Here we have yet another matchup between a late episode of season 2, and an early episode of season 6. It is so ironic that these two episodes are against each other because episodes 2.21 and 6.6 JUST went up against each other! The episode from season 2 won easily, and I am starting to see a pattern as I watch episodes from conflicting seasons. It seems that the earlier the episode, the more involved I feel. I am starting to feel like I am the camera man in these episodes. In the later seasons, I feel like I am watching a television show. Although this may be good for my sanity, it hasn't been as good for the episodes in the tournament. Let's see how this one plays out.
2.20 "Drug Testing"
Cold Open
Dwight is dressed like a cop to investigate a joint found on company property over the weekend. During an interview with Kevin, Dwight compares Kevin's personality to that of a dope user. The Open was pretty funny. I like how it incorporated the premise of the episode and wasn't just childish nonsense. I had a hard time deciding on 1 star or 2 stars, but I think Dwight admitting that being a volunteer deputy has made him zero friends put it over the top. + 2 Stars
Story
This episode was pretty straight-forward. We open with Dwight launching an investigation because he found a joint in the parking lot. This leads to a bunch of nonsense that ends with him calling in drug testers. We do have an interesting "B" story where Jim in jinxed by Pam and cannot speak until he buys her a coke.
Dwight found a joint in the parking lot and now will stop at nothing to find who has left it there. Dwight put on his deputy uniform and conducted interviews with everyone in the office. Though several employees seemed suspicious, Dwight was unable to come to any conclusions. He then decided to call in special drug testers to sample everyone's urine, which scared Michael. Michael revealed to Dwight that he may have accidentally used drugs at a concert he had attended a few days back, that the joint wasn't his, and that he needed Dwight's urine. Although a very proud man, Dwight finally agreed to give Michael his urine. Distraught at his illegal behavior, Dwight turned in his deputy uniform. Michael, happy to have avoided suspicion, made him an hororary corporal in the security of the building. Ultimately, though we suspected Ryan, Dwight's investigation yielded no conclusive evidence of who had left the joint in the parking lot.
Meanwhile, Pam "jinxed" Jim, which meant he was not allowed to speak until he bought Pam a coke. Jim went to the coke machine, and Pam was delighted when she found out that the machine was out of coke. For the rest of the day Pam tried to lure Jim into situations that would require him to speak. Jim played it through the entire day without speaking, even during an intense moment where it appeared that Pam finally realized that she was really in love with Jim instead of Roy. In the end, Jim bought Pam her coke, and all was well.
I know this is a set up episode, but something is lacking. There wasn't as much story progression as I like to see, and this episode did little to set up "Conflict Resolution". I hate to say it, but taking this episode out wouldn't hurt the season. That is never a good thing. In all, it wasn't the best story. + 2 Stars
Jokes
Dwight had some really funny moments in this episode. Dwight's interviews with Creed and Oscar were particularly funny. Besides that, Dwight and Michael delivered on their usual one-liners and that was about it. I don't know why this review is so short, there really is just not much more to say. + 3 Stars
Mistakes
Dwight claims that his grandfather's last name was "Shrude", although it is stated in later episodes that Dwight's ancestry came from a last name pronounced similarly to "Beiheim". I'll check on this in future episodes.
Best Quote
"Do you think that smoking drugs is cool? Do you think that doing alcohol is cool?" Michael
Overall Score
7 Stars
6.7 "Koi Pond"
Cold Open
We opened with Jim and Michael having a discussion in Jim's office. Apparently, Jim was all set to leave for a meeting somewhere when Erin explained that whoever they are meeting with would also like Michael to come along. Jim called and explained that he is a manager now, but the voice on the other side insisted Michael join him. This obviously pleased Michael and irritated Jim. The Open wasn't very funny, but did set us up for the episode we were about to see. It wasn't the lamest Open ever, but it wasn't anything good. + 1 Star
Story
"Koi Pond" follows an "A" and a "B" story. The A centers around Michael trying to avoid teasing after he fell into a koi pond during a sale. The B followed Andy and Pam on cold calls around Scranton. We learned that Andy and Erin is a love possibility, and that's about it.
The beginning of the episode showed Michael and Jim returning from a sales call with Michael soaking wet from head to toe. Originally, Michael tried to say that he was caught in a rain storm, but it was eventually figured out that he had fallen into a koi pond. Michael, upset that he was being made fun of, decided to host a Sensitivity Training seminar in order to put his koi pond incident off limits from all teasing. All that was accomplished during the seminar was embarrassing moments for staff members that were later used to mock them. Because Michael had only made matters worse with his seminar, he looked to Jim for advice. Jim claimed that sometimes when people make fun of themselves, people tend to forget the whole thing. Michael was initially successful, but took it too far after several humiliating stories. With things at their worst, the footage of Michael falling fell into the hands of the staff. Jim tried to prevent the staff from watching the film, but Michael told them it was ok. It was discovered in the video that Jim could have easily prevented Michael from falling, but did not because he was still upset over Michael having to come with him. This immediately started a barrage of jokes against Jim, which was a welcomed change for Michael. In the end, Michael and Jim made up and were back to the way they were at the beginning of the episode.
The "B" story followed Pam and Andy on cold calls. It was revealed that Pam and Andy had the lowest sales numbers, thus having to go on the cold calls. Pam and Andy had very little success, and Andy was offended when Pam insisted to potential clients that she was not in a relationship with Andy. Andy, in order to get back at Pam, went over the top in describing the kind of women he dates to a potential client. This, of course, made the client very uncomfortable. After realizing that they were having no luck, they decided to pretend that they were, in fact, a couple. This yielded similar results, although slightly more positive. Andy creeped out Pam with his vast knowledge of birthing coaches, which led to Andy admitting that he was incredibly lonely. Andy admitted that he was interested in Erin, and it was confirmed that the feelings were mutual when Pam talked to Erin at the end of the episode.
It is hard to evaluate this episode. Most of the "A" story was complete nonsense, but I liked it. Most of the "B" story was simply there to lead up to Andy liking Erin, which I felt was poorly drawn out. I cannot argue with the fact that the writers were trying hard to create more plotlines to explore, so I give points for bringing the Andy/Erin fiasco to life. As far as all other story progression, nothing was made. + 3 Stars
Jokes
I was pleasantly surprised with the comedy in this episode! Michael fell into a koi pond and then was the butt of all jokes after he returned soaking wet. The highlight of the episode was when Michael, due to Jim's advice, told the entire office that the volleyball team used to throw him in a frozen lake at his high school. Andy and Pam had some pretty funny moments, though it is so clear that Andy and Pam don't mesh well comedically. Both characters are COMPLETE opposites and their humor didn't really mix that well at times. In all, it was a pretty funny episode. + 3 Stars
Mistakes
No mistakes found.
Best Quote
"In high school, the girl's volleyball team always used to throw me in the frozen lake...four years in a row." Michael
Overall Score
7 Stars
THE VERDICT
This has been the most difficult decision yet. In one episode, we have not a lot of action, but a lot of comedy. In another, we have a balanced mix of the two. Usually I would always give a tie to the earlier episode, but I really felt that Drug Testing was completely unnecessary in the season. Koi Pond, on the other hand, ended strongly by introducing Andy and Erin's love connection. I don't see either episode going another round, so this matchup is almost pointless. I hate to do this, but...
KOI POND is the better episode and will move on in the tournament by a tie breaker score of 7-7
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