The Office: St. Patrick’s Day
March 14, 2010 by Michael Pantozzi
Filed under Television
When this week’s episode ended, I wondered how many times in my life, whether in movies or on TV, I had witnessed “the thwarted goodnight kiss.” You know what I’m talking about. That stock dramatic device by which two people who you REALLY want to see together are just about to finally seal the deal for the first time, and something else comes along to interrupt. And I guess now that I’ve said that, it’s that, therein, the thing itself that thwarts, that is what varies and makes each experience of this scenario so fresh and enjoyable. That and the whole, yes-I’ve-been-in-that-situation-before empathy thing that makes so many TV/film scenarios so enjoyable to watch in the first place.
And the personalities of the characters. That always lends itself to uniqueness. Anyway Andy and Erin finally had a date of sorts. Whereas most of the cast were thwarted in their desire to leave work and celebrate St. Patrick’s Day (“the closest the Irish will ever get to Christmas”) by Kathy Bates, who was milking them for every last shred of productivity she could before returning to Sabre headquarters in Florida, Andy and Erin were both sent home sick. They both ended up at Erin’s house, where she lives with her menacing foster brother, who is clearly attracted to/protective of her. At the end of the night Erin kept putting her face in position for the kiss, but Andy felt uncomfortable due to her foster brother’s menacing glare from right behind her.
Also, Jim’s return from paternity leave led to some territorial competition with Dwight over desk space (Dwight basically annexed Jim’s desk into his; Jim countered by stacking Dwight’s desk on top of two other desks). You can trace a direct line from this gag to the stapler in the jell-o mold: not as much actual office humor on The Office these days as there used to be. I guess whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing depends on your taste.
Season 6, Episode 18: St. Patrick’s Day (originally aired March 11, 2010)
For more on The Office, click here.
Thursdays, 9/8C on NBC
Photographs courtesy of NBC Universal.
