Storytime: The Office 0403: Launch Party.

So, am I wrong in thinking that Jim was an ass? I mean, kicking a man when he’s down like that. Then the way that he took the pizza? Decidedly not cool. In terms of personality it felt like Dwight and Jim did a straight swap throughout much of this episode It was kind of easy to empathize with Dwight over his situation with Angela (who it appears is turning to be the Office mattress…). Dwight was the poor guy after the girl that he has no change with, and Jim was mainly unlikable a position that Dwight generally has on lockdown.

When not battling against a machine, Dwight was in fine form, first unsuccessfully trying to win back Angela in quite possibly the most inane way ever, and then play ‘cop Dwight’, something which is always funny.

Andy a-wooing Angela was not only a funny B-story but it was also a relief to see Andy actually being used as a plot device, not just a Ralph Wiggum (or Creed Bratton for that matter…) like non-sequitur machine. Andy is certainly one of the more interesting characters (educated at Cornell don’t cha know?) and him duking it out mano a mano with Dwight for Angela’s affections ought to prove interesting.

Elsewhere I’ll admit that I was a little skeptical of the whole ‘hostage situation’ plotline, but it was handled in a very gentle way. The kid was created to be very unlikable and Michael’s gradual shift in realizing that exactly he’s done was comedy gold, and also sold the whole plot device well. His relationship with his ‘brainchild’ Ryan seems to have moved from self-feigning friendship to full blown animosity, evident not only from the ‘asshole’ comment, but also form his amusing tirade at the end of the episode.

I’m sure I’m not the only who’s thinking that the first three episodes are setting Michael up for a David Brent like fall from grace. Perhaps not a firing, as I imagine that Greg Daniels and company aren’t eager to have Steve Carrell leaving, maybe a demotion or something? It seems to parallel what happened to Pam throughout the third season, with a gradual change into a new character.

Launch Party generally felt like it was meant to be an emotional episode, but had nowhere the impact of episodes done in a similar vein. Sure it had some touching moments (Dwight’s eventual triumph, Jim and Pam on the roof), but it feels like they weren’t quite the emotional triumph that the writers wanted them to be.

The UK influence felt much more prevalent in this episode, as much as I hate to compare the two, because the US has really created its own unique spin. Maybe it was the lack of resolution at the end, or the decidedly darker tone throughout the episode. It kind of felt like how Season One should have been done, with the two distinct US and UK influences combining to be a pretty entertaining episode.