'The Office,' 'Company Picnic': Jim and Pam's big surprise

"The Office" knows how to do a season finale, doesn't it? Between the huge OMG! moment (or "ZOMG!!," according to my notes), some lovely and bittersweet scenes between Amy Ryan and Steve Carell, and unexpected humanity from Dwight, the season ended on a very strong note.

We kind of have to deal with that last scene first, don't we? Because I think it may even top the kiss at the end of "Casino Night," and it's yet another demonstration about how beautifully the show has played the Jim-Pam relationship throughout, giving us big moments like this one without ever letting them overtake the show.

Our little Beesly is pregnant, and the soundless scene with the camera outside the exam room and Jim reacting to the news with a moment of surprise and then unbridled joy -- and then going outside to call Dwight and tell him to send in the volleyball subs before getting overcome again -- pretty much knocked it out of the park. Very well-written by Paul "Toby" Lieberstein and Jennifer Celotta and equally well-played by John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer.

There was also a nice little bit of misdirection as the nurse taking Pam in for her X-ray asked if Pam was pregnant, and Pam didn't even acknowledge, only thinking about getting back to the game at that point. So it was just as much a surprise to her as it was to Jim, and us.

The headline event in "Company Picnic," though, was the return of Ryan as Michael's soup snake soulmate, Holly. She's been so great on the show that it almost makes me want to see her every week, but if even Michael can recognize that it's best not to spoil a beautiful day like the one they just had by making some big play for her, maybe it's best that she's not a regular.

I don't know how much of Michael's speech at the end of the episode is wishful thinking, how much of it is projecting the PB&J story onto himself and how much is genuine belief, but it was really touching and quite cool to see this guy who's so often a giant buffoon come to the conclusion that he's willing to wait for his love: "It's gonna take a long time, and then it's perfect. I'm in no rush."

[And yeah, I know I've been harping on the Michael-grows-up theme pretty much all season long, but I can't help it. It's rare that a TV comedy allows its characters this much growth over the course of its life, and watching that happen with Michael this season has been one of the real joys of the show for me.]

Seeing Dwight with his friend Rolf -- who, scarily, may be even more Dwight than Dwight -- made me both cringe and grin at first. But as Rolf (played by James Urbaniak) made some really crude (and, OK, funny) comments about the corporate team's prowess and continued to harp on Angela, even Dwight recognized he was stepping over a line.

Dwight, in fact, seemed surprisingly well-adjusted throughout the episode, far less tyrannical as the de facto captain of the Scranton volleyball team than you might expect and competitive but not in a crazy-intense way. And, fine, stalling for goodness knows how long till Pam could get her foot checked out is a little out there, but he had the support of Jim, Pam and the rest of the branch, so it felt OK.

"Company Picnic" delivered on the big moments, but there were also quite a few standout little ones too. And we go to the bullet points:

• So it turns out Charles is just kind of a dick, isn't he? I can accept him smack-talking Jim during the game, but his greeting -- "It must be nice to get a rest from all your rest" -- was just unnecessary, and trying to force Pam out of the game bordered on cowardly. On the upside, though, Idris Elba had far more overtly funny material tonight than in most of his earlier stint.
• Loved the Jim-Pam exchange after the aforementioned putdown: "He's not even my boss anymore." Pam: "You want me to beat him up?" Jim: "I shouldn't have to ask you to do that. You should just do it."
• If David Wallace doesn't know better than to keep news about a branch closing from Michael before Michael gets on stage in front of the entire company, then he deserves to have a child come up to him and ask if daddy will still have a job.
• How Dwight met Rolf: "We met in a shoe store. I heard him ask for a shoe that would increase his speed and not leave any tracks."
• The look in both Michael's and Holly's eyes as they rehashed their sketch -- "We've got a lot of great material for next year." "I can't wait." Just great stuff. Someone needs to get Steve Carell and Amy Ryan in a movie together. One that's not "Dan in Real Life," I mean.
• One of my favorite talking heads of the season, courtesy of Kevin on the volleyball court: "It's 6-6. It's a nail-biter ..." Aaannd, the volleyball bonks off his chest.
• Excellent cold open tonight too, with the entire office conspiring to let Michael nap and get out of work early. I need to remember to get my boss a family-sized chicken pot pie someday when I really need to cut out early.
• Lastly, the brief cutaway to Toby and the corporate HR guy watching the volleyball game was awesome for how exactly alike the two characters sounded.

What did you think of "The Office" season finale, and of Pam and Jim's big news?

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