The Office - "Customer Loyalty": The Man Behind the Curtain...

We finally meet Brian,
whom we've known for almost ten years.

Ever fall into a rut watching a show, and sort of unconsciously adapt to the way it's changed over the years? Then, suddenly, something happens that knocks you straight back to how you originally viewed it, and you're shaken, shocked, pleasantly surprised, and filled with kind of a good fear?

The end of last night's episode of The Office did that.

I honestly don't think I've reacted so strongly to an Office moment since Jim walked into conference room to ask Pam out at the end of season 3.

Spoilers after the break...

To me, this feels like the definitive beginning of the series ending arc for the show. Suddenly, the camera crew is a group of real people...real people who have, in fact, been part of our characters' lives for almost a decade. Jim and Pam's series-long relationship with "the camera" is thrown into a radical new light.

That this moment emerges from what must be the worst documented moment of Pam Beasley's life adds much to the poignancy. We've seen Pam cry before. We've seen many things that might warrant a person to intervene, were they not encouraged to remain distant.

However, it was a moment where, let's be honest, anybody would want to step in and comfort someone they've known for ten years. Someone they've been rooting for for ten years. Think about it: that crew has been a major force in Jim and Pam being pushed together throughout this entire series. The crew was the first group privy to their secret relationship when they did get together. And now, here they are, dealing a genuine, very realistic challenge to their marriage. They're in love, sure, but that's a real fight that a real couple has. Real couples are in love, too.

When Greg Daniels came back to run the show to the finish line, the first beat of season 9 was to reestablish the crew as part of the world of The Office. I practically start to write off seasons 5-8 as a kind of non-narrative in-between thing, with the real story being told in years 1-4, and being resumed here. Suddenly, we're watching an ongoing arc. I'm personally worried for Jim and Pam in a real way, in a way I haven't been since some of their heartbreaking moments before they were a couple. Maybe deep down we knew they'd make it, but the realism of the show put that doubt that maybe, just maybe, this wouldn't work out, much like it often doesn't in real life.

Once again, I sit on the edge of my seat. I hope, but I can't be sure. The world just got bigger, and our favorite couple (maybe ever?) is lost in a real marital conflict.

Fingers crossed. And if it works out, I'll squee as loud as I did when Jim got that date.