Now that we have the threat of a dissolved Dunder Mifflin, I think this will probably change, especially as Pam and Jim confront the prospect of adding a baby while also losing their jobs.Īnother problem with this episode was the Jim-Michael good co-manager/bad co-manager subplot (you could make an argument for either character being the good or bad co-manager, just depends on how you define “good” and “bad” in this sense), which is starting to feel a little hackneyed. It’s almost as if, since the wedding, they’re reluctant to stick with a strong arc for more than an episode at a time. Indeed, with “Koi Pond” two weeks ago splitting up the Michael & Pam’s mom storyline, and the ill-received “Mafia” coming two weeks before that, it’s been more of an every other week incidence with these broader, less integral episodes. However, “Murder” suffered because its timing was not as apt, and the audience was not in as much need of a break. Ultimately, “Cafe Disco” did nothing to further the overall thrust of the series, but it was such a good time, coming at a good time, that it wasn’t a big deal. After a stressful 5 or 6 episodes the “family,” as Phyllis described them, was finally back together, and “Cafe Disco” was a good breather before heavy the lifting of “Company Picnic, “ the season finale featuring the return of Holly and the reveal of Pam’s pregnancy. “Cafe Disco,” is a great example of this, coming just after the return of Michael to Dunder Mifflin in “Casual Friday,” which followed the absorption of the Michael Scott Paper Company. It seems that The Office likes to break up the uncomfortable, emotional, and consequential episodes with more accessible, fun, trivial offerings. However, what also excused “Cafe Disco” for its caution to the wind attitude was its placement in the flow of the season. It reminded me most of last season’s “Cafe Disco” another too silly but impossible to truly dislike episode, where you could see the actors enjoying themselves so much that the fun spread to the viewer, despite a tenuous, hard to swallow premise. Instead, it was a way to set up what will probably be the main arc for the rest of the season under the guise of a silly, frivolous and ultimately almost throw-away episode. Which is not to say that last night’s outing, “Murder,” was a real step towards silencing doubters. It’s a new storyline that hopefully, while putting the employees on the chopping block, allows the show to continue to flourish. While we have been fearing a sudden, painful demise of The Office, the characters are now fearful of a sudden, painful demise of their office. While we have not actually been faced with this reality, we learned last night that the employees of Dunder Mifflin are very much in this predicament, as it seems all but certain that the company will file for bankruptcy. Can the show continue once Pam and Jim get together? Will it lose it’s direction after Pam and Jim get married? Will the magic chemistry between the ensemble cast run out? Or will the writers no longer be able to supply interesting but plausible office-related storylines? Even though the show has been so consistently damn good, there’s still this pervading feeling that all the inventive writing and superior acting could disappear one week, never to return.
However, it’s the truth, and it’s going to continue, especially because this is a show that has exceeded expectations and reached rare levels of brilliance but has also always seemed to be walking a tightrope. It’s unfair, and ultimately a disservice to the show and the viewer.
At this point, midway through its sixth season, it seems that with every episode of The Office we are taking the temperature of the series, gauging if it’s on the decline, on the way back up, or holding steady.
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