Comments on: The Office: The Duel, 5.12

By: Jeff

Jeff — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 21:48:42 +0000

my favorite quote from this episode was one that was probably overlooked by a lot of people.. it was right after everyone in the office left the conference room after seeing michael tell andy the news. Meredith and kevin are walking back and exchange this:

Meredith: “I knew something bad was going to happen today.”
Kevin: “You said that yesterday”
Meredith: “Yeah, my neighbor was murdered”

that quote just came out of nowhere, i was laughing that meredith had no emotion whatsoever and neither did kevin upon hearing the news

By: hilary

hilary — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 14:32:09 +0000

I would have to say that the cold open for this episode is one of the best from this season. Overall, I think that this was a great episode. I also love the line from Oscar about the prius being silent under 5 miles. haha!

By: Sheila

Sheila — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 03:01:36 +0000

I really enjoyed this episode. Michael Scott was very funny – how he gave the bad news to Andy while driving away, and how his conversation with David Wallace played out. I love how polite David Wallace is, but you can still tell what he is thinking.
As far as Angela goes, I thought the ending was perfect – she didn’t get either one. It was the best possible ending, and yet it was a surprise.
Well done.

By: Nard Dog

Nard Dog — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 20:58:30 +0000

Oscar: “He deserves to win”

163, Michael was driving his PT Cruiser convertible, which like a VW Cabriolet/Rabbit Convertible, has a “rollbar” behind the front seats. This is the car we first saw in Local Ad as Michael pulls up to Poor Richard’s at the end of the episode.

The Sebring was last seen in Fun Run. Michael had a Taurus rental while it was being repaired, and then he told us in a talking head that it was sold to buy a Porsche for Jan. This slightly conflicts with previous information that the Sebring was a corporate lease, but there is no continuity problem if you assume that Michael had a monthly lease allowance, turned in the Sebring, and put the lease allowance toward Jan’s Boxster.

By: Hollis P. Flax

Hollis P. Flax — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 11:24:49 +0000

#172 BRILLIANT point! I really wish we had a Q&A session with Jen Celotta for this episode…

By: officelove

officelove — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 02:47:47 +0000

I think it was a great episode! I know people have had differing opinions of this season, but I have not been disappointed yet, and this episode has been one of the best! I love that we’ve gotten to see more of the characters develop and go through real-life problems.

By: Thor

Thor — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 21:43:57 +0000

I loved last night’s episode. I think season 5 has been better over all than season 4, which was much more uneven.
I agree that the Office has changed in many ways from the first few seasons. It has indeed become more sitcom-like, which they’ve had to do in order to attract a wider audience. But I don’t think they’ve let go of the dream completely by any means and I still think it is the one of the best shows on TV.

By: lrfish

lrfish — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 19:43:28 +0000

David Wallace is a pretty smart guy, right? So why, instead of talking to Michael, didn’t he just ask to watch the documentary footage to try and ascertain what is going right in Scranton? I realize that wouldn’t make for very exciting TV, but it makes better sense, considering that Wallace knows full well how helpful it usually is to talk to Michael Scott. I often wonder if any of the characters ever get to see the documentary. The only case I can think of is in Fun Run, when the crew confronts Pam and Jim with their “secret footage.”

By: Lynne

Lynne — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 02:00:01 +0000

#137 and #155. Very good points. If you watch the deleted scenes you’ll see that Jim did bring in Toby. To some degree I think Toby has given up on this branch. Much as I like Toby’s calming presence, he has said several times that he usually just lets these things work themselves out.(See Conflict Resolution or Goodbye Toby). A decade of Michael Scott would be enough to make a lot of people just sit back and let things be.

By: The Scribbler

The Scribbler — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 01:52:29 +0000

Dwight also needs to remember not to turn his back on the man driving a Prius under 5 miles per hour. ;-) That was awesome!

Trendy, I agree — I’d like to see Angela with some alone time like Pam had in season 3. I think it would be good for her.

By: Bill Buttlicker

Bill Buttlicker — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 01:34:23 +0000

For all the people concerned with when Angela slept with Andy, don’t be. There were 17 days between Moroccan Christmas and this episode. My theory is, Angela felt somewhat guilty about her affair with Dwight after Phyllis told everyone, so she decided she should at least sleep with Andy a little bit as well.

By: Trendy

Trendy — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 15:47:40 +0000

I liked how they addressed the Angela love triangle. I was happy to see Andy being more mature and handling this situation well. Go Andy. Michael’s inability to keep a secret and concern for Andy was sweet. I like seeing this side of Michael. I am just wondering if this triangle is completely resolved though. I think Angela could use some time on her own.

By: Koiby

Koiby — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 03:00:18 +0000

What happened to Dwight’s eye? He had like a red dot on it.

By: deborahsten

deborahsten — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 00:34:49 +0000

I love Michael’s expression when he realizes that the meeting with corporate is actually positive. When has he made that face before? When Holly spoke Yoda-ese to him?

My only wish would be that they could be consistent about the season. Winter in Scranton and they are not even wearing coats!

By: D#

D# — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 08:37:58 +0000

Best shots of Jim in a while. mm mm mm

By: Faith the Dunderhead (:

Faith the Dunderhead (: — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 03:23:47 +0000

Where. Were. Pam. And. Jim.

Seriously?

Did they say anything to each other?

I’m kind of annoyed…

By: Sally

Sally — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 21:34:47 +0000

[from tanster: 200-word limit]

By: SSE

SSE — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 18:23:22 +0000

Well, to each his own. I don’t want to say that I hated the Christmas episode, but it was not my favorite and I feel that this episode was a great opening to 2009. My favorite part, hands down, was when Oscar asked Dwight where they had sex in the office and Dwight replies, “I think you already know.” When Oscar put his hand over his mouth in shock, I completely lost it. I was glad to see Andy handle his news without going ballistic. He has become one of my favorite characters.

I like seeing the character growth, too. I understand the frustration with the silliness of the show but you can only go so long with the mundane before you get bored with the characters, right? If this were the exact same show with the same situations and storylines as season 2, we would all be complaining that there is no movement. Outside of the incredibly drawn out Dwight/Angela/Andy plot, I commend the writers for keeping the progression of the lives of these characters so natural and realistic.

By: Aaron

Aaron — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 08:08:35 +0000

This episode was awesome!! For an ok Season 5, this episode was really reminiscent of Season 2′s glory. The jokes were quick and funny as they should be. Michael was over the top, but not the point where it’s unrealistic, and Dwight’s “learn your rules” bit had me busting up with laughter. I liked how Andy and Dwight settled their issue (as it appears), although I would have loved to see an outburst from Andy and Dwight and Angela together again. Pam and Jim’s cutesy relationship isn’t enough for the show. We need something more funny and awkward to watch like Dwight and Angela meeting in the warehouse. This episode was great because they stayed in the office. Episodes that are mostly off location aren’t as funny. The show is ultimately more successful when they keep it in the office building, because it really is where all the insanity goes down. I hope to see more episodes like this. A huge Office fan like myself has always been a huge advocate for the show, but it just hasn’t been as good this year. Hopefully this episode will be the first of many more well done episodes to come.

By: Fancy New Beesly

Fancy New Beesly — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 06:20:19 +0000

My fave quote wasn’t listed.

Dwight: Do you love me?

Angela: I’ve already admitted that. Why do you keep making me repeat it?

Oh, Angela. That’s why you’re my fave character. I’m just glad the Dwight-Angela-Andy storyline finally moved forward. It was becoming stagnant.