Episode 2 - The Incentive
23 February 2012
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Synopsis: Robert comes in to the office and tells Andy to double the growth in sales. Andy doesn't know what to do and comes up with a lame incentive system. Jim pushes him to come up with more tempting offers and Andy foolishly offers to have a tattoo put on his butt as a prize. The office rallies together and achieves the points they need in one day.
The Good: It's still wait and see from me. I liked parts of this but I'm still not sure we have quite turned a corner yet.
On one level the new power dynamic has a lot of potential. Robert wants to make the company more profitable and he makes a demand which Andy squirms over. It's a more pleasant dynamic than in earlier seasons where Michael Scott inexplicably kept a job despite constantly demoralising his employees. If the writers can harness Andy's more likeable "underdog" persona then they could be on to something good.
It was of course very refreshing to have a plot that revolved around, you know, work! It feels like it's been a while since a story was built around a sales goal as you imagine it would in real life.
I like that Robert's psychological manipulation was on display once more as he whipped the office into applause. He may have been blowing hot air but his speech about why Dunder Mifflin isn't dead was pretty effective. His explanation for choosing Andy was solid too and fitted with his patronising attitude to everyone he meets.
The reveal of the Nard Dog tattoo was very good too. I have reservations about the plot up to that point but it was a twist I wasn't expecting and was a far sunnier ending than Michael usually got. One of my issues with the story was that Andy didn't deserve the humiliation he was suffering and so to see that the office had no intention of scarring him for life was good to see.
I also thought Dwight was handled better this episode than he has been for some time. His contempt for Andy is well established and so why wouldn't he just sit and wait for the inevitable to happen? The Pam and Angela pregnancy stuff was solid.
The Bad: My main problem with the Andy story was the sheer glee with which everyone wanted to humiliate him. I accept that a large part of that was offset by the happy ending but it doesn't entirely excuse it. Jim was so quick to jump all over Andy's incentives scheme that it felt close to bullying. Unlike Michael, Andy was just doing his job and so it seemed unkind to outsmart him so thoroughly. Of course Jim did quite rightly step in to tell Andy when the joke was over and reassure him that he didn't need to get the tattoo. I wasn't entirely sure whether Andy agreeing to get tattooed was a good idea either but I suppose he decided to honour his own silly deal because it seemed to have worked out for him.
Kevin was overused throughout the episode. I kind of liked the teaser sequence just because they went all the way with Kevin's childish logic. However they then had him arguing with Robert, unable to talk to Darryl's wife and so on. Without better definition his "stupidity" can get old quickly.
Speaking of Darryl, I'm not sure what the point of his plot was. We never found out what his ex wife wanted to say to him but I'm guessing it's not good. Why? Because Darryl was bragging to the camera. When does a comedy character brag and not then get brought down? I shouldn't pre-judge but I don't like the way Darryl seems to be increasingly portrayed as a bit of a loser. The office is filled with people who already play that role and Darryl was much better being used as the cool guy.
Have we seen Gabe at all this season?
Comic Highlight: I smiled at Andy calling someone for de-motivation advice
That's what I said: Again I say wait and see. These two episodes have been encouraging but the show hasn't changed enough for us to know anything concrete yet.
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