# The Office: 7.11/12 "Classy Christmas" (open spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 10, 2010, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-7-11-12-classy-christmas-open-spoilers/563607 "2010-12-10T01:20:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-7-11-12-classy-christmas-open-spoilers/563607/41 "2010-12-12T02:16:21Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Also, am I the only one sharing Erin’s dislike of Holly? Actually, this is the second or third time I can recall that Erin has shown some sort of protectiveness of Michael that’s beyond her usual character. I’m not saying she’s secretly in love with him or anything like that, but it’s different from the combination nurturing/pity that Pam gave him when she was the receptionist. ---
**Author:** ![Gestalt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/90ced4/32.png) [@Gestalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gestalt)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-7-11-12-classy-christmas-open-spoilers/563607/42 "2010-12-12T02:36:09Z")
Well, I think the writers have been trying to show us that Erin thinks of Michael as a father figure. Honestly, I have no idea why Michael isn’t leaping on that and smothering her with fatheriness, since he so desires just that type of relationship w/ other ppl. I don’t really think Holly did anything wrong (maybe eating the candy, cause at that point there’s no reason to even present it as a gift anymore), but I don’t like her and Michael together anymore. He is clearly obsessive and she really does seemed to have moved on. I feel like if she and AJ break up, Michael will want to get with her rightthatsecond and not understand that a) after his super-jealous behavior, she might not be that into him anymore and b) she needs some time before she can date again ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-7-11-12-classy-christmas-open-spoilers/563607/43 "2010-12-12T02:36:41Z")
It’s been established that Erin has a father figure thing with Michael. It’s not romantic. ---
**Author:** ![Fair\_Rarity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fair_rarity/32/153_2.png) [@Fair\_Rarity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fair_Rarity)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-7-11-12-classy-christmas-open-spoilers/563607/44 "2010-12-12T03:57:00Z")
I laughed a lot at this episode and that hadn’t happened in a while. I think Oscar’s gaydar was just finely tuned that day, and don’t forget we saw State Senator HRG check out Ryan’s ass later. Dwight went too far, but Jim started it and he goes too far often as well. I’ll give Dwight a pass because I was laughing so hard, especially about the snowmen. I am just so sick of cartoon Michael Scott. Ok, so he wants to cancel the Christmas party and tactlessly throws out their food. Ok, haha, he’s a jerk. But it went too far because everyone was yelling at him to stop, having a tug-o-war with him and he continued to throw stuff out. Why would even someone as nutty as him be so determined to throw out the food? He likes the drama. He made his point. I think someone like him would have just flitted on to the next shiny thing, rather than waste time fighting over that. Setting Woody on fire was too much, but cleaning him at the end was sweet. It’s not a reflection on Steve Carrell that Michael annoys me most of the time, but how he is written. He’s Homer Simpson stupid and sometimes I just can’t get past it, especially because he didn’t start off that bad and is getting worse and worse. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-7-11-12-classy-christmas-open-spoilers/563607/45 "2010-12-12T04:20:34Z")
> [@Ruby Sees](#): > > Setting Woody on fire was too much, but cleaning him at the end was sweet. I think all he did was dump it in the wastebasket and pour a mug of coffee over it, not set it on fire. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-7-11-12-classy-christmas-open-spoilers/563607/46 "2010-12-12T12:10:23Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > I don’t get all the approval for Dwight turning the tables on Jim. Jim is socially competent, Dwight is socially clueless. No suprise which character dopers identify with, especially when Jim’s pranks on Dwight probably trigger PTSD from highschool bullying flashbacks. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-7-11-12-classy-christmas-open-spoilers/563607/47 "2010-12-13T05:15:49Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > I don’t get all the approval for Dwight turning the tables on Jim. Sure, Jim started it, but Dwight _drew blood_–and wasn’t even content to leave it at that! That was not just out of line, it was off the charts. Eh, Dwight insulted Jim and then Jim pelted him at point blank range in the face with a snowball. Its pretty clear Jim crossed the “physical assault” line first. Kinda weirdly out of character to, I don’t think we’ve seen Jim be physically aggressive before. Granted Dwight drew blood, but Jim did agree to go outside for a snowball fight, at which point Dwight pelted him with snowballs. I’m not exactly sure what Jim thought was going to happen in a snowball fight. Plus the snowmen were the only funny part of the whole show. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-7-11-12-classy-christmas-open-spoilers/563607/48 "2010-12-13T15:51:22Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Plus the snowmen were the only funny part of the whole show. Exactly. It was a much darker show than **The Office** is known for, albeit with a couple humorous moments (the gay [state] Senator thing; the catapulted snowball-in-a-box; a couple others). But the many snowmen at the end was so bizarre it was funny. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-7-11-12-classy-christmas-open-spoilers/563607/49 "2010-12-13T18:49:03Z")
> [@Uncle\_Jocko](#): > > I also enjoyed Erin’s reactions to Holly. “Is she a really good cook?” “I just don’t get it.” I spent the first 25 years of my live in frigid Wisconsin, and Erin’s boobage factor seemed too inflated for a regular sweater. Hope she hasn’t gone the implant route. And it’s nice that some guys have really deep women out there, but jewelry is still a big deal to lots of women. Calling it sexist seems kind of silly. “My husband is a leg man! Not all men like boobs! That’s sexist!” Jim obviously loved the present. That gift would have taken a ridiculous amount of time to do - unrealistically for her to do it without him noticing since they live together and work at adjacent desks. As for Holly, it really seemed to me that she only talked about the ultimatum because the women wouldn’t leave her alone and she wanted them to STFU. Most of the stuff with Darryl and Andy seems to come about because Ed Helms has a (presumably) mandated minimum screen time per season. Erin has daddy issues, and Michael is a combination of a figure and BEST BOSS EVER. She’s not in love with him, but she’s just insanely devoted. Think of her as being what Dwight used to be, but she does it out of devotion instead of a need to be an asskisser. > [@pepperlandgirl](#): > > Right, and if they every did have a storyline with genuine dramatic tension between them instead of cute little problems that are easily resolved, I’m sure there’d be plenty of bitching about how The Office is turning into the “Jam Show” and we all tune in to see the wacky misadventures of Michael Scott et al, not a serious relationship drama. Welcome to the internet! ..and Angela’s Senator is obviously gay. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-7-11-12-classy-christmas-open-spoilers/563607/50 "2010-12-13T18:54:43Z")
My wife is an artist and actually did that comic book thing for me once as a birthday present when we were first dating. She made it about my band, and had me getting into battles with boy bands. It was only black and white, but it was pretty cool. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-7-11-12-classy-christmas-open-spoilers/563607/51 "2010-12-13T18:59:09Z")
Oh, and my point about Holly is that I don’t think there actually was an ultimatum. It was just a lie to get the other women to leave her alone about it. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-7-11-12-classy-christmas-open-spoilers/563607/52 "2010-12-13T19:54:57Z")
You guys sure have some bizarre interpretations of things. It’s really not that deep. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-7-11-12-classy-christmas-open-spoilers/563607/53 "2010-12-13T21:17:09Z")
Did anyone else notice that Classy Santa Mike was wearing the “Date Mike” hat underneath the santa hat? Jim also came across as really bored with his work this episode which I think led to the acting out toward Dwight. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-7-11-12-classy-christmas-open-spoilers/563607/54 "2010-12-13T21:18:43Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > Jim also came across as really bored with his work this episode which I think led to the acting out toward Dwight. Remember, he’s hit his commission max for the year. So, apart from lining up sales for next year, he’s got nothing to do. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Winnie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e480ec/32.png) [@Winnie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winnie)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-7-11-12-classy-christmas-open-spoilers/563607/55 "2010-12-13T21:40:47Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > And it’s nice that some guys have really deep women out there, but jewelry is still a big deal to lots of women. Calling it sexist seems kind of silly. “My husband is a leg man! Not all men like boobs! That’s sexist!” I agree. Especially if they’ve always given each other homemade gifts, for her to receive something like that is VERY touching. My husband and I don’t do “big” gifts ever. The last jewelry he bought me was my engagement ring 12 years ago. Two years ago we celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary in New Orleans, we’d rather do something like that than give each other “stuff”. On the day of our actual anniversary he gave me a gorgeous necklace with diamonds on it. It was so unexpected, and so sincere, it truly brought tears to my eyes that he wanted to go the extra mile to get something so beautiful for me when we’d agreed no gifts at all. It’s so special to me and I can completely relate to Pam’s reaction. ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Jocko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncle_jocko/32/2932_2.png) [@Uncle\_Jocko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Jocko)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-7-11-12-classy-christmas-open-spoilers/563607/56 "2010-12-14T14:21:11Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > And why was Dwight able to beat Jim so easily? Usually Dwight is the one fooled by clever tricks because his are so stupid and obvious. Remember his “fight” with Andy where Andy pinned him with his Prius? Well, remember, he _does_ have a wig for each person who works in the office. Now that’s creepy .. although Jim’s reaction when he saw “Pam” working at her desk, then saw Pam walking out of the back room _at the same time_ was priceless. ---
**Author:** ![Double\_Foolscap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85e7bf/32.png) [@Double\_Foolscap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Double_Foolscap)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-7-11-12-classy-christmas-open-spoilers/563607/57 "2010-12-14T15:04:58Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > And why was Dwight able to beat Jim so easily? Usually Dwight is the one fooled by clever tricks because his are so stupid and obvious. Remember his “fight” with Andy where Andy pinned him with his Prius? Dwight has managed to make the whole office turn against Jim with the employee of the month scheme, and he didn’t get caught out (until Ryan found his diabolical plan in the photocopier). Also bugging Jim’s office. In both cases, his perceived incompetence at pranks worked in his favour; Jim removed the survival skills and combat readiness categories from the scoring system for the employee of the month as he suspected Dwight of rigging it, and once he found the obvious mallard bug Jim didn’t bother looking any further. He can also be psychologically cruel, like when he got Erin to pretend she’d won an art contest. I think that if he applied himself to pranks, he could destroy everybody in the office; as it is, he’s more concerned with his sales figures, his beet farm, and hay-based annual festivals. ---
**Author:** ![quixotic78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/3ab097/32.png) [@quixotic78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quixotic78)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-7-11-12-classy-christmas-open-spoilers/563607/58 "2010-12-14T22:44:56Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > I spent the first 25 years of my live in frigid Wisconsin, and Erin’s boobage factor seemed too inflated for a regular sweater. Hope she hasn’t gone the implant route. I noticed she seemed much bustier than usual, too. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-7-11-12-classy-christmas-open-spoilers/563607/59 "2010-12-15T04:22:34Z")
> [@quixotic78](#): > > I noticed she seemed much bustier than usual, too. Seconded, with approval. Ellie’s got it going on [here](http://www.imdb.com/media/rm4168976640/nm2608689) in Sept. 2009, but [this](http://www.imdb.com/media/rm2139128832/nm2608689) one from just a few days ago conceals her assets. I assume everyone knows that this was written by Mindy and directed by Rainn - which might explain the ferocity of the snowball fight. If you follow Rainn on Twitter you know that he can bit off-kilter. ---
**Author:** ![Gestalt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/90ced4/32.png) [@Gestalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gestalt)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-7-11-12-classy-christmas-open-spoilers/563607/60 "2010-12-15T04:36:04Z")
From what I’ve heard, Rainn is not super different from Dwight. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-7-11-12-classy-christmas-open-spoilers/563607.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-7-11-12-classy-christmas-open-spoilers/563607.md?page=4)