Customer Reviews

Beach Games

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I've never been the boldest of persons. And that's probably true, to be honest, of most people. Even people who have pretty assertive personalities and who seem pretty ambitious career-wise are often playing things safe, keeping to the sure and secure path. I've always thought that that is one of the things that works about The Office (at least when it's at it's best). It's about that cycle we get trapped within, where we sacrifice all of our lives at work doing something that we don't love and that doesn't make a lot of sense. And doing it with people we don't like that much and doing it for supervisors who seem to have succeeded simply by nature of their mindlessness that keeps them unaware of how absurd everything is and keeps them from threatening or questioning the people above them. The Office has always been pretty good about pointing out all of those absurdities, and sometimes the despair, and at finding little glints of grace that are potentially present anyway.

I think I fell in love with "Beach Games," in a pretty irrational way, because Pam in it shows such courage and grace. Pretty well everyone in this episode is trapped in some way, by something. Pam cannot stand up against Michael's directive to write down what everyone is doing during Beach Day. Toby cannot confront Michael's order to stay at the office during the holiday from work. Angela and Dwight are clearly in love, but they cannot declare so openly to the other members of the office. Michael cannot muster the courage to walk through the hot coals. Andy cannot get out of the lake he's fallen into. All of them are caught up in the absurd workplace situation with Michael as boss. Each of the characters in The Office is trapped in a circumstance that is keeping them from freedom and happiness, and none of them seems to have the courage it takes to break out. Except Pam, of course, finally. I won't give the ending away, but Pam is able to finally be assertive and declare what she wants. I remember going through a period of time when that moment really resonated with me, and I'd watch the episode over and over again. This is The Office at its best, both in its story-arc and thematically, one of the moments of the show when they really put together something meaningful.