Thu, 15 January 2009
From NBC.com:
 THE DUEL | 01.15.09 | 9/8c | TV-PG L
A
FIGHT TO THE FINISH - The office is on eggshells because Andy (Ed
Helms) still hasn't found out about fiancee Angela's (Angela Kinsey)
affair with Dwight (Rainn Wilson). When Michael spills the beans,
Dwight and Andy take matters into their own hands. Meanwhile, Michael
is nervous about being called down to corporate for a meeting with
Wallace (Andy Buckley). John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, Leslie David
Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Kate Flannery, Mindy Kaling, Phyllis Smith,
Oscar Nunez, Creed Bratton and Paul Lieberstein also star.
--------------------- Well, Kevin and I both said we didn't want to see this drag out all season, so I am very excited to see this resolved so quickly and can't wait to see how they pull this off without Andy getting himself sent back to anger management. As always, leave your comments below and join Kevin and me in the TWSS chat room after the show.
Category:general
-- posted at: 11:57am EDT
Comments[32]
|
-
Phil, you stole my thunder. Angela denying that she had wild crazy sex with Dwight by insisting that they didn\'t do it missionary stylee was hillarious. I thought her talking head of her explaining how she sleeps at night was the best scene of the season, but the confrontation in the conference room, with her evasive non-answers and Andy\'s masochistic need to know the details, tops it. I would have liked the episode to have been solely about Dwight/Andy/Angela. The Michael stuff... meh. It felt just a bit too much like Michael Simpson to me. None of his character flaws preclude his ability to be an effective manager at Dunder Mifflin, in my opinion. Why do they keep dumbing him down (\"Explain it to me like I\'m five years old...\")?
-
the episode was a great resolution to this overly hyped episode.. frankly this plot line that was getting old.. i really liked the resolution and it is the only way they could have finished this plot line without there being a cast departure or a branch transfer which none of us wanna have to see two seperate branches like the beginning of season 3..i really cant wait for next week for all loose ends to be tied in a nice lil knot.. but ive been so satisfied with this season so far and i cant wait to see it progress even farther..kevin and matt keep doing what ur doing u guys are awesome
-
Overall, I was satisfied with this episode, though it did seem to stall once it got the premise set up. I really liked seeing Jim take some kind of leadership role, while still maintaining his sense of humor-- he\'d never quite succeeded in mixing the two, for me. Does anyone else think that the success of the Scranton branch might have more to do with the fact that they have several excellent (and currently, highly motivated) salespersons, as opposed to anything Michael himself is doing? What with Jim\'s recent decision to put some actual effort into his work, Andy\'s need to pay for his wedding and Dwight\'s rejuvinatinated work ethic, it doesn\'t surprise me that the branch is taking in more money than might otherwise be expected. I was a little sad to see Dwight toss his bobble-head, to be honest. Angela certainly deserves it, but those two were cute back in the day, and the bobble-head was a symbol of that. I\'m sorry it seems to be over. Also, loved the cold open. The race reminded me a bit of Office Olympics, and while I\'m sure most offices wouldn\'t succumb to temptation, it felt like something the Scranton branch would not be able to resist.
-
Once I realized and let it sink in that The Office will really never be the same show it was season one thru three, then I let all high expectations go out the window. Having done that has allowed me to love this episode. Compared to the outrageousness of some of this season\'s episodes thus far, it was pretty damn good. There was some heart pounding moments for Andy and Dwight, plus Jim got to exercise some of his managerial skills, and did a decent job after screwing it up with the Dunder Mifflin crew in the past. (I\'ve been waiting for this from Halpert). I know people are looking for laughs in this show and are disappointed when they haven\'t laughed once. It\'s gotten to the point where I don\'t care if I laugh. I love these characters, and if it veers close to drama, that\'s ok with me. Sometimes the show gets a little too close to trying to manufacture easy laughs rather than let the natural flow of life produce chuckles - like it did in the old days. Now, it tends to fail when it tries too hard (i.e Michael driving into a lake. Dwight giving birth to a watermelon - why the Golden Globes showed that as a representation of the show - I will never know. That was horrible.)
-
On the whole this episode was pretty funny esp. when Andy had Dwight pinned in with his car and Dwight was just yelling some pretty damn funny lines. I really enjoyed Jim in this episode, you could really get a sense of him trying to be the boss, but just not quite having enough balls to put a stop to this. The Michel stuff was alright his line about improving a conversation was probably one of the bigger laughs in the episode for me. Now a few things that I thought were just strange. Where was Toby, they made a big deal about him coming back and I didn\'t even see him in the background anywhere, which usually wouldn\'t be a big deal in any other episode, but this is his department. In a real company if that situation happened all the parties would have a huge conference with HR, I\'m just kind of confused. Also I don\'t know if any body else noticed but at the end when Michael is standing on the street having his talking head, I noticed that he was standing in front of a screen, and a horrible one at that, I thought that The Office prided itself on those kinds of shots. If the upstart show with no budget could get those shots in Season 2, why not in Season 5, when it\'s one of NBC\'s highest rated programs.
-
I loved this episode! I literally gasped, jumped up, and Screamed my heart out when I saw Andy driving along in his \\\"silent under 5 MPH Prius.\\\" I do find it hard to believe that Andy couldn\\\'t have figured out sooner that Angela cheated on him. I mean, seventeen days?!?! More importantly, how could Michael not know that Andy hasn\\\'t known. I hope you two discuss this.
-
Thinking back on the episode as a whole, I think this actually ranks up alongside The Injury as an absolutely classic episode. It stripped down and distilled exactly what made The Office so brilliant in the past - that desperate clinging on to survival in those moments where you can barely find a reason to, and how every individual has to find their own road to doing that, but also somehow to prop each other up. There were no long \'inner turmoil\' speeches, it wasn\'t about reflection or self-indulgence and people whining to each other, it ran much deeper than that, and felt much more visceral and immediate. The Duel, in a way, brought us right back to the start of the show, shrugged off all the baggage of the mythology and the mystery-solving, and reminded us what was so good about The Office in the first place: Heart-racing character drama with tons of laughs. Really brilliant.
-
I love that this episode explored more of a real-life situation. What do we do when we know a secret about someone you have daily contact with, and you can\'t tell them? And while my work place may not stand at a window and watch a confrontation- we all sure would like to. That\'s when The Office is at its best to me.
-
A good episode. It wasn\'t a laugh fest, but it wasn\'t intended to be. The Michael plotline must have been a setup for future plot lines, but honestly it was a waste. VERY few funny moments & alot of awkwardness. Awkward humor is a trademark of this show, but it was just awkward, minus the humor. However, the Dwight/Andy/Angela showdown was great. It had great dramatic tension, some great laughs, & it made you feel for everyone (ok, except for Angela except for MAYBE a little bit at the very end). Throwing out the bobble head is major! That has been almost an icon representing the show for SO long! It was also the only logical end to the entire affair situation. I think it is a bit hypocritical to act as if Dwight & Andy were both played & that Dwight is somehow innocent. He knew she was engaged, but Andy is honestly the only innocent party here. I\'ll be honest...this is the first time I\'ve really been interested as to what will happen between Andy/Angela/Dwight in a LONG time. No gripes about less content with the minor characters or even Jim/Pam. I just think that the idea of Michael talking about his corporate success was possible comedy gold, only to be wasted by retard Michael. It would have been great for him to bumble about a bit & then come through with some statement of \"it\'s the people & the family atmosphere at Scranton\" Oh well, more to explore in the next episode.
-
I like that they\'re making everyone single again so we can focus on the relationship that drew me into the series to begin with. I thought Andy\'s dueling technique was HILARIOUS and Jim going around collecting Dwights hidden weapons was hilarious and a fantastic payoff for past seasons.
-
Not the funniest episode, definitely, but still fine in my book. I liked how everyone was a little worried, since they had all seen Andy punch a hole in the wall over a little prank. I liked when Angela was trying her best not to lie straight to Andy when he finally asked if it was true (Angela\'s \"A little\" was classic). Favorite Line: The Prius is silent under 5 mph. he deserves to win.
-
Like others have said, it wasn\'t necessarily the funniest episode ever but I thoroughly enjoyed it. In my opinion it was a great ending to the love triangle, and I look forward to the rest of the season. We need some more Jim and Pam though. I feel like we have seen Pam for 10 seconds this season!
-
To Camille - No, Andy would not have been bragging about sleeping with Angela. He\'s had what they call in professional wrestling a \"face turn,\" that is he went from being a \"heel,\" (a jerk, antagonistic) to being a pretty good guy who genuinely loved Angela and was trying to do right by her and wouldn\'t brag of their private life. Dwight meanwhile began the series as a heel, had something of a face turn last season and then turned heel again. But, as wrestlers (and Office characters) often do, Dwight and Andy may have formed an alliance over the Angela debacle. Will this situation turn Andy heel again to where he feels he was wronged and acts out? Will Dwight make a face turn? Or will they be \"\'tweeners,\" neither heel nor face?
-
\"I was ahead of the car.\" - classic Different but I really liked this episode. Did not see the surprise ending coming. But it\'s creative. Kevin\'s sarcasm to Angela was great. I still think Angela/Angela Kinsey looks good this season as well. Don\'t know if it\'s the glow of motherhood or a new hairstyle.
-
Decent episode this week. I agree with many of the other posts that this was a middle of the road episode. I loved the cold open, ridiculous as it was. I\'m hoping that since the triangle has been somewhat resolved, the episodes will be a little less heavy emotionally. My concern is that I wanted to laugh, but the reality is that the past few episodes have been kind of depressing. Definitely some good moments, but I\'m hoping things will be little more lighthearted in the upcoming episodes.
-
a few laghs in this episode.... creed, meredith, michael didn\'t understand the michael plot line other than david wallace was confused that he was doing well. dwight, andy, and angela should have just gotten it out in front of everyone and had something happen..... I don\'t know what. andy slept with angela twice? wouldn\'t\' he have been bragging about it to the cameras?
-
Loved it. Loved seeing a happy Michael even if it was nonsensical. Loved the resolution. Poor Angela, left with nothing. Karma is a boomerang. :) I kept expecting Andy to pick up the phone and call Schrute farms to ask for his deposit back, and for Dwight to grant it.
-
That was a fantastic resolution! I was wondering how they\'d keep all three still working at Dunder Mifflin, and the writers managed to accomplish it. I almost, ALMOST could see Dwight and Andy bonding over their anger with Angela. At the very least, things will be awkward, but isn\'t this what the show was built on? I was really surprised that Angela slept with Andy. (but only twice? hysterical.)
-
Thursday Karen really liked tonight\'s episode but I\'ll wait to re-watch it on the DVR for more highlights. The thought that I wanted to get down was that tonight\'s interactions between Wallace and Michael kindof explain the new cast member they\'re bringing on. Wallace\'s talking heads about not knowing how Michael is successful but not ditching him in these tough times means that he is going to continue to be the \"good cop\" and they\'ve brought in a new bad cop/Season 1-2 Jan/Ryan. I think Matt especially will like the dynamic since he likes it when Michael shines through and exceeds someone\'s low opinions of him. Also liked tonight not too much Jim & Pam relationship stuff. It would have been too much and frankly, I needed a break from those two though I am a huge fan of them.
-
I think I need to see it a few more times for the ep to sink in, but I felt that this was a slightly middle of the road episode. The cold open was lame and Michael\'s talking head in front of a green screen distracted the Hell out of me. But while there wasn\'t a clash of the titans moment between Dwight and Andy, the reveal and resolution of the Dwandygela triangle was as low key and emotionally devastating moment in the series as ever. I also loved David Wallace seeing the diamond in the rough that is Michael\'s managerial style but not exactly sure how to get there, although you\'d think he would have caught onto Michael\'s \"office as family\" philosophy by now.
-
Welcome back, The Office! It may not have been the best episode ever, but it was a damn fine one, nonetheless! The Michael storyline seemed like a throwaway storyline with no real meat. However, I thought it brought a terrific end to the Dwight/Angela/Andy triangle. Now I wonder, however, what storyline will carry us through the rest of the season?
-
On the whole... I\'m entirely nonplussed about this episode. Very few laughs, period; but hopefully its purpose in tying up the DwAndygela plotline was so that the show can get back to its usual office antics, which are so much funnier. If this was a serious attempt at humor... well then, I think it\'s time to call it quits.
-
hey guys. just watched the new episode.....i have to say, after first watch, I thought the episode was filled with some great lines, good times, and finally a good ending to the whole situation.....So i cant wait to hear what you guys have to say about it...also, i am having problems getting onto your chat..any helpful ideas for that? i click on the green box, enter a name, and then nothing happens...thanks in advance.
Adding comments is not available at this time.
![[Valid RSS]](http://static.flickr.com/81/247458026_2d6cc2cec1_o.png "Validate my RSS feed")