“The Office” Finale: A Goodbye to Beauty

Last week, after 9 hilarious-sometimes-repetitive years, The Office finally said goodbye. Many thought the show should’ve ended the year Steve Carell left the show. I wasn’t necessarily in that camp at the time, though I wouldn’t have minded seeing the show bow with its lead actor after 7 successful seasons.

At first, it was intriguing to watch the eighth season play without Michael Scott. I approved the reveal of Andy Bernard as new office manager, rooting for him in his new-found struggle for Michael Scott levels of beloved authority. After a couple episodes, we saw office manager Andy take his employees to a local tattoo parlor where an innocent “Nard Dog” was inked onto his nether region.

That was the moment the entire office officially rallied behind their new leader, and thus, I was sold on Andy and the new Michael Scott-less era of The Office. Robert California (James Spader) tied up Andy’s emergence beautifully:

There’s something about an underdog that inspires the unexceptional. — Robert California, The Office

The rest of season 8 progressed lackadaisically, however, giving storylines to a historical Gettysburg visit, a nonsensical Florida road trip that reintroduced a meaningless Nellie Bertram, and some random new hot chick tried to steal Jim away when nobody wanted to see that.

It was time for the show to end.

While I didn’t understand Andy’s massive 3-month departure from the show this season (and his downward spiral in general), I applaud the end result: Dwight deserved to be manager.

While the job didn’t make sense for Dwight’s character a season ago (dude shot a gun in the office and had grown noticeably loopier), the role fit perfectly for him this season. And seeing Dwight mend fences with long-time rival Jim made for a heart-warming tie to the bow of their chaotic relationship — nay, friendship.

After seeing Jim prank Dwight countless times over the last 9 years, it was a perfect finale twist to watch him “prank” his bespectacled nemesis with surprising delights — including the magical return of one Michael Gary Scott, re-ushered into the show with one last classic “that’s what she said.”

From a stapler in the Jello to a National Treasure-esque office scavenger hunt, Jim’s “best prank ever” line holds some serious weight.

Along with Michael Scott’s reappearance, quite a few others made their own Office returns. Check out this article for a complete list of all the crazy cameos!

I noticed some of these appearances while watching, but couldn’t believe some of the others. You mean Meredith’s adorable little son “Jakey” from season 2’s “Take Your Daughter to Work Day” episode was the same actor who played her now adult stripper son? GET OUT.

Additionally, the entire Office crew was basically in the finale as well! How special.

For the most part, everyone got their happy ending when it was all said and done:

• Dwight and Angela were wed (in shallow graves, no less!).
• Long lost (hopeless!) lovers Ryan and Kelly reunited by running away together.
• Nellie adopted her (Ryan-trendy!) baby.
• Erin found her birth mother (Joan Cusack!).
• Kevin found a job he was actually competent in (bartending!).
• Stanley escaped the job he hated so much and retired to Florida (carving wooden Phyllises!).
• Creed went to prison — not exactly a “happy ending,” but oh so fitting for his crazy character. And his bearded self seemed quite fine with it!
• Andy became an Internet sensation and eventually returned to his Cornell roots (ever heard of it?).
• And Jim and Pam moved onward to a bright future — where else? — in the crown jewel of the South: Austin, Texas.

I don’t say goodbye to shows all that often. LOST is the only other significant show I’ve had to watch sail off into the horizon, and while that show capped their six-year run with emotional poignancy, many plot-lines were intentionally left unfilled. People either loved the LOST finale or hated it.

I can’t imagine anyone despising how The Office said goodbye. While I think the show lost its focus for more than a few episodes, these last few episodes roared back to what made those first couple seasons so very beautiful.

The Office became real again.

In real life, people and places change. People retire to Florida and couples move to Colorado or Texas to pursue the next phase of their shared existence. People are hired, people are fired, and people come and go out of our lives like the wind sometimes.

But sometimes, people stay. And that’s real, too. If they stay long enough, that special sense of “home” develops like a blooming flower. For the disgruntled (and “gruntled“) employees of Dunder-Mifflin in Scranton, PA, they basked in that bloom for nine years.

I’ve wandered this planet for 26 years trying to find that myself — find home. The ordinariness of a paper company leads me to believe home is so readily in our midst. We just have to open our eyes sometimes — be willing to change, be willing to stay.

My three favorite quotes (of which there were so many) from The Office finale go as follows:

No matter how you get there or where you end up, human beings have this miraculous gift to make that place home. — Creed Bratton, The Office

I think an ordinary paper company like Dunder-Mifflin was a great subject for a documentary. There’s a lot of beauty in ordinary things. Isn’t that kind of the point? — Pam Halpert, The Office

And my personal, soul-stirring favorite:

Goodbye, The Office. You were and will forever be beautiful to so many.

Question: What did you think of The Office finale? Did you cry? Weep? Oh, and what was the deal with that four-toed statue in LOST???