The bedroom was asylum white, so I painted it eggshell white.

The Office – Dinner Party
Michael and Jan host a dinner party. On the list are Jim and Pam, who have run out of excuses to avoid such a gathering, and Andy and Angela, a pairing that sends Dwight’s jealousy soaring to new heights.

Woah. Jim looks like hell. As we open, we see that Michael has told all of his employees not to make plans because they have to work late. He then calls Corporate and yells that he refuses to make his employees work late. This is all a lie, and he thereby forces Jim, Pam, Andy, and Angela to come to a couple’s dinner party at his condo.

Michael and Jan are superficially functional but start to break down after about one minute. During a tour of their condo, we learn that since Jan's firing, she has begun to make scented candles in order to relax. Also, she makes Michael sleep on a weird little bench at the foot of the bed because she has "space issues." After Andy and Angela arrive, Pam and Jim are horrified to learn that their meal still has to cook for three hours.

As the couples mingle in the living room, Michael says that the wine has an oaky afterbirth. Jan turns on an indie rock CD by her ex-assistant Hunter and tries to make Jim dance with her. The whole scene is terribly awkward and yet rather awesome. Michael and Jan get into a fight in front of everyone. Jim almost escapes the party by pretending his apartment has flooded. When Michael points out that he & Pam don’t both have to go, Jim nearly leaves Pam there. Jan thinks that Michael has a crush on Pam. They get into another fight and Michael “jokingly” says that Jan is the devil. On a girls’ trip to the kitchen, Jan lets slip that she sees the way Pam looks at Michael. Angela agrees. They did an excellent job of hiding her pregnancy, BTW, I totally forgot about it until this morning. Anyway, we learn that Michael has told Jan that he and Pam used to date. Ouch.

Later, an uninvited Dwight shows up with an old lady. Michael gets fed up with Jan’s behavior and storms out of the room, returning with a neon beer sign that Jan has told him he can’t have. In retaliation, Jan turns on Hunter’s CD again. The two get into a screaming match, and Jan throws one of Michael’s Dundies at his TV. This is incredibly painful. The police show up to answer a call about a domestic disturbance, and they send Michael home with Dwight so that he and Jan can cool down. The episode ends with Jim and Pam eating burgers in his car while mimicking Jan & Michael and listening to Hunter’s CD, which Jim has stolen. Meanwhile, Andy kisses Angela and she slams an ice cream cone against the side of his car in retaliation.

Yikes. Like the “Money” episode, this was ep was really, really uncomfortable. Unlike “Money,” I’m not sure it worked. That’s not to say it was a terrible episode. It wasn't. I have always been a huge fan of the British Office, which was one of the most frankly uncomfortable shows I've ever seen. But until recently, the American version has been much lighter, which has worked well for it. These darker episodes don't blend very well, in my opinion.