I’m not sure if this theory holds any water; in fact I just came up with it this very second, but it sounds good: My enjoyment of any particular “Office” episode is directly related to the quality of the “cold opening.” If the cold opening is a winner, then it sets a positive tone for the rest of the show. Hmm… Now, I suppose I’ll have to research that theory. I’ll go back and sift through episodes that I consider “classic,” and I’ll note whether they started with a boffo opening. Then, I’ll check out the few “Offices” that I feel were of inferior quality, and monitor those cold openings. Then, I’ll write up the thesis and report my scientific findings. I encourage other LITO-ites to add their two cents’ worth to this body of evidence. We could be on to something… or not. Anyway, on to “The Cover-Up.”
I thought this was one of the best “cold openings” in a while. The cluster of Jim and Pam and Dwight at their desks has been underutilized, and the whole Morse Code prank plays to everybody’s strengths. The camera work and the incessant “tapping” against the background office noise adds to Dwight’s paranoia. Pam is perfect in her “not-so-innocent” mode, and Jim’s impish wink absolutely seals the deal. I was aware that Rainn Wilson was directing this episode, and the brilliant opening made quite a statement in his favor. There would be no underestimating Rainn’s abilities. He was demanding to be estimated!
The episode proper opens up with Michael Scott holding a meeting in the conference room, where he basically bolsters his own fragile ego by bragging about his exploits with his new girlfriend. Scenes like this are another one of the Office’s strengths; Michael’s outrageous boasting gives the rest of the Dunder-Mifflin crew ample opportunity to “riff” on his ridonkulous subject. Meredith gets to say something “Meredith-y,” Oscar adds something “Oscar-ly,” Ryan goes off on a sleazy tangent that proves he knows how to “cheat”… and from experience, we’ve come to expect other comments in the deleted scenes, like something “Creed-y.” Anyway, it all degenerates down to the theory that Donna is cheating on Michael, which sends his mercurial mood plunging.
Michael can’t stand the thought of Donna not being faithful, so he hires Dwight to investigate by “tailing her.” Here is where the episode lost a few points with me. I had higher hopes of seeing Dwight in a variety of quick, clumsy, disastrous stake-outs, like at coffee shops or Donna’s lounge. But the entire “investigation” took place in a gym, in a scene that had it’s moments, but I thought was a little over-the-top. The gym scene did seem better the second time I viewed it. I guess I just let my imagination spiral out of amok there.
Things got back on track for me in a hurry after that. Donna comes marching in to confront Michael, who feels terrible. Then, Kelly compliments Donna’s heart-shaped earrings, and Pam’s ears perk up, and the “funny” is off and running once again. Meanwhile, the secondary plot hits high gear and quickly becomes not-so-secondary. Andy is upset that no one is listening to him, and Darryl seizes this opportunity to get even with Andy for an ugly incident in the past. I really like the scenes of Darryl smugly mugging for the camera as he toys with Andy’s easily-upset psyche. Talk about playing to everyone’s strengths here; Darryl does “devious” well, and Andy is so lovably gullible.
The “Cover-Up” wraps up the twin stories nicely. Pam uses her FaceBook skills to find Donna in compromising online photographs, which Michael uses to “blow” her cover in typical hilarious fashion. Meanwhile, Darryl’s evil revenge plot is unfolding in the basement, as he videotapes Andy looking ever-more foolish in front of a Sabre printer. Of course, once the printer starts smoking, and bursts into flames, Darryl realizes that he’s been messin’ where he shouldn’t be messin’. The cover-up is real, and now he wants no part of Andy’s enthusiastic, bombastic, self-righteous wrath. Too late, Darryl.
The tag has Dwight back at the fitness center, hijacking a spinning class with his annoying persona. Like his earlier foray into the gym, I thought that this scene was a little too annoying. I would have preferred a more subtle dose of Dwight. I spend a lot of time at our local gym, and I witness plenty of “Dwight-ish” interaction that makes me laugh. But, that’s just my personal preference. The “spinning class” fiasco also got a little better after a second viewing, so it’s not a deal-breaker. Besides, Rainn Wilson probably didn’t have time to “do subtle” because he was also the show’s director. And I enjoyed this show, so I suppose that it is at least partly because it was well-directed. Also, I’m very happy to report that there is plenty of material for me to work with on this week’s “Scrantonicity.” Oh yeah, I’ve got some good stuff. 
As always, thanks for taking the time to read these LITO recaps, and comments are always welcome.
~ Robert (aka Bob)
Very timely Bob!
I liked this episode for alot of the same reasons you mentioned. Our beloved characters were all “on” and in tune. And it’s a beautiful thing to watch. One thing that I didn’t like was the risque bits on the show? Why? Because for the first time ever, I let my kids stay up to watch the show with me. Why? My sons are in baseball now and the games go late on weeknights. We had just gotten home and they were too keyed up to sleep right away, so I allowed them to watch the show with me. And of course, it had to be a risque episode! The conference room scene in particular had lots of sexual references that had them bombarding me with questions. Ugh! Lesson learned. No more Office for my kids unless I watch it first!
Rainn did a great job directing. And the dialogue was great too. I had many LOL moments. Dwight offscreen comment to Pam to “lose the baby weight”, the morse-code bit, Andy/Darryl, Michael’s botching of his new word, “amok”. I also felt the gym scenes fell flat. It would of made more sense for Dwight to have tried to be stealth than trying to seduce Donna. But, overall I still think the episode was a winner!
Thanks, Donna! You’re right, there were many
moments in this episode that we will be kicking around on LITO for awhile. 
That’s unfortunate about your kids getting to watch the Office, and then naturally asking questions about it. I’m sure you were excited to share your love of the show with them, but at the same time you became more and more aware of the “mature” material. That reminds me that I have a story about the same subject. When I get the chance, I’ll post it in the “Koi Pond” thread.
Greatly written and great points, Bob! You are right, Dwight’s handling of the investigation was way over the top but that may have been necessary because of time constraints. A lot was going on. So unfortunately, that got rushed. I love your description of the Daryl/Andy storyline. It was very well handled and might give us a clue to the season finale. After all, Daryl said he will prank no more and try to do the right thing once a day (I’m paraphrasing). Does doing the right thing mean blowing the whistle on Sabre? Hmmmm….
Poor Donna. Yep, you had a sexual bomb blow up in your face there. Hmm. That might need re-phrasing. Don’t let your kids read that. : )
Bob, you didn’t mention the big twist with Michael and Donna. That was a beautiful curveball! : )
KG, you are SO right. In my haste to post this recap, I figured I would forget SOMETHING, and then edit that omission in before I go to work tonight. Well, that twist at the end is a pretty big omission. Hmm… HOW could I forget a “big twist at the end”… of ANYTHING?
Thanks for pointing that out! I didn’t see “Up In The Air,” so I was up in the air about that ending. It caught us by surprise, and was a cool way to finish up a good episode.
When I saw “Up in The Air”, it was kind of obvious that the girl was married with a family. However, Donna being married came completely out of left field and I did not expect it at all. I thought Michael’s line, “I’m a mistress?” was hilarious. Poor Michael, he can never catch a break when it comes to love.
Fantastic recap Bob. You always manage to say so much in so few words. I wish I had your summarization talent, I always seem to rattle on and on. I hate missing out on details. I guess being “detail oriented” makes for longer recaps; I suppose it’s better than being dis-oriented (which I am half the time). Can’t wait to read your Scrantonicity column. You pulled double duty this week. Great job!
Has Creed always called Darrel “Darnell”? It was one of those things that hit me after the fact. Good to see Darrel getting more time on the show, even if his name is pronounced wrong!
Also loved the “I’m a mistress?” line. Poor Michael.
I can’t remember any other specific instance where Creed called Darryl “Darnell”. However, one of the jokes of Creed’s character is that he always gets everyone’s name wrong. I’d have to go back and watch a lot of hours of DVD’s to find another Darnell, if one exists.