Things I'll Never Forget From 'The Office'

Still from The Office

6:13 am. May 17, 2020.

I finished watching The Office. A show I had dismissed after watching the pilot, only to come back 3 months later – thanks to Quarantine – to give it its second chance. I wish I could have finished it yesterday, on the date the show premiered its last episode seven years ago. But hey, whatchya gonna do?

One thing I didn’t expect was to sob like a baby as it ended. Especially with Michael’s absence, Season 8, the trouble in PB&J’s paradise – I was ready for the show to be just over. I was so firm in my belief that they were going to screw up the ending like GoT or HIMYM, but no ending has ever left me so heartbroken, yet so satisfied. I never understood the quote “You can never love people as much as you can miss them” until I finished The Office.

Like Pam Beesly taught me, here are 9 snapshots my mind clicked from the show that are always going to be imprinted in the folds of my memory:

1.      Jim dressed up as Dwight. Of all the pranks he pulled, this one remains my favourite.

2.      Sulky Michael when Phyllis is Santa. Most. Adorable. Thing. Ever.

3.      Jim looking back at the camera with a smile on his face as Pam rests her head on his shoulder after their secret marriage at the Niagara. For a love that bloomed in disguise, this wedding on the ship made my heart smile.

4.      Holly finding Michael and their kiss on the rooftop. I never wished for anything as fervently as I did for Michael to find his home, to find a love that was reciprocated on an equally crazy level.

5.      Pam catching Michael at the airport just before he leaves. I am going to be as verbose as this scene was.

6.      Jim hugging Pam with everything he has got and Pam’s momentary hesitation before she hugs him back, when Jim’s leaving for the last time to go to Philly. I would have forever hated the creators of The Office if they hadn’t resolved PB&J’s fight. That hug encapsulated the essence of love as I believe it and my soul sighed with relief.

7.      Oscar and Angela fighting over Phillip for his favourite snack. Watching these two develop their friendship was one of the best things to ever happen on the show.

8.      Dwight proposing to Angela on the side of the road. Imagine having the most tiresome and trying journey to reach a destination that made it all worth it? This moment was the embodiment of that feeling.

9.      Michael appearing at Dwight’s wedding. The first words out of his mouth were “That’s what she said.” Rarely has anything felt as apt as that moment.

The Office is an extremely ordinary show, made sublime by these characters. I love Creed, Stanley, Kevin, Oscar, Meredith and Phyllis as much as I love Pam, Jim, Dwight, Angela and Michael. My feelings for Kelly and Ryan are as turbulent as their relationship. Toby, Andy, Erin, and Nellie are people who I never thought I needed until I actually found them. 

Still from 'The Office'

As Pam said, there’s a lot of beauty in ordinary things. Isn’t that kind of the point?

I would like to answer – it is Beesly. It absolutely is.