Season Finale – The Office – “Goodbye, Toby”

“Goodbye, Toby”

May 15th, 2008

So, you may be wondering: “Myles, it’s the biggest comedy finale of the year, where’s the blog post?” Now, there are two reasons for my delay in getting this post out the door: one is known as “Rock Band” and the other is the episode itself. There is something about this particular episode that had me extremely perplexed – I knew I laughed a lot, I knew I really enjoyed guest star Amy Ryan, but I also knew that the end was certainly a note of tragedy for the series. Everything we wanted to happen didn’t, and everyone fell into a depressive downward spiral.

So it wasn’t a question of whether I liked it, or whether it was good, or whether it was anything – it was just that I didn’t really know how to react to this episode. I would like to think that it’s not just that I don’t know how to talk about something I almost uniformly enjoyed, but part of me can’t help but wonder. Regardless, it’s a sign that hour-long Office episodes aren’t so bad when they’re actually, you know, good.

First, let’s discuss Amy Ryan, who seemed at first an odd choice for a comic role before really, really stepping up to the plate. Her interactions with Kevin and Michael, respectively, were note perfect – like Michael’s best love interests in the past (Carol, for example), she toed the line between realizing Michael was more than a bit awkward and also understanding that he means well.

With Kevin, a storyline that was so simple and yet so hilarious as it kept going, it was about subtlety – she never insulted him, and neither did the show for that matter, but rather kept up the charade for the audience’s enjoyment. Her readings were perfect, and I love how the character was used to humanize Michael more than to necessarily serve as just another foil. When Michael started talking like Yoda, we’re used to signifying this as a cringe-worthy moment for the character – instead, she responded back in the same fashion, helping to normalize Michael and avoid the downward spirals he normally falls into.

Michael’s character was in near perfect form here, something that definitely hearkens back to “Casino Night” (My favourite Office finale, but this one comes close). There, he had to balance Carol and Jan at the party, and he was downright normal (If as awkward as ever) in the process. Here, he was similarly reasonable, and it was great to see his interactions with Jim (Who really served as the voice of reason in this instance) actually keep him on the socially logical track for a change. He wasn’t doing it to screw with him, or to send him on the wrong path, but to actually help him – if this is what true love does for Jim Halpert, then I’m all for it.

That Michael so clearly likes Holly, and that she actually finds him charming, is our first tragedy as we find out that Jan (The ever wonderful Melora Hardin) is pregnant. First off, it’s tragic because she went to a sperm bank while they were together, and secondly it’s tragic because it gives Michael a reason to return to her demonic ways as opposed to continuing to move on with his life. Here he was, able to turn over a new leaf, and just like the giant boobs from “The Job” (An episode I didn’t like all that much) something drags him back in. Apparently, whenever parts of Jan’s body grow exponentially, Michael just can’t resist.

Our other storyline is simple, simple to that point that we internet folks are paranoid that the smallest little off-beat moment signals a terrifying awful contrivance. Jim and Pam’s story is straightforward: she got into a three-month design program, they’re going to work it out two hours apart, Jim decides he wants to propose, he can’t do it, they’re both a little disappointed. Now, it’s the last note that has people concerned that Jim will wait too long to propose, that Pam will get restless and, voila, we have our reason to artificially separate two happy people.

I think that’s reading a lot into Pam’s disappointment talking head, although she was clearly disappointed. I would like to think that they were toying more with our emotions than theirs with the bait and switch on the proposal, but at the same time considering this another voice to the choir: if you (Greg Daniels) break up Jim and Pam over something this trivial, or something contrived, I will hurt you. Regardless, this was the episode’s second tragedy, being robbed of this great moment.

And then we have the reason that Jim’s proposal plan of fireworks and music didn’t turn out well: mainly, Andy Bernard’s own plan of proposing to Angela in situations that, to him, seemed perfect. Needless to say, there’s comedy to Andy stealing Jim’s moment, and certainly Angela’s response of “I said OK” is funny. However, it’s really our most tragic note of the episode: what makes Angela say OK, exactly? We saw her partially reconnecting with Dwight last week, and definitively reconnecting with Dwight in the episode’s final scene, so what makes her say yes?

I loved the parallel to “Casino Night” subtly played in this storyline, like it was Jim and Pam all over again but caught on camera. I love the pairing of Dwight and Angela because it really is following the same trajectory as our more central coupling but with their own unique characters adding a new dimension. The proposal dashes Dwight’s hopes just as Jim was damaged in “Booze Cruise,” and the post-episode Office tryst (Obviously racier for these two) is exactly like that fateful kiss we remember so well. I love them choosing to paint this storyline this way, and I like that we didn’t get to see every moment (Like, what brought them into the office – did Dwight have a “I need to tell you something” moment, or did Angela instigate out of regret?).

Regardless, the storyline was charming, and I loved Andy having his parents there, and having the ring for six years…although I have a feeling that the last note was only in there to make Jim’s early ring purchase seem less creepy, so I’m not falling for it. Still weirds me out, sorry show.

And, last but certainly not least, let’s remember Toby: Paul Lieberstein apparently does want to leave the on-camera side of the show, but I’ll miss the poor guy. He brings out the worst in Michael, but in a funny way (Michael dancing around the office was just really funny), and his obsession with Pam always nicely blurred that line between depressive, creepy and sweet. This episode was a nice goodbye, although I certainly do hope that he is willing to return on occasion.

On the whole, this was just a much stronger finale than last season’s for me – sure, it was far more depressive, and lacked the end of the episode romantic moment for our central couple, but it was more consistently funny, and allowed more characters time in the spotlight. “The Job” featured great moments for Dwight and Pam, but I felt that it did very little for Michael or for Jim either. Here, I really felt like this was a smarter, more subtle finale that was certainly enjoyable, but also very diverse in its small moments: from Kevin’s excitement over Holly, to Phyllis trying to find an anti-gravity machine, to Creed forgetting what he does but remembering what it sounds like, it just felt stronger.

So, a very solid end to a very solid last portion of the season.

Cultural Observations

• It was really just a brief plot point that allows Holly and Michael to come together a bit more, but Ryan’s arrest for fraud (Which was subtly foreshadowed, but only if you really understood what Ryan was doing with the website sales) was still a nice beat…mainly for Oscar’s talking head that the real crime was the beard. Zing.
• Although it wasn’t as showy as most performances up for the award, can we get Amy Ryan a Best Guest Actress in a comedy nomination please? Thanks, NBC.