Special Edition: The Office's Andy and Erin

You know that slightly apocryphal half-truth about The Office that it's "an understated satirized vision of the American workplace"¹? Well, it stands up to a certain (lazy) amount of scrutiny and continues to survive a growing number of conceits on the show's part. There's a documentary camera in the bathroom/bedroom/delivery room? Really? Okay. For me the ongoing thing that's always broken the camel's back (ie forced me to admit that this is television) is office employees pairing up like bunnies. 

By this I mean Pam + Roy, Pam + Jim, Karen + Jim, Dwight + Angela, Ryan + Kelly, Phyllis + Bob Vance, Michael + Jan, Michael + Holly, Andy + Angela, Andy + Erin, and of course Kevin + Holly². Understand that I'm not complaining, but as a devoted fan I'm obligated to be a little shocked when so many co-workers flout HR and, in many cases, the rules of attraction.


At the same time the writers have been mixing and matching, however, romance on The Office has always been synonymous with Jim and Pam (Michael and Holly being one huge exception). So it's no surprise that some fans have struggled the last few seasons as the two have been given more flaws (and struggled quite a bit themselves). There's two ways of assessing the situation. Depending on who you talk to PB and J have either been given the modest but happy ending they deserved... or they've been revised as the goofy, strangely smug couple you might recognize from real life, but definitely never wanted to see a fictionalized version of. 

For now that point is probably moot³, the bigger issue is the reality of their romance no longer being the show's not-so-secret weapon. (In Season 6 they've continued to be blandly-in-love with the exception of two Very Special Episodes, a baby won't change that.)


Significantly the writers have struck upon the idea of having two other characters audition for the role of America's new sweethearts⁴: salesman Andy and Erin the impossible-to-dislike receptionist. These two definitely skew a little outside the JAM sphere of normalcy, but they're much less eccentric than Dwight and Angela- or even Michael and Holly. They're funny individually (Andy is Andy FREAKING Bernard and Erin actually respects Dunder Mifflin- ha), but together they are disarmingly cute.


What does it all mean? Clearly the writers want us to like this couple in a way they haven't since "the big two" themselves. 


So the question is whether you can be made to care at this late stage. Are you "picking up what they're putting down", as people may or may not have said in the 1970's?


Personally I'm sold. Call it puppy love if you will, but Andy and Erin have a number of things going for them to raise them over the Dwights and Angelas of the world. Again, the power of a high Q rating can't be overstated. Despite the ingdignant denials of many fangirls, a large part of the pathos of Season 2 came from Jim clearly being the coolest guy on the show. Each rejection stung more because it felt undeserved. Similarly the writers did all that work making Andy likeable so that we would feel it when Angela stomped all over his heart. Meanwhile Erin has so much joy for life that it could conceivably be mildly annoying in real life⁵, but at D.M. she gets dumped on enough that there's no guilt in loving her. 

The other factors? First, they've put together a surprisingly strong scrapbook of what I call youtube montage moments... there's the 12 drummers drumming, tonight's awesome and subdued fax, and even the scrotum-tearing incident (memorable in its own way). Also, they might actually be good for eachother⁶. The barriers to their truly getting together are even super-contrived in that sitcom thin way that's so easy to love.

There's going to be some talk after tonight's episode- with the birth and Erin and Andy's first date- that the writers are signalling a shift in The Office's romantic focus. Despite my continuing interest in the show as JAM's role has changed (which is pretty intense, obviously), I think that notion is a little ridiculous. The whole thing about Jim and Pam is that they were a naturalistic, relatable vision of two people in love. But maybe that's why what we really need now is some traditional sitcomy angst. Like I said, I like Andy and Erin, but if I could wish them one thing it would be a relationship that is on and then off again and then on again and then...

Footnotes
1. Tell me you can't picture those words on the cover of a DVD box set.
2. Replace my +'s with <3's if you like... but you will lose my respect.
3. Well not really, but hey, "Jessie's Girl" reference for the win.
4. On America's 39th-rated show.
5. You know... that girl who subconsciously annoys you because she confirms whats your mom said about people "liking people who smile"
6. This seems like a simple statement, but it separates them from Michael + Jan, Andy + Angela, and... I won't do the whole list again.