The Central Narrative of "Lotto", TheThe Third Episode of "The Office's" Eighth Season, Truly Wins My Praise!
This week's episode of “The Office,” written by Charlie Grandy, dealt with the warehouse staff quitting their jobs after winning the Scranton lottery. While John Krasinki’s Jim Halpert, Raiin Wilson’s Dwight Schrute, Brian Baumgartner's Kevin Malone, and Ellie Kemper's Erin Hannon work in the stockroom, Regional Manager Andy Bernard, played pleasantly by Ed Helms, asks former warehouse foreman Darryl Philbin, played firmly by Craig Robinson, who now works in the workplace, to bring in new recruits to perform the task of loading the delivery trucks as well as performing other tasks. Unfortunately, Darryl is completely discontented with his present situation; seeing as he no longer works in the warehouse after he was promoted in the Season Six episode "St. Patrick's Day;" during which he suggests to Kathy Bates' Dunder Mifflin CEO Jo Bennett a way to improve the shipping of paper. His dicontent soon transforms into severe depression; leading to the character listing all the shortcomings of working in a warehouse to a room full of applicants during an interview session. Soon afterwards, Craig Robinson’s Darryl Philbin speaks with Ed Helms' character and explains why he feels he deserved the Regional Manager position; citing his promotion as one of the prime reasons. Robinson’s Darryl states that he was passed over for the Regional Manager position. Thus, he bluntly tells Ed Helms’ Andy Bernard to either give him the Regional Manager position or fire him for not doing his job properly-- seeing as he failed to inspire the applicants during the interview. Meanwhile, John Krasinki’s Jim Halpert and his fellow Dunder Mifflin employees create a poorly-designed method to load bundles of paper onto the delivery trucks; in hopes of making their job easier. And, while this subplot is quite interesting, the performances Ed helms and Craig Robinson supply for their respective characters prove to be the true highlight of the episode.
Image of Ed Helms as Andy Bernard and Craig Robinson as Darryl Philbin taken from
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=%22The+Office%22+%2B+Lotto&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1280&bih=596&tbm=isch&tbnid=E6dhYeFEfmjs6M:&imgrefurl=http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/whats-alan-watching/posts/the-office-lotto-warehouse-louses&docid=4T7VTfBdyHoNVM&w=326&h=217&ei=PLWPToSLLuna0QHmwPk5&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=169&vpy=149&dur=1562&hovh=173&hovw=260&tx=152&ty=112&page=1&tbnh=117&tbnw=162&start=0&ndsp=19&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0
What’s so wonderful about Ed Helms' depiction of Andy Bernard is that, he's enabling his designated character to take his title of Regional Manager completely seriously; even as he tries to remain friendly with everyone in the workplace. As the first two episodes of the season depicted the character being tested to see if he’s worthy for his new position as Regional Manager, this week’s installment lets us see how he handles his first company crisis; i.e. hiring new employees to work in the warehouse. In addition, Ed Helms’ character has to deal with the personal problems of one of his workers; i.e. Craig Robinson’s Darryl Philbin. While he does not want to fire the former warehouse foreman, he refuses to put up with Darryl’s poor attitude. And, during the course of the episode, Helms maintains his character’s polite-yet-serious stance; as well as his ever-present state of insecurity. And, soon after hearing Craig Robinson’s character explain the dissatisfaction he carries towards his job, Ed Helms enables his character to stand tall once more and speak in a manner so proficient, that we are able to see why he’s the best choice to be the new Regional Manager of Dunder Mifflin Scranton.
And just as Ed Helms is great as Andy Bernard, it is very important to mention Craig Robinson’s unyielding performance as Darryl Philbin. After learning that his former fellow warehouse workers quite after winning the lottery, we see the strong bitterness brewing inside the character. During the information session for the new potential stockroom staff, the actor wears a completely despondent expression while detailing the negative aspects of working in the warehouse. And, when his on-screen persona has his ultimate confrontation with Ed Helms’ Andy Bernard; we see the anger blaze in Craig Robinson’s eyes as well as the stern manner he positions his body. In other words, Craig Robinson is truly getting the opportunity to showcase his true acting skills. Thus, it’s wonderful to see the actor incredibly involved in an episode’s main storyline.
And that’s the most memorable aspect of this episode. Even I am very happy to see that Ed Helms’ Andy Bernard and Craig Robinson’s Darryl Philbin get more screen time; as the actors are truly capable of providing down-to-earth performances. As the Regional Manager, Ed Helms' Andy Bernard serves a very significant purpose for the show; seeing as he is in charge of overseeing all activities in the workplace. Ed Helms gives a great performance as his character; seeing as he has great chemistry with all of his co-stars and he's quite skilled at various forms of comedy; such as physical, verbal, and subtle. In addition, I am very happy to see more of Craig Robinson’s Darryl Philbin; seeing as the character has stolen many scenes throughout the series due to his impeccable comedic timing as well as his easygoing attitude contributing to great exchanges with many different characters on the series. Thus, i am looking forward to seeing Ed helms' Ander Bernard and Craig Robinson's Darryl Philben interact more throughout the season; and hopefully, more intriguing storylines between the two will be as gripping and memorable as this one.
But while the main narrative was very engrossing and the feats accomplished by Ed Helms and Craig Robinson were very grand, I was a tad disappointed by the designated side-story. While it is obvious episode writer Charlie Grandy wanted to save plenty of seriousness and poignancy for the main storyline, I really wish the comedy supplied by the subplot was not slapstick in nature. The idea of John Krasinski's Jim Halpert, Raiin Wilson's Dwight Schrute, Brian Baumgartner's Kevin Malone, and Ellie Kemper's Erin Hannon working in the warehouse sounded very promising at first; but, unfortunately the outcome was not memorable. The characters appeared to be engaging in comedy that did not seem consistant as most episodes of "The Office." For instance, I do not believe that Raiin Wilson's Dwight Schrute, who has been seen performing many acts of manual labor throughout the series' run, would be incapable of operating the heavy-lifting equipment. In addition, the method in which the workers finally develop to load the paper onto the deliver truck was completely over-the-top and did not provide any laughs. In fact, the whole storyline felt very rushed and I really wish we could have seen more of the main plot.
Nevertheless, “Lotto” proves to be a very good episode; strongly highlighted by Ed Helms’ and Craig Robinson’s stand-out performances. In addition, I must commend cast member John Krasinski for directing the episode; and guiding the two thespians to further display their genuine acting skills. I am very excited to see how the rest of Season Eight plays out; especially now that Craig Robinson’s Darryl Philbin’s is getting more attention. And I look forward to seeing Ed Helms’ Andy Bernard take on more business crises as they occur at Dunder Mifflin. After all, business provides people with plenty of opportunities and memories. And “The Office” definitely possesses a great deal of both.
Eimail me at thatsnatertainment@gmx.com
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