hope you know this is such a comfort watch for me, NOT looking forward to field guides ending.

@Neyshtradamus

4 ай бұрын

Co-sign

@Mibbitmaker

4 ай бұрын

Well, if he does another field guide for another show (my vote's for Community or the UK Office), there will be those.

@memelordmarcus

4 ай бұрын

Literally same

@jarrettbakersr

4 ай бұрын

Same

@maddisonrhea673

4 ай бұрын

Field guide of the Office superfan episodes

I think Jim was so invested with winning Pam, marrying Pam, having the kid, and now the old Jim who wants more than Scranton is emerging. I don't hate that they set up the tension but I do hate the nadir it reaches.

"They're just props." I think you mean Plops.

The turtle bit is my Scott’s tots. I didn’t even notice the Easter eggs because I always look away at that part. 😬

@mrprotoman154

4 ай бұрын

fr it's so gross and makes me irrationally angry. always a skip

I didn't notice that Ryan and Kelly were gone in season 9 until now. I remember them being there in the finale.

also yogurt lids were used for the medals in the office Olympics, those were also the thing Pam put with the message she gave to Jim that caused him to go back to Scranton.

I think the way Jim made this huge decision without telling Pam is perfect writing. It's totally something Jim would do. Didn't he buy a house without telling her? One part of this episode really sticks in my mind, it's when Jim says something to the effect of "my friend wants me on board, but Pam and I had a conversation and we said no." Did they really have a conversation about it? Like a real one? Did Jim actually lay it on the line and tell her that the start-up is something he wanted to do? Jim probably mentioned the start-up in a casual, jokey tone like "haha wouldn't that be crazy" and Pam was probably like "haha yeah imagine moving Philadelphia lmao" and then Jim never brought up the topic again. He still wanted to do it but he was afraid to tell her, and the longer he waited the more nervous he got. It's just like the run-down.

Love your takes on the show! The Office Ladies said that Comstock comes from Comstock Hall at Cornell and they speculate she got that cat when she was dating Andy in the show universe.

Comstock is maybe a reference to comstock hall at Cornell?

@elizagroovy

Ай бұрын

In the episode where Andy conducts the admission interview for Dwight, Dwight said something like “one day we’ll get together in comstock hall and laugh about it.” So I think Angela got the cat when she was with Andy and let him name it?

The Comstock Laws were anti-obscenity laws from the 1870s that were struck down by the Supreme Court in the ‘60s. Totally something Angela would be into.

I love season 9. Thanks for persevering.

Honestly, I really liked the Philadelphia arc. It gave a conclusion to some of the longest running arcs in the series like Jim feeling unfilled at Dunder Mifflin. I think the issue is that when it comes to fiction, people tend to take one side of an argument without realizing that relationships are complicated.

I know the field guides aren't your most watched videos but they are my favorite videos you put out but I watch the others as well. I'm a two time completed Office watcher once on Netflix during 2020 and again when it went to Peacock. I think it would be cool to see you do a field guide for another show next even if it's not a show I've seen. I will watch those as well.

I feel like I remember Comstock Hall being referenced in the ep where Dwight applies to Cornell.

Clark looking like he gearing up to play a Ron Jeremy role or smt 😅

Fun fact: Jake lacy who plays paul/plops/new Jim woukd go on to do the film "ode to joy" and his character is the brother of the main character played by Martin Freeman aka Tim from the UK office

Great video! Good analysis in particular of the PB&J situation. I find the Trouble in Halpert Paradise stuff in this season very hard to watch, harder than almost any of the golden age mega-cringe, but I don't think it's that much of a stretch character-wise for them. The stage of life they're in - married for a while, two small kids, stuck in a bit of a rut, middle age looming (in-universe they're meant to be, what, mid-30s now?) - is one that a lot of people will have experienced or at least be able to empathise with. It would have easy to give them some cheap drama like an affair, but that would have been dumb (our host was totally right that the tension in After Hours is not "will Jim Halpert cheat?" but "how will easygoing no-drama nice guy Jim Halpert get out of this?""). Couple of additional points to those mentioned in the video: Jim's strong aversion to open conflict - an important and established characteristic throughout the show - feeds into his communication problems with Pam. Pam is not being unreasonable, for the reasons you mention. She has her soulmate, her children and her steady job and her nice house in the suburbs. It is significant imo that (SPOILERS) at the conclusion of the Philly arc, in "Livin' The Dream", she sorta kinda suggests that part of her discomfort with Jim going to Athlead was that she fears he is outgrowing her, and transcending the relatively circumscribed world of DM and Scranton, where she feels happy and secure, and where her and Jim formed such a strong bond. Both could plausibly be criticised, and as you say in the video you have to squint a bit to get to the Philly arc from their general trajectory in the show. But fundamentally it's a pretty good storyline: this is a situation where neither of them is doing anything awful or unjustifiable. It’s a serious, good faith clash of preferences exacerbated by communication barriers and the pressures of raising children, which is to say it’s the kind of disagreement that most long-term couples face at some point. It’s a genuinely difficult impasse. I'm glad the writers found something to do with them tbh, they've basically just chugged along very happily ever since Pam came back from art school way back in season 5.

i think the problem a lot of us dealt with when first watching this season was it gets too real and too personal which was never the main plot of the show. We lose a lot of talking head and direct communication with the camera (us the audiance) in season 9. Just an observation but yeah I know the Jim and Pam almost getting divorce arc really didn't fit in with the show. You might end up going over this but it started to feel like a drama and not so much a sitcom anymore.

I honestly love the ending of season 9 and I cannot wait to see how the field guides play out for season 9. Great job on the first one!

@Jamessmith-xk3fh

4 ай бұрын

I do think they had a great last few episodes to end the series out. The scene with them all in the office I think a year later or so was so good and touching and you could feel the emotions from the cast

They also broke the 4th wall in goodbye Micheal when he takes off his mic pack at the end

Gotta be honest, the Kevin-Turtle cold opening really bothers me and I don't like it at all. Great review, as always, though.

@AutumnFS

4 ай бұрын

Same, I always skip it. It's really gross and dark.

Worst thing a boss ever said (previous job, not current one): he told one coworker she was fat and that’s why her husband left, told me I’m dumb and called one of the teenagers that worked there sexy

A Community Field guide would be ao awesome after The Office is finished!

@jordansweet8054

2 ай бұрын

Cool. Cool cool cool.

I thought they said it was a month-long retreat? How was he only gone for 3 days?

Wasn't Andy's trip a month long according to Erin?

LMAO you already have me spit-taking at 0:25 HYSTERICAL

I think the best joke from Season 9 is that the rest of the staff unanimously agreed that they owed it to Andy to continue to call Pete "Plop" even after Andy left.

#sixseasonsandafieldguide

@squidlivers5677

4 ай бұрын

Chris you should just announce it at this point

@jordansweet8054

2 ай бұрын

Cool. Cool cool cool.

Jenna Fischer in this episode is such an absolute bombshell. I am living vicariously through Jim so hard every time I watch this one 😂

As others have said, marriage is complicated and sometimes even if you're Jim & Pam, you aren't always on the same page. Pam's happy with life because, after trying her luck with being an artist (and failing), she married her best friend and they have 2 beautiful kids. She's content with the "boring" life she has. But now's Jim's feeling like he wants to try pursuing his dream, since the only time he left Scranton was to get away after having been shot down by Pam when he made his feelings known. I have to agree that the Jim & Pam arc for this season was well executed in this episode. Yeah, it seems a bit odd that Jim wouldn't have communicated that he longs to pursue his dreams in Philly. The way it's framed you'd think Philly was on the other side of the world.

Comstock is named after Comstock Hall at Cornell. Did you know that Andy went to Cornell?

I use to work for an electrician in chicago, he was greek, born in greece. Early 60s, out of the blue says in a heavy accent" want to know best bj...baby goat." Than just leaves.

The symbolism of the turtle is heartbreaking. Turtles can symbolize longevity; it represents The Office as a series that should last for a very long time. Kevin (driver = producers) running over it (and killing it) symbolizes the choices of the producers of going bigger, crazier, with the series - crushing the mundane writing (slow burn humor... slow like a turtle) that made it great in the first place. It also symbolizes the negligence on the driver (the producers) and how they let Steve Carell go (as you pointed out, this is a callback to Michael running over Meredith.) Yeah, they tried to fix it using pieces around the office (making other characters become managers, or become the heart of the show; trying to bring back the old magic with some callbacks and repeating some jokes and stories, including the callback to Michael running over Meredith) and they tried to "improve" it (getting Ferrell, Bates, Spader, and Tate to join the crew), but the series was already dead. Heart-freaking-breaking. Not to mention the death of the turtle in a parking lot, which is sad in itself.

@GD_Truth_and_Beauty

4 күн бұрын

(and I don't even think season 8 was that bad. But that's what I got from the cold opening)

Mulverine

So sad these are ending soon 😢

9:37 SPEAKING OF THE AUDACITY lmao

Season 9 is a criminally underrated gem. I miss Robert California, but David Wallace is back! And Clarke is one of my favourite characters in the entire series, especially his clear contempt for Dwight. Anyone who can out-Dwight Dwight deserves respect! I know many people hated it, but bringing the documentary crew in was a stroke of genius. It allows the writers to try entirely new scenarios. And it stops the series veering off into weirdness, keeping them grounded within the universe of a boring paper company. Genius. And the worst thing I ever heard my boss say to a colleague - at a Christmas drinks party - was "don't bother coming back in the New Year". He deserved it.

@Mulverine

4 ай бұрын

I think this season is a mosaic of really good ideas and really bad ideas.

Great video! What would you give the cold open?

Didn’t it say the retreat was a month?

New here. But former boss randomly informed me that her grandfather was a former Nazi officer who fled to South America and is alive and well living in Israel as a coverted Jewish person. Don't know why anyone would say that to their Jewish employee.

Comstock is a Hall at Cornell, I think. Not sure what that references tho.

I think that The Office had a big drop in quality between Season 7 & 8 and then another big drop in quality between Season 8 & 9. I am really interested to watch this field guide and I'm wondering if it will cause me to view Season 9 in a more positive light. A lot of Season 9 just felt off. You discussed the sudden introduction of the documentary crew and the Nard Dog's jarring switch from hero to villain. Additionally, up until this point, I don't think liking sports was a major part of Jim's personality. It seems really weird that all of a sudden working for a sports company has always been Jim's secret dream.

I'm actually a little sad 2:21 , that soon these videos are "over" 😢 I just have to start The Office again... and these videos too. 🕺🕺

@Mibbitmaker

4 ай бұрын

He did do a version of these before, these have been his 2nd go-around. Either they can be seen, or of not, they should be put back on... maybe even once a week. Barring that, another series (even the UK Office) would be great instead, or in addition to.

Clark certainly fell off after The Office and Hot Tub Time Machine, but i think Plop’s career is actively rising. White Lotus was HUGE and i think ive seen him in a trailer for something relatively big coming up (big enough that its marketing has reached me). And he worked intimately with and portrayed the love interest of Alexandra Daddario, which is a greater achievement than almost any of his Office castmates will ever reach. Jon Krasinski marrying and starting a family with Emily Blunt tops it tho

👍

@Mulverine

4 ай бұрын

🙏

I've been only rewatching The Office from "The Dundies" to "Niagara" for a while, and my God, season 9 it's just so terrible, it is even worse than I remember. I would watch some mediocre laugh track 90s or 2000s sitcom over this any day, it's such a shadow of its former glory to the point of being painful.

Season 8 >>> season 9 and i find it insane to think the opposite

Ugh 😫 you like all the stuff I hate from this episode! 😭 The turtle cold open makes me queasy. It’s gross, cruel, and makes Kevin look like a complete idiot. It crosses the Tropic Thunder rule. And just how can you actually like the contrived Jim and Pam drama? How does that seem like a good direction for the season to you? I realize Jim and Pam are getting boring as a couple going into this season, but there were better approaches than what we got. The last two episodes are the only saving grace we got from an otherwise lackluster final season.

@Mulverine

4 ай бұрын

I think I instinctually disassociate any animal cruelty from the turtle bit. Kevin’s fully transformed by this point but it’s still a well constructed joke with meta layers to appreciate. I hate the Philly arc and think this is all forced drama…I’m just arguing that this episode at least sets up the arcs for the season quite well.

No idea how popular this opinion is but Pete and Clark were a great addition to season 9

@Mulverine

4 ай бұрын

I think they lose the plot somewhere in the middle of the season, making them feel inconsequential

@user-uu7fe9wi2k

4 ай бұрын

@Mulverine Lol I haven't watched the office in quite a while so I don't really remember details but all I know is I think "Oh those guys! They were fun" whenever I'm remined of them which is enough for me

@henrypeters5291

4 ай бұрын

@@Mulverine I think its something they should have done earlier. Creating a pseudo Jim and Dwight was brilliant, but removing Jim from the main setting definitely took away from that brilliance.

@cesarbueno8927

4 ай бұрын

I mean, people can have their own opinions and that's alright, I respect them, even the wrong ones.

Honestly, "new guys" should have carried the show. Clark and Plop along with Erin should've been the reason for season 10 and beyond. But the writers chose a different approach ...

Cool a new season to review with ZERO guest appearances, sweet...

@Mulverine

4 ай бұрын

So far…

@oBuLLzEyEo1013

4 ай бұрын

@@Mulverine Oooooosit... 🫢

It’s just a paper company

@KingMasey

4 ай бұрын

It’s just a paper company

Great review! I can't believe you find the turtle bit funny though. Really don't like it or find it funny at all personally!

I don’t know what it is about this episode but I can’t stand it! One of the worst episodes in the series for me.

I feel like the cat is named comstock because she’s an accountant. Comm. Stock, as in the form stockholders equity on the balance sheet. Just always what I figured

"That's why your wife cheated on you because you're a lazy bum. Maybe now you'll learn!" That's the worst thing I've heard a Boss say to a coworker. And the warehouse was full. 🫠

Always happy to see your ups. 👍🖨️👍