it made me relax and feel better about the rest of the season.
Anyone know who played Daryl’s ex or whatever? It looked like the girl from Shameless but my wife swears it’s not.
I love Andy as boss and his storyline is great. But. . .(I think I am in the minority) Kevin is getting on my nerves. He has become obnoxious and more of a caricature than a character. I loved him in the earlier seasons: clueless and a little slow. Now I don’t know.
Having said that I am excited about this season, Andy adds a lot of heart to the show.
It was a Nard Dog!!!!!!!! hahahaha great episode
The Office with Michael Scott was good …but hers is bigger!
great. 10/10, much much better than episode 1
Gotta love the Nard Dog. Seriously, this has been a great season so far. Although I miss Michael Scott, life moves on. It’s kind of like when your best friend moves on and you think it will never be the same….but eventually you start having fun again! :)
This really felt like a storyline that could have easily been Michael’s back in the day…the boss asks for a lot, the manager promises way more than he can give, he tries to talk everyone into it, and they call his bluff. But, Andy resolved things much differently than Michael would have. Also, neat to see what the Scranton branch looks like at full productivity. Ever seen that before? Will we ever see it again? Great episode!
Pretty good episode! Cold open was just truly awful, but it really picked up after that. Pretty realistic storyline, and I always like seeing stuff actually take place in “the office.” Good redemption arc for Andy. It just felt too “Michael.” So far it seems like they’re having trouble differentiating the storylines for Michael and Andy. I’m sure it’ll take time to really get a feel for Andy The Boss though. All around, I dug it!
Usually I have to watch an episode at least twice to appreciate it all, but this one was pretty good on first viewing! My favorite part was when they were all busy making sales to earn points – phones were ringing, sales were being closed, people were rushing about the office being busy and productive. It was fun to see that energy!
Really good episode. Good balance of funny and feel-good-ness, without being cheesy. I just wonder where else they can go with Andy plot lines, without repeating the same “Andy is nervous because of Robert,so the rest of the office rallies around him and makes him feel better about his management”. I’m sure they will do a good job though.
I do think that the writers are overdoing how hard everyone is trying to impress Robert. They should be more subtle about it rather than just having the whole office stop everything they’re doing and stare like puppies every time he walks in, or agreeing like parrots with every/anything to impress him. While this does occur in the workplace, I don’t think anyone is that animated about it. Robert is a genius, I’m sure he can tell when someone is faking. They have used this plot line so many times : Charles Miner, Jo, Deangelo.
Shaping up to be a good season though.
Andy’s incentive meeting: OH MY GOSH. Laughed halfway through the commercial break. A pantheon moment.
Aside from the cold open, this episode was so good. I was laughing so hard I was almost in tears by the end of the tattoo scene. Thanks to Paul again for another great episode. My favorite line: “It’s a Nard Dog!” 9/10
Wow! What a huge improvement from last week! More storylines to follow, and content that was actually laughable. My greatest compliment to this episode was the fact that it was very “believable”. By that meaning it was similar to real office life, and very relatable. Especially Andy’s incentive to get a tatoo. I also liked the interaction between Jim and Andy. It was like watching an old office classic!
Very happy with Paul L’s work in this episode! Hope to see more episodes like this in the future!
Loved the conference room scene, loved the busy working office, and most of all i loved Jim’s talk with Andy. Another really good episode. Well done.
It’s time to stop dwelling on the past. The show is not the same, it’s time to embrace and move forward or move out.
Good episode, much better than the last one. It almost feels like watching a pilot for a whole new show which is weird, but still good because that’s the only way that The Office can last, a slow start is to be expected but I think it’s shaping up to be an awesome new direction.
Aside from that horrible CO I thought this was a really nice episode. Jim and Pam are the glue that holds this group together and it was nice to see that portrayed tonight. I enjoy the episodes where the office works together rather than against each other.
Great episode guys! Can’t wait for next week!
It’s a completely different show now in a good way.
9/10
Didn’t really enjoy this one. The cold open should have ended on Oscar’s explanation on how Kevin has gotten stupider as the years have gone on. The incentive thing could have been good, but needed more time to develop. Why not have it play out over three episodes?
Soo.. i loved it! Not as much as last week though, but still a lot a lot. I love any episode where Jim is confident, competent and caring; and i enjoyed Andy’s insecurity. Pam’s tattoo was perfect. Good pacing!
I am also really loving Dwight so far this season. This is good old Dwight.
Nice second episode! The Office was never busier than it was tonight, with everyone busy working to achieve their goal. Everyone had a part — a real ensemble episode. Jim took charge of the situation — he really performs when he sets his mind to it. I liked it!
Great episode! I guess I’m in the minority here but I thought the cold open was really funny. Anything with Kevin is gold in my eyes. I would really like to know what idea Phyllis had for the tattoo, they all seemed to react really strongly to it.
i really enjoyed this episode, much more than the premiere. the cold open amused me… i chuckled once or twice. and there were a couple of laugh out loud moments throughout the episode.
i like andy as the manager… i think the writers chose him because he and michael are a lot alike: they’re both simple men who wear their hearts on their sleeves, and who desperately want to be liked. they’re both goofballs who shouldn’t be in management positions, although they both have their (very occasional) flashes of brilliance.
I actually did not laugh as much with this one as i did with the premiere(which i thought was awesome), but this episode had Dwight talking about beets and i will never not love that. I also love whenever this group bands together, regardless of the reasons. So good stuff. However, i am looking forward to seeing the “ensemble focus” come more into play soon, rather than this focus on Andy(although i get that for now).
What an incredible start to the new season, wow! Two fantastic episodes and I am insanely excited for next week. I haven’t been this excited for new Office for a very long time.
Andy as a boss is working out really great so far, this is really feeling like the old Office again. There needs to be a good boss at the heart of this show, and we sure miss Michael as a character, but at least we have a permanent good boss again. Loving it.
Am I the only one that peed my pants when Kevin was using 2 calculators at once?
A very excellent episode! Andy as boss is working out very nicely.
Favourite parts: Andy sitting on the desk, “For 5000 points!” and the Nard Dog tattoo.
Now has the fact they reached 5000 points meant they’ve doubled the 4%…or just that they hit the incentive?
Fantastic episode – what a great season this is shaping up to be!! I feel like we’re finally getting back old Jim and Pam – both so funny and so kind, and working beautifully together (without any of that fake tension they’ve tried to drum up before). And we’re seeing more of them which makes any episode better!!
Also, more Oscar = awesome!
Like everyone else, I wasn’t a fan of the cold open. A few minutes into the episode I looked at my wife and said, “I feel like I’m watching the pilot for a totally new show.” But then once the conference room scene came along, it became The Office again. It is taking a little while for me to see Andy as the boss, but last night’s tattoo parlor scene might have done it. Well done.
Great episode!! So many lol moments… I’m excited about this season.
@jmsteeley I saw that and lost it! One of the greatest scene cuts. Also, Creed helping out was awesome too!
yeah the cold open was truly terrible, although i will admit it picked up really fast with the ‘busy’ office scene and stanley preaching the PYRAMID.
still though i felt the premier was a bit better than this but this was still decent.
A few things I haven’t seen mentioned yet… Did anyone notice how Andy said “Dad!” when Robert California first walked in? He’s talked about his relationship with his parents before. With that one word you could tell how he’s spent a lifetime looking for approval from father figures in his life. So subtle but a brilliant bit of writing! And I know Hollywood make-up artists are good, but that tattoo looked real! (Madison Tattoo is a real shop in North Hollywood too.) I wouldn’t put it past Ed Helms to get one as a reminder of his time spent playing The Nard Dog. After all, he really removed his teeth for The Hangover! And I agree that this plot could easily have worked with Michael too. I think over time, once Andy is established as the new manager, the writers will focus more on the ensemble cast. Highlight one character per plot line, or have more great “working together” stories like this one. A+ episode!
I wasn’t a fan of the cold open, even though I heard really good things. I find it interesting how much they are trying to make Andy like Michael; with looking through the blinds and sitting on Jim’s desk. Hopefully they don’t try too hard on that one.
Wow. I must have missed something. I rated 2/10. I really liked the premier and thought they were going in the right direction. But last night? Way off, in my opinion. Sorry all die-hard fans that felt the love, but I AM a huge fan. Always have been. I’ll continue to watch, but this ep left a bad taste in my mouth. (that’s what she said)
I just watched it for the second time on NBC’s website, and for some reason I loved it even more than the first time. The Office is the only show where I can say that the second time is actually better. I love the Nard Dog tattoo! Adorable! I’m also loving Dwight even more now. He’s always been my favorite character, but in this episode he really shined. I love the moment in the tattoo parlor where he has one hand on Pam’s shoulder and another on Jim’s. I think he secretly considers them his closest friends.
The cold opening was pretty lame and so was “The Pyramid”. I understand that the writers were trying to make a joke about our “tablet culture” but seriously, a printer company making a tablet. That gag was more suited to a sketch comedy show, not a sitcom.
I was really liking this until the obscene (OBSCENE, I say!) amount of commercials resulted in the Pam/Angela ending scene being cut off from my DVR (yeah, I watch them the day after, sue me). Therefore, I will not be rating this episode since I was unable to see the whole episode.
@73
I liked the cold open because I finally got to see some Jim Pam Andy interaction, it somewhat reminded me of the earlier seasons of the office. However I did not appreciate just how dumb they are making Kevin (I really wonder if Brian is okay with what the writers are doing to him). I hope that that cold open was the end of the dumb Kevin plot, and maybe they can let him get his alphabet right, just once. As for the Andy replacing Michael comment, I know it looks like the writers may be trying to just replace Michael and Andy, but when you think about it, Andy acting like Mike actually makes sense. I really believe Andy is truly lost and confused about how to be a good manager. If you had no idea what to do, would you not just try to do what the last boss did? While it is a little awkward that they have Andy sitting on desks just like Mike did in the past, it really makes me laugh, and I think at this point Andy is just trying to find a mix of management styles that works, even if that includes copying everything Michael did.
Dear NBC Store,
Please put the Nard Dog tattoo picture on a coffee mug or something. I would totally buy it.
Not a bad episode. More of a feel-good one than a funny one. I thought the cold open wasn’t bad, although I liked Kevin’s line at the end.
Slightly below the season opener, but still very good. Kevin’s cold open wasn’t that bad. I actually view Erin’s ‘cold coffee’ and Angela calling social services about coffee dregs as weaker and less credible than that.
But the incentives thing was cute, and the Nard Dog ending was very sweet. The writers have obviously put a lot of thought into Andy becoming boss, and the resulting office dynamic of that.
When Darryl started singing about making love to his ex-wife, was anyone else reminded of Chef from South Park? With his daughter (last season) and ex-wife showing up, and Andy’s family cast for this season, I’m wondering if we’re heading towards some sort of Philbin and Bernard get-together.
Lastly, loved the coy little look on Angela’s face when Andy bared his ass at the end. She’s been there, done that, right?
I almost forgot – one more thing – Andy already has a tattoo! Remember his tramp stamp from one of the past webisodes? I’m disappointed they didn’t make a mention of that.
Impressive!!!!! I loved the episode. The moments with the office having Andy getting a tattoo were amazing. The “Nard Dog” tattoo is awesome, and Andy loves it. It’s funny to see Pam and Angela walking out together in the final scene, while they’re pregnant, although Angela always kinda hates Pam, but they’re becoming friends, so to speak.
@73 That’s exactly what my husband noticed. I was laughing (yeah out loud) at Andy sitting on Jim’s desk, when my husband actually said how that was entirely a Michael scene and how forced it felt. Then I started to notice other bits here and there and the similarities were a little too close for comfort.
I’m happy we’ve still got The Office, so I’ll be watching for as long as it airs, but I miss Michael so much it’s painful at times.
Loved this episode! Especially the Nard Dog tattoo. I really feel the show’s doing well without Michael, it’s a fresh start and I’m pleasantly surprised at how well they’re doing. The fact Ed Helms doesn’t get first credit shows how they intend not to base the show around the manager anymore, and I kinda like that :-)
Am I the only person who laughed quite loudly when Erin brought in the overflowing mug of ice cold coffee? Her interaction with Robert has been hilarious from the premiere episode of the season.
Great episode, all-in-all.
Line by Andy that made me laugh so hard: “I guess you could say I’m in one of those classic ‘ass tattoo incentive’ situations.” Well, yeah, that is a topic that should be covered in every management textbook.
The real point of this episode was when Jim told Andy, “No one expects you to go through with this.” and then Andy got the tattoo anyway. Michael Scott would NOT have done that. Hence, the episode ended with everyone smiling and laughing. They LIKE Andy. You know with Michael, he would have ruined everything and angered everyone somehow.
The gang is going to rally around Andy because he doesn’t make everything about himself like Michael did. He is a very different kind of boss.
The episode started off uneven, I didn’t care for Kevin’s cold open. I’m fine with Kevin being childish, but to make him an outright moron is too broad. Once they got into the swing of the incentive it got better, particularly with Jim letting Andy off the hook and then Andy going through with it any way. Nice to see them making it clear that Andy will be able to earn their loyalty.
Another great one and watched it for the second time today. Sometimes they put so much into an episode and it speeds by so fast, I need a second viewing to absorb it all in !
Last season I would not have wanted to see Andy sitting in Michael’s seat, but since the premier last week, I am so pleased with how he’s doing so far and love how Jim is instrumental in boosting his confidence. Very sweet moment outside the tattoo shop. Also love when the whole office pulls together and shares a good time. As much as I “adored” Michael, he did cause division and a lowering of morale within the staff, where Andy has the ability to bring everyone together. What you see is what you get. No complications. Go Andy !!
Another great episode. I’m really digging this season.
Don’t know if anyone has mentioned this, but how adorable was Erin kissing California’s cheek?! That was one of the highlights of the episode for me. ‘Let’s ink my stink’ and ‘C-Span’ had my boyfriend and I rolling.
In past seasons (mainly 6 & 7) The Office was sometimes really depressing. I like that they are shying away from that and leaning more toward feel-good and happy :)
They are totally ruining Kevin as a character. The cold open was so painful to watch – and not in a good way
My one main complaint about this episode is how they really overplayed Kevin’s stupidity. The cold open, and then several other scenes and lines throughout were just annoying. Other than that, a very good episode!
I wonder if Justine has replaced Stanley’s adult daughter.I like the idea because it gives Craig Robinson more to do at the moment, now that we know he’s not the boss. They also said that Jordan was going to be a series regular and that’s no longer the case. Am I the only one that noticed the striking resemblance between her and Hilary Swank? The episode with the “Hot or Not” debate comes to mind with that one.
I thought the episode was okay. I didn’t think the cold open was that bad. I especially liked when Andy tried communicating with Kevin in the same way. I thought it was funny when Jim was trying to figure out if Kevin meant Sea World or see the world. I liked all the silly ideas Andy tried coming up with for incentives. I know Erin is supposed to be a little clueless, but having her bring Robert cold coffee was going a bit too far. I didn’t find that funny at all. It was surprising to see everyone in the office look so busy. Have we ever seen that? That was fun to see! I thought Andy’s tattoo was adorable. I wish we could’ve seen what Phyllis’s tattoo idea was. I thought it was funny and awkward when Andy sat on Jim’s desk. That was definitely a Michael move and it was funny and strange to see Andy do that. It’s nice to see Andy still trying to figure out how to be the boss. I like how things are going with him. I hope next week’s episode delivers a lot more laughs because this episode wasn’t very funny.
The cold open would have been OK, if:
A) The writers hadn’t been trying to turn Kevin into a complete moron for 2+ years. Ever since Holly mistakenly believed he was retarded, it has seemed as though that’s exactly the direction they’ve gone! Not cool, man!
B) The “save time by talking less” was done much better in Product Recall. Remember Michael’s “CriManSqua, F&C” (Crisis Management Squad, front & center) that took a while to explain?
The cold open would have been great if they had used this as an opportunity to reset Kevin’s stupidity. Pam said something like, “Something’s wrong we should take him to the hospital.”
They could have taken him to the hospital and brought him back as Season 1 (and 2) Kevin. Not sure what could cause that slow creep into stupidity, but they should have fixed him then and there. Like Dwigt’s concussion in The Injury, or Andy’s anger management; personalities can change. Other than that, the episode was great.
@Sarakaya Komzin – I like that idea, too! A chemical imbalance (nothing too serious) that gets corrected, and Kevin is back to normal…a slightly slow, socially awkward, gambling addict. You know, writers, the Kevin we are supposed to know and love!
Is Creed anyone else’s favorite character or is it just me? Love that guy!
Also, love everyone’s optimism but this show was built around the boss character and played to a T by both Ricky and Steve. Losing Steve should have been the end of the show, period. Ed Helms is a talented guy but his character is a side act at best and will never be as funny or interesting as Michael.
Maybe if they brought in a new comedian, like David Cross, to be the boss they could regain some of the comedy but so far this season is really reaching for laughs and not getting them. I can’t see them stretching this out with the current lineup and story.
I cannot wait to find out who else is pregnant. I am hoping for Kelly. I will be so disappointed if it is Angela – her contract with Dwight was over last fall (so it couldn’t be his) and I would hate to have her tied to the gay senator over a baby.
I was thinking just the same thing, Janet. I hope it’s Kelly too (or Phyllis – that would actually be totally awesome – and don’t you dare say she’s too old!!). I’m still holding out hope for Dwangela at some point.
Hope Gabe didn’t get Erin pregnant. And I hope that Erin and Andy start to hangout more. Can’t wait to find out who the new manager is!!
If you want a hint on her “friend” then go check out Rainn Wilson’s twitter. I think he posted something about that a while back.
@ janet: i agree: i need Kelly to be be the other pregnant one, it would be hilarious!
it would be hysterical if Phyllis were pregnant
I don’t think it’s that another cast member is pregnant. I forgot where it says this but I remember reading that Pam turns to Dwight because her hormones go crazy. Maybe in the spoilers?
Angela’s the one who’s pregnant. Angela Kinsey herself stated that she and Pam will have a ‘frenemies’ storyline. As the season opens up, she’ll already be married to Robert Lipton too, so it makes sense.
Crossing my fingers that Angela is having Dwight’s baby. They have always been my favorite TO couple, I hope they reunite one day.
I resisted reading this synopsis, because I was afraid it would reveal who the new manager is, but no worries!
Add my hat to the “Angela’s Pregnant” ring. I’d be surprised if she’s already married to the (State) Senator, but then, The Office has always shot for awkward, so…
What if it’s Meredith who is pregnant; can you imagine? :P
It seems unlikely that Dwight could’ve gotten Angela pregnant. Angela voided the baby contract and started dating the senator (state senator) during the WUPHF.com episode. That was all the way back in November.
Guys, no where in the synopsis did it say someone else is pregnant and it has already been confirmed that someone has been hired to play a likeable friend for Pam.
Other pregnancy? I say it’s Holly
Hmm, the use of the modifier “unlikely” makes me wonder if it’s none of the above…
Well because Jenna Fischer (Pam) is pregnant in real life she’s got to be the one who is pregnant!
Isabel w/ Dwight’s baby!
I bet it’s Andy especially since the manager promises the unthinkable, Jim and Darryl would never do that and Dwight won’t be the manager.
I really hope it’s not, but I think Erin will be pregnant with Gabe’s (gulp) baby. I thought he was out of the show. Why was he still in the promo?
And I thought Pam would be manager (because of Gabe’s “heart attack” line in the promo), but now I’m not so sure. Now I’m jumping on the Stanley bandwagon.
Some recent promos at least appear to eliminate Angela and Phyllis from the “2nd pregnancy possibilities” list. I think it is Holly.
The pregnant friend is probably Teresa. Remember it’s a friend of Pam. She saw Dwight again when he was redoing their cabinets. So… It might be her. That’s my guess. ;)
@Daniel (#11) It can’t be Meredith because she had a hysterectomy (see Season 1, “Health Care”)
Jordan with Creed’s child.
i think it’s going to be angela that will be pregnant
they say “unlikely pregnancy friend”
and yes, someone besides pam is pregnant, both creed and john have confirmed this
@CinCIn, I hate to be a downer, but the person you are thinking of is named Isabel, and Dwight has seen her more recently than when he was redoing Pam and Jim’s cabinets. He saw her during “Happy Hour” later that season.
It can’t be Holly.. She’s in Colorado.
No one else is pregnant. A previous spoiler said Pam will realize under the influence of hormones that Dwight is the only one who is up front with her. Leading Pam to befriend Dwight and distrust everyone else.
Since the other pregnancy was already revealed…who’s the friend then? (Unless it’s just more interaction with that character). Maybe it’s Robert California? Jenna did say she had a storyline with him. I can’t imagine this is the one with Dwight yet. Rainn just tweeted like two weeks ago that they were filming it.
@28
Excellent! Pam and Dwight scenes are always gold.
“Unleash the power of the pyramid!”
Yeah, I think this season’s going to be good :)
This episode was 10 kinds of awesome. I loved it. I laughed so hard from beginning to end. So great to see the office coming together like old times. So loved it!
This episode really stepped up from the last one. Many LOL moments and I loved Robert’s last line about the “Underdog”.
Seriously great episode. Way better than the premier. The nard dog tattoo was great and I loved Andy sitting on Jim’s desk. LOL
This season seems to be a lot more raunchy than previous seasons before it, and while it feels a little odd to be dealing with so many sex jokes in one episode, I guess it’s just a different take on the inappropriate humor that Michael always brought to the table. That being said, I really thought this episode was funny. I’m glad Kevin was the star of the cold open, nice to see his seemingly downward spiral (not knowing the alphabet) of intelligence came to fruition. I am also glad to see Jim doing for Andy, what he always did for Mike, giving him that boost of confidence or just talking to him and letting Andy come to his own decisions. I loved seeing the office infused with a new energy, and if the writers keep up the arc of Andy as boss, continuously and accidentally finding new ways to motivate his staff, I think choosing Ed Helms to be the manager will have been one of the best decisions the writers/show runner/producers/etc have made in a while.
Oh yeah, Nard Dog for life.
I liked this one, though I wouldn’t say it was hilarious. A much more upbeat atmosphere than the premiere though. I really enjoyed the interaction between Andy and Jim. My biggest complaint is that both episodes so far have almost felt too rushed, like the storylines never had much time to develop. Maybe they will become arcs for the season? (for example, Darryl’s ex-wife and the Pam/Angela frenemies thing)
I dug the episode lots more than last week. Though I found the cold open pretty awful, and Andy setting himself on the desk knocking everything over to be a bit eye-rolling. It was a bit too Michael, but at the same time something that if Michael did I would have still not laughed. I did lose it when they showed Stanley going “Unleash the power of the pyramid!”
@ilovetheofficestrikesback While it was Isabel in that scene, i saw a spoiler talking about a friend of Pam’s name Teresa as well. I think she’s just confused.
Definitely a great choice to feature Ed Helms – he was wonderful tonight and it made me relax and feel better about the rest of the season.
Anyone know who played Daryl’s ex or whatever? It looked like the girl from Shameless but my wife swears it’s not.
I love Andy as boss and his storyline is great. But. . .(I think I am in the minority) Kevin is getting on my nerves. He has become obnoxious and more of a caricature than a character. I loved him in the earlier seasons: clueless and a little slow. Now I don’t know.
Having said that I am excited about this season, Andy adds a lot of heart to the show.
It was a Nard Dog!!!!!!!! hahahaha great episode
The Office with Michael Scott was good …but hers is bigger!
great. 10/10, much much better than episode 1
Gotta love the Nard Dog. Seriously, this has been a great season so far. Although I miss Michael Scott, life moves on. It’s kind of like when your best friend moves on and you think it will never be the same….but eventually you start having fun again! :)
This really felt like a storyline that could have easily been Michael’s back in the day…the boss asks for a lot, the manager promises way more than he can give, he tries to talk everyone into it, and they call his bluff. But, Andy resolved things much differently than Michael would have. Also, neat to see what the Scranton branch looks like at full productivity. Ever seen that before? Will we ever see it again? Great episode!
Pretty good episode! Cold open was just truly awful, but it really picked up after that. Pretty realistic storyline, and I always like seeing stuff actually take place in “the office.” Good redemption arc for Andy. It just felt too “Michael.” So far it seems like they’re having trouble differentiating the storylines for Michael and Andy. I’m sure it’ll take time to really get a feel for Andy The Boss though. All around, I dug it!
Usually I have to watch an episode at least twice to appreciate it all, but this one was pretty good on first viewing! My favorite part was when they were all busy making sales to earn points – phones were ringing, sales were being closed, people were rushing about the office being busy and productive. It was fun to see that energy!
Really good episode. Good balance of funny and feel-good-ness, without being cheesy. I just wonder where else they can go with Andy plot lines, without repeating the same “Andy is nervous because of Robert,so the rest of the office rallies around him and makes him feel better about his management”. I’m sure they will do a good job though.
I do think that the writers are overdoing how hard everyone is trying to impress Robert. They should be more subtle about it rather than just having the whole office stop everything they’re doing and stare like puppies every time he walks in, or agreeing like parrots with every/anything to impress him. While this does occur in the workplace, I don’t think anyone is that animated about it. Robert is a genius, I’m sure he can tell when someone is faking. They have used this plot line so many times : Charles Miner, Jo, Deangelo.
Shaping up to be a good season though.
Andy’s incentive meeting: OH MY GOSH. Laughed halfway through the commercial break. A pantheon moment.
Aside from the cold open, this episode was so good. I was laughing so hard I was almost in tears by the end of the tattoo scene. Thanks to Paul again for another great episode. My favorite line: “It’s a Nard Dog!” 9/10
Wow! What a huge improvement from last week! More storylines to follow, and content that was actually laughable. My greatest compliment to this episode was the fact that it was very “believable”. By that meaning it was similar to real office life, and very relatable. Especially Andy’s incentive to get a tatoo. I also liked the interaction between Jim and Andy. It was like watching an old office classic!
Very happy with Paul L’s work in this episode! Hope to see more episodes like this in the future!
Loved the conference room scene, loved the busy working office, and most of all i loved Jim’s talk with Andy. Another really good episode. Well done.
It’s time to stop dwelling on the past. The show is not the same, it’s time to embrace and move forward or move out.
Good episode, much better than the last one. It almost feels like watching a pilot for a whole new show which is weird, but still good because that’s the only way that The Office can last, a slow start is to be expected but I think it’s shaping up to be an awesome new direction.
Aside from that horrible CO I thought this was a really nice episode. Jim and Pam are the glue that holds this group together and it was nice to see that portrayed tonight. I enjoy the episodes where the office works together rather than against each other.
Great episode guys! Can’t wait for next week!
It’s a completely different show now in a good way.
9/10
Didn’t really enjoy this one. The cold open should have ended on Oscar’s explanation on how Kevin has gotten stupider as the years have gone on. The incentive thing could have been good, but needed more time to develop. Why not have it play out over three episodes?
Soo.. i loved it! Not as much as last week though, but still a lot a lot. I love any episode where Jim is confident, competent and caring; and i enjoyed Andy’s insecurity. Pam’s tattoo was perfect. Good pacing!
I am also really loving Dwight so far this season. This is good old Dwight.
Nice second episode! The Office was never busier than it was tonight, with everyone busy working to achieve their goal. Everyone had a part — a real ensemble episode. Jim took charge of the situation — he really performs when he sets his mind to it. I liked it!
Great episode! I guess I’m in the minority here but I thought the cold open was really funny. Anything with Kevin is gold in my eyes. I would really like to know what idea Phyllis had for the tattoo, they all seemed to react really strongly to it.
i really enjoyed this episode, much more than the premiere. the cold open amused me… i chuckled once or twice. and there were a couple of laugh out loud moments throughout the episode.
i like andy as the manager… i think the writers chose him because he and michael are a lot alike: they’re both simple men who wear their hearts on their sleeves, and who desperately want to be liked. they’re both goofballs who shouldn’t be in management positions, although they both have their (very occasional) flashes of brilliance.
I actually did not laugh as much with this one as i did with the premiere(which i thought was awesome), but this episode had Dwight talking about beets and i will never not love that. I also love whenever this group bands together, regardless of the reasons. So good stuff. However, i am looking forward to seeing the “ensemble focus” come more into play soon, rather than this focus on Andy(although i get that for now).
What an incredible start to the new season, wow! Two fantastic episodes and I am insanely excited for next week. I haven’t been this excited for new Office for a very long time.
Andy as a boss is working out really great so far, this is really feeling like the old Office again. There needs to be a good boss at the heart of this show, and we sure miss Michael as a character, but at least we have a permanent good boss again. Loving it.
Am I the only one that peed my pants when Kevin was using 2 calculators at once?
A very excellent episode! Andy as boss is working out very nicely.
Favourite parts: Andy sitting on the desk, “For 5000 points!” and the Nard Dog tattoo.
Now has the fact they reached 5000 points meant they’ve doubled the 4%…or just that they hit the incentive?
Fantastic episode – what a great season this is shaping up to be!! I feel like we’re finally getting back old Jim and Pam – both so funny and so kind, and working beautifully together (without any of that fake tension they’ve tried to drum up before). And we’re seeing more of them which makes any episode better!!
Also, more Oscar = awesome!
Like everyone else, I wasn’t a fan of the cold open. A few minutes into the episode I looked at my wife and said, “I feel like I’m watching the pilot for a totally new show.” But then once the conference room scene came along, it became The Office again. It is taking a little while for me to see Andy as the boss, but last night’s tattoo parlor scene might have done it. Well done.
Great episode!! So many lol moments… I’m excited about this season.
@jmsteeley I saw that and lost it! One of the greatest scene cuts. Also, Creed helping out was awesome too!
yeah the cold open was truly terrible, although i will admit it picked up really fast with the ‘busy’ office scene and stanley preaching the PYRAMID.
still though i felt the premier was a bit better than this but this was still decent.
A few things I haven’t seen mentioned yet… Did anyone notice how Andy said “Dad!” when Robert California first walked in? He’s talked about his relationship with his parents before. With that one word you could tell how he’s spent a lifetime looking for approval from father figures in his life. So subtle but a brilliant bit of writing! And I know Hollywood make-up artists are good, but that tattoo looked real! (Madison Tattoo is a real shop in North Hollywood too.) I wouldn’t put it past Ed Helms to get one as a reminder of his time spent playing The Nard Dog. After all, he really removed his teeth for The Hangover! And I agree that this plot could easily have worked with Michael too. I think over time, once Andy is established as the new manager, the writers will focus more on the ensemble cast. Highlight one character per plot line, or have more great “working together” stories like this one. A+ episode!
I wasn’t a fan of the cold open, even though I heard really good things. I find it interesting how much they are trying to make Andy like Michael; with looking through the blinds and sitting on Jim’s desk. Hopefully they don’t try too hard on that one.
Wow. I must have missed something. I rated 2/10. I really liked the premier and thought they were going in the right direction. But last night? Way off, in my opinion. Sorry all die-hard fans that felt the love, but I AM a huge fan. Always have been. I’ll continue to watch, but this ep left a bad taste in my mouth. (that’s what she said)
I just watched it for the second time on NBC’s website, and for some reason I loved it even more than the first time. The Office is the only show where I can say that the second time is actually better. I love the Nard Dog tattoo! Adorable! I’m also loving Dwight even more now. He’s always been my favorite character, but in this episode he really shined. I love the moment in the tattoo parlor where he has one hand on Pam’s shoulder and another on Jim’s. I think he secretly considers them his closest friends.
The cold opening was pretty lame and so was “The Pyramid”. I understand that the writers were trying to make a joke about our “tablet culture” but seriously, a printer company making a tablet. That gag was more suited to a sketch comedy show, not a sitcom.
I was really liking this until the obscene (OBSCENE, I say!) amount of commercials resulted in the Pam/Angela ending scene being cut off from my DVR (yeah, I watch them the day after, sue me). Therefore, I will not be rating this episode since I was unable to see the whole episode.
@73
I liked the cold open because I finally got to see some Jim Pam Andy interaction, it somewhat reminded me of the earlier seasons of the office. However I did not appreciate just how dumb they are making Kevin (I really wonder if Brian is okay with what the writers are doing to him). I hope that that cold open was the end of the dumb Kevin plot, and maybe they can let him get his alphabet right, just once. As for the Andy replacing Michael comment, I know it looks like the writers may be trying to just replace Michael and Andy, but when you think about it, Andy acting like Mike actually makes sense. I really believe Andy is truly lost and confused about how to be a good manager. If you had no idea what to do, would you not just try to do what the last boss did? While it is a little awkward that they have Andy sitting on desks just like Mike did in the past, it really makes me laugh, and I think at this point Andy is just trying to find a mix of management styles that works, even if that includes copying everything Michael did.
Dear NBC Store,
Please put the Nard Dog tattoo picture on a coffee mug or something. I would totally buy it.
Not a bad episode. More of a feel-good one than a funny one. I thought the cold open wasn’t bad, although I liked Kevin’s line at the end.
Slightly below the season opener, but still very good. Kevin’s cold open wasn’t that bad. I actually view Erin’s ‘cold coffee’ and Angela calling social services about coffee dregs as weaker and less credible than that.
But the incentives thing was cute, and the Nard Dog ending was very sweet. The writers have obviously put a lot of thought into Andy becoming boss, and the resulting office dynamic of that.
When Darryl started singing about making love to his ex-wife, was anyone else reminded of Chef from South Park? With his daughter (last season) and ex-wife showing up, and Andy’s family cast for this season, I’m wondering if we’re heading towards some sort of Philbin and Bernard get-together.
Lastly, loved the coy little look on Angela’s face when Andy bared his ass at the end. She’s been there, done that, right?
I almost forgot – one more thing – Andy already has a tattoo! Remember his tramp stamp from one of the past webisodes? I’m disappointed they didn’t make a mention of that.
Impressive!!!!! I loved the episode. The moments with the office having Andy getting a tattoo were amazing. The “Nard Dog” tattoo is awesome, and Andy loves it. It’s funny to see Pam and Angela walking out together in the final scene, while they’re pregnant, although Angela always kinda hates Pam, but they’re becoming friends, so to speak.
@73 That’s exactly what my husband noticed. I was laughing (yeah out loud) at Andy sitting on Jim’s desk, when my husband actually said how that was entirely a Michael scene and how forced it felt. Then I started to notice other bits here and there and the similarities were a little too close for comfort.
I’m happy we’ve still got The Office, so I’ll be watching for as long as it airs, but I miss Michael so much it’s painful at times.
Loved this episode! Especially the Nard Dog tattoo. I really feel the show’s doing well without Michael, it’s a fresh start and I’m pleasantly surprised at how well they’re doing. The fact Ed Helms doesn’t get first credit shows how they intend not to base the show around the manager anymore, and I kinda like that :-)
Am I the only person who laughed quite loudly when Erin brought in the overflowing mug of ice cold coffee? Her interaction with Robert has been hilarious from the premiere episode of the season.
Great episode, all-in-all.
Line by Andy that made me laugh so hard: “I guess you could say I’m in one of those classic ‘ass tattoo incentive’ situations.” Well, yeah, that is a topic that should be covered in every management textbook.
The real point of this episode was when Jim told Andy, “No one expects you to go through with this.” and then Andy got the tattoo anyway. Michael Scott would NOT have done that. Hence, the episode ended with everyone smiling and laughing. They LIKE Andy. You know with Michael, he would have ruined everything and angered everyone somehow.
The gang is going to rally around Andy because he doesn’t make everything about himself like Michael did. He is a very different kind of boss.
The episode started off uneven, I didn’t care for Kevin’s cold open. I’m fine with Kevin being childish, but to make him an outright moron is too broad. Once they got into the swing of the incentive it got better, particularly with Jim letting Andy off the hook and then Andy going through with it any way. Nice to see them making it clear that Andy will be able to earn their loyalty.
Another great one and watched it for the second time today. Sometimes they put so much into an episode and it speeds by so fast, I need a second viewing to absorb it all in !
Last season I would not have wanted to see Andy sitting in Michael’s seat, but since the premier last week, I am so pleased with how he’s doing so far and love how Jim is instrumental in boosting his confidence. Very sweet moment outside the tattoo shop. Also love when the whole office pulls together and shares a good time. As much as I “adored” Michael, he did cause division and a lowering of morale within the staff, where Andy has the ability to bring everyone together. What you see is what you get. No complications. Go Andy !!
Another great episode. I’m really digging this season.
Don’t know if anyone has mentioned this, but how adorable was Erin kissing California’s cheek?! That was one of the highlights of the episode for me. ‘Let’s ink my stink’ and ‘C-Span’ had my boyfriend and I rolling.
In past seasons (mainly 6 & 7) The Office was sometimes really depressing. I like that they are shying away from that and leaning more toward feel-good and happy :)
They are totally ruining Kevin as a character. The cold open was so painful to watch – and not in a good way
My one main complaint about this episode is how they really overplayed Kevin’s stupidity. The cold open, and then several other scenes and lines throughout were just annoying. Other than that, a very good episode!
I wonder if Justine has replaced Stanley’s adult daughter.I like the idea because it gives Craig Robinson more to do at the moment, now that we know he’s not the boss. They also said that Jordan was going to be a series regular and that’s no longer the case. Am I the only one that noticed the striking resemblance between her and Hilary Swank? The episode with the “Hot or Not” debate comes to mind with that one.
I thought the episode was okay. I didn’t think the cold open was that bad. I especially liked when Andy tried communicating with Kevin in the same way. I thought it was funny when Jim was trying to figure out if Kevin meant Sea World or see the world. I liked all the silly ideas Andy tried coming up with for incentives. I know Erin is supposed to be a little clueless, but having her bring Robert cold coffee was going a bit too far. I didn’t find that funny at all. It was surprising to see everyone in the office look so busy. Have we ever seen that? That was fun to see! I thought Andy’s tattoo was adorable. I wish we could’ve seen what Phyllis’s tattoo idea was. I thought it was funny and awkward when Andy sat on Jim’s desk. That was definitely a Michael move and it was funny and strange to see Andy do that. It’s nice to see Andy still trying to figure out how to be the boss. I like how things are going with him. I hope next week’s episode delivers a lot more laughs because this episode wasn’t very funny.
The cold open would have been OK, if:
A) The writers hadn’t been trying to turn Kevin into a complete moron for 2+ years. Ever since Holly mistakenly believed he was retarded, it has seemed as though that’s exactly the direction they’ve gone! Not cool, man!
B) The “save time by talking less” was done much better in Product Recall. Remember Michael’s “CriManSqua, F&C” (Crisis Management Squad, front & center) that took a while to explain?
The cold open would have been great if they had used this as an opportunity to reset Kevin’s stupidity. Pam said something like, “Something’s wrong we should take him to the hospital.”
They could have taken him to the hospital and brought him back as Season 1 (and 2) Kevin. Not sure what could cause that slow creep into stupidity, but they should have fixed him then and there. Like Dwigt’s concussion in The Injury, or Andy’s anger management; personalities can change. Other than that, the episode was great.
@Sarakaya Komzin – I like that idea, too! A chemical imbalance (nothing too serious) that gets corrected, and Kevin is back to normal…a slightly slow, socially awkward, gambling addict. You know, writers, the Kevin we are supposed to know and love!
Is Creed anyone else’s favorite character or is it just me? Love that guy!
Also, love everyone’s optimism but this show was built around the boss character and played to a T by both Ricky and Steve. Losing Steve should have been the end of the show, period. Ed Helms is a talented guy but his character is a side act at best and will never be as funny or interesting as Michael.
Maybe if they brought in a new comedian, like David Cross, to be the boss they could regain some of the comedy but so far this season is really reaching for laughs and not getting them. I can’t see them stretching this out with the current lineup and story.