Office Meta - The Secret
Michael can't even execute Jim's simple updog joke. He's kind of like a three year old trying to tell a joke, actually. But Jim's rooting for him. It finally works on Dwight, but he ruins it with a "Gotcha!" Jim's silent "So close" and grimace is a nice, sympathetic touch. This is possibly the last time this episode, if not for awhile, that Jim even remotely feels sympathy for him, too.
Spring cleaning is going on in the office, nevermind it's January. Makes as much sense as anything around there.
Oscar's out "sick", yet everyone else gets interrogated about his illness/absence. Dwight and Angela have a disconcerting stare-off in accounting and Kevin's not quite sure what to make of it, so he pretends it never happened. That seems to be the general reaction to finding out about Dwight/Angela. Pam, Jim, Kevin, Ryan - they pretty much all want to pretend that's just not going on.
It's funny that when Michael finally gets Oscar on the phone and makes an offensive remark about his (Mexican) work ethic, Ryan is visibly offended, but Oscar never even so much as pauses. I know Oscar's kind of a lazy SOB, but surely he could find another accounting job somewhere if he really wanted. Why does he put up with Michael's crap? I know the pay's not that great, so it must be because of the lax atmosphere. What about that work ethic again? See? This is what happens when you stereotype. Stereotyping is bad.
Oh, Kelly. You never, ever ask someone to be a bridesmaid. They ask you. And Pam is not going to ask you, so thanks for backing off on that one.
Pam takes her hair down to demonstrate what she would like it to look like on her wedding day, and Jim is staring at her rather obviously. Only thing is, I can't decide whether he's imagining re-enacting the final scene of An Officer and a Gentleman or he's contemplating just shooting himself to get over it already. It's hard to tell, because he looks that miserable. Poor Jim.
Michael walks by and sees what's going on and says in a low (for Michael) voice, "Man, this must be torture for you." To which Jim responds (with his face) "Oh, craaaaaap. That's coming back to haunt me already? Great." With his face, people! Give this man's face a damn Emmy already!
In Jim's talking head, he is totally regretting his decision to tell Michael anything while upset and half drunk. But really, who doesn't? Ask Jan. He tries to fix it, but you just can't take that kind of thing back. Spilling your guts and trying to amend it later never fools anyone.
Even Michael knows he can't keep a secret with his "as long as I can" statement.
Dwight hands over the leadership of spring cleaning to Ryan, who cleverly doesn't say he knows he can do it, just that he thinks he can. This annoys Dwight, but he gives Ryan the clipboard anyway. Moments like that, I love Ryan, because I would have said the same.
Remember when Jim used to drink grape soda? Ah, the good old days. Michael thinks he's talking in code over Stanley at the soda machine, but spelling out Pam's name isn't exactly code, now is it? Jim just wants to leave, so he bails as quickly as he can. Stanley is still picking out a soda from the machine, and Michael has run out of patience. He hits the button. "Peach iced tea. You're gonna hate it." Sneer, sneer. lol
I'm sorry that I'm bored with Dwight's investigation into Oscar's fake illness. But I totally am.
Michael is drinking grape soda as he approaches Jim, who seems to be fiddling with office supplies on a shelf. He's trying to make conversation with him when Dwight shows up and overhears something about a secret. Jim quickly dodges, telling him he wanted to head up the Oscar investigation, but Michael thought Dwight should do it instead. John is totally breaking in this scene. Jim keeps sticking a post-it on Dwight, and Dwight sticks it back, and this bit is hilarious in that it's barely noticeable but still going on as Dwight walks out the door.
Michael puts his leg up on Jim's desk, and it's at such an awkward height that Jim is like WTH? He asks Jim to go to lunch with him, and he tries to decline, but when he won't stop talking about Pam practically in front of Pam, Jim says yes out of desperation. Then Michael says he knows the perfect place.
They end up at Hooters. Class-y.
I love Jim because he neither belongs in or enjoys Hooters. His eyes are pretty much on the ceiling more than anything else. He orders a ham and cheese even there, and watches in horror as Michael orders the chicken breast, hold the chicken. It's like he's bracing himself for the horrible car wreck that's about to occur, he just can't stop it. Also, he probably wants to apologize profusely to the waitress.
Back at ye olde office, Dwight is now interrogating Pam about what Oscar sounded like when he called in sick, and she says he sniffled. "What kind of sniffling?" Dwight asks, filching jellybeans from the candy bowl until his teeth are all sticky and Pam is sickened. "That's a communal bowl," she points out, but he ignores her and keeps digging through them. Dwight says there are three kinds of sniffles, and Pam says it was the second one, just to get rid of them. She then makes a delightfully disgusted face as she dumps the remaining jellybeans into the trash. Then she probably rinses the bowl in boiling water.
When Michael asks Jim what he likes about Pam, he expects an answer relating to the physical, but he gets, "She's easy to talk to. She has a really good sense of humor." Never physical at all. Awww. Jim makes the mistake of saying, "What about you?" and Michael replies "Her boobs". Should have been predictable, but Jim's eyes are on the ceiling again and he's like, "Wow, totally not what I meant."
Michael tells the waitress it's Jim's birthday just to get all the Hooters girls to dance. I love the commentary for this scene, because John points out that there was no acting involved for him in this scene. He was really embarrassed, and he says you can tell because his head isn't moving. hee! I think he's blushing a bit as well, which is about the most adorable thing ever.
When they get back to the office, Pam just looks at him and says, "What did you guys talk about?" Jim replies, "Oh, you know, politics..." And he holds up the Hooters t-shirt Michael bought him. She just shakes her head and says "I hate you" in a way that says she totally doesn't.
Michael's Jim hair may be the most startling, yet hilarious, sight gag of the season. He's called on his bill for Hooters and he goes back to accounting where Kevin asks him if it's a wig. No, it's just the crazy.
Which he proves by trying to explain to Toby that Jim's been depressed and, "He's in love with a girl he works with who's engaged, so cut me some slack, please?" Kelly walks up behind him at this inopportune moment and says, "Pam?"
Never talk in the annex, Michael. Kelly's there. He knows he's screwed now. Angela has an odd smirk on her face that clearly says, "I KNEW Pam was a hussy!"
That Angela being attracted to Roy thing STILL weirds me out.
Kevin: "Jim has got it bad for Pam." Creed: "Which one's Pam?" Oh, Creed. Your brain's not burned out from drugs, you're still ON drugs.
Michael, we all really wish that Jim's crush didn't concern you.
Dwight's girlfriend cheated on him? Shocker.
Kelly's big mouth opens, and Jim finds out that not only is the proverbial cat out of the bag, it's running wild through the office. He knows he's screwed now. Finally, something he and Michael have in common.
Jim's talking head: "I used to have a crush on Pam, and now I... don't." He can't lie without almost throwing up. That's sweet.
Jim decides to catch the cat before it gets to Pam, and confronts her in the kitchen. He tells her he told Michael he had a crush on her when she first started, and she looks something hovering between wary and hopeful. To try to ease the blow, she tells him she suspected as much, 'cause they got along so well and all. This is a terribly awkward conversation, and I always feel for them both in it. "Great you saw right through me," he says. He says it's not a big deal, and she's crushed but recovers.
"So, are you gonna be, like, totally awkward around me now?" she says with a strained laugh. "Oh, yeah. Yeah. Hope that's okay," he jokes back, and she turns to leave. She turns at the door and he reiterates he's over it, and she says, "Cool" though she's so totally not. She walks through the door and they're probably both wondering how they dodged that bullet.
I love the commentary on this scene, too, because John says he got choked up when he was playing off the crush as something in the past, because he knew he was breaking her heart. And he was breaking her heart, because Jenna then says that after she walked out the door, she burst into tears, and John signaled Angela, who was online at her computer, that hugs were needed, and she went and hugged Jenna. The director, Dennie Gordon, hugged her, too, and she had to calm down.
I think it's so sweet how invested they are in their characters, and how this isn't just a job to them yet. They talk about their characters like they're real people and they dork out over their own show and watch it on TV, and they're adorable. It makes me feel a little less nuts for being so invested. hehe
Anyway, Dwight finally catches Oscar coming home, and he was right - he's NOT sick. He's just gay. *shrug* Dwight doesn't even realize this, and thinks the secret he's keeping to hold over his head later is that he faked the flu. Oh, Dwight, you're so dense. Also, I have heard/seen the word 'malfeasance' a ridiculous amount lately, and it's not a word that's commonly used. Weird!
Jim goes to see Michael in his office. He leans against the shelf at the wall and his delivery on "What happened?" is just the perfect mix of resignation and frustration. It makes me laugh every time. Michael is distraught about the mess he's made, but Jim just tells him it's okay. Michael hugs his crotch.
Poor Jim.
Pam comes into Michael's office and tries to blow the whole thing off because Jim talked to her, but Michael confuses her further by being unclear on the details of Jim's crush. Did he have it on the Booze Cruise, or did he just tell him about it on the Booze Cruise. But now is the time that Michael chooses to keep his mouth shut, and Pam doesn't know what to make of any of it now.
Jim and Pam leave work for the day and get in the elevator together, and there are uncomfortable glances all around. But it makes a pretty shot.
Michael doesn't want to be Shyla the call girl. O-kay.