Super Duper Summary: Season 4 Episode 6: Branch Wars

Look at how timely I am this week…I think it’s because I’m so darn excited about how amazing this episode was. I think the appropriate word is FANTABULOUS!!

Well, we open up on Karen at the Utica office of Dunder Mifflin and apparently she’s regional manager (“which is an easy job when your boss isn’t an idiot and your boyfriend isn’t in love with someone else”). It seems like she’s trying to recruit a member of the Scranton branch. How diabolical!

Back to Scranton, where Michael’s new harebrained scheme involves a dummy that looks like him (think his Halloween costume in Season 2 but whole body included) and a snoring soundtrack so that he can play hookie with…Dwight? Nope mostly with either Ryan or Darryl if Michael has his way. Stanley enters, asks how a sleeping Michael is any better than a “not there” Michael and then he lets his leader know he got an offer to go to Utica for more money and he’s taking it. Michael proceeds to tell the branch the sad news and to his dismay, everyone applauds and is happy for him. Michael is hurt and tells the branch that obviously Karen is trying to get back at them for Jim breaking her heart. But why Stanley? His sales record? Nope, she wants the “hilarious black guy”. With his smile, the crosswords and his watery red eyes…it’s like when Colin Powell left George W. Heartbreaking. But Michael is not putting up with this. He has a powwow with Stanley…why are you leaving? Money. But Michael tells him there’s no money in the budget for a raise. Stanley wants Money…and MONEY!!

To Pam. It seems she, Oscar and Toby have founded something called the “Finer Things Club”. They get together once a month to discuss books, art and culture. No work talk and it’s very exclusive. According to Oscar: “Besides having sex with men, the Finer Things Club is the gayest thing about me.” Also Jim is not allowed to be in the club because people think he tries to monopolize the conversation by being funny…poor Jim.

Michael decides to contact Karen and tell her she can’t take Stanley, he offers Toby, but he just can’t pull it off, the hate gets in the way. He then threatens to steal one of her employees. The winner is: Ben Nugent, who takes the offer, smashes it to pieces and then proceeds to mock the Scranton branch intensely: “Aren’t you the guy who ran over that lady?”

Michael and Dwight attempt to convince Jim that the best way to get back at Utica is to make a “monster sale”. Michael, Jim and Dwight (from now on MJD) are going to jump into Michael’s PT Cruiser and get it done! Oh and then he mocks Toby’s classy bow tie…it’s why people are leaving the branch.

Cut to MJD in the car…and guess what? They missed the exit for the sales call…they’re going to U-TI-CA!!! U-TI-CA!!! U-TI-CA!!! Jim tries to call Karen to warn her and then gets his phone thrown out the window, but it had the pictures of his brother’s new baby on it so they turn around and try to find it. They find it and Jim decides to take a cab back to Scranton. Michael says “Alright but you’re gonna miss the best prank ever…” This statement obviously sets off little alarms in dear Jim’s head and he finds out that the trunk is stocked with warehouse uniforms, silly string and stink bombs. He resigns himself to going, but in exchange for Dwight not blowing anything up, Jim has to wear the uniform…and a mustache.

Michael asks is the sex is the reason Jim and Karen broke up, Jim distracts him with the alphabet game but Michael is interrupted by a pouring sound…oh don’t fret, it’s just Dwight peeing into a soda can in the back seat. Hysteria and an almost car crash ensues.

Back to the Finer Things club, which Andy attempts to crash, but Pam denies him…aww. So he decides to read his book at the adjoining table, which happens to be the same book they are reading. Toby denies him again.

Apparently, the car trip was not long enough to subdue Jim’s incredulity. Here’s Michael’s plan: Michael and Dwight are going to sneak inside and silly string the bejesus out of the place. Dwight swears that “if they have to defend themselves from security guards, he will stab them in the eye with the giant chalk” Jim vetoes that. “Then I’ll grind up the chalk and blow it in his eyes.” Why the eye obsession?: “The eyes are the groin of the face.” Oh Dwight how wise you are.

They then see Karen leaving the office and Michael and Dwight are off…and Jim hides in the car.

Poor Pam, Toby and Oscar. Their Club meeting gets interrupted by Kevin violently attacking the vending machine and Phyllis attempting to make popcorn. Why can’t she use the microwave in the kitchen? Cause it needs to be cleaned, it smells like popcorn.

Then to a tender moment where Andy tells Stanley he’s going to miss him, he’s been like an uncle, a kind uncle Remus. And he wants to stay in touch. I don,t think Stanley is cool with that.

Dwight and Michael are communicating step-by-step with Jim on the status of the mission. They get through on the pretence of being warehouse workers and Dwight fought the urge to do something to the security guard’s eyes. Michael and Dwight have decided to take the industrial copier, it’s huge but has wheels and they try to bring it down the stairs…that does not go well. They are now stuck in the stairwell…possibly beneath the photocopier and Dwight may have a broken hip. Jim is still in the car, listening to all this on the walkie-talkie. But Karen’s back!! Jim dives to hide…he’s freaking out. Jim tells Michael she’s back…and Michael tells him to offer to get back with her or to sleep with her…he tells Jim to do it for Michael: “the host of the Dundies.” But Jim didn’t hide well enough and Karen finds him out. “Hey Karen.” Then follows a very awkward conversation: What are you doing here Jim? “Oh I’m checking on other branches” but then comes Dwight on the walkie-talkie “Don’t tell Karen about the industrial copier!”

Poor Karen, she tells the camera that she cried for weeks over Jim. But finding him hiding in a car wearing a Ladie’s warehouse uniform made her feel pretty good.

So Karen has MJD in her office and Dwight and Michael maintain their right to defend the Scranton staff…if Utica hurts Stanley, they will burn it to the ground. They leave, but Karen wants to talk to Jim. Karen says that if he had wanted to see her, he could have called “like an adult”…but Jim adamantly tells her he did not want to see her…then he stutters out that he’s happy to see her but Pam and he are dating and it’s going really well so he didn’t really want to see her. Understandably Karen did not want to hear that…she thanks him for coming to Utica and telling her how happy he is with Pam.

Back to Scranton and Michael tells the branch they failed and tells Stanley he may go, even giving him a box for his things…though he doubts the box will be able to contain all the memories he has of the place. Michael then asks Pam for help writing a want ad: “Wanted: Middle-aged black man with sass”. Stanley then lets Michael know he isn’t leaving. In a talking head, he tells us he just wanted a raise, that’s all, but somehow Michael called his bluff… “is he some sort of secret genius…hehe…sometimes I say crazy things.”

Jim visits Pam, she feels pretty bad about the whole Utica thing and offers him a place in her Finer Things club…Andy is appropriately outraged.

Jim unfortunately is not made for the Finer Things club, opening the discussion of Angela’s Ashes with a tremendous Irishman impression “Angela’a Ashes, top of the morning to it. Frankie’s prose is better than a pot o’ gold” and then drowning as he thought it was a “fun read” (which part? When the twins died?) and doesn’t even know who the main character of the book is: “Angela? Nope. Ashes?” Pam then mouths sorry to the other club members. THE END

I LOVED this episode and have high hopes for the next one. If you missed I highly recommend you watch it on the net, either on youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tIZzaccl7w) or NBC (www.nbc.com/The_Office) …it was fan-freakin-tastic!!