TV Review: The Office 8.5, "Spooked"
Being such a long-time fan of The Office, I want to see the series set goals only to surpass them and move forward to the next challenge with the same combination of humor and earnestness that defined the show’s first two seasons.
Being such a long-time fan of The Office, I want to see the series set goals only to surpass them and move forward to the next challenge with the same combination of humor and earnestness that defined the shows first two seasons. When Jim and Pam finally got together, I had faith the show wouldnt suddenly become stale or inert. When Michael quit Dunder Mifflin only to return, I was excited to see how the character would change and handle situations differently. When Jim and Pam got pregnant and then eventually married, I was excited to see how family life suited their romance. And once Steve Carell left the series, I wanted very much to see the cast and crew rise above such a profound loss. Unfortunately, it seems my optimism has only served to bring me into the eighth season unrewarded and Spooked, Im afraid, may be one of the final nails in the coffin of my love for a once brilliant show. The episode contained few genuine laughs and lacked any sincere sense of wholeness. Basically, it only contributed to pushing me that much closer to my friends whom have long since given up on paying attention to The Office. The episodes cold open featured Andy pre-screening Halloween costumes and succeeded in setting the tone of the episode which was lackluster and kind of off-putting. As much as I enjoy Meredith and her usual class meets crass subversive bluntness, using her sisters funeral as an excuse to attend the royal wedding came off as less funny than it was callous. Odd too as I couldnt help but be reminded of when Kelly (who also wanted to be Kate Middleton for the party) back in season two (Michaels Birthday) stated that she had never really thought about death until Princess Diana died. That was the saddest funeral ever. That and my sister's. Again we get talk of the royal family and a sisters funeral. The only difference is that Kellys line is funny because her usually vacuous demeanor gives way to a truly vulnerable moment that was unexpected and absurd whereas Merediths line, while ridiculous, was also just an example of awful human behavior and felt random and lacked foundation or context. 
The bulk of the episode dealt mostly with Erin failing to help Andy meet Robert Californias supposed expectations for the party. This is a device used to explore the romance between Erin and Andy which apparently is a relationship the audience is still somehow supposed to be invested in despite minimal focus. This lack of focus is painfully present in Spooked as the audience is given very little to determine whether Erin is concerned because she still has feelings for Andy or because its generally uncomfortable to work closely with a former romantic partner. Speaking of, it may have been commented on in other reviews, but what is Gabe doing back at Scranton anyway? Ive been very bothered by the lack of explanation for his presence ever since former CEO Jo transferred Gabe back to Florida after his and Erins break-up at the end of season seven. According to Wikipedia, there was a deleted scene which made a joke of how Gabe now flies back and forth between the two locations, but honestly if were supposed to care about this love triangle cant we get at least an on-screen explanation of one of the triangles members status at the office? Its this inattention to detail that keeps the awkwardness between Erin and Andy from being compelling and instead makes it feel cumbersome and annoying. Whereas the old Jim and Pam will they or wont they dynamic was sufficiently captivating, Erin and Andys just feels redundant and unnecessary. This plot is brought to a close by Andy revealing to Erin that he and his girlfriend are pretty serious, having gone on 31 dates, and is going to allow her to call and visit the office. Erin is characteristically upbeat about it so I cant tell if their hug at the end of the episode is supposed to feel bittersweet, bitter, or sweet. Is this the end of their unrequited back and forth romance? Im afraid it probably wont be. The episodes other narratives were just as unsatisfying. The primary subplot was extremely weak and was essentially just another shallow, cutesy debate between Jim and Pam that the rest of the office barely weighed in on regarding the existence of ghosts and other superstitions. Jim is for some reason baffled and disturbed by his wifes apparent belief in ghosts and Pam points out Jims hypocrisy by reminding him of his own irrational belief in not washing his Eagles jersey in order to bring the team good luck. There were two mild jokes about seeing an interesting documentary called Ghostbusters and when Pam draws a middle finger to Jim. This story, like the main plot, had no real resolution except for a soundless clip of the couple holding hands on their way out of the office. The only other notable aspect of this episodes structure was the introduction of Roberts son, Bert. Bert wears a zombie costume and has a fascination with hurricanes. Or storms. Or something. There seems to have been no other purpose for this character other than to engage with Dwight first by antagonizing him over his obscure and strange choice for costume (a female character named Carrigan from a videogame called StarCraft), then as an ally by playing the same videogame, mocking Jim as a loser, then fake firing Toby in the episodes close. These subplots dont necessarily sound too terrible on paper but since they were told poorly, without any emotional context, and without many good jokes, they were in fact pretty terrible. Also, if I have to hear Angela make another snide comment to Pam about her pregnancy, I might lose all faith in the writers of The Office. Never has any other character been so drastically reduced to such a one trick pony. Enough already, we get it. Throughout Spooked Robert California probes the staff for their deepest fears (Kevins extreme aversion to mummies was mildly entertaining) in order to close the episode with a scary story that was more puzzling and disturbing than frightening, much like Gabes cinema of the unsettling which was a collection of black and white scenes that alternately showed candid depictions of the staff and gory images of teeth being brushed and a bleeding birthday cake. Just as Gabe felt the urge to sneak out of the conference room at the end of his video, I too wanted to slink away from the episode before it ended. I understand Roberts story was supposed to incorporate everyones fears and then demonstrate how strange it is that people let fear dictate so much of their lives, but I only know that because of his speech at the end of the episode, otherwise I would have no idea what that story was supposed to accomplish. The entire affair left my brow furrowed, my lips tightly sealed, and my heart empty where The Office used to have such a secure spot. In preparation for watching Spooked and writing this review, I watched Halloween from season two. I think part of what made that episode so great was not only jokes that were actually funny and a plot that successfully resonated with me emotionally (as Michael states, firing someone is very scary stuff), but that it didnt have to try so hard. It felt effortless. We werent watching the Halloween episode and so had to be subjected to debates over ghosts for no reason or the unrelatable struggle to make a Halloween party professionally scary, we were watching an episode of The Office that just so happened to be taking place on Halloween and focused on the very relatable and scary prospect of corporate downsizing. Im not saying I hate the series or dont enjoy seeing the characters exhibiting their usual brand of awkwardly funny behavior. I appreciate them for all that they are but without purpose or relevance, theyre as useless as Dwights costume without any weapons. Ill continue to hang in there with The Office as Ive come too far to give up now, but if the writers dont start to really step up, this series will only continue to be a hollow shell of its former self.