“Business School” Spoilers Below:

Things that happened

It’s a Joss Whedon-directed episode with a plot about vampires (and specifically vampire hunting), which is the exact observation that was made by every other internet nerd seconds after this episode aired. Unfortunately, I was on vacation, or I would have been a part of it. Instead, let me be perhaps the first to make the observation that this was a Ryan-centric episode that was not written by BJ Novak — that’s rare!

In the vampire plot, Dwight uncovers a bat nesting in Dunder Mifflin’s ceiling. Dual plots ensue, as Dwight teams up with an unlikely ally in Creed to take down the bat and Jim teams up with a more likely ally in Karen to convince Dwight that Jim has been bitten by the bat and will turn into a vampire. It’s all a bit too splasticky for this show, especially when poor Meredith gets the bat stuck in her hair, but they pulled it off.

In the Ryan plot, Michael is a guest-speaker at Ryan’s business class. (Because bringing your boss to school is worth a full letter grade.) He gives a speech that’s mostly about candy bars and his own ignorance at the failing state of his own business. Thankfully, Ryan was kind enough to inform the class beforehand of Dunder Mifflin’s sad prospects, and word gets back to Michael that, hey, Ryan thinks the business can’t last. This is all leads to a very tense drive back to the office. Michael continues with his bizarre employee punishments by moving Ryan’s desk next to Kelly’s in retaliation. Laundry would have been preferred.

Funnily enough, though, it was the C plot that was the episode stand-out, as Pam goes to an art show to exhibit her work. Roy — who apparently did bone her last week — shows up with his brother, a nice call back to their first day at the hockey game. He’s trying now, but he’s still fundamentally Roy. The art exhibit is generally an all-around devastating experience for Pam, particularly as no one from the office shows up except for Oscar, whose partner proceeds to get all intellectual and point out how much her pictures suck. But then Michael shows up and somehow saves the day, giving Pam the encouragement she needs and even buying her drawing of the building in which they work.

Things that were good

• Jack Kentala pointed out that the Ryan’s introduction of Michael to his class, wherein he talked about the failing prospects of Dunder Mifflin, probably hints at a coming major plot line for this series. It’s nice continuity, because they’ve been building this up in the background for a while now. I’m looking forward to seeing how it plays out. Maybe it’s increased prominence will mean we’ll get to see Jan again!
• I don’t think Creed has ever had a line on this show that wasn’t funny.
• Toby-has-a-crush-on-Pam has been one of the great little back-up stories from this season. I loved his “one of the other parents will probably videotape it” line.
• Lastly, Michael showing up at the end was brilliant. I expected it to be Jim. You expected it to be Jim. Everyone expected it to be Jim. And then it was not Jim. It’s these little redemptive moments that make Michael’s character tolerable when he’s doing something incredibly awkward or unnerving, and this was one of the best ones ever.
• Roy’s arc this season is genuinely great character writing. It’s difficult to evolve a character like this, where you can see that what he wants to be has changed, but who he is at the core is the same. Plus, man, the delivery of that “Your art was the prettiest art of all the art” line was so good.

Things that were not so good

• This show is not at its best when it’s doing physical comedy and sight gags, which this episode had a lot of. Showing the whole class typing when Michael made the comment about paper was the kind of snide, showy and pointed moment that just feels out of place on this show. Things aren’t supposed to feel staged.
• Jim pretending to be a vampire was a cute premise, but it felt like half a plot. I was expecting them to do some sort of wrap-up as the closing gag, but instead they went with the Ryan and Kelly thing. It just felt like everything petered out.
• Seriously, I miss Jan.

Worth Watching If…

You want to see one of the best ‘sentimental’ Michael moments ever. I was lukewarm on the episode until that last scene, but then I was sold on it. I hope you watched it before you read this, because it’s the surprise of seeing Michael there, and not Jim, that really adds a lot to it.

In Five Words

Some Snickers. A Big Payday.

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