The Office - "Customer Loyalty" - Review

During the last few seasons of The Office, the series has lost its footing. Jim and Pam got married and had kids. What else was there to tell about their story? But this season has been making it feel as if that period of stagnation was purposeful for the relationship’s story, arguing that the comfortable repetitiveness of married life has caused an absence of excitement and adventure in Jim and Pam’s lives. This season has provided the most interesting story about the couple since the first pregnancy arc, and the payoff is beginning to show in a painfully realistic scene where discovering who’s behind the camera “Bryan” is undercut by how deeply sad the conversation between Jim and Pam is. “What am I doing wrong, Bryan?” Pam asks tearfully. And then she keeps repeating, “What am I doing wrong?” If you’re not moved by this, no matter how disappointed you’ve been by the series up to this point, you must have a heart of stone.

The series seems poised to break the strongest coupling it’s had, and its second most tried and true iconic watermark, and that scares and heartbreaks me. That’s a testament to great writing, and the hallmark of the development of great fictional characters. I love Jim and Pam. Those characters are under my skin. I rooted for them getting together from day one, and we’ve seen them build a relationship. A deeply loving, affectionate, realistically depicted coupling that grounded all the antics of the series.

Though I find the reasons for the heated argument between them to be a bit of a stretch and even a bit clichéd (you can see it coming from the get go), it didn’t matter once the other shoe fell and it came together, John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer play the scene so well and there’s so much history from seven plus seasons’ material that there didn’t need to be a deeply interesting set-up for it. And it’s totally plausible; I’m not married nor do I have kids, but this feels like the type of small-scale thing that could cause an argument between a married couple. Though it seems to blow up a bit too much, this has been building for a long enough (we have watched the two of them drift apart and Pam become more and more disaffected) that it rings true and its all the more devastating for that fact.

There were other things going on in this episode and some forgettable things at that (Darryl and Dwight’s storyline is rather “meh” and not very funny), but the Jim and Pam stuff was enough to make up for these elements. Plus the scenes in the meeting room, where Nelly broaches the point of just how questionable the flirtation between Erin and Pete is, is very funny and well played by everyone involved. Everyone reacts as to be expected; Kevin blurts out that the mystery man Nelly keeps referring to is obviously Pete; Creed is immediately on-board with role-playing to be this mystery fellow; Angela badmouths Erin’s actions despite having cheated on Andy during the time they dated; Stanley is immediately rifled by questioning someone cheating in a relationship. It’s a scene that effectively makes great use of this large, disparate cast that doesn’t make it feel like the cartoonish mob that the supporting characters have sometimes become in later seasons. 

Stray Observations:

-I like Meredith’s new curly blonde wig, which so does not suit her.

-The cold open with Dwight discovering a long waiting prank Jim made several years before is funny for how well it harkens back to earlier seasons.

-Toby is very funny and very creepy hitting on Nelly. But he does have a point; Andy hasn’t exactly been the best boyfriend lately running off like he did.

-Nelly is freaked out by adding fire to the flame of the Pete-Erin relationship by having had them work on Dunder-Mifflin’s social media presence. She’s fearful how Andy might react since they just got on decent enough terms that he was willing to write her a recommendation for adoption.

-“Not that I’m into girls. Not that I’m into Pete” – No matter how bad the series may get, Ellie Kemper’s portrayal of Erin continues to be a highlight.

Grade: B+