Talk to me, Tivo: Michael attempts to help the staff grieve after learning that the former regional manager has died.
Jaminess: 1 [3=Casino Night]
Jam Cam: Michael is getting his employees stuff from “the warehouse” so Pam decides to play along. She doesn’t want a pen though, She wants coffee. With cream and sugar. Because the warehouse coffee tastes so much better. Jim would be proud.
Too bad things take a turn for the worse when Michael finds out Scranton’s former regional manager dies and he tries to get sympathy in the form of a hug from Pam. His lingering after makes Pam — and the rest of us — feel a little icky. If Jim’s not getting kisses from her, no one is!
Jim, meanwhile, is still starring in �Exiled in Stamford� and gets assigned to watch over Karen to make sure she gets her work done. Karen looks annoyed and Andy calls our StamfordJim a suck up. Someday, Andy, I’m going to make you pay for that.
Karen tries to comfort herself after her little screw up with some Herr’s potato chips, which, as we all know, are not as good as Sun Chips. Jim feels bad about having to be the Narc of the Day and decides they need to go on a bonding expedition to find chips. Ick.
As the Scranton branch continues to mourn, Michael calls a conference room meeting to talk it out when Roy sticks his head in to save Pam. The Old Couple head to the parking lot to small talk about Pam’s car and Roy is pouring on the charm, trying to be nice. And yet, he still makes a bit on a sarcastic comment about it being small and her speeding in it. Hey Roy, she drives faster than boys. Deal with it.
But then do we also have to deal with Jim flirting with Karen? He’s making a call to some warehouse trying to get ahold of a bag or two. The warehouse asks for his store number. He gives a mischievous look to Karen that was once reserved for Pam, starts making up a random number, and then quickly hangs up the phone. His sheepish “Shut up,” to Karen is more of a “You’re cute and a good way for me to get over a three-year crush,” kind of thing.
In Scranton, Pam’s back from her excursion outdoors and the grief counseling can finally get underway. Michael makes everyone talk about someone close to them that they’ve lost. Pam brings up her aunt who died in a boxing accident in a story that sounds eerily like the movie “Million Dollar Baby.” Nice job ruining it for me, Pam. Couldn’t someone put a spoiler alert on that one? Ryan puts his hands out offering to go next and keeps the joke rolling with his cousin Moufasa from The Lion King. Wow. Is Ryan replacing Jim as Pam’s partner in crime? Let’s hope not considering no one can replace Jim.
In Stamford, Karen calls some store in Montreal to show off her French for Jim. I mean seriously, Montreal? That’s hours from Stamford. What other excuse does she have other than to flirt with Jim? Unfortunately, he did seem impressed by all of it. Ick.
Dwight’s working on a funeral for a dead bird and needs a small box to put said creature into. Not to worry, Pam already made one with a Kleenex box and some pencils. First gold medals and doves for the office Olympics, now this. She’s good. And she even encourages Dwight to play music on his recorder. Her plan is so cute that we all know Jim would be very proud of her if he saw her now instead of flirting with Mademoiselle Karen.
Speaking of, Karen looks genuinely touched to find Herr’s potato chips on her desk and asks Jim where he found them. Jim plays dumb as he listens to her open the bag at the desk behind him and then smiles at his potato chip triumph. Needless to say, he’s not all that dumb. He called the manufacturer and blah blah blah…they were in a vending machine next door. I want to vomit.
Back in the parking lot in Scranton, Pam is making Jim proud even if he isn’t there to see it. Remember when Jim had that medal ceremony for Michael during the office Olympics? Well, Pam is taking over Jim’s role and writes a eulogy for the bird that has very little to do with the bird and alot to do with making Michael feel better about his own life when he seems depressed about dying alone. Despite the fact that “the bird” was alone when it died, it had lots of other “birds” that cared about him. And as Dwight and Pam do a wonderful rendition of “On the Wings of Love,” it warms your heart to think that just because Jim is alone in Stamford and Pam is alone in Scranton, they both still care about each other too.
At least, that’s the story I’m going with so I can sleep at night and forget about Mlle. Karen.
The Others: Michael get the sad news that his predecessor, Ed Truck, died after being decapitated in a traffic accident. What’s makes the story worse is when Creed seems to get facts about human decapitation and chicken decapitation incorrect. Dwight decides it would be best to build an Ed Truck robot in honor of the human version of the guy, but with an extension cord in case it decides to rebel against them. Meanwhile, Michael picks up a dead bird in the parking lot and channels his despair about Ed’s death and depression that he may die alone into the little feathered beast. It�s so bad that he enlists Pam to host a funeral for his dead little friend and then sets the thing ablaze in a funeral pyre that rivals Luke Skywalker’s version for his dad at the end of The Return of the Jedi. Oh, there should be a spoiler alert on that last sentence.
What have we learned today, kids: You may have left your fiance days before your wedding, moved out, and bought your own car. You may still be the “new guy” trying to adjust at the branch you transferred to as a way to deny your love for a co-worker. Despite all that, you are not as alone as you think you are.
– written by Jenny
Quotes
Karen: Dammit.
Jim: What’s up?
Karen: Oh, nothing. They’re just out of Herr’s chips. But don’t worry about it. My snack food doesn’t fall under the umbrella of your authority.
Jim: Umm…that’s where you’re wrong. I’m your project supervisor today and I’ve just decided that we’re not doing anything until you get the chips that you require. So I think we should go get some. Now please.
Pam: What do we know about this bird? You might think “Not much, it�s just a bird.” But we do know some things. We know it was a local bird. Maybe it’s that same bird that surprised Oscar that one morning with a special present from above.
Kevin: I remember that. That was so funny.
Pam: And we know how he died. Flying into the glass doors. But you know what? I don’t think he was being stupid. I think he just really, really wanted to come inside our building — to spread his cheer and lift our spirits with a song.
Dwight: It’s not a songbird.
Michael: Shh.
Pam: An impression, then. Lastly, we can’t help but notice that he was by himself when he died. But of course, we all know that doesn’t mean he was alone because I’m sure that there were lots of other birds out there who cared for him very much. He will not be forgotten.
Angela: Amen.
