“Women’s Appreciation” Season 3, Episode 21 Recap

The episode started out innocuously enough (Jim and Dwight banter) but took an ugly turn when Phyllis was the victim of a serial flasher. After some typically-inappropriate behavior, Michael decides action must be taken to protect the women of the office. Dwight puts Pam in charge of working with Phyllis to create a sketch of the suspect, then teams up with Andy to find the perpetrator. Phyllis can’t remember many details, so Pam draws a suspiciously familiar face :-P. Read the full recap after the jump!

Further reading: Check out Kate Flannery’s TV Guide blog post about the episode.

First off, I have to say that the timing of this episode is ironic. I took my “Gender in the U.S.” sociology final exam today, so for the past few weeks, I’ve been studying themes like the three waves of feminism, gender in the workplace, and sexual harrassment/discrimination. So I was glad when Karen stood up to Michael, saying what needed to be said and calling him out on his misogynistic tendencies. It seems like long-time Scrantonites have given up on trying to change Michael, but Karen still has hope. It also accentuated the fact that Karen isn’t at all afraid to speak her mind. She’s assertive and direct. This is part of why I like her character, and a big way in which she differs from Pam. But while I like Karen’s style, I also have to agree with Pam’s words–some people are just wrong for each other. It’s the little things, like the fact that Karen likes to go out to have a good time, while Jim would be content hanging out at home with a few good friends. Or the fact that they got each other the same Christmas gift–the Bridget Jones DVD. Sure, it shows that they think alike. But I also think it shows that they’re better off as friends, not a couple. Contrast the DVD with the highly personal and special gifts Jim got Pam in Season 2.

JAM: Pam has an awkward talking head moment when she imagines what would have happened if she had been flashed when she was with Roy…if Jim was the flasher! She stops herself, blushing. Jim and Karen prepare for their six-month anniversary, prompting Ryan to say he thought they were only hooking up and apologizes for an e-mail he sent. I wonder if more details about this will come out in the deleted scenes?

Throughout the episode, Michael attempts to show some “R-E-S-P-SPE-T” for the women, but fails miserably. He leads a conference meeting, but then decides that the mall is a more appropriate place for women’s appreciation. The Dunder Mifflin girls accompany Michael to the mall at Steamtown, where he shares a little TMI about his relationship with Jan. Karen tells him that all relationships have tough times, but Pam tells him he needs to break it off. Although I loved the episodes where Karen and Pam work together, I also loved seeing them go head to head as they talked relationships. Pam comments that sometimes couples are just wrong for each other.

With the guys left to ‘man’ the office, Kevin decides to explore ‘every guy’s fantasy’: a women’s bathroom. The rest of the guys (sans detectives Dwight and Andy, who are plastering flyers of Dwight’s mug–with an added mustache–all over the place) join him and realize that the women’s bathroom is a pretty happening place. That is, until Creed comes in and makes it known that he is a frequent patron of the women’s bathroom (more TMI).

Michael treats all the women to one item from Victoria’s Secret. I think it’s completely adorable and true to form that Pam chose a robe to make hand towels out of. On the way back to Dunder-Mifflin, Meredith’s crazy driving results in a flat. Fancy New Beesly saves the day by changing the tire when Michael proves inept.

Kudos to Melora Hardin (and Steve Carrell, of course) for keeping it real in one of the final scenes of this episode. Jan and Michael’s relationship is arguably the trickiest relationship on “The Office” because it’s so flighty and unpredictable (and sometimes even unbelievable, as in “Back From Vacation”). After gaining support of the office ladies, he leaves a break-up voicemail on Jan’s phone, telling her “It’s not me, it’s you.” Unfortunately, Jan visits the Scranton branch just at that moment. After she apologizes to Michael for earlier behavior, she gets the voicemail and her face just falls. It’s apparent that it was a big step for Jan to drive to Scranton and apologize to Michael, and all she gets in exchange is a rejection from Michael. After all, Jan never thought Michael would be the one to end the relationship. She was the one lowering her expectations. For once, Jan is not angry or snappish with Michael–she’s at a loss for words. Well-played!

Michael’s closing lines are well worth repeating here:
“There’s a wishing fountain at the mall, and I threw a coin in for every woman in the world and made a wish. I wished for Jan to get over me. I wished for Phyllis a plasma TV. I wished for Pam to gain courage. I wished for Angela a heart, and for Kelly a brain. Michael, how can you appreciate women so much but also dump one of them? You mean, how can I be so illogical and flighty and unpredictable and emotional? Well maybe I learned something from women after all.”

And finally, the amazing close. Jim gets in on the Dwight-as-the-perp game and directs him to the women’s restroom, ‘above the sink’, where he has drawn a mustache on the mirror to mimic Pam’s sketch. As Dwight looks into the mirror, he realizes that he has once again fallen prey to the JAM pranking machine (though they each acted independently this time around). Classic!

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