Let me start by saying, I don’t like happy endings. I always root for the bad guy in movies. Part of me was upset when the Joker didn’t best Batman in The Dark Knight. I prefer Boston Rob to JT. I rooted for Shredder instead of the Ninja Turtles. Why do I feel this way? I think it is because I feel like the entertainment industry assumes that its audience wants to leave a movie theatre or turn off their TV with a satisfied feeling. They just assume that the happy ending is the only way to leave the viewer satisfied. I do not agree.
Every preview that I saw for Jim and Pam’s wedding before yesterday’s episode said that it was “time for the happy ending.” I thought this was more just corporate tripe. Ho-hum publicity for America’s favorite primetime couple. So they would get married and all would be right with the world. God forbid that Roy or Karen come back to throw another wrench into what every fan wanted to see. That would be boring television.
It’s not very often that I am wrong. But I was wrong about The Office wedding. It was everything the fans of the show have wanted. Jim and Pam got married. It truly was the “happy ending.” But it was much more than that. It was magic television.
I can tell you in all honesty, that last night’s episode was the single greatest episode of television that I have seen in 2009. My professional opinion is that it warrants consideration as the greatest single episode of television in history. And while my tone seems eerily similar to the overhype that I initially charged NBC with, I certainly believe that the show was worthy of the praise I am affording it.
Everything about the show was phenomenal. The opening of the show with everyone vomiting but Creed, was great. The location of Niagara Falls was kitschy –cliché but perfect for the hilarity of the Scranton-ites. The subplot of Dwight finding EBay info on potential hook-ups for Michael at the wedding was great. Michael’s hilarious and constant conversations about intercourse before marriage… and what can I say about Kevin, who was undoubtedly the star of the episode with his toupee and Kleenex-shoes?
At the end of the day, this episode was about Jim and Pam. And they didn’t disappoint. From Jim’s accidental admission of Pam’s pregnancy to Pam’s grandmother to his toast after Michael’s horrible ‘smartcar’ comedy, they showed us all why they belong together. They also offered us a larger message about how to write a love story in a comedy. The writers of the show should not only be credited for this episode but how they built Jim and Pam Halpert up to this moment.
And when Jim ripped his tie off to lessen the sting of Pam ripping her veil, don’t tell me you didn’t smile. I know you did. They know you did.
At the time of this writing, the top trending topics on Twitter include #JimAndPam, #TheOffice and #Dwight.
If you missed it, you missed a television experience unlike I have ever seen before.
A happy ending.
