The Office: "Body Language" Sends Mixed Signals

Okay.  I'll admit, I was surprised by the turn of events in The Office's "Body Language."  One the one hand, all of the elements that have been dragging the Dunder Mifflin crew down over the past season remained just as prevalent as ever, but The Office has a way of managing to surprise you, whether or not new story developments are earned.

Donna (Amy Pietz) was introduced painfully enough in "Happy Hour" through the same tired joke of Michael being too naïve to function as an adult, but she seemed relatively endeared by him.  Whereas Jan Levinson never took Michael seriously enough and Holly Flax probably took him too seriously, Donna in her brief appearance, seemed to offer the best of both worlds. 

It disappointed me to think that we might discard her flirting as a way of getting printer discounts, but by the end we're surprised to find her genuine affection for Michael, even if the writing seems to turn on a dime.  Especially with the news of Steve Carell only interested in one more season, Michael's long overdue for some happiness with a fresh relationship.

But The Office has always mined its best humor from pure awkwardness and cringe-worthy stupidity and "Body Language" doesn't fall short.  Perhaps the instinct to turn away stems from the fact that we feel like Michael should know better than to awkwardly kiss a woman so clearly resistant, but it's one of the more effective reactions The Office has garnished in some time.

Elsewhere, no one's being quite as mean as last week, but the laughs are few and far between.  Jim and Pam always doing their talking head intereviews/missions together feels a bit stale, but that's what happens when TV couples get together too soon. 

One question I can't help asking...does Pam really care about her job?  We've alluded to her being a poor salesman and watching her give away the sale to Michael, while well-intentioned, does beg the question of where her character can go.  She tried and failed art school and hasn't had any real goals of her own outside of Jim.  Even Jim once inadvertently revealed his desire to be a sportswriter, so are PB&J forever doomed to their miserable paper-selling existences?

I like the idea of putting Kelly in a minority executive training program at odds with Dwight, but I'm not going to count my chickens that this power shift won't be neatly resolved within two or three weeks, as The Office often does.  Darryl coming upstairs has been a welcome addition, but hasn't gone anywhere. 

True change and The Office are rarely good bedfellows.