Synopsis: At the end of last week’s episode, Michael decided to take a detour on his tour of Dunder Mifflin branches, hoping to get some closure in his relationship with Scranton’s former HR rep, Holly Flax. When he and Pam arrive at the Nashua branch, however, they find that Holly is not there — and her current boyfriend, a salesman named A.J., is. In the face of this emotionally devastating development, Michael decides to proceed with his sales lecture, which quickly devolves into a Q&A regarding A.J.’s relationship with Holly. After hearing that Holly never asks about him, Michael makes a fool of himself — which is nothing new, except this time it leaves Pam to finish his presentation for him. With only Michael’s cue cards to guide her, she is forced to go through with a Forrest Gump impersonation and a lame chainsaw metaphor while Michael finds Holly’s vacant desk, cuts the sleeve off of the cardigan draped over her chair and copies a file labeled “Dear Michael” onto his flash drive. On the drive afterward, Pam convinces Michael not to read the file by reading it herself and relaying the fact that Holly still has feelings for him, which boosts his spirits so much that he wants to apologize to someone else — as long as it’s not that fat “Pepperoni” Tony from the Stamford branch.
Back at the office, Jim and Dwight are still making a sad attempt at throwing Kelly a birthday party, the theme for which will apparently be either “birthday” or “frosting.” Despite the duo’s ineptitude, they finally make the birthday girl happy when they present her with the option for napping or watching TV for an hour — a choice that is symbolized by a single Chiclet on her misspelled cake. (Supposedly the rectangular gum represents either a pillow or a television.) She picks a nap, which seems like the right choice since TV is hardly necessary on a day when Angela and her cats are providing ample entertainment on the nanny cam she set up on her computer. After she witnesses Mr. Ash mounting her new $7,000 cat Princess Lady — which she bought after selling Andy’s engagement ring on eBay — Angela rushes home, where she proceeds to communicate in cat language and bathe Princess Lady with her tongue, much to the horror of Oscar and Kevin.
Mike says
Best Moment: My choice would have to be Creed presenting The Bonnie Hunt Show as a counter to Stanley’s claim that there’s nothing good on TV for Kelly to watch. You’ve got to love a man with such diverse interests that he can trade children on the black market and enjoy the milquetoast daytime talk shows.
Best Quotes: “OK, so far our ideal party consists of: beer, fights to the death, cupcakes, blood pudding, blood, touch football, mating, charades and, yes, horse hunting.” — Jim, reading off the checklist he and Dwight put together for Kelly’s office festivities
“For a cat? I could get you a kid for that.” — Creed, expressing surprise at the $7,000 price tag for Princess Lady
Employee of the Week: Jim and Dwight. Who says they don’t know how to party? It took them a while but, in the end, they threw one awesome birthday bash, complete with a Chiclet-adorned cake and a matter-of-fact banner that read “It is your birthday.”
Hour of Television or Hour of Napping?: We’re already allowed to watch TV at work, so I’ll take napping.
Ryan says
Best Moment: Dwight dissing Triceratops. Didn’t see that coming.
Best Quote: “I know fixed. That ain’t fixed.” — Meredith, on Mr. Ash humping Princess Lady
Employee of the Week: Pepperoni Tony. Man, was he fat.
Hour of Television or Hour of Napping?: Hour of Napping. I’ve always wanted a company-sanctioned siesta, even if it was on the floor beneath a table somewhere.
johnnysweeptheleg says
Best Moment: Dwight using garbage can lids to wake up Kelly, and then sending her back to work with an order to make up the time she missed on her birthday nap. I wish I would have done that when one of my former bosses used to fall asleep at his desk.
Best Quote: “Mother bites the cord.” — The tail end of Dwight’s first birthday memory.
Employee of the Week: Michael. He was so charming this week. If calling people fat, cutting a sleeve off an ex-girlfriend’s sweater as a keepsake, and lifting a personal letter off her desktop is your idea of charming.
Hour of Television or Hour of Napping?: Hour of napping. I’ve been watching television all week.