He's blunt: he didn't want to see her, he didn't have any reason to see her, he didn't even want to be there, and I would have felt more affronted on her behalf if she hadn't been so confrontationally smug.
Yup. That's exactly why I couldn't view that scene as Jim being an ass and rubbing his happiness in her face. You make a smug assumption about someone ("If you wanted to see me..."), you leave yourself open to them correcting you.
One thing though, is that I kind of disagree that the other branches are all more productive and functional. Stamford was burdened with Andy and Call of Duty. And Utica is apparently hurting badly enough that they need to recruit from the supposedly worthless branch of Scranton. That's one of the things I liked in S3...we saw that each office was dysfunctional and crazy in their own way...from Call of Duty to David Wallace hating the corporate HR guy to Jan's firing.
That's exactly why I couldn't view that scene as Jim being an ass and rubbing his happiness in her face.
Given that the only reason he was there was that he'd clearly realized he was the only thing standing between Michael and Dwight and jail, I don't see how he was doing anything but responding to her question. If she'd just said hi, that conversation would probably have been a lot less unpleasant.
One thing though, is that I kind of disagree that the other branches are all more productive and functional. Stamford was burdened with Andy and Call of Duty. And Utica is apparently hurting badly enough that they need to recruit from the supposedly worthless branch of Scranton.
I think in relative terms, Scranton is still in something of a league of its own. It was the branch they were going to shut down; if it hadn't been for Josh being a jerk, they would have.
Since Karen's characterization took a left turn at her decision to follow a guy to Scranton, I've never really felt like I've come to grips with who she is, which makes it kind of impossible for me to care. In the break-up scenario I feel worse about what it says about Jim that he dumped her like that than that she was left crying in New York. Just. Don't. Care. And the same goes for this week.
I really want Olive to join their little investigative club, because this week was fun! And I agree, Chuck and Olive need to have more plotlines together.
I've never really felt like I've come to grips with who she is, which makes it kind of impossible for me to care.
I don't think she was ever much more than a romantic obstacle; I always felt like her motives were pretty opaque. I mostly felt awful for Jim this week, because he so clearly did not want to be there, and was only there to keep Dwight and Michael's stupid to a minimum.
I really want Olive to join their little investigative club
Me too, especially since she's both super sarcastic and full of common sense.
I think most of my discomfort with the episode stemmed from Jim being there as Michael's side-kick instead of being an ironic observer of Michael's antics. I've watched what I felt was more cringey *Michael* scenes before (the improv scenes from "E-Mail Surveillance"; the Christmas party one in which he made Phyllis cry), but it was always from a distance, you know? Watching Jim humiliated (despite the fact that I did see it from Karen's POV and sort of understood why she was being so freakin' bitter) just destroyed that buffer. Man, that was painful.
But I agree, Stanley = AWESOME. I also really loved Oscar in this. "Other than sleeping with other men, this is the gayest thing I've ever done." Hahaha.
Also: What You Said about PD and Chuck. I loved the choice the writers made in this episode -- having Olive and Chuck bond instead of being at each other's throat. That was refreshing indeed. And Chuck (man, having two characters named Chuck in two of my favourite new shows of the season is really confusing) has turned out to be one
( ... )
I think most of my discomfort with the episode stemmed from Jim being there as Michael's side-kick instead of being an ironic observer of Michael's antics.
Yes. It's one of Jim's notable traits that he usually manages to retain some dignity through these things. I think that's one of the reasons why, though I objectively felt Karen's bitterness was understandable, I really felt for Jim in that scene--he really wouldn't have been there if it weren't for his concern for Michael.
I loved the choice the writers made in this episode -- having Olive and Chuck bond instead of being at each other's throat.
One of my huge female characterization kinks is shows that take female rivalry and make it a way to explore the characters rather than an excuse for a long-running catfight. I think it's a sign of good writing. Farscape was also very good at it.
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Yup. That's exactly why I couldn't view that scene as Jim being an ass and rubbing his happiness in her face. You make a smug assumption about someone ("If you wanted to see me..."), you leave yourself open to them correcting you.
One thing though, is that I kind of disagree that the other branches are all more productive and functional. Stamford was burdened with Andy and Call of Duty. And Utica is apparently hurting badly enough that they need to recruit from the supposedly worthless branch of Scranton. That's one of the things I liked in S3...we saw that each office was dysfunctional and crazy in their own way...from Call of Duty to David Wallace hating the corporate HR guy to Jan's firing.
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Given that the only reason he was there was that he'd clearly realized he was the only thing standing between Michael and Dwight and jail, I don't see how he was doing anything but responding to her question. If she'd just said hi, that conversation would probably have been a lot less unpleasant.
One thing though, is that I kind of disagree that the other branches are all more productive and functional. Stamford was burdened with Andy and Call of Duty. And Utica is apparently hurting badly enough that they need to recruit from the supposedly worthless branch of Scranton.
I think in relative terms, Scranton is still in something of a league of its own. It was the branch they were going to shut down; if it hadn't been for Josh being a jerk, they would have.
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I really want Olive to join their little investigative club, because this week was fun! And I agree, Chuck and Olive need to have more plotlines together.
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I don't think she was ever much more than a romantic obstacle; I always felt like her motives were pretty opaque. I mostly felt awful for Jim this week, because he so clearly did not want to be there, and was only there to keep Dwight and Michael's stupid to a minimum.
I really want Olive to join their little investigative club
Me too, especially since she's both super sarcastic and full of common sense.
Reply
But I agree, Stanley = AWESOME. I also really loved Oscar in this. "Other than sleeping with other men, this is the gayest thing I've ever done." Hahaha.
Also: What You Said about PD and Chuck. I loved the choice the writers made in this episode -- having Olive and Chuck bond instead of being at each other's throat. That was refreshing indeed. And Chuck (man, having two characters named Chuck in two of my favourite new shows of the season is really confusing) has turned out to be one ( ... )
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Yes. It's one of Jim's notable traits that he usually manages to retain some dignity through these things. I think that's one of the reasons why, though I objectively felt Karen's bitterness was understandable, I really felt for Jim in that scene--he really wouldn't have been there if it weren't for his concern for Michael.
I loved the choice the writers made in this episode -- having Olive and Chuck bond instead of being at each other's throat.
One of my huge female characterization kinks is shows that take female rivalry and make it a way to explore the characters rather than an excuse for a long-running catfight. I think it's a sign of good writing. Farscape was also very good at it.
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