Just Another Day At The Office Retro 06.13.08: The Alliance Review
Posted by Seth Roy on 06.13.2008
Jim and Dwight form an alliance to help save their jobs, and Michael throws Meredith a surprise birthday party.
I’m reviewing The Office’s fourth episode this week, The Alliance, while I’m watching game four of the NBA Finals. So, if I seem a bit distracted, forgive me: Kevin Garnett just got his second foul in the first two minutes. (KG’s my favorite player, so, I am rooting for the Celtics, though I’m from Ohio…) Annnnnnd, the Celtics are collapsing!
Onto the show!
Cast:
Steve Carell ... Michael Scott
Rainn Wilson ... Dwight Schrute
John Krasinski ... Jim Halpert
Jenna Fischer ... Pam Beesly
B.J. Novak ... Ryan Howard
Melora Hardin ... Jan Levinson-Gould
Leslie David Baker ... Stanley Hudson
Brian Baumgartner ... Kevin Malone
Kate Flannery ... Meredith Palmer
Charlie Hartsock
Mindy Kaling ... Kelly Kapoor
Angela Kinsey ... Angela Martin
Paul Lieberstein ... Toby Flenderson
Oscar Nuñez ... Oscar Martinez
Phyllis Smith ... Phyllis Lapin
Creed Bratton ... Creed Bratton
The downsizing:
Dwight begins the episode pestering Michael about the downsizing, wanting to make sure he wouldn’t be downsized. Dwight: “Bottom line, do I need to be worried?” Michael shakes his head, makes a “nnn nnn nnn” sound, says “maybe” and walks away.
Michael talks about the imminent downsizing, and contrasts himself with Donald Trump, saying his catchphrase would be, “You’re hired, and you can work here as long as you want.”
Dwight says he is at a disadvantage when it comes to gossiping at the water cooler, so he moves the cooler closer to him. Stanley questions him.
Michael wants to improve morale with a birthday party. He finds out that Meredith’s birthday is the closest, in one month. He calls Pam a wet blanket for being no fun.
The planning committee makes an appearance! Phyllis suggests streamers, which Angela actually agrees with! Gasp! Phyllis and Pam suggest green, which Angela calls “whorish.” Phyllis is wearing green. Pam talks (talking head) about wanting to smack Angela.
Michael walks in and suggests that they buy an ice cream cake. Angela informs Michael that Meredith is allergic to dairy, and can’t eat ice cream. Michael: “She’s not the only one that’s going to be eating it, right?”
Michael bought Meridith a Happy Bird-Day card. He wants to write a funny joke on the card. He can’t come up with anything.
He asks Dwight some advice about good jokes for Meredith, who was divorced twice and has two kids. And had a hysterectomy. Michael: “Dwight, I’m trying to write something funny here. What am I going to do with a removed uterus?”
Michael and the office surprise Meredith with the birthday party, which just confuses her.
Michael asks why Meredith doesn’t eat cake, which she reminds him of her dairy allergy. Michael: “If I were allergic to dairy, I think I’d kill myself.”
Meredith opens her card and reads everyone’s comments. Michael’s: “Meredith, let’s hope the only downsizing that happens to you is that someone downsizes their age.”
Michael tries to tell other jokes in the awkwardness: Liz Taylor wants her age and divorces back. Meredith is so old she went into an antique store, and they kept her. The party is no longer fun, and Meredith is sad.
Michael tries to rally the troops, by mentioning a certain sizeable donation…
We also find out that it is Ryan’s actual birthday…in a bit of irony.
The Alliance
In response to the downsizing, Dwight asks Jim to form an alliance. Jim accepts.
Jim: “At that moment, I was so happy. I mean, everything Dwight does annoys me.” (Cut to clip of Dwight asking Jim if he got his tickets…to the GUN SHOW!) “And I spend hours thinking of ways to get back at him … then here he comes and says, Jim, here’s a way.”
Dwight wants to keep the alliance a secret from everyone. And Jim tells Pam first thing. He tells Dwight he is using Pam to get to know the office. (This is so Survivor-ish)
Jim’s next assignment was to find what Toby and Kevin were conspiring about…and he talked to Kevin about his sub. Jim tells Dwight they’re conspiring to get Angela knocked off. Jim suggests going to great lengths because others are now forming alliances.
Pam goes to Jim in the office, and talks about the conversations she’s hearing. Dwight is suspicious.
Jim, in a talking head, says Pam is so great, and looks around innocently.
Jim tells Dwight another alliance is meeting in the warehouse during Meredith’s birthday party, and Dwight says they have to be there.
We learn that Dwight is “better at hiding than (deer) are at vision.”
Dwight is going to hide in a box, which Jim tapes up rather heavily. Dwight debates the virtues of trusting Jim.
Pam goes into the warehouse and acts like she’s talking to someone. The box Dwight is in falls over as he jockeys for position, and Pam runs away. (Listen closely: Dwight groans here)
Dwight eventually busts out of the box, Shredder-style, with Darrell looking on.
After the party, Jim jumps behind Pam’s desk like an excited little girl, and tells her about his plan to get Dwight to go undercover to Stamford and spy on the other branch. First, Dwight has to also dye his hair blond.
Just then, Roy (Pam’s fiancé) walks in to see Jim holding Pam’s hand and laughing. Naturally, he asks what the hell is going on.
Jim tries to explain the alliance with Dwight to explain the office prank. Dwight tells Roy he doesn’t know what Jim’s talking about. Roy gets angry and tells Pam to leave with him, making Jim look awkward in front of the whole office.
Dwight: “Do I feel bad about betraying Jim? Not at all. That’s the game.” Annnnd…Dwight looks funny with blond hair.
Michael’s a charitable guy:
Oscar asks Michael to pledge money for his nephew’s charity run, for cerebral palsy. Michael donates $25, easily trumping everyone else’s $2 and $3 gifts.
Jim tells Michael he’s impressed he donated so much, and enlightens Michael to the $3-a-mile concept, that will be $50 total, or so. Michael freaks out a bit and tries to take back his donation.
Michael lets it be known that it is his greatest desire to donate money for nice, helpful things.
Thoughts:
Yet another pretty good episode, and it weaved the two stories (Meredith’s birthday and The Alliance) together very well, and showcased the excellent supporting cast.
Jim and Dwight’s alliance is hilarious, especially when Dwight gets in the box and the shock of seeing Dwight with blond hair.
Also, Roy’s entrance at the end of the show is a bit of foreshadowing (to the Basketball episode, and more episodes during season 3.)
The other storyline is all right, and provides for some decent highlights, such as Angela saying green is “whorish,” Michael telling Meredith he’d kill himself if he were allergic to dairy, and Michael and Dwight’s conversation.
There’s a lot of good character development here, with Jim and Pam, and Michael, especially. We also get a glimpse of Phyllis’s subservience to Angela in the party planning committee. (A storyline that finally came to a head in the season 4 finale.)
All-around, it’s a good, funny episode with a couple special, laugh-out-loud moments, and the slow building of the Jim/Roy confrontation.
The 411: And this ends the string of very good first-season episodes, with some great laugh-out-loud moments and character development. The birthday storyline isn't the most exciting, though it leads to a very awkward moment and a couple funny lines. Jim and Dwight's alliance clearly overshadows everything else in the episode, in both hilarity and seriousness (with the introduction of Roy). There are a lot of parts of this episode that come in to play later on in the series. Thumbs up.
