The Office Ends Season Four with More Twists Than a Bag of Pretzels

When it comes to storytelling, there is one rule I have that matters more than every other rule combined ...

Give me the unexpected.

Whether it's an audacious cinematic structure like what's found in Pulp Fiction, a twist ending that rocks my world like the final moments of Planet of the Apes, or a brazen disregard for medium conventions like what producers managed with every season of The Office (BBC), I just want to come out of the experience feeling like the filmmakers shocked me in some way.

What, you might wonder, am I rambling about here? I'm supposed to be talking about last night's fourth-season finale of The Office. Well, be patient, young grasshopper; my meandering diatribe was leading up to that: last night, not only did The Office give me the unexpected, but the writers also tried to make the argument they could be every bit as outrageously daring as the original show's creators, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. For the large part, they succeeded.

"Goodbye, Toby" is structured around the last day at Dundler-Mifflin of Toby, the Human Resources Manager who, after 12 years with the company, is moving to Costa Rica to get away from his secret love for Pam. As ecstatic as Michael is at Toby's departure -- he loathes the department -- he equally dreads Toby's replacement, which is why it comes as such a pleasant shock to him when Holly (Amy Ryan, fresh off an Oscar nomination) turns out to be sweet, intelligent, and almost as bizarre as him. Holly, in fact, seems like she might be Michael's soul mate, which is probably why he immediately confides to Jim that he thinks he's in love. This confession prompts Jim to recollect how he fell in love with Pam at the office and finally accept that the office, more than anywhere else in the world, is the right place to finally propose -- specifically, at Toby's going-away party. After all, this is what we've been building to all season.

Here's where the twists start piling up. First, Ryan is arrested in New York for cooking the company books. Then, after several episodes absent, Jan returns -- pregnant! When we come back from commercial, Michael thinks his dreams have come true, only to find out Jan was artificially inseminated with somebody else's super-baby while they were dating. "If I was 22 and had time to have lots of children, sure, let Michael have a shot at one of them," she explains. "But I've got to make this one count." Meanwhile, Jim is preparing to propose to Pam as fireworks he purchased for the occasion explode over Toby's party. This is it, the moment we've all been waiting for -- except it's Andy who climbs the stage and proposes to Angela instead. Jim's perfect moment is ruined, but it's not this bump that makes the episode so remarkable. It's that Jim never proposes. Everything we've been told to expect is thrown back in our faces, with numerous other plot developments thrown in to help us through our disappointment.

Ryan is going to prison, Michael turns down a dessert date with Holly to go to a Lamaze class with Jan since he's now going to be "kind of a daddy," Andy and Angela are going to get married, Jim and Pam are still not getting married, and, in the final moments, Phyllis discovers Dwight screwing ... yep, Angela. Looks like Season 5 is going to be a blast, no matter how much our favorite Scranton paper office is starting to feel like a soap opera.

Well, a very funny soap opera.

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