Some weeks, The Office is more like a laughathon. It’s high concept and the guffaws come closely together. And most of the time that’s okay with me, but it’s always a balancing act between pathos and hilarity.

 

This week, the show was just human. It was all about a group of people who work together and have, despite their best intentions, become family. Watching the b-list office mates pull together for Michael (who had a particularly great week, without a single truly cringe worth moment, and with a lot of truly adorable moments) reminded me of why we can sit through the episodes when they’re unintentionally cruel or over the top. And the b-story, with Pam and Jim eating with an overly-amorous Phyllis and Bob, was just the right mixture of goofy and cute, and reminded me why The Office doesn’t need a conflict of the week between Pb&J (they’re more Monica and Chandler than Ross and Rachel).

 

There have been funnier weeks, and probably episodes with greater quotability and rewatch value, but this week’s Valentine’s Day episode was just plain sweet, and a nice return to the show after the sweepsless month of February.