Show me the "Money" Review

When I saw the synopsis and promo pics for last week's Money, I knew it would be special, but I didn't expect to see the most touching episode of The Office ever written.

My heart broke, melted, and mended several times during the course of this episode in the most enchanting way. The relationship theme of the show was highly poignant, to say the least.


Much less time was spent at Schrute Farms than I expected, but the time that was spent there was plenty fun. Mose running along-side the car was hilarious. He was like a little child; so happy to have a customer. The Harry Potter bedtime story was delightful, as well. Jim and Pam cuddling and Mose rocking back and forth? Too cute.



And Pam's discovery of Mose in the outhouse was hilarious!:
"What century is this?"



There was so much sympathy to be had in this episode. Even Michael evoked more empathy from me than usual. He was trying so hard to earn extra money and stay on top of his debt. He seemed particularly vulnerable.

(On a side note; Michael's 2nd job looked almost exactly like my job as an airline reservation salesperson, except there was a constant stream of voices at my old post. Never silence. Anyhow, that seemed very realistic to me. They did well with the details on that scene; the headsets, the mini cubicles, the variety of people that work those jobs, etc).

I was really starting to get angry with Jan for being so selfish and self-involved, but she came around and was so supportive of Michael in the end. I love that Michael was going to run away on a train while singing "Runaway Train". That was brilliant.




Michael's story was touching, but Dwight was the truly tragic figure of this episode. What started with Dwight moaning over Angela's figurine ended in a complete meltdown in the stairwell (again, moaning was involved). The irony is that what drove Dwight to the stairwell was Andy's offering of the very same cat (Garbage) to Angela that she had refused from Dwight a few weeks prior. I believe Angela was unaware it was the same cat, but the idea was just so painful.

I did love Pam's line about how she wouldn't set up Andy with Angela because she "couldn't do that to Dwight...or Angela...or Andy." Ha!!

(Look at poor Dwight's face here).


And just when I thought Dwight couldn't be more heartbreaking, he pulls out the saddest face I think I've ever seen in my life. Not just sad. We're talking gut-wrenching misery. It's hard for me to look at these pictures without my eyes welling up. I just felt so awful for Dwight here.


Jim showed a lot of depth and kindness as he tried to soothe Dwight's feelings. The little speech he gave to Dwight about his time without Pam was really heart-wrenching, too. After season 3, when Jim was dating Karen, (even though I figured he did this out of self-preservation) I started to wonder if he had lost interest in Pam all together. He was so distant from her and that always left me so melancholy after each episode. Now we know the depth of Jim's feelings. My heart went out to both Jim and Dwight in this scene.


But it was all worth it for this moment!

Pam: Jim's just really passionate about Italian food.
Jim: Yep, I’m very passionate about Italian food. In fact, um, I’m in love with Italian food.


(Okay, hold back the tears, Cayce. Be strong).


The writers did so well on this episode. All this relationship business could have been a little too disgustingly cutesy, but they kept the cheese-meter way down, which allowed for more realistic and moving scenes.


The whomever vs. whoever argument was also wildly entertaining. I knew the answer, too! While everyone on the show was arguing I leaned over and said to my husband, "Whom is dative. It follows a preposition. Ryan is right."

I rule.


Oh, yes, and the little moment with Kelly and Daryl was great. It was obvious they were going that direction last week with these two. I think it's clear right now that Kelly is using Daryl to make Ryan jealous (and by the look on Ryan's face, I think it's kind of working). BUT I think that she'll actually end up falling for Daryl in the process. He's so perfect for her. He keeps her in check and balances out her hysteria in the most calming way. It's great. I'm all for a 'Karyl' or 'Darlley" hook up. (That name-pairing just doesn't quite work does it?) . Hehe.


Overall, Money is one of my all time favorite episodes. It was wonderful. I can't say enough good things about season four. It has been a breathtaking season thus far.


Stay tuned for this week's episode, "Local Ad" where Dwight escapes into an Avatar heaven in Second Life! That should be fun.




Cordially,
CayceAquaSheep