What exactly was preventing Phyllis from being the head of the Party Planning Committee now that the cat’s out of the bag. Angela Said she knew Phyllis wouldn’t tell because she wasn’t going to be able to plan tacky parties anymore, but wasn’t Phyllis, more or less, assigned the job by Michael?
As far as this season’s shifting moods, it’s seems (to me) that a lot of it’s comedic attributes are presented to us for the first portion of the episodes, then spread on thinner and turning slightly more cynical through to the end. Maybe it’s always been like that, but I’m just noticing it now. If you ask me, it’s the ideal way to present a show like this. Make the viewer feel comfortable, keep it on the ‘lighthearted’, (‘The Office’ standard of the word), side. Throw in some drama that’s not your average “situational comedy fair”, yet still find wry humor in it, mixed in with the same one-liners, and a common joke or two. Then end with a shocker or a revelation, (not always a “downer”, just dramatic… like Pam and Jim proposal). This is a good ‘hook’ for viewers to keep watching when they are left wondering; “Well what happens next”?