Before y'all try to label me a hater, lemme say that "The Office" remains my favorite show on television, and I've never understood the posters on here who tried to claim that Season 3 was a significant drop off from the previous season (S2 is maybe a hair better, if that, IMO). But I found this season to be really uneven. Part of that has to do with the strike -- the fact that the season was reduced to 10-11 episodes meant the storylines couldn't build as naturally and with as much subtlety as in the past. But going into the finale, it didn't have that same feeling of tension, of everything coming to a head. And by the end of the episode, it just felt sorta...flat.

First of all, Ryan's crash-and-burn moment should have been woven deeper into the episode. That's the one thread they've been building toward from the beginning of the season, and all we get from it is a YouTube clip of him being arrested? And for fraud? What happened to the drug problem thing? And what about his PA feud with Jim? I mean, we see Jim leave that message, but it's basically a useless scene because nothing comes of it and has no bearing on the rest of the show. And I don't know how much I like Ryan's downfall being something as serious as committing fraud (of course, if his subsequent trial gives us some Michael-testifying-in-court scenes, then it's probably worth it).

As for Jim and Pam, that relationship has needed some tension, but I dunno if Pam waiting for Jim to propose is the right kind of tension -- especially since we, the viewer, already know Jim's intent, and we already know now that Pam WANTS him to propose. It'd be a lot more interesting if we didn't know how one of them felt about their situation. Jim taking Ryan's job could be interesting, considering this season we've seen that he might now be as good in a managerial position as it would seem (I've always enjoyed the inference that Michael and Jim are a lot more similar than it appears on the surface), but God I hope a Jim-and-Pam series isn't the spinoff they've been talking about.

Regarding Michael being a "kinda daddy," it has potential, but the encounter with Jan didn't register with me because Jan has hardly even been mentioned since the "Dinner Party" episode. Same with the Dwight-Angela-Andy thing: It seemed like the Dwight-Angela relationship was all but forgotten about in the post-strike episodes when before it looked like it was going to be the focal point of the season. It came out of nowhere and I didn't really know what to think or feel about it. Why would Angela accept Andy's proposal? We didn't get deep enough into the character this season to know why she'd be DATING somebody she obviously can't stand, let alone marry.

All that being said, there were still a lot of funny moments (I was expecting more from Toby leaving -- like him maybe taking a shot at Pam, attacking Michael or at least reaching some kind of understanding with him -- but the gift-wrapped rock was almost enough); I loved the running gag between Kevin and Holly, especially since Kevin has taken a Homer Simpson-like plunge into retardation lately, and I think Amy Ryan will be a good addition to the cast. But, while I do feel a void in my heart as I do at the end of every "Office" season, I'm not quite as rapt with anticipation as I usually am for the start of the next one.

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"You can't imbue awesomeness into something that actually sucks." - Steve Albini

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