The Office - “Garage Sale” Recap! (Spoilers)

JACK: Howdy folks. Today, Lauren and I will be recapping and reviewing one of the really great episodes of tv this season: The Office’s “Garage Sale.” Very weird that they didn’t save this for the finale or even May sweeps.
LAUREN: This episode of The Office was a heartwarming and emotional one that gave us a quick reminder of all the different personalities of the characters and made us reflect on why we fell in love with them in the first place.
J: Ya know what’s funny? I totally missed that during the first airing. I thought all the stuff with the garage sale was just filler during the bigger Michael/Holly story. But you’re right, and it’s pretty brilliant. It kind of felt like a “reset” or reintroduction because there’s gonna be big changes coming.
L: The garage sale was a reason for the employees of Dunder Mifflin to gather all their unwanted junk to make some extra money in order to throw more useless parties in the workplace. Angela’s table was my favorite, which was a table full of cat-related nick-knacks.  
J: I think they missed a golden opportunity by not showing Creed’s table. And I love how Erin had a “very cute squid.”
L: Michael and Holly are the center of this episode. As they sit at their joint table and Michael debates on whether to sell something and Holly tells him to keep it just in case, Michael, in all his loveableness says, “I don’t have an “in case”, do you have an “in case?” So adorable. But we’ll get back to those two “as cute as kittens in a cereal box it makes you want to cry or puke”, in a sec.
J: How cute can a kitten in a cereal box be?

I stand corrected.
L: The episode included the always-insightful Dwight Schrute wisdom (“Schrutes are farmers by hobby and traders by trade”). It showed us Kevin’s goofy but mostly brainless personality. Kevin is always up for a bet and this time, it’s with Andy & Darryl in the game of “Dallas”; except there are no instructions, and the cards are from other board games, like Life! At one point, Andy told Kevin in an attempt to not change the rules, “And that’s Dallas.” We expected Andy & Darryl to take full advantage of poor Kevin but in the end when the money goes “missing”, Kevin fools us all and says, “And that is Dallas” (with the money in hand). Pretty genius move, Kev. Side Note: Ryan sounds like Kelly now. And according to him, blogs are out and everybody is texting now…hmm got that memo a little too late I guess.
J: I take comfort in the fact that he’s frequently wrong… and often a douche.
L: Dwight used to be so gullible for Jim’s tricks but as the seasons have gone on, Dwight has became meaner and more devious and “smarter” than to fall for any of Jim’s monkey business. Dwight is scheming all his co-workers for their things but Jim has a plan of his own. Eventually, Jim talks Dwight into buying a supposed magical bag of beans—  
J: Professor Copperfield’s Miracle Legumes.
L—that Jim got from a mysterious man on an island (Lost reference? There’s been a few…) in exchange for a telescope that Dwight pawned off someone. At the end of the episode, they cut to Dwight planting the beans—
J: Legumes.
L: —outside. As Dwight walks off, Jim nonchalantly, like a drunken Irishman, makes his way to Dwight’s potted plants to replace them with full-grown magical plants. Priceless.  
J: I was kinda worried about this bit at first. It seemed a bit too silly and farfetched, but it’s fun to watch Jim play a prank. Seems like it’s been awhile. And I love that, even though Dwight is clearly smarter than almost everyone else, he’s still not smarter than Jim. So, on to Michael and Holly…

L: Michael has evolved into such a mature person; still a kid at heart but a little more serious—especially when it comes to Holly, his one and only true love.
J: Yeah, it’s amazing how far he’s come in the past seven years. I remember in the first season, you were just supposed to hate the guy. He was just kind of a terrible boss. I can’t really remember the big changing point. I mean, I know it was a gradual thing, but it, if I had to point out when I really started liking him, it was with Holly. He was kind of a sophomoric pervert until he fell in love.
L: Michael is blissfully happy with her and decides he is going to propose. He pulls “a classic Michael” (remember the break-up voicemail he left Jan?) and leaves Holly’s dad a voicemail proclaiming his love and asking for her hand in marriage.  
J: I really liked that Michael/Pam scene where he wants to write his message in fire in the parking lot. His delivery of “Hi!” when Pam comes running out cracked me up.
L: When Holly explains that she needs to move back to Colorado to care for her father, it’s clear that she is the one about to propose & suggest he go with her. Michael quickly interjects with NOOO and SHUT IT and tells the camera simply, “I’m not proposing in the break room.”  
J: I think that that was my second favorite part of this episode. It crystallized everything about Michael Scott… Just unwittingly inappropriate but well-meaning… I liked that when he “rejected” her, it was a very selfless moment. He really wanted to knock her socks off. And her reaction…full of shock, confusion and amusement was pretty awesome.
L: Now, this is when the water works start (why must they bring back these feelings from the Jim & Pam Niagara Falls episode! Oh well…) Michael takes Holly for a romantic walk around the office explaining each of their special places.  
J: They put that montage together so well. You knew his character was leaving the show, so to me, that montage showed him telling Holly, “I love you,” and telling the office, “Goodbye.” You can see why he loves the office. He has such great memories there. And the acting was so on point. Amy Ryan's reaction shots were amazing. Steve Carrell did something very subtle. He was quiet. He nearly whispered everything towards the end. Like… there was no longer “a show” to perform. It was a sale, but the salesman was gone. It was so genuine and intimate.
L: At this point, Michael Scott has never been seen as such an honest, sweet, and truly caring man.  Impressive Mr. Scott.  As Michael and Holly walk down the aisle of co-workers who all propose to her, Michael opens the door to a room with dozens and dozens of candles lit (it’s official, this may be better than Jim’s proposal; I haven’t decided yet).   Just as Michael is at his peak of genuineness, the fire sprinklers go off and with their silly star-wars banter, they are officially engaged. WHOOOO-HOOOO!!! (insert big smile here).  They were always meant to be.

J: Great moment. I had some waterworks over here. It was better than the Jim/Pam proposal to me. But I like how specific the writers were to the characters. Jim and Pam’s proposal… even their wedding (the real one on the boat) was a private, fairly low key thing… and when others heard (as they did in this episode) about that proposal, they didn’t get why it was perfect. Those two don’t need the flash. Michael and Holly are goofy. They’re flash and fire. And Michael is all about big moments. Both worked well, but the Michael/Holly one was more of a “Did you see that?!” moment. Ya know what I liked? How he showed no emotion at the prospect of moving, and it was everyone else that seemed shocked. It’s that clarity that passion brings. Love it. I’m worried though… Michael was the show, and part of me wishes it would just end with that perfect ending and not become Joey after Friends. Well at least Ricky Gervais and Will Arnett are gonna make things a bit interesting in a few weeks... Oh and let's not forget... 
L: WILL FERRELL IS COMING!!!! (but damn I’m going to miss Mr. Carrell.)  
J:Yep, yep. Stay tuned.