Official Episode Description:

“Business Trip”
Michael (Golden Globe winner Steve Carell) is ecstatic when David Wallace (Andy Buckley) decides to send him on a business trip to Canada. Andy (Ed Helms) and Oscar (Oscar Nunez) become unlikely friends when Michael decides to bring them along on the trip. Meanwhile, Jim (John Krasinski) is counting down the days until Pam (Jenna Fischer) gets back from art school.

WOW! What a night!

This show has been firing on all cylinders all season long, and has – thankfully – taken us places that I didn’t expect it to go.

In this episode Michael, Andy, and Oscar were headed to Canada for a business trip with a large client. David Wallace picked Michael for the trip because he was hoping to lift his spirits after having to transfer Holly (and also because no one else wanted to go).

Meanwhile Jim is counting the days awaiting Pam’s return, and everyone else in the office seems to be doing it too…in sometimes uncomfortable ways. Pam calls him a few minutes into the episode telling him that she’s failing graphic design. If she’s going to complete her course, she’s going to have to stay for another 12 weeks and retake it.

After last week’s conversation about staying in New York after the program was over you couldn’t help but wonder where this was going to go.

Michael and the gang’s trip started out ok, with much hilarity ensuing on the plane, but thing really kicked into high gear when Michael met the concierge at the hotel. With Andy’s help she and Michael hit it off at a bar a short time later, and Michael Scott had his first one night stand.

Andy and Oscar also got to know one another better, and ended up drunk dialing Angela (who was in bed with Dwight). Andy’s drunk demands for sex were hilarious, and matched only by Oscar’s gut busting reaction to the call. Fantastic work by Ed and Oscar here.

Another thread running through the episode was Ryan trying to get back together with Kelly. After doing a few push ups she was his to be had, but not long after that, Ryan was very unhappy to discover that Daryl didn’t care. Like a man who was suddenly sober, it hit Ryan all at once what he was getting back into.

On the way home, after making the sale, Michael let his feelings be known to David Wallace. Laying into him about how terrible the trip was, and berating him for making Holly move away. It was the most ballsy that Michael has ever been…and at the same time it seemed desperate and sad. Steve Carrel deserves as many Emmy’s as they fit in his house.

Finally, at the end of the episode, Jim is walking to his car…and guess who was waiting for him?

Yup…Pam.

It was yet another great Pam and Jim moment, but somehow I don’t think the New York story is final just yet. I’m not sure where it will go from here, but I can’t wait to see. Pam told Jim that she just didn’t want to do graphic design. She hated it, and she missed Scranton, and she wanted to come home.

Next week’s episode can’t get here fast enough!