'Can we do this forever?' That's a question that every TV show has to
answer, and the answer is almost always no. After so many years the writers burn
through ideas, and the audience loses interest. - Look at him. He's laughing. - But it's hard to know when that happens. And you might think, "This isn't very good,
or at least it's not as good as it used to be." - I wish there was a way to
know you're in the good old days... ...before you've actually left them. - The Office is pretty great. It's a mockumentary sitcom with relatable
character-driven humor led by Michael Scott, a boss who's desperate for attention. - Uh-oh! Better put on your ski-boots! ( LAUGHING ) - So when Steve Carell left the show after Season
Seven, a lot of people bailed with good reason. I mean, he was the main character. - (Pam): We were thinking maybe
we could keep this thing going. - What? - But the last two seasons aren't that bad. And I think Michael's departure offers an
insight into how The Office is structured. See, I'd argue that Michael isn't the main character. It's Jim. Jim is the surrogate for the
audience by being a normal person. Michael dominates the space, and that's the joke. He's incompetent. He doesn't really deserve to be a boss, and he doesn't
really deserve to be the lead in a fictional documentary. But he is. The core comedy is not necessarily what
Michael says but the way his subordinates react. - He's back! ( GIGGLING ) - Ideally, the show would have
stopped when Michael left. But replacing him with another obnoxious
personality kind of works, at least as a concept. Andy Bernard is the regional manager in
Season Eight and most of Season Nine. - I mean, it's unbelievable! - But under the right circumstances, I think
Dwight should have been the replacement. First, it would have echoed how Michael got the job. His management style didn't matter,
but he was the best salesman. - Dwight is an obvious candidate for my job.
He has the best sales record in the office. He loves the work. He is however...an idiot. - Dwight is also a more relevant character. The writers tried to develop a spin-off
that focused on his life as a farmer. So it shows they were confident
enough to make him a main character. And Dwight annoys his co-workers more
than Michael ever did which is comedy gold. - This cost me $129. - Ass. - I guess they wanted to stretch his manager arc to
the series finale so they could end on a high note. - DWIGHT SCHRUTE... ...IS... ...MANAGER! - ( CHEERING ) - But it leaves Dwight in a vacuum for two
seasons, and it trashes Andy's character. - ( SCREAMING ) - But I'm getting ahead of myself. Initially, it looked like Will Ferrell was going to be the next
manager because he guest-starred for four episodes. And I'm really glad that he wasn't, because I
don't know what his character is supposed to be. - They are trying to figure me out. And I. Don't. Like it. - It's about to get all stupid up in here! - He starts off as a humble guy
who's compatible with Michael. - Did that--did that just happen? - Then he's a cool guy who everybody likes. - They're all treating him like he's some sort of god. - Then he's rude. - Enough about your baby. Okay? - Then he's a maniac for making Andy drink soap. - (Deangelo): Drink some soap! Oh, and he has a peanut allergy because--why not? - Oh! Whoa! - You're getting nut particles all in the air! - And that's just the first episode. He spends the second episode
worrying about his stage fright. - THE DUNDIES ARE COME--ALL
ABOUT COMING TOGETHER! - And now he's a bad joke teller. - I'm not much of a performer,
unless you count singing in the shower. - In the third episode, he's a terrible salesman. - That is cold sir. Absolutely cold. You know what?
It was a complete waste of my time. - And he struggles with an eating disorder
by grabbing cake and screaming at it. - ( GROANING ) - What am I doing? Come on, Deangelo. No! - Uh-oh. - Funny, right? - (Deangelo): No! - In the last episode, he's a sexist... - Deangelo is a huge sexist - ...and a fake juggler. - ( APPLAUSE ) - Then he leaves the show by injuring himself. - Doctor is in! ( SCREAMING ) - ( CRASH ) - I don't know what the BLEEP that was. - Luckily, they stayed in-house and picked Andy. - Is there anyone who maybe was a little
underwhelming at first, but now seems like a safe... ...if not slightly unexciting choice? - Season Eight had to convince people that Andy was
a worthy follow-up to Michael, and it's pretty good. - You don't have to prove anything. We like you as regional manager. - But I don't think they knew how to
write the show without Michael. Michael faked a call to impress Ryan. - Ah, this is a very important client. But I have the most important client sitting right
in front of me: my boss. So I will call him back. - Oh, no no no, customer
service is obviously priority one. - So Andy fakes a call to impress a client. - There is nothing more important
to me right now than this meeting. - Really? Because your mother is dead. - Michael put his leg on Jim's desk.
So Andy has to sit on the desk. - Michael misled people. - I took her to the hospital, and the doctors tried to
save her life. They did the best that they could... ...and she is going to be okay. - What is wrong with you? - And so does Andy. - Dwight is no longer with us. - What? - He's gone, dammit. He's been promoted to VP of Sabre Retail,
and he's staying in Florida forever. - So, he's alive? - But you can't transfer Michael's traits onto
Andy without the underlying motivations. See, Michael is a very specific character. Everything he does is filtered
through his need to be liked. - (Michael): Do I need to be liked? Absolutely not. I like to be liked. I enjoy being liked. I have to be liked. But it's not like this compulsive need to be liked. - Michael wants to be the funniest guy in the room. He wants applause and admiration. He wants to support women and
minorities because it makes him look good. But the more he tries, the more
he reveals how ignorant he is. - (Karen): What you're saying is extremely misogynistic. - Yes! Thank you. Women can do anything. - I'm saying that you're being sexist. - No, I'm being misogynistic. - Even his stupidity is motivated by attention. Michael understands that intelligence is valuable,
so he pretends to be smarter than he is. - Sometimes the smartest people don't think at all. - You just came up with that. - As I was saying it.
- Yeah. - Michael is known for mispronouncing words. But keep in mind the joke is not Michael is dumb, but that Michael is reaching
for words beyond his vocabulary because he wants to be perceived as intelligent. - This is a good one. A particular concern for office workers is a sedimentary lifestyle, which can contribute-- - Sedentary.
- ...yes. They are trying to make me an escape goat. Well well well... ...how the turntables-- I am not to be truffled with. This would be a huge coop, people! There's the x-axix. The odds of them getting together... ...were insurmountainable. It is...urkelnomically, correct. - He can heal leopards.
- (David): Michael. - I am Jesus, David. And you know why? Because Phyllis, a woman,
has uslurped my role as Santa. - (David): Michael. - You're going to H-E-L-L double hockey sticks. Tell them to call me A-S-A-P as possible. Thanks. Respect! R-E-S-P-SVEE-T! I am downloading some N3P... - That's not it.
- ...music. Got a sort of an oaky afterbirth. - What was that? - Jim Halpert is smudge and arrogant. - I think you mean smug. Several times a day, Michael says
words that are way beyond... ...my vocabulary.
- I know where this is going! - Do you?
- No. - Okay.
- ( LAUGHS ) - Remember spider face?
- No. - Okay, cause the quote was,
"Cut off your nose to spider face." - Spite--okay.
- ( LAUGHING ) - So imagine my surprise when I
heard this joke in Season Nine. - I just got off the phone with my doctor. And it turns out I contracted... ...ch-lamydia from Erin. - First of all, no one is that stupid. Especially not Andy. He went to Cornell and he
has one of the best vocabularies in the office. - I feel lachrymose. - He even speaks a little French. - I'm just bidding a 'bon voyage a la mon petite fiancee.' - I'm pretty sure he knows how to pronounce chlamydia. In fact, I'm positive, because he
led a sex-ed class in Season Seven. - Herpes, like all STDs, is a consequence of sex.
Can anyone else name any other consequences? - So what's the underlying motivation
for Andy mispronouncing chlamydia? It's not to be liked. - ♪ You're a big idiot, get out of my office! ♪
- I'm trying to have--Andy. - For some reason they turned Andy
into a douchebag in Season Nine. - David Wallace sent him on an outward-bound
wilderness adventure for a whole month, to make him more decisive and confident. - Right. Andy goes through four stages,
and they're all really pathetic. First, he's rude towards Nellie. - Hey! All right! Whoa! You suck! ( LAUGHING ) - It's supposed to be revenge for stealing his job,
but he decided to keep her on his payroll. - When can you start? - And again, what's the motivation here? Michael insults people, but it's unintentional. - No, that is the fun of this place! I call everybody 'faggy.'
Why would anyone find that offensive? - Okay, I think Oscar would just like if
you used 'lame' or something like that. - That's what 'faggy' means. - No, not really.
- ( GROANS ) - So by the end of an episode, he learns his lesson. - ( SOBBING ) I'm sorry I called you 'faggy.'
- I know. - You're not 'faggy.'
- I know you are. - You're a good guy.
- (Oscar): You too. - Michael is endearing because of
how far he goes to fix his mistakes. - I did it! - But Andy is being mean just to be mean. - I wanted to talk to you about
our working relationship this year. It's going to be terrible. - Not necessarily. - No, I'm going to make sure that it is. - Then he goes boating for eight episodes because
Ed Helms had to film The Hangover Part III. But there are better ways to explain a character's absence. - Where's Andy? - He's on one of his honeymoons. - What? - He made non-refundable deposits on his honeymoons.
So he's just knocking them off one at a time. - He leaves Erin and turns into a crazy person. - ( LAUGHING MANIACALLY ) - When Andy gets back, Erin breaks
up with him, and he acts like a child. - This is a really uncomfortable
situation that you've contrived. - ♪ Really uncomfortable situation! ♪
- Yeah. - And finally, he decides to pursue a singing career. He fires himself by pooping on David Wallace's car,
and he has a meltdown at an audition. - ( CRYING ) - You can't just sit here and cry. - Oh, I can so just sit here and cry! - So...I don't get it. Why would the writers build
him up just to tear him down? Why would they kill a relationship
they spent three years developing? Why would they sabotage themselves
when they already had a handicap? Well, a lot of veteran writers left the show after
Season Eight, most notably Mindy Kaling and BJ Novak, which is why Kelly and Ryan aren't in the last season. - Shortly after Kelly left, Ryan quit... ...and also moved to Ohio for what
he claimed were unrelated reasons. - But my theory is that they wanted to
make Dwight manager by the finale. But the reason he wasn't the manager
already was because of his personality. - Sorry, I freaked you guys out--
- ( GUNSHOT ) - So while they were maturing
Dwight, which I'll talk about later, they could also tear Andy down to
make Dwight look good by comparison. And if that's what they were
going for, I guess it works. - ( ANDY SINGING )
- ( KEVIN SINGING ) - Hey! Burning Man, if it's not selling out
too much, you might want to throw on a tie. - But at what cost? Another reason might be because
they had no idea what to do with Erin. And she could have something to
do if she pursued another relationship There's a trope called the Love Dodecahedron, which basically means that most of the
cast overlaps in a romantic relationship. Pam and Roy are engaged but Jim is in love with Pam. So Jim dates Karen instead. Pam breaks up with Roy and retroactively
goes on two dates with Danny Cordray. Toby is in love with Pam, but she's unaware. Michael has a crush on Pam, but she rejects him. Pam gets back together with Roy and then they break up again Jim breaks up with Karen
and eventually marries Pam. Pam is a target of jealousy
for Jan who's dating Michael. Michael breaks up with Jan and dates Holly. Holly is transferred, and in the meantime,
Michael dates Pam's mom Helene. Michael breaks up with Helene, and Michael
proposes to Holly when she moves back. Of course, Michael has a crush on Ryan
who wants nothing to do with Michael. Ryan has an on-again off-again relationship with Kelly. Kelly dates Darryl to make Ryan jealous. Darryl and Gabe pursue Val,
and she chooses Darryl. Gabe dates Erin, but only after Erin breaks up with Andy, because she finds out that
Andy was engaged to Angela. Angela marries Senator Lipton
who has an affair with Oscar. Angela has an affair with Dwight
while she's with Andy and the Senator. Kelly kisses Dwight. Dwight seduces Nellie in Florida Nellie kisses Toby. Andy and Dwight pursue Erin when
she starts working at Dunder Mifflin. Kelly gets a crush on Andy
when he's trying to date Erin. Andy and Erin date again, but they
break up when Andy goes boating. Erin dates Pete. And the show ends with Dwight
and Angela getting married. - Love triangle drama. All worked out in the end, though.
The hero got the girl. Who saw that coming? I did! - Some relationships are better than others. And some relationships are meant to be comedic. - What are we doing? This is so wrong! - But some relationships scream,
"I don't know what to do with this character." And I think Erin is a clear example of that. Erin has three traits to work with.
She's quirky, she's dumb, and she's an orphan. So love stories provide a lot of mileage. Crushes. Embarrassment. Flirtation.
Big romantic gestures. Competition. Jealousy. Dates. Kissing. More jealousy.
More kissing. Secrecy. And a breakup. Just do that three more times, and you've got a
character on a sitcom regardless of personality. I think it's pretty telling that once Erin and Pete
get together, they don't interact anymore, except for when Erin loses competition. - ( SMASH )
- (Pete): Whoa! - (Erin): Sorry, I'm mad! I don't like losing! I thought I was going to win! - Which begs the question: why is he with her? Erin had to break up with Andy, because their relationship was built on
a superficial plotline, not compatibility. - You know, we've both been into each other at
different times and just never really synced up. Now, we're in this weird dance-- - (Robert California): I am afraid you've lost my interest. - And her relationship with
Gabe doesn't even make sense. - Thank God he's my boss, because I would not
have said 'yes' to a first date if I didn't have to but... ...it's been great! - She's not attracted to him,
and she doesn't even like him. They're simply together because it makes Andy jealous. Andy has a girlfriend in Season Eight
because it makes Erin jealous. - Jessica is my super-serious girlfriend who
is seriously awesome and seriously sexy! - The longer a TV show is on, the more
you get these half-baked obstacles. Darryl can't be with Val because she has a boyfriend. Michael can't be with Holly
because she has a boyfriend. Dwight can't be with Angela
because she has a boyfriend. Twice. And yeah, Jim and Pam are structured around two
intersecting love triangles, but they're believable. Pam and Roy are engaged, and Jim and Karen
are friends for seven episodes before they date. The difference is Jim and Pam have
concrete identities outside of their relationships. Jim is funny, modest, and easygoing. So when he dates Karen or Katie,
I know what they like about him. - (Jim): Hi.
- (Katie): Hi. - I'm Jim, by the way.
- I'm Katie. - Hi, Katie. Nice to meet you.
- Hi, you sit out there, don't you? - I do! That's what I'm best known for... - ( LAUGHS )
- ...sitting out there. - Pam is too complacent to make any big changes, which explains why she's with
her high school sweetheart. So when they finally get together,
there's still a story to tell. And that includes marriage and kids, but specifically,
the mundane moments of a long-term relationship. - Is the magic gone? - It's funny you bring that up, because yes, it is. - I knew it. Oh man, just like that, huh? - And that's the beauty of television. People can change in organic ways. Jim is supposed to be cool. So the later
seasons experiment with the opposite. - Wow. I'm just gonna...rewind
and--and back off a bit so... ...( IMITATES REWINDING ) - Pam embraces a dorkier side of herself. - What up, two-one-two? - And she loves vaudeville. - I give! He takes! - I don't even know who you are anymore. - Yeee! - But characters can only change if they're
allowed to, which is pretty rare for a sitcom. The beginning of a TV show is a blank slate. The writers get to explore the characters. But as a comedy progresses,
you'll notice a concentration of behavior. - Kevin! I can't decide between a fat
joke and a dumb joke. Boom! Roasted. - Here's a joke from Season Two. Here's a joke from Season Five. - Cookie, Kevin. Cookie. - ( SCOFFS ) There is no cookie, Kevin! - Is there a cookie?
- Mm-hmm - Wha-- - And here's a joke from Season Nine. - Angela's cats are cute. So cute
that you just want to eat them! But you can't eat cats. You can't eat cats, Kevin. - The joke is Kevin likes to eat,
but every time the writers tell that joke, they have to top themselves. And after a hundred episodes, it gets absurd. - Why are you eating the stem first? - This is a new food for me.
How else should I eat it? - Absurdity is unpredictable. It can be hilarious. - ( CRASH ) - Or it can be really stupid. - Yes! - I love the earlier seasons because Kevin
is a normal person who's judged unfairly. Michael doesn't pick him for the
basketball game because of his weight. But we find out he's an amazing player. Everyone thinks Kevin is stupid
because he's slow, but he's a great gambler. - I won the 2002 $2,500 no-limit Deuce to Seven Draw
tournament at the World Series of Poker in Vegas. So yeah, I'm pretty good at poker. - The later seasons take Kevin's perception literally. So now the writers are locked into
telling unbelievable dumb jokes. - C is for suspension! Wait, C-R-A-Z... M-N-L-O...P! F! - Meredith has to be trashy. Creed has to be weird. - ( SCREAMS ) - And Dwight, well... - ( KARATE YELL ) - Dwight Schrute is a wacky silly cartoon character. But because he's a main character,
he has a little more variety. He's a nerd, a farmer, a paintballer, a karate enthusiast,
and a former volunteer sheriff's deputy. Comedically, Dwight is overly
dedicated to things that most people ignore. Paper, bureaucracy, and small amounts of power. - (Dwight): So we need someone to work this
Saturday, and I think that that should be... ...Jim. - God, this is so sad. This is the smallest amount of power
I've ever seen go to someone's head. - And that includes his devotion to Michael. - Happy birth moment, Michael.
- Thank you. - Michael and Dwight have a codependent friendship. Dwight loves Michael because he's an authority
figure and he feels in charge by association. Michael...doesn't really like Dwight,
but Dwight is the only one who laughs at his jokes. - ( LAUGHS ENTHUSIASTICALLY ) - You--everybody can laugh!
It doesn't have to just be the idiots! Not the way I taught you. - But one thing I've noticed about comedies is the
tendency to humanize extreme characters over time. In Season Four, Dwight gets depressed
when Angela breaks up with him. And I like it a lot because he has
to deal with something serious. But it creates a vague precedent. After suffering, Dwight can't really
go back to being the same yuppie. But he still has to make people laugh. And that disparity is visible in
Michael and Dwight's friendship. - Inside, is a rather handsome, sexy man. - Vamping. - Hey, why don't you just sit down, please? - Eh, I've been sitting all day. - Dwight still accommodates Michael because
it's funny, but now his devotion is conditional. - This office needs a strong man. Say it. - No.
- So-- All right. Well, then. You're going to have to deal with this yourself. Fire Jim. - No. - I'm cashing in the favor. Fire him! - What are you talk--
- Do it! Promote me. - No. - You know what? You can keep your stupid favor. It's worthless. And this is my dinner on your face, I'm keeping it! - Dwight makes fun of Michael. - You'll fall in love with her. - Yeah? So what if I did? That would take precedence,
and I would expect your support. - He chides him. - You know, we really don't
announce out loud our sales that much. - Why not? It's part of the sales experience. - It's not really 1992 anymore. - And he seems to understand exactly how lame he is. - You pathetic short little man! You don't have any friends, or any family, or any land! - It's a little too...real. And it's worth exploring if Dwight really
likes Michael, or if he's just power-hungry - Michael wasted an enormous amount of the
group's time and patience with non-work-related ethnic celebrations and parades
of soft-minded do-goodness. - On the surface, Dwight is a kiss-ass
edging his way into management. But I think their friendship is best
defined by the episode: The Return. The backstory is that Andy convinced
Michael to push Dwight out of the company. The episode examines what a yes-man
is by contrasting Dwight with Andy. - (Andy): Where are you going?
- Bathroom. - Oh, I'm going to the kitchen. I'll walk with you. - Michael can't figure out why Andy annoys him. If someone agrees with everything you say
and wants to be around you all the time, then why is that person annoying? - Because on paper, Andy and I should be best buds. We even have the same top ten all-time
favorite movie list. Down to the number. - Andy's a yes-man. - So Michael starts to realize
that he took Dwight for granted. - (Michael): They always used to arrange
the toys on my desk in a very pleasing way. It used to brighten my morning. - Oh, that wasn't the night crew. That was Dwight. - Really? That was very nice of him. - Dwight isn't pretending to
love Dunder Mifflin or Michael. - My boss isn't funny.
- ( LAUGHS ) Well. - I don't get to wear my ties.
- No. I'm sure. - So...
- So, maybe you should come back. You should come back. Please. I don't want somebody sucking up to me
because they think I am going to help their career. I want them sucking up to me... ...because they genuinely love me. - So I disagree with Dwight's realistic
wake-up call in the later seasons. He's not enthusiastic. He doesn't laugh at Michael's jokes. - All right!
- You were being really funny, and then you went too far. - And he spends most of the time arguing with him. - I don't need a history lesson, okay?
- What do you think history is? - And there's an episode that
directly addresses that. In Season Six, Michael needs
help looking through a dump. - Michael, why would we all go to the dump? - Obviously, nobody wants to go. So this should
be the part where Dwight eagerly volunteers. - I need you to do something for me.
- Yes, anything! - Let's go!
- Yes! - Okay, Dwight grab your stuff. We're going to
New York to party with Ryan and to meet girls. - Yeah! I'm coming, Michael!
I'm going to save you! - (Michael): Don't! Is that Dwight?
I do not want Dwight! - Hold on, Michael! I am coming! Wait there!
- (Michael): I don't want Dwight! - But instead he says: - I'll go, Michael. - Cause you'll just screw it up. - Eugh. And then they spend the rest of the episode
lamp-shading their severed friendship. - You know Dwight, there was a
time you'd be pinching yourself to have the opportunity to look through a dump with me. - Yeah, well, the acorn becomes the oak. - For some reason, Dwight blames
Michael for his position at Dunder Mifflin. - I hitched my wagon to a horse with no legs!
- Wow! - But why? There's a little arc in Season Six where Jim
is co-manager and he gets mad about that. - ( YELLS ) - But by this point, that position doesn't exist anymore,
so I don't know what Dwight expects Michael to do. It's like he's bitter that he
isn't automatically manager. And he spends Michael's last days
whining about a letter of recommendation. - You expect to be buttled?
After you didn't recommend me?! - Dwight, I don't own Dunderr Mifflin, okay? The job was not mine to give. - Dwight throws away his
Dundie and acts like a man-baby. - It looks like it's just you and me, Dwight. - Correction. Just you. - And he keep pouting long after Michael is gone. - You wanted the job?
The job is yours, just do the job! - There's nothing funny about this. It's just a tedious uncomfortable
echo of an old friendship. - I've given up expecting Michael to do the right thing
or the decent thing or even the comprehensible thing. - For Dwight to finally realize that Michael is
flawed, he would have to grow emotionally. He would have to understand people and be
able to recognize all of Michael's shortcomings. But that fundamentally
contradicts Dwight's comedic value. - (Dwight): What is Michael Scott's greatest fear? - Um, loneliness. Maybe women. - Wrong. He's not afraid of anything! - He doesn't understand people, which makes
him the butt of the joke for someone who does. That's the basis of Jim's pranks. - Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica. - Bears do not--what is going on? What are you doing?! - So when Dwight tries to retaliate, it backfires on Dwight because his impression
shows how limited his people skills are. - You look really nice today. - ( SCOFFS ) I like an idiot! - He's unable to see the irony of pretending to be cool. But in Season Five, Dwight makes
fun of Andy for going to Cornell. - Take that sweatshirt off! - Except now Dwight is dishing it out. He's able to predict Andy's
reaction and commit to the sketch. - No, I get it. I--I totally understand. And uh, I just want to assure
you that I mean no disrespect. You see, I'm applying. - So when Andy tries to retaliate, again, it backfires. - You're supposed to cook these, aren't you? - ( SCOFFS ) Cornell. - These two episodes illustrate
Dwight's subtle character shift. He pivots from being a badass
wannabe to being an actual badass. - ( GRUNTS ) - Ow. Ow. Ow. - Take me to Robert.
- Ow! - To me, a character who's that dedicated to
everything is only funny when he's unsuccessful. It's funny when Dwight acts like a warrior... - I was defending my honor, like a Samurai!
- (Michael): Really? - ...but loses a fight. - Eight points! Nine points! ( HOCKING A LOOGIE ) - Stop it! No! Come on!
- ( HOCKING ) - Michael!
- Open your mouth! - No, Michael! - It's funny when Dwight tries to be a great detective... - Guess what I found out about Oscar tonight? - ...but misses the obvious. - He was lying about being sick! - It's not that funny when Dwight successfully
plants a listening device by using a decoy. Clever, maybe, but not funny. - I'm not insane. - He still says wacky things, dresses up in costumes,
everything you'd expect the old Dwight to do. - This makes sense then? - But now he's able to gauge behavior
and evaluate his relationship with others. So Dwight is stuck in this
ambiguous place for half the series. Is he a dweeb, or is he an awesome mastermind? - Pick a lane, people! - For example, in Season Six, Dwight exhibits
a classic personality by worshipping Michael. - (Dwight Recording): Hello. My name is Dwight Schrute. If you are listening to this, you're a
lucky woman Michael has seduced. - Then two minutes later,
he's protecting his own self-interest. - I need to stay in your room.
- No way! What if I meet someone? - I'm staying in your--come on!
- No! - In the same episode,
Dwight wears a wolf shirt to pick up women. - Because of howling during sex.
- Okay. - ( HOWLING ) - But then he actually sleeps
with a gorgeous woman. - Okay, get out of here. - Bye.
- Okay! - Mmm, I get what they're doing. The joke is Dwight hooked up with a hot girl. But he's not attractive, he's wearing
a wolf shirt, and he has a bad personality. - You're worried about your horses? That's cool. How many horses do you have?
- ( SLURPING ) - I just don't buy that Dwight is a secret playboy. - Call me!
- Uh-huh. I'm not gonna call her. - Or at least its funnier when he isn't. - Where is the clitoris? On a website, it said at the crest of the labia. What does that mean? - The impulse to change Dwight
shows a lack of faith in the character. I feel like the writers asked
themselves too many questions. How can a grown man idolize
someone who's so pathetic? - (Jim): Why does he do the things that he does for Michael? I just don't get it. What is he
getting out of that relationship? - How can he fall for the same
pranks without pranking back? How can he settle for a woman who's so unpleasant? - ( SCREAMING )
- ( CRUNCHING ) - But there are people who never change. They live in the city they are born in,
they marry the first person who loves them, and they double down on their idocyncratic beliefs. So maturity isn't necessarily realistic. But it's a TV show. People are guaranteed resolution and happiness. I just wish it was earned. That's what I love about Michael's last season. He has to learn lessons before he can move on. He has to accept that he's not a great filmmaker. - It is good.
- No, no it's not. It's not. - He has to reconsider the people he idolizes. - I'm not blind, I know exactly who he is! He is selfish, and lazy, and image
obsessed, and he is a bad friend. - And ultimately, he has to let go of the
idea that his coworkers are his family. - (Michael): Holly's my family now. She's my family. And the babies that I make with her will be my children. The people that you work with are just,
when you get down to it, your very best friends. - In the end, The Office strayed too
far away from its original premise. It's about ordinary people
making the most of a boring job It's not about blue vomit. - ( VOMITS )
- Oh, God! Oh my God! - Or lice grenades. Or bicycle tricks. - ( YELLS )
- ( SCREAMING ) - It's not about shooting a co-worker with
tranquilizers and sliding him down the stairs. - Get set in your haunches.
It's like you're catching a medicine-- - Dude, the size of my haunches--
- ( CRASH ) - Okay! - A big joke can be funny in the
moment, but subtlety is timeless. Because we connect to things that are relatable. There's a great scene in the first episode where
Jim gets stuck in a conversation with Roy. And they run out of things to talk about. - Yeah. Yeah, yeah. - And we've all been in that situation; it's awkward. You don't really want to talk to that person but it's
rude to walk away, so you're coerced into staying. But in Season Eight, Jim runs away from
Robert California to avoid a conversation. - Where's Jim? - He just rolled out and crawled out. - Can you call security? Tell him to keep
an eye out for him? Time to settle this. - He tries to drive away, but he's not allowed.
So then he climbs onto the roof. And you know, it's amusing, but it's not very relatable because I've never climbed
onto a roof to avoid a conversation with my boss. That being said, even the later
seasons deal with office-related issues. Combining birthday parties, deciding
whether to buy new chairs or new copier, getting people to jump for a photo, or building
a tower out of customer complaints cards. - ( SHOUTING ) - Hey, hey, hey, it's just a mistake. It's just a mistake.
That's what this tower is all about: mistakes. Okay, if you're afraid of screwing up,
the tower's not for you. Let's get back to work, huh? Come on, you in? Yeah, there we go. All right, let's do it. - The stakes are low, and they're supposed to be. But in the same episode, Angela hires a guy to break Oscar's kneecaps so ( SIGHS ) that's disappointing. - The analytical part of it wants to examine it. ( LAUGHS ) But I know it has no content. - Everything ends, and at a certain
point, you've seen the best already. - All--all right. All right, let's quit while we're ahead.
Loved this breakdown