'The Office' recap: Off the Deep End

By Zap2it Partner

January 20, 2012 2:36 PM ET

Robert's selling his mansion, and he's pretty down about it, given all the wild parties he never got to have there. Kevin suggests an indoor pool party as a last hurrah, and Robert's up for it. As is everyone else apparently, although Jim makes it his business to get out of there and home to Pam and the kids as soon as possible. Unfortunately for him, Robert ropes him and some of the other guys into a lengthy tour of the place, and all the wild bacchanals that never were.

Meanwhile, Erin's learned about how Andy followed her home after the Christmas party, so she's thinking she can win him back, if only she can make him jealous. This is while Andy's girlfriend Jessica is also there, mind you, and the person she decides to make Andy jealous with is Dwight. Dwight is surprisingly up for the task, but in addition to Andy's almost complete lack of interest in Erin, there's also the fact that he's carrying around an engagement ring that he's been considering giving to Jessica, and it's gone missing. So he's a little distracted by that, and it doesn't help when Kelly finds it and decides to destroy it to wipe out the bad juju she thinks accrued to it from the star-crossed Californias. In even more minor news, Darryl is shy about taking his shirt off in front of Val, and Kathy the temp might be a little bit into Jim.

Eventually, Robert realizes the party he's always wanted is happening right now, and jumps naked into the pool, blurred pixels and all. As competing sycophants Ryan and Gabe clumsily follow him in, Jim makes his escape at last. Andy's not so lucky, though, as the vision of Erin rising from the depths of Robert's pool with his family's ring in her hand seems to give him second thoughts. As it would anyone, really.

» Read the full recap at Television Without Pity

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