The Office - Season 3, Episode 23 - The Job (1 Hour Season Finale)

BOOO HOOOO! It's all over until Fall! That makes me sad. But you know what makes me happy?

Jim: Pam. (To camera) Sorry. Um, are you free for dinner tonight?
Pam: Yes.
Jim: All right. Then it’s a date.

WHAT IS THAT? Yes, Pam and Jim are going to go on a very long four month date!

OK, sorry for spoiling that at the start - but I just HAD to get to it. Anyway, let's see how this episode got there...

Jim walks in looking extra cute. Andy is now going to refer to him as "Big Haircut."

Jim: Karen suggested that I get a haircut. For the interview tomorrow. So that I could look presentable. And not, as she so lovingly puts it, homeless.

Pam has a camera interview and tells us that her and Jim had a moment to talk after the beach outburst. He admitted that he missed her friendship as well and that she still means a lot to him. All still very innocent.

Dwight has been called into Michael's office and is handed an envelope.

Michael: Please hand this letter of congratulations to Dwight K. Schrute.
Dwight: But that’s my name. (Reads letter) “Dwight, congratulations, a-wipe. Don’t screw the pooch.”

Dwight is so touched that he is brought to tears. Not a pretty face.

Pam seems to want to clear the air with everyone lately. She sees Karen in the kitchen and she takes a minute to talk about what happened.

Pam: Um, about the beach.
Karen: It’s okay. We all say things without thinking.
Pam: Oh no, it’s not that. I’ve actually been thinking that for a long time. And I’m glad I said it. I just, I’m sorry if it made you feel weird.
Karen: Oh. Okay.

After Pam left Karen said something I wouldn't normally agree with, but some reason fit at the moment.

Karen: Pam is … kind of a bitch.

I would never think of Pam as a bitch. But I'm glad Pam was the bitch for 5 minutes there.

Karen suggests to Jim that the two of them head into NYC tonight (the night before the big interviews) so they can go out and have some fun. Jim likes the idea and they plan to leave early.

Kevin and Jim are talking and Kevin pretty much sums up what all the blogs have been fighting over this past season.

Kevin: So Jim, who do you think is hotter, Pam or Karen?
Jim: Yeah, I’m not going to talk about this now.
Kevin: Pam is taller.
Jim: You sure?
Kevin: Yes. She has bigger breasts, too.
Jim: Wow.
Kevin: But I think Karen has a prettier face.
Jim: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. What else?
Kevin: Well, I mean, Pam’s face is really pretty too. It’s a very tough call.
Jim: Really tough call.
Kevin: Yeah.
Jim: You know what? Why don’t you take the rest of the day, figure it out, and then come back, and tell me what you got.
Kevin: Will do.
Jim: All right.
Kevin: Yes.

Part of me thinks Jim was joking with Kevin, but the other part of me thinks that Jim actually was weighing the two options and wanted the second opinion.

Meanwhile the whole office is having a laugh at Pam's beach outburst.

Oscar: Hey Pam? I’ve been meaning to say something to you. I really miss our friendship.
Pam: Ha, ha, that’s very funny.
Stanley: I’ve never heard you talk that much. I thought it was Kelly.
Kelly: Are you kidding? I would never have done that. It was patheticville. No offense, Pam.
Meredith: You know what? Don’t even worry about it. Everyone was so drunk, I bet no one even remembers what you said.
Creed: I remember. I blogged the whole thing.

Ryan reveals that he created a "blog" for Creed which was actually a word document with a fake URL at the top (www.creedthoughts.gov.www\creedthoughts). He was trying to save the internet from Creed's disturbing thoughts. "Even for the Internet, it’s … pretty shocking." But NBC thought otherwise and created a blog just for Creed - Creed's Thoughts.

Michael has made a very stupid move and sold his condo on Ebay in anticipation of getting the NYC corporate job. He sold it for 80% of its value. Oh Michael!

Dwight breaks the news to Jim that Dwight is the new #1. And in Dwight's dream world he makes $80,000 and he is in hell, co-running a bed and breakfast with the devil. Strange.

Dwight: Once I’m officially regional manager, my first order of business will be to demote Jim Halpert. So I will need a new number two. My ideal choice? Jack Bauer. But he is unavailable. Fictional. And overqualified.

Dwight puts up an interview schedule to find a new #2. The only person to sign up is Andy.

And in an unexpected twist, Jan shows up at the office.

Michael calls together his squad of women (from the Women's Appreciation episode) to ask their opinion. They tell him to stay strong and not get back together with her.

Jan wants to get back together with Michael. Michael tries to stay strong but it seems that Jan has some new assets that changes Michael's mind about their relationship.

The office's reaction:

Meredith: I would never do that. Waste of money. In my experience, guys are way more attracted to the back of you than to the front.

Kevin: I love fake boobs. Often times you find them on strippers.

Creed: I find it offensive. Au naturelle, baby. That’s how I like ‘em. Swing low, sweet chariots.

And Michael....well...how does he feel about getting back together for fake boobs?

Michael: That would be shallow. And this is the opposite of shallow. This is emotionally magnificent.

Karen and Jim leave work early and Pam only has positive things to say.

Pam: I’m happy for him. I hope he gets the job. I really just want him to be happy. And I know that sounds cliche, and I know saying it sounds cliche sounds cliche. Maybe I’m being cliche, I don’t care. ‘Cause I am what I am. (Thinks about it) That’s Popeye.

Andy has his interview with Dwight. Dwight gives him a hard time but considering the lack of competition I think Andy is going to get the position.

Andy: I am a great interviewee. Why? Because I have something no one else has. My brain. Which I use to my advantage, when advantageous.

On the drive into NYC, Karen is trying to convince Jim that they both need to move to NYC together. While having a good time in NYC she let's Jim know her real feelings.

Karen: We don’t have a future in Scranton. There’s one too many people there.
Jim: You mean Kevin?

The scenes of Karen and Jim in NYC are actually really cute. You could almost see Jim stick with Karen and live this fun urban lifestyle. But maybe when it comes down to it, Jim enjoys going out to party for a night but he really wants to "settle down."

The next morning in NYC, Karen, Jim and Michael are waiting in the reception area for their interviews. Michael gets called in first.

Back at Scranton, Dwight has taken over the office. He has assigned Andy the #2 position, but he has something special in store for someone else...

Pam: So you would be the regional manager, and the assistant regional manager, Andy is your number two, I would be the secret assistant regional manager.
Dwight: Mmm, let’s call it secret assistant to the regional manager.
Pam: Mm-hmm.
Dwight: Do you accept?
Pam: Absolutely I do.

We watch Michael's interview just waiting for him to screw it up. David asks Michael to list his strenghts and instead Michael lists a bunch of things he calls weaknesses, but are really strenghts. The interview actually seems to go OK, until Karen gets her facetime. She pretty much says Michael is a big screw up and he shouldn't get hired.

Dwight gets everyone's attention at the office to make it known he is the new #1. He tells them that Michael has inefficiently run the office and there will no longer be meetings. And then, he calls a meeting.

The office gathers in the conference room to learn about how paper is made. Everyone thinks it is a waste of time but Pam makes them all pay attention!

Dwight offers something called a "Schrute Buck" for things done right. 100 Schrute Bucks = 5 minutes extra at lunch.

Dwight: Don’t you want to earn Schrute bucks?
Stanley: No. In fact, I’ll give you a billion Stanley nickels if you never talk to me again.
Dwight: What’s the ratio of Stanley nickels to Schrute bucks?
Stanley: The same as the ratio of unicorns to leprechauns.

At the end of Michael's interview we find out that the position that everyone is interviewing for is Jan's position. Jan is being fired.

Michael sees Jan and tries to get around telling her what's going on, but he slips and tells her that Dunder Miflin is firing her.

Jan freaks out and confronts David, while Karen's interview is going on. He tells Jan that she is unstable, she smokes during work and that she says she is visiting her sister but really she is visiting the Scranton branch. Jan loses it and Michael steps in to be supportive, costing himself the new position.

(yes, she is asking if he is firing her because of "these")

As Jan walks out Michael tells David that he withdraws his application for the job, but only after David tells him he didn't get the position.

Michael: I don’t think I could take my girlfriend’s job. That’s not being a good boyfriend.

While Michael was away, Dwight painted his office in all black.

Andy: It’s like I’m staring into my soul when I look at this wall.
Dwight: It’s like outer space without the stars, it’s so black.

Michael announces to the office that he is back and is never going to leave them again.

Pam takes a moment to reflect on the entire day...

Pam: No, I don’t know what the future holds, but I’m optimistic. And I had fun goofing around with Dwight today. Jim and I are just too similar. Maybe one day I’ll find my own Karen. But, you, that is a, um, you know, not … a man. A man version. But uh, until then, I can hold my head up. I’m not gay.

And we get to see a few moments of her and Jim talking at the beach.

Jim: How are your feet?
Pam: Medium rare. Thanks.
Jim: The real reason that I went to Stamford was because I wanted to be … not here.
Pam: I know.
Jim: And even though I came back, I just feel like I’ve never really come back.
Pam: Well I wish you would.

So it's all coming together. First Pam spills her guts to Jim at the beach. Then Jim and her talked about trying to stop being weird with each other. Then Jim and Karen go to NYC and she tells Jim he needs to leave Scranton for the two of them to stay together.

Then the final piece - Jim is in his interview being told how awesome he is. David asks him where he sees himself in 10 years.

(I think this is the moment he figured it out)

As he thinks of an answer a little note slips out of his paperwork. It says "Don't Forget Us When Your Famous" and it has a gold colored yogurt top like what was used at the Office Olympics.

And at that moment Jim is being asked by David where he sees himself in 10 years, we all think Jim sees himself with Pam.

Karen went off to see friends in NYC and Jim finishes his interview and heads back to Scranton.
When he gets back into the office he finds Pam (who was in the middle of gushing over Jim) and he says

Jim: Pam. (To camera) Sorry. Um, are you free for dinner tonight?
Pam: Yes.
Jim: All right. Then it’s a date.

YES YES YES YES YES!! Jim and Pam going on a DATE! Oh what a huge smile we all had on our faces at that moment.

And then it is revealed - Ryan got the job at corporate. We didn't even know he applied! As soon as he finds out he breaks up with Kelly.

******

So, yes I am sad about the season being over. But what a wonderful season it was. We had some ups and downs with Karen in the picture - but I think it gave all the other funny characters a chance to shine a bit more. Creed, Toby, Meredith, Kevin, Kelly - we got a little bit more of each of them that I can appreciate.

But I CANNOT WAIT to see how next season will start. Will Karen return to Scranton? Did Jim actually break up with her? Will the "date" go well?

Until next season! Enjoy your summer break :) Too bad we can't all have a summer break from our own offices.

Quotes from The Office Tally - you had a few hard days there, glad to see you back!

Screencaps from Klotera - Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!