The Office "The Coup" (2006)

This might be my favorite episode so far into this season. Hey, look at that, episode three of season three, coincidence? I thought both the Scranton and Stamford stories were both hysterical and significant with regards to interpersonal relationships of the characters and although it's a running problem, even though I know how everything ends up next season, I am thoroughly enjoying the journey to get there. That is a testament to how well written and acted the show is, you can still enjoy it even though you know how it ends. Bravo, Office.

Kicking things off with the Scranton branch, Movie Monday was the brainchild of Michael in order to combat the Monday blues. I personally would love to watch movies at work, actually I just started doing that on my lunch break, so I'm not going to bad-mouth Michael on this decision although it seems everyone, well maybe not Kevin as he got to do the recap, detested the practice and saw it as a general waste of time. Of course Jan decides to pop in for a visit and catches everyone in the act. Angela, in pure Lady Macbeth mode, urges Dwight to make a power play for Michael's job as he is in a vulnerable position with her now that he has rejected her in favor of Carol. Dwight put his informative knowledge of Jan's fashion sense and his hard-line office politics on the table in an effort to secure the regional manager position. I honestly thought Jan was seriously considering giving it to him but unfortunately for Dwight (but to the comical relief of the audience) Jan outs him to Michael hinting that maybe she does still has feelings for him despite her coldness to him in the last episode.

Skipping over to the Stamford Branch, we discover their office is big on Call of Duty and spend what looks like a good portion of the day playing. Despite being one of the popular members of the Scranton office, Jim is unable to get down the basics of the game which results in him killing Andy (who along with Karen was sadly MIA last episode) who happens to be on his team. When Josh calls Andy and Jim into his office for a reprimand of Jim's battle tactics, Jim is at a loss for words and in his talking head reminisces about the PB & J practical jokes on Dwight. I can sympathize with Jim in that I was horrible when I first started playing Call of Duty. I had originally played Halo exclusively (although Jim's problem seems to be that he doesn't really play any video games) and the gaming styles are slightly different. I also loved that his in-game character was "Jim Halpert" which shows that even though he's not that into the game, it is a way to bond with his new office mates and he and Karen are certainly starting to hit it off. Her critique of his game play: "He's so cute and he's trying to shoot with a smoke grenade" followed by her execution of his soldier is an amusing little scene and ends with some longing glances at Jim once he turns around. The image on Karen's computer screen of Jim's soldier in the corner jumping up and down was a definite laugh-out loud moment.

Back over to Scranton, Michael decides to put one over on Dwight and convinces him that Jan has decided to switch their roles in the office. I usually tend to find Michael/Dwight plots annoying. I think they work much better interacting with the other characters but this entire second half of the namesake coup was hilarious from start to finish. Dwight immediately lets the power go to his head and starts to treat his former boss with much less revere and more condescension. I must say that Steve Carrell is brilliant in these scenes and his Jim-like glances to the camera with regards to how Dwight is acting are both hilarious and ironic since everyone else makes those same exact faces about him. His announcement to the office brings about much confusion and protest. Stanley has the best line of the night with his query of Dwight's qualifications.

Stanley: Why Dwight?
Michael: Because Dwight never lies.
Stanley: And how does that qualify him to manage a branch?
Michael: That's all it takes.

Dwight's ultimate undoing comes when he insults Michael's car and he drops the bomb that he made the whole thing up. Dwight immediately falls to the floor in tears and begs for forgiveness. After a few minutes of bawling Michael tells him to get up and hug it out. Now this is interesting coming off the last episode where Michael made the revelation that sometimes people are content with a few select good friends. I think his willing to forgive and forget so quickly stems from this and he realizes that even though Dwight allowed his ambition to get the better of him, Dwight is one of those select few and it serves no purpose to drive him away for making a mistake. I don't know if I could have been so forgiving of someone trying to push me out of my job but I admire Michael's maturity. Of course he makes Dwight stand on a chair with a LIAR sign hanging around his neck but it is Michael and he obviously had to dole out some ridiculous punishment

Favorite moment: This changes throughout the episode but I finally decided on Jim's fake grenade throw at the end of the episode and Karen's tossing of the paper clips to simulate the detonation. It shows a connection between these two characters and it looks like Jim is ready to move on in the dating world as well after hearing that Pam has done the same in the previous episode. I look forward to more Scranton and Stamford double fun because I know it won't last for too much longer.