THE OFFICE: The Duel
January 16, 2009 by Kath Skerry
Welcome back Dunder Mifflinites. It was a beautiful thing to hear THE OFFICE theme song last night, wasn’t it? It’s been so long. I missed my fictional office friends (and boyfriend). I laughed a lot last night and I hope you did too. I thought last night’s episode, while not perfect, was clever and smart. And Jim Halpert holding all those weapons? Weirdly sexy. Hey, it’s been a while since I’ve seen him…give a girl a break.
With the amount of TV on last night, I was only able to watch the episode once. And as we all know, watching an episode of THE OFFICE just once is like only half watching it. But I trust if I share my initial thoughts and favorite moments that you’ll all jump in and fill in the rest.
So just what went down (that’s what…too easy)?
It’s been a few weeks since Phyllis revealed Angela’s affair with Dwight, and Andy is still in the dark. Poor guy. Everyone is walking on egg shells, but leave it to Michael to drop the carton of eggs on the concrete just to watch them splatter. Michael Scott just couldn’t keep his mouth shut and insisted on telling Andy. I think Michael spilling the beans came from a good place, but he was more like a child who just couldn’t keep a secret.
Michael spilled and Andy confronted Angela. That part made me sad because honestly I had no idea who Andy was talking to in the conference room. That definitely was NOT the Angela Martin that we know and love. Why was she trying to spare Andy’s feelings by lying to him? That’s not Angela. Or maybe Angela was lying to Dwight. Either way, why did I love Angela when she was a no nonsense, judgmental bitch, yet dislike her when she is playing a sympathetic woman caught between two men?
All said and done, I’m glad that this triangle has finally been outed. It’s been dragging on for too long. And it made for a great Andy/Dwight showdown. I have to say that Andy pinning Dwight to the shrubbery via his ultra quiet Prius (the Prius is silent if kept under 5 MPH) was just phenomenal.
Throughout the whole ‘duel’ I felt that there was this mutual understanding between Andy and Dwight. These were two men who loved the same woman. A woman who was in a way betraying both of them. I don’t think they wanted to fight but they had to. And when it was revealed that Angela was sleeping with both men, it was a sad moment. The bobblehead in the trash can made me a little misty. That’s what you get, Angie.
I don’t think this is the end of Angela and Dwight. But after last night’s episode and the way Angela fought to keep Andy, I’m not sure I’m on Team Dwangela anymore.
Oh, and I almost forgot. Despite the antics going on at his office, Michael was summoned to Corporate and praised for the good work he is doing in the Scranton branch. Just what is Michael doing to make his branch successful? Probably nothing. I’m pretty sure it’s all on Dwight, Jim, Phyllis, Andy and Stanley – but Michael is the one getting all the praised. It’s always smart of the writers to remind everyone that Michael is a good boss…even if we know otherwise.
Side note – As I was watching the Corporate scenes I was imagining an episode where all the other branch managers come to Scranton to observe Michael. Rumor has it that Rashida might be returning this season for an episode, so maybe my storyline will come true.
I didn’t think the Michael plot was necessary. I think I would rather have had him in the office to witness the showdown. But I understand that Michael’s presence would have led to a whole other level of distraction.
Pretty solid ep with the perfect amount of cringeworthy moments. I must say that I’m missing a little Jim and Pam these days. I thought Pam didn’t want a long engagement? I’d like a reminder that they are together. Maybe that’s just me.
Other favorite moments….
- Learn your rules. You better learn your rules….
- Jim trying to shush Michael by backing him into his office…hysterical!
- Oscar’s face when he realized just where the Kinsey-Schurte relations had taken place. Ew.
- Creed: “You’re welcome!”
- Michael: Is she crazy in bed?
Dwight: Yes.
Michael: How so?
Dwight: Eager and flexible.
- Michael: It’s like an improv conversation. An improversation. (A CLASSIC Michael Scott quote!)
- Andy: Go away Tuna, I’m winning this!
- Kelly: I guess people have fewer choices when they get older.
Sorry for the hastily put together post. But really it’s not hearing about what I thought as much as it is YOUR take on last night’s episode. Share, share, share. What did you think of the Andy/Angela/Dwight outing? Will the petite blonde end up with either salesman? Any other favorite moments you’d like to share?
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I thought it was great! I was so glad Angela got some comeuppance for what she’s been doing (I too found it very poignant when he threw the bobblehead away.) I still hope Angela and Dwight end up together but it wouldn’t have felt right if it had been that clean and easy after all the cheating that’s been going on.
poor Andy. I hope he finds a woman that is good for him.
I’m glad its over. I really enjoyed the episode. I’ve just been waiting for this mess to sort out for a year, and glad it finally has. I just wish so many people didn’t get hurt in the process.
Michael kept the secret for a long time, for him. It had been 17 days. He didn’t keep Jim’s secret that long in S2. So, really, bravo Michael on that accomplishment.
Pam’s been so much in the background, its sad. I miss her. I don’t like her clothes. I’m hoping for something, anything, in the upcoming episodes. I don’t need a totally Jim/Pam centric episode. I just want a smile between them, maybe talking. That would be nice. Just a small reminder. Maybe finding out they eloped haha.
And, based on spoilers, I am excited about what the news that Scranton is doing well brings. Does that make sense? Oh well.
(oh, and when Dwight threw the bobblehead away, very sad, very very important for such a small act. And I just got a Dwight bobblehead for Christmas. Poor Booblehead. Its lost without its master.)
I really liked this episode, this totally made up for the weird Christmas episode (sort of). I loved David Wallace asking Michael “What are you doing right”..that made me giggle. Rainn Wilson is so genius, he really should win an award for playing Dwight, he was so funny last night. It did make me sad when he threw out bobblehead Dwight, sadness 🙁
There is a really funny deleted scene with Pam and Andy on NBC.com, where Pam is trying not to look Andy in the eyes.
I liked this ep from the theme song through to the end. I adored the cold open – 31 is the time to beat. I never liked Angela (don’t throw things) so glad to see her out in the cold for the time being. Funny throwaway lines like that from Meredith about the camcorder, pitch perfect.
“I’m sorry I did such a whorish job filling out this form.”
I LUV KEVUN!
I enjoyed the episode too. What happened to Angela and Dwight being married??? I felt so badly for Angela – but even I was shoked to her she was sleeping with both of them! Poor Dwight, poor Andy. My favourite part was when Jim went to “save” Dwight, and Jim asked Dwight if his legs were broken. They weren’t, but one was asleep. Pretty sneaky move Mr. Bernard.
I also liked Andy’s expression when Angela told him that “they were together and then Dwight killed sprinkles…” I have to admit I am excited for more Pam and Jim interaction hopefully coming soon.
I really enjoyed the episode last night- so much better than the Christmas episode. I loved the fact that Michael had absolutely no idea what he is doing right- I thought that was hilarious. And I am really glad that the Dwight-Angela-Andy triangle is finally over with- it was time. I thought the outcome was perfect and even though I like Angela she finally got what she deserved
I liked the episode, but I just feel bad for both Dwight and Andy. What is up with Angela for real? Other than that there were many things I liked: Meredith’s comments about 2 guys fighting over her and taking whoever loses the duel, Creed’s “Your Welcome”, the planning of the Duel and the Duel itself, Michael’s comment about when he starts talking that sometimes he has no idea where it is going (I’m like that too, but not the way Michael does it. LOL.), Jim’s inability to be the boss when Michael is gone (sadly this isn’t the first time this has happened), and Kevin’s comments towards Angela when the accountants were at their desks.
I too, was saddened by the lack of JAM.
boo to that :[
I loved the cold open of this episode. Michael claiming he ran 31mph was hilarious. The rest of the episode was pretty good too. Andy and Dwight fighting was really funny. I did miss the lack of Jim and Pam in this episode though. Overall it was a good Office Thursday. Can’t wait till next week.
I really enjoyed this episode – written, I might add, by Jennifer Celotta, one of the best writers at The Office. I especially loved Angela getting her comeuppance. Hopefully one day an Office character – or the camera crew – will ask Angela why she insisted on hanging on to both guys, etc., and we’ll get a good explanation for her whorish behavior. On the other hand, she does seem like kind of a sociopath, so maybe not….
Otherwise, loved the cold open, loved all Andy-Dwight interactions (especially Andy’s sneaky Prius move), loved Jim collecting a large amount of medieval-looking weapons in a box, and loved Michael’s sentence-going-no-where explanation of why he’s awesome. And here’s hoping that Andy and Dwight will team up, now that they’re both over Angela, because they are hilarious together!
Definitely a fun episode. I’m wondering if the annulment of the surprise German wedding ever went through, too, or if Angela and Dwight are still technically married.
Also, the fact that Meredith knew there was a “star-thing” taped under the breakroom table, implying she’d at some point been lying under that table, looking up (perhaps after passing out at an office party)? Awesomely in-character.
Jen Celotta can write. E-mail Surveillance, Drug Testing (my all time favorite), Grief Counseling, Benihaha Christmas, Launch Party, Goodbye Toby, and The Duel. Not a dud among them.
She continues to be my favorite office writer.
Oops and i forgot she co-wrote Beach Games with Greg Daniels.
“That definitely was NOT the Angela Martin that we know and love. Why was she trying to spare Andy’s feelings by lying to him? That’s not Angela. Or maybe Angela was lying to Dwight. Either way, why did I love Angela when she was a no nonsense, judgmental bitch, yet dislike her when she is playing a sympathetic woman caught between two men?”
Angela wasn’t trying to spare Andy’s feelings in the conference room–she was trying to placate him, still hoping that the marriage would go through. As Phyllis explained to Dwight earlier in the season, Angela wants to be married–and married, moreover, to the safe one: the Cornell graduate, the less-weird-on-the-surface one, the romantic one. (Remember the a capella over the phone? And changing Dwight’s “replacement cat” into a sweet I’m-sorry-for-your-loss gift?)
Furthermore, “a sympathetic woman caught between two men” is wholly the wrong description. The writers never meant Angela to be sympathetic any more than they meant Roy to be sympathetic. In fact, the episode ending makes this pretty clear: Angela receives her comeuppance. Dwight is the one to sympathize with, and Andy, too, to a lesser extent.
That aside, I’ll join the chorus for more Jam. I was also disappointed that there wasn’t more of a throwback to Andy’s anger management training–it was a missed opportunity for humor and even some foreshadowing of Andy’s clever “dueling” strategy.
Poor Jim. He is becoming the next Michael, and he knows it.
(Speaking of which, did anyone catch the announcement to the camera Michael made? I quote loosely: “Just goes to show. You leave Scranton, and exciting things happen.” More and more the writers are preparing for a Steve Carell exit, and Jim’s characterizations in Michael-out-of-the-office situations are only part of that.)
I loved the whole episode, but when Jim makes the comment that Andy might figure out Angela was having an affair when their kids “have giant heads and beet-stained teeth” I was dying! Man, I love him– but I have to agree, when are we going to see some JAM moments? Maybe Andy will try to sell them some of the wedding items he already put deposits down on.
I really disliked this episode. In fact, I’ve really disliked this whole season and the last one. Are Greg Daniels and the writers trying to make us hate these characters? If so, why?
The quirky Dwangela relationship used to be one of my favorite parts of the show. But they’ve managed to turn it into something dirty and depressing. Last night’s episode was the nadir.
Loved the episode but it left me with some unanswered questions…which got resolved with the second deleted clip. What a shame that couldn’t have been included!!
Kudos to Jen C for writing yet another great episode and certainly surprising me for one with an ending I didn’t anticipate!!!
Now *that* was The Office I know and love! I was so underwhelmed by the previous two episodes and was starting to worry a bit about the direction of things, until The Duel came along.
Jen Celotta wrote a brilliant script. I agree that the Michael storyline was weak, but he would have inserted himself into the duel (making it a three-uel?), which would have made that storyline suffer. Can’t wait to see what happens next!
I am just very excited to be able to say that THE OFFICE was better than 30 ROCK for the first time in quite a while! Loved the episode!
I do agree that the Michael storyline was not completely necessary, but it was nice to be reminded that Michael can be good at his job…and to see him be a lovable baffoon, not just one who drives his car into a lake!