1 [Report This]Date: January 10, 2021 08:00 am Title: Uncle Ogre and Guacamole
I liked this a lot!
Charlie’s flight school and the very quick flip from happiness to open warfare between the kids all feels too real. And I love these little moments of Pam clearly having great instincts with the kids, having honed them on years of managing Michael and keeping Dwight and Jim’s hostilities in check.
You did a REALLY good job let us visualize the dinner scene. The description and details are really effective. I also liked portraying Vanessa’s room as “a sacred shrine for Charles M. Schultz,” which is just a good line. (And I’m glad you included Charlie Brown and Snoopy staring at Starry Night!
The moment with Pam passing on her excitement to Vanessa feels special – you can see what kind of influence Pam will be and her joy and also really imagine how big this is for Vanessa, too.
Noting the Jack Ryan reference, but it seems spot on that Pam’s issues with kids may have been connected in a way she didn’t see at the time to being a parent with Roy, who she can’t count on to be anymore committed as a father than he was as a significant other. Certainly it feels like there has to be an explanation for her joy in Company Picnic other than “well, a few years passed.”
Author's Response:
Certainly it feels like there has to be an explanation for her joy in Company Picnic other than “well, a few years passed.”
Exactly what I thought and a lot of the inspiration behind this piece -I always felt like starting in season 4 - "there's peanut butter in the fridge Michael", Pam was portrayed a lot more ready for motherhood and certainly in Company Picnic there seemed to be no fear... something had to get her there. Glad it is coming across that way since it was kinda what I was going for.
You did pick up the Jack Ryan reference - YEAH! but did you also pick up on the subtle parallels between Charlie's near flight and Michaels' near jump off the roof in Safety Training?
Don't yuck my yum was a big thing in my house when we were little and not too long ago one of the boys said it again and I nearly spit out what I was drinking. I just love it so much for the personal nostalgia and just cause I think it's a great line.
Isn't that a great picture - Peanuts and Van Gogh- two classics.
Thanks as always for bringin a smile to my face with your reviews.
1 [Report This]Date: January 09, 2021 05:27 pm Title: Uncle Ogre and Guacamole
This was a ton of fun. They both have great parental instincts and you're right. It's because they've been the office parents for years. Tons of practice already.
Pam teaching art lessons was another great part. Glad she can find another way to express that side of her. The fort and Jim the Ogre were more fun.
Pam's reflections of Jim as a dad, her own history, and her crystal ball moment were just poignant enough to nicely balance out this chapter. Great job.
Also thanks for the shout-out last time. I forgot I wrote that in my review so it was kind of fun to see it come back around.
Author's Response:
Thank you Warrior4.
All this and more awaits you. Enjoy the ride.
But seriously, glad you enjoyed it. This middle section was meant to be one chapter but the little kid anecdotes found new life as I wrote - deeper meanings and connections back to office events and some I just had fun picturing these scene so it kind of spiraled.
My intention was always to create a bridge from the Take Your Daughter to Work Pam who's insecurities about relating to kids were crippling, to the confident mothering Pam who told Michael there was peanut butter in the kitchen when he got gum in his hair, to the elated Pam who when she found out she was going to have her own child seemed not to have a worry in the world. (of course that changed a bit again as they became new parents but don't we all go through that).
To me there had to be some catalyst to effect that change, partly it was Jim but I needed more backstory. Hope I did it justice.
Thanks for the spark - you deserved the call-out.