4 Office Hot Takes | Big Joel

This video is about some mega hot office hot takes.
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[@cashnelson2306]

my office hot take is that Andy never "developed" at all the writing team just literally decided every year he'd be a different character

[@W0LV1E45]

same thing with Erin. The only 2 good introduced characters that aren't from S1 that both has very similarities, and issues that makes them closer together instead of forcing Plop with Erin (and her being forced to be the new Pam) and forcing Andy out of character and him being made into S1 Michael Scott or David Brent of UK/Original Office especially after they finally figured out Andy and Erin's character in S6-8.

[@darthgriffin7741]

Honestly the problem is that since Andy isn’t a season one character they think they don’t need a concrete personality. That’s why he goes from a cunning suck up, somewhat of a spoiled rich kid, that one person who’s stuck in the good old days, basically just Michael Scott but not nearly as likable, and eventually to Roy.

[@W0LV1E45]

@@darthgriffin7741 The problem with Roy is Andy isn't a jock looking or intimidating just like Michael (Basketball episode he got scared by Daryll, Roy, and Patrice O Neil character). Plop looks more like a jock and is alcoholic unlike Andy. Andy is all bark but no bite just like Michael unlike Roy or even Dwight.

[@darthgriffin7741]

wolvie45 exactly, the worst he could do is make a awkward situation that everyone forgot about literally the next episode.

[@TheCowardRobertFord]

He was a pretty consistent character after going to anger management until the last season- where the writers were mad at him for going to do the Hangover 3, even though his contract ended in s08 and they knew before starting the season he had to the movie.

[@theyoungottoman3533]

he isn't lying - I tried to stop Big Joel from talking about the Office and clearly my plans lay in ruins

[@n1w4]

maybe next time he says we can't stop him we all cancel our patreon subscriptions

[@riccardoolivieri1159]

@@n1w4 But that wouldn't stop him either, would it? I mean, the video would have already been uploaded

[@theyoungottoman3533]

@@n1w4 it's above our pay grade. next time I'll leave it to the pros of the Hot Take Task Force.

[@oof-rr5nf]

Perhaps, free will has gone too far . . .

[@jcdf2]

Why didn't you want Big Joel talking about the Office?

[@pbertolini]

My wife wants you to know that brian wasn't a camera man, he was the boom mic operator.

[@samringwald]

Tell your wife I noticed that too.

[@Wave_Commander]

@@samringwald I'll tell her this weekend ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[@CalamityInAction]

Ben Boyle Ditto

[@tylerchamberlain4552]

@@CalamityInAction That was nice guys, really enjoyed myself last weekend. Think she did too

[@CalamityInAction]

@@tylerchamberlain4552 It did get slimy though. It was like a Nickelodeon game show, but it was with white slime

[@Milkra]

Moments where Michael actually acts like an adult give me life

[@SleeperGuy23]

Milktraap right? They didn’t give him enough competent and lucid moments. The moments where he admits to Jim it’s all an act and that he understands the realities of the job in his own way. When he goes out and supports his friends like Pam’s art show or his time with holly.

[@n8with8s]

@@SleeperGuy23 When he and Jim are co-managers you get to see how Michael actually does his job and for the first time you kind of get that sense that maybe he isn't really in over his head and that the way he is framed by the writers is obviously the doc crew just picking his most entertaining moments

[@OlExtraRegularBass]

Bad wrong no

[@adversary22]

It's my headcanon that Michael is secretly just playing a game. During the run of the show, he is revealed to have been a bizarrely good salesman and loved being a salesman. I think he was kind of promoted semi involuntarily. Now he's capable of doing the manager job without issue, but he's not doing what he loved. So he's going through the motions seeing how much chaos and stress he can get away with causing without someone taking him down. He's spiraled into a bad form of nihilism and is taking it out on the company. At least that's what I choose to believe. I got fed up with some of the show and stopped watching before Michael's character left.

[@transgenderbasketballplayer]

​@@SleeperGuy23When he breaks from Caleb Crawdad and snaps at Jim is one of the best moments in the whole show. I think of it often

[@theclawless1225]

Someone looking over my shoulder, seeing the footage without the context of the audio, would probably think that I’m actually watching The Office with a completely straight face.

[@kauswekazilimani3736]

Would probably think your a lizardman

[@theclawless1225]

that’s Ms. Lizardman to you >:-D

[@max6833]

They would probably just assume you were watching the episodes after Michael left.

[@royalfool3600]

I actually only watch for the storyline

[@OlExtraRegularBass]

@@theclawless1225 And? How should your face look?

[@johnnyjosefsen7644]

Andys transformation from a likeable and yet insufferable person to a complete heartless tool is one of the worst decisions in season 9.

[@jackpeterson305]

It was revenge for them all picking the red haired British lady over him. He came around at the end though when he wrote her a letter of recommendation to the adoption agency.

[@jackkerger164]

Thanks for pointing out how rude it was for Jim to refuse to call Andy “Drew” after his therapy! It was so mean and pointless, almost to the point of being out of character.

[@funnycat9962]

I think something much worse that no one ever brings up is when Erin was eating lunch in her car to hide from Gabe, and she asked him and Pam to come in and talk to her, but he just leaves after a few lines and says “that just wasn’t interesting to me.” He sounds like a straight up sociopath, and it comes out of nowhere. It suggests that the only reason he gets involved in people’s lives is because he finds it entertaining.

[@Gabo2oo]

@@funnycat9962 I also thought that was out of character, considering he's perfectly capable of being sensitive to others and providing advice to them. Seeing him act like "that's girl talk, I'm outta here" was so strange, it prevented the joke from being funny IMO.

[@grantwilson4506]

@@funnycat9962 Eh, I found it to both be relatable and kind've funny. I think everyone has been in a situation where maybe they want to try and help someone but they can't relate to it, don't have the time for it, or just feel like they won't really end up helping in the end. Guys like to fix problems whereas Girls more like to talk about them.

[@redacted2275]

What? Andy's main goal since arriving at the Scranton office was to achieve his goal no matter who he had to stab in the back to achieve it... and "Big Tuna" was obviously one of the main targets because of the Jim/Michael's weird but tender relationship. Andy is scheming ways to kiss ass and say the right things to everybody all the time... that's one of the reasons why he gets out of control and punches the wall. Jim notices it right from the start and EVEN Michael see through the phony Andy persona. After the episode everybody takes notice of it as well and gets pretty angry at him too - the name changing is another lame move from Andy coming from a line of past lame moves.

[@titan9663]

Jim was holding Andy accountable for his actions and mistakes in the office.

[@jonathanstern5537]

Hot take, Kelly and Andy should have been a couple. They're both shallow in an endearing middle-school kind of way. They share similar interests (fame, same taste in music, trash TV, etc). Most importantly, Kelly wants someone who will shower her with attention, meanwhile Andy wants someone to shower with attention (though he doesn't admit it at first). On that subject, what's the Watsonian reason Andy didn't invite Erin on his boat trip. This made no sense with his character. Two simple lines would have fixed it, "Erin, would you come with us." "I can't, this is about family, and I still need to find mine," and then the rest of her arc for the season/series, would be about her trying to find her parents. That would have been much more compelling than her ending up with Plop and made Andy less inconsistent.

[@zzeroara9511]

Oh, shit....you're right.....

[@jordachejordan90]

Have you seen The Take's video on this subject?

[@jonathanstern5537]

@@jordachejordan90 Yes, I have. I thought it was very well done.

[@ShirDeutch]

But Kelly and Andy were together, because as we all know, Erin's real name is Kelly!

[@brigit9692]

@@ShirDeutch I forget about that all the time, it still catches me off guard sometimes when I rewatch loll

[@elspethschuyler685]

My hot take - I didn’t like how many excuses they gave Michael’s behaviour, they could never seem to make him learn from his mistakes or change his genuinely harmful attitude if he made a mistake by the end of the episode he’d be redeemed

[@izzielazickas]

Holy cow!!! Yes you are so right!!!

[@slightlyoffensivedadjokes]

thats something that really holds the office back for me is that so much of micheals sexism and racism gets away and no one does anything, and after a while its very clear that they wrote him to be like that purely for the sake of the camera and not him as a human being who must face consequences

[@joset3264]

Except for in the Scott's tots episode

[@mayann0-0]

What he did to Holly’s Woody doll was fucked up. And then the entire Office turned on her as if she did something wrong.

[@sonorasgirl]

ESPECIALLY of women and minorities. I have a hard time enjoying it cause the casual sexual/sexist comments were things I dealt with in real life on a regular basis, to the point of a boss making a move on me when he was in his mid 30s and married and I was 23. He was treated as my office Michael - kinda gross sometimes but overall harmless and well-loved. He never faced consequences for his actions either. Nah dude. Just nah.

[@rspeak5768]

If they wanted a twist to the meatball prank, they should've cut to an interview with Stanley where he says something like "it's not really that funny, but Jim has been trying so hard to make me laugh, I knew I needed to give him something." The essence is still "someone trying to do something nice for someone" but it flips the script, and Jim still ends up as the butt of the joke.

[@tardersauce3578]

I think the way it was would be better than that, but I do think it’s delightful that Stanley can just have a specific sense of humor that would make it great.

[@kshitijsrivastava6440]

That would be funny, but out of character, because Stanley's definitely not that nice

[@navybluechilipeppers]

imo, stanley finding getting "meatballed" absolutely hilarious for no reason is part of the fun. Mystery adds comedy, creed bratton figured that out lol

[@MrRyan-wu4jx]

Nah, I think it was great that Dwight finally got the better of Jim pulling one of his pranks.

[@DuckReconMajor]

@@kshitijsrivastava6440 he has moments where he is nice though, e.g. when he and phyllis agree to cover for jim while he's in philly

[@ByTheLake81]

GREAT VIDEO. I have to disagree with your first point though. Michael's incompetence isn't a commentary on the success of the family-style management technique; it's a commentary on how the boss is irrelevant. It's a parody/wish-fulfillment for the main audience of the show--white collar workers, who think that their bosses are dumb and cause problems at work rather than solving them.

[@chuckbatman5]

I think both points can co-exist actually. Micheal's family-style management does bring the characters closer by trapping them in his "family" environment, but this environment also allows them to grow to the point where the boss is irrelevant and unnecessary, just as a child eventually outgrows the need for a parent. This also allows the office (although not so much The Office) to continue functioning during the tumultuous rotating boss situation of later seasons. Micheal essentially makes himself so irrelevant that his modus operandi for running the office is ultimately successful

[@mackenzie3009]

I agree! Remember when Andy was off on his boat trip, and the workers...just kept working? In fact, they exceeded their targets for the quarter without a boss to distract or micromanage them. When Andy came back, he did more harm than good and he lost one of Dwight's accounts.

[@thisisfractopia]

Michael was a great salesman - but then he was promoted to management. These are two very different jobs. His career is an example of the Peter Principle in action.

[@Powerofthewaaagh]

@@chuckbatman5 I don't think Michael really helped even by bringing them together. One thing this hot take leaves out is that Michael was explicitly good at *sales*, not at his job in general. He was promoted past the point of usefulness. There are many episodes in the early seasons where Michael either explicitly hampers the progress of other characters or doesn't get anything done all day.

[@Xondar11223344]

Yep. There's even an episode where they mention that the Scranton branch is doing really well after Andy abandoned it and there was no manager for six months.

[@space-case]

my "The Office" hot take: the intense fanbase for the show coupled with its jokes and style being endlessly copied ensure that it's going to wind up like Seinfeld and Happy Days as a show that older people insist is hilarious but younger people find boring.

[@lemmonz]

I think Seinfeld is funny

[@geloelcubano95]

This is happening already

[@Udontkno7]

As a young person (16), I'm already there. I can't enjoy the show, it doesn't impact me like how it would if I had watched it when it first came out.

[@hitchhiker8798]

The office will continue to be funny as long as modern workplaces continue to exist

[@spadeplaladin5]

You shut your mouth about Seinfeld

[@tyleralbizo7333]

“I recently rewatched season nine of the office” May god beer you strength

[@kharris3352]

I fucking love beer

[@rdfm1549]

This video distinctly feels like being held hostage and I’ve begun suffering from Stockholm syndrome

[@_gremlinboy]

Them really are the vibes

[@thomasjackson5381]

When the show first aired I was in my teens and I ate up all the ways the show was intending to portray the characters, especially the whole “Ew Meredith” thing. But now that I’m in my thirties and have seen a bit more of life, Meredith is my favorite character. Maybe I’m just a trash queen.

[@moeszyslak3097]

It's hard not to notice, looking back, that Meredith was having the most fun

[@Hoopla10]

I always really liked the Meredith character. By the Lice episode (Meredith and Pam go out for a drink after work) you get this sense that the writers had missed a huge opportunity of doing something genuinely interesting with her over the previous seasons. Even the episode where it's found out that she'd been sleeping with a client could have been written with some interesting commentary. But I get a sense that final episode and Meredith is just something the show did a few times with the "side" characters. Hint that something about their life is surprising but never do anything with it. That's basically Creed's whole character, right.

[@smilesfordays]

True Neutral Woah Angela! Get off KZbin and back to pushing paper alright? Go pet your cats. No need to be rude.

[@wabznasm9660]

@@trueneutral1694 You say that like those are bad things

[@Hoopla10]

@@trueneutral1694 When people say she's a "bullied" character they're talking about the writers. They wrote those things. They could have given her more depth, added a larger context and commentary. It's what Joel is suggesting in his "hot take" by that final episode. Even within what we knew already the foundation was there. They just didn't do anything with it except resort to jabs and cliche "grossness". For me Packer is Gross. I don't really see Meredith in the same way. She seems fine with having sex for steakhouse coupons. We could argue that it is bad that our system already commodifies us and yet we generally act as if that's fine. That we've become oblivious to the system we're in and conditioned to think it's fine and natural. In that way it's bad, for sure. But I don't think that's their point here. She was clearly made out as somebody who's done something bad. Not the client (presumably a man) or the system. And she'd be the one who would lose her job. Meredith clearly isn't prudish around sex and hasn't the usual US hangups around sex. That doesn't make her gross. Nothing wrong with being stripper. Interesting you blame Meredith for that though. Not an education system, or pressures of a single mom bringing up a son, or the son (who is actually okay with being a stripper). And she supports him in his choice.

[@lcardwell640]

That scene where Michael visits Ryan's MBA class is one of the realest in television history

[@nckv]

Write that down!

[@lcardwell640]

@@nckv hahaha

[@razkable]

i think whats funny is he knows the truth but hes in denial and tries to use comedy to ignore it and ryan blindsiding him when he thought he was giving a simple lecture on his business teachings annoyed him and left him ill prepared to answer...he tries to ignore the problem as we have seen since the pilot...cause he can't solve it so thats all he can do...his advice to ryan that episode is nice but it does not solve anything...people may never go out of bussiness but old models due to unforseen changes in the world and how it works can ...the times were changing..paper due to tech as this comment being written on has made paper less valueable and thus the big chains take the profits and the little guy struggles ....mike is old school..he has no idea how to solve this tech issue cause he was not raised in this era...hes totally stuck...so thats why pam's painting reminds him of why he does this..it remotivates him...even if this ends at a dead end sign

[@LackingSaint]

uh, sorry, first the twilight zone and now this? why do you keep wasting my time doing videos about things i haven't seen? i guess "big shot" joel's audience just doesn't matter to him anymore. "thanks"

[@mothcub]

Big Joel about to drop 7 videos on YIIK

[@christinash5333]

mothcub CAN HE PLEASE

[@_taylor_1604]

I can’t tell if this is satire or not

[@oof-rr5nf]

shdhfjfj jack pls loved the marvel essay btw ♡

[@thequarkchronicles2486]

this is my favorite comment on any big joel video i love it with all my heart

[@nursekayee]

Honestly I can't even watch the later seasons. How they completely just ignored all of Andy's growth as a character throughout the show and made him a gigantic ass is very irritating to watch.

[@tgwnn]

Fair

[@selty]

I hated later seasons because it shifted to overly sentimental and had to start bringing in relationship conflict because they didn't trust the formula. It should have just ended. Same thing happened to Parks and Rec.

[@nugs1951]

Michaels treatment of Toby is definitely the most mean spirited aspect of the show for sure

[@mightyNosewings]

But with Toby, the excessive mean-spiritedness is sort of part of the joke. Michael has no particular reason to hate Toby so much, and that's part of the joke. The show is at least *aware* of the mean-spiritedness. That's not the case with Meredith.

[@Starburst514]

@@mightyNosewings I thought he hated Toby cause Toby was HR which still would have been the joke

[@thomashartwell4335]

@@mightyNosewings See, the issue with Toby is that the show...kinda ends up agreeing with Michael? Slowly all the other characters mistreat Toby as well and by the end of it he's left miserable and lonely, and we're never invited to think of him as anything other than a sad, joke of a person. With Parks & Rec the show manifestly does not agree with the office's treatment of Jerry, and with B99 they give adequate reasons for why the department makes fun of Hitchcock and Scully, but Toby? He has nothing other than the relentless cruelty the other characters dispense towards him.

[@benitabathel5560]

THANK YOU. It really doesn't get talked about much

[@saninpain]

@@thomashartwell4335 Well Toby is a bit of a leach and casually harrasses Pam on several occasions.

[@shmutzman]

Regarding your second hot take, that reminds me of Michael Apted's "Up" documentary series, which follows a bunch of kids and updates every 7 years with a new documentary about how they've all been doing. Aside from all of "28 Up" (1984), I'd say the most fascinating watershed moment in the series comes in "49 Up" (2005). During a routine interview, one of the subjects suddenly expresses scorn for how she's been depicted and presented by the documentaries. As the documentary goes on, more of the film's subjects start expressing their distaste and disapproval of the whole rigmarole of being interviewed and documented over the years. It's fascinating to see that despite having had the relatively intimate experience of seeing these people's live progress from the age of 7 onward, we've only gotten the director's side of the story, which hadn't addressed how the act of observing and documenting these people was affecting them. It also makes me ponder on how even the most compelling or informative documentaries are ultimately subjective in that they can only present what the filmmaker decides to present, or can even know in the first place.

[@Crazyepicman]

Legal Eagle real law review: Is Big Joel allowed to preform office hot takes?

[@DylanKarbo]

Part 2: How can we stop Big Joel from performing Office hot takes?

[@furiookami]

I felt like I was the only person bothered by Jim refusing to call him Drew

[@clairesvoyant]

Andy was an annoying douche in the office and literally called Jim "Big Tuna" - a nickname Jim didn't seem to love. I thought Jims motivation made perfect sense - Andy doesn't deserve to be called a new name since he hasn't really been a cool respectful guy and Jim is doubtful of the new calm character Andy is trying to be when he comes back from anger management. Maybe Jim should have shown more respect to Andy but I think its pretty fair that Jim's character would have some lingering resentment to Andy

[@Maus5000]

@@clairesvoyant That's a very good point, it kind of makes me rethink the whole interaction

[@phookiephook1043]

I saw it as a kid and it made sense to me why Jim didn’t want to. He would be enabling Andy on his behavior of trying to throw away and replace himself instead of fixing himself. Anyway, probably wrong but that’s how I thought of it as a kid. Which is why I didn’t see it as rude or mean.

[@akshatgupta4817]

Andy was just kind of a suck up and a jerk to Jim and Jim had absolutely no reason to believe that Andy had become better so I think it was kinda justified.

[@judeconnor-macintyre9874]

It bothered me too.

[@stephenmc8330]

U forgot the Angela-Oscar-Senator triangle but okay

[@chuckbatman5]

The fact that there were two love triangles centered around a character mostly referred to as "The Senator" (I'm sure he had a real name but I don't remember it) is the perfect sign of the decay of love triangles in The Office

[@darthgriffin7741]

Coolman Hahn the funny thing is he never had a name. That’s how half baked and non-developed he was, he literally didn’t have a name.

[@darthgriffin7741]

Mechanical Junkie oh yeah you’re right sorry the wiki page I looked up for some reason didn’t have his name and just had him as “The Senator”.

[@chuckbatman5]

@@darthgriffin7741 well that's how half-baked he was, the wiki editior literally forgot his name.

[@Maus5000]

@@chuckbatman5 Or perhaps the wiki editor was half baked

[@theautisticguitarist7560]

I love how, messy Jim and Pam's love triangles are. If you rewatch the show, yeah Roy was an idiot with an anger problem, but he clearly loved Pam, and you can see it when he realizes how badly he screwed things up with her. And then there's Karen. Karen loved Jim, a lot. When she tries to keep Jim and Pam away from each other, it's not out of petty jealousy, it's out of genuine fear. She knows they have a thing, and she knows her relationship with Jim is in danger because of it. I especially appreciate that later in the series Jim meets her again and has to confront the fact that he hurt her. That's what all the other love triangles are missing: stakes. No matter who Jim or Pam chose, someone was getting their heart broken, and thats much more exciting than a bunch of boring single people trying to sleep with each other.

[@Kiwi_TaylorsVersion]

I never really liked them tbh... I enjoyed Dwight and Angelas messed up relationship much more because it was so wholesome in their own way in the end. Jim and Pam are too try hard for me after watching the series multiple times

[@johannascott1593]

@@Kiwi_TaylorsVersion completely agree

[@tinas_hotdog_sophie]

@@Kiwi_TaylorsVersion Really? Angela and Dwight were so toxic, I was really surprised that they got together at the happy end.

[@Kiwi_TaylorsVersion]

@@tinas_hotdog_sophie yeah they were extremely messed up but it was more special to me somehow idk

[@nont18411]

And the best part is…the lives of both Roy and Karen became so much better after they got out of this bs

[@readerforlife7292]

I always saw the season 9 replacements to be a metaphor for how nothing changes in the office. There will always be another love triangle, there will always be an idiot or a jerk, and everyone working there now will not leave until they either die, get fired, or get arrested for illegal animal trafficking. I thought that it worked as a foil for Jim's fears about never being able to leave.

[@kristenyarbrough4287]

Literally yes! Every workplace has a chaos turnover and then things go right back to normal chaos. Same types of people

[@ericlol1337]

hot take: kevin dropping his chili is more sad than michael leaving

[@thecpmr6276]

I know it's weird, but it really made me genuinely sad.

[@meghanphillips3495]

I have to watch that scene through my fingers it upsets me so much

[@Lugiaskr]

watching you somehow become more and more awkward with each video fills me with a deep sense of joy and endearment. keep being big, Joel,.

[@highfunctioningbarb]

that 'bye' at the end xD

[@cleo7867]

little

[@Lugiaskr]

@@cleo7867 medium even

[@Theo_Caro]

Hot take #1 was pretty good Hot take #2 was good Hot take #3 was pretty hot Hot take #4 was scorching.

[@zacharystrebler9039]

YOUVE BEN MEATBALLD

[@cjsyblik3296]

Are ya ready for some meatballs?

[@yolosnuff1476]

Hot.

[@joegarcia8266]

8

[@razkable]

hot take 2 was fine..but why did he say one of his fave moments in the finale was that meredith scene?..the finale is perfect...that is not one of the best things in that episode..wtf?....thats the real hot take

[@invisiblek5783]

I found Jim's exploration of what type of prank Stanley would enjoy was less about giving Stanley joy and more about validating Jim's cleverness and sense of humor (aka his sense of self). He couldn't stand that his jokes weren't landing with someone. Stanley was a challenge that Jim felt he needed to win. I do agree that Jim ends up being the butt of the joke because of it.

[@shan8130]

Okay just a note on Meredith: she’s making sexual comments to her male co-workers/being inappropriate and they are always put off by it. It’s not mean-spirited to portray that behavior as “ew” because it IS “ew,” it’s something you should send to HR.

[@mrlevinielsen]

Agreed. Meredith had 1 or 2 HR dilemmas on her hand…

[@_kirb_]

It's more that the writers chose to wrote her like this, she isn't an actual person harassing others for the heck of it. What Joel is talking about is that she seems like a character explicitly put in just to be cringed at for...no real purpose besides that. And it feels a bit weird like the writers *also* are using her like a punching bag. Of course everything is speculation. Is her being relatively mature, unattractive, and promiscuous the butt of the joke here? Was she created just to fulfill the "older woman" quota? Idk. I never found her scenes fun, nor even a decent representation of a creep because it really says nothing about it, it just plays it as a joke. I found Jerry in Parks and Recreation to be a more entertaining character that is supposed to be the punching bag. Finding out his life is actually perfect outside of the department was amazing and karmatic. I don't really like punching bag type characters but I think he at least he adds more than Meredith to the series and he's even better liked by fans.

[@ragaya3043]

Sure it is, but imo the show portray these situations as funny because she is an old and unattractive woman that likes sex and the writers don't really acknowledge that behaviour as predatory because it is but rather because of who is doing it

[@AliciaB.]

@@_kirb_ I think you're all kind of missing the point... it's not necessarily Meredith herself we're meant to be laughing at, more the situations she creates. it's kind of a goofier take on the cringe comedy that the show is rooted in : uncanny situation (older woman hitting hard on younger, attractive men) ; realistic reaction, if not legitimate, from the characters ('ew, no sex please') ; discomfort ; cringe ; laughs. it's the same when Michael makes a racism or mysogynistic joke : of course we're supposed to laugh at him, but his unlikeableness is a means to an end, namely to install an atmosphere of unease - which we find entertaining for some reason. Meredith's unattractiveness/self-oblivious behavior is a means to an end in the same way.

[@AdamHendey]

The Office hot take #5: The Office is a classic Hero’s Journey narrative, and Dwight is its protagonist

[@DrewBisthebestdealwithit]

Elaborate

[@elbowbread4393]

I thought that was commonly agreed upon not a hot take

[@elbowbread4393]

@@DrewBisthebestdealwithit Dwight character develops most through out the story and at the end after never get thing anything he deserves but in the end he finally wins l..he gets angela,manager position, the office finally respects him. He won

[@LittleTed1000]

How is his story like the heroes journey? In that he wins at the end? Simply winning doesn't mean it's the heroes journey. The heroes journey is an actual thing and I don't see the comparison.

[@Reioa]

@@LittleTed1000 He's part of a family of old fashioned German based farmers, likely could have spent the rest of his life farming with his cousin but one way or another he finds himself working in a white collar job where he can't just wear a tanktop and his boxers. He assimilates almost perfectly in terms of success with sales despite his clearly rural mannerisms (bringing in a goose twice, deer jerky, etc). He is head and shoulders above the other sales team to the point of multiple people acknowledging and respecting his talent. He works to snake his way into being the boss by wholly embracing his "ARM" position and throughout the series we see how he's continually denied a truly managerial position. We see him try to gain promotion again and again, then eventually attempting a coup (and failing to the point of actual damage to his psyche). Even after returning from the Staples he worked at he didn't really become more noble for a while, still resorting to trickery and joining up with Ryan to try to pettily remove Jim. I find his friendship with Pam is one of the factors that slowly helps humanize him, especially since she has nothing to gain from trying to milk things from him. Once he loses the position of "manager" twice (once because it was revoked and twice when he ruined his perfect office by shooting a gun). By the end of the show he has learned that he can't be a dictator to those in the office, he can have his own managerial style without painting his office black and treating everyone as dogs. The office we see at the very end that Dwight is running is highly effective, energetic, and in a much more stable state than we had seen from season 1 up until season 8. Without all the flux of Michael or Sabre's shenanigans Dwight is able to focus on getting product out the door and doing what he loves best. Maybe this doesn't sound like a hero's journey but he definitely grows from being in one place and gaining the role he has wanted for so long, after his trials and tribulations and schemes to get to the top, what got him there was learning about the people around him and not those he was just trying to get paper to. Like, I love how him and Phyllis go from disliking each other to being able to work together.

[@norahporter4075]

i can't believe you did my girl erin dirty like that. she was my favorite character because she was relateable as a young person who is just lost in the world. she doesn't really have many people there for her, and she doesn't get much guidance because of that. she's kid-ish because she's not really been given the chance to socially develop in life, but she does improve a lot through the show. pete is weak though, you're right on that part. excellent video for sure though, i love your hot takes

[@laurelhell7041]

SAY IT LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK

[@W0LV1E45]

Both have parental issues and realized that its not bad to not have parents since having one might not be as good due to lack of love, and appreciation like they treat you as you were an accident.

[@Rougarou99]

Pete’s character was literally discount Jim.

[@sabrinagranger5468]

this comment is just to feed the algorithm nom nom nom

[@ordinarytree4678]

I love your profile pic, whats it from?

[@lavamatstudios]

hi youtube algorithm. see how i'm engaging with this content? doesn't this make you want to show it to more people? you will be able to exploit their engagement for so much ad revenue, i promise you you'll have a grand time doing that.

[@abandonedchannel281]

Nom nom nom nom nom nom

[@adelleyan]

nommity nom

[@yosid1702]

norman

[@pinkopat]

Here's my hot take: Gabe the skeleton man is a great character and I love him

[@brigit9692]

Gabe is hilarious and doesn't get enough recognition for it, thank u for speaking up

[@michelle7860]

I really loved him at first but then he became an abusive asshole towards Erin after they broke up, and suffered zero consequences for it. Kinda bummed me out because I liked him so much.

[@sajanpatel4956]

Michelle yeah for a while the joke was just “haha look at this awful clingy man”

[@airshow406]

Gabe is absolutely delightful, his acting and writing is a pure joy. His character is a slimy little turd.

[@plastiqbeach7487]

I hate him because he reminds me a lot of a guy I hate in real life so I can't really like him :/

[@stevencoleman453]

Pete's actor, Jake Lacy, was a friend of mine in high school. We both went to Otter Valley in Brandon VT. I can safely say Jake was pretty much Pete in high school.

[@ameliad7691]

Steven Coleman Omg really? That’s awesome

[@W0LV1E45]

Is he forgettable and dull just like his character? His pointless in the show. Wrong decision to ruin instead of making Andy/Erin closer together after Andy's parents shitty treatment on him, losing the wealth due to recklessness. Andy being lost and depressed gets comforted by Erin and both discussed parents issues until they both realized that its better to have no parents than have one that doesn't like you and has you to fix their mess (bankcruptcy caused by his parents), selling their or his useless parents properties and after that Andy completely ended his one way relationship with his family for good and started a new life with Erin by getting married and leaving Dunder Mifflin for good to start a family (privately) just like Michael's ending and had Dwight run the company for a few episodes until Angela's redemption and Dwight finally learned from his past mistakes as manager was proven to be more effective than Michael, and also Andy ever was and later married Angela in Schrute Farms/reunion and a Michael cameo which makes his speech even more powerful after seeing Andy/Erin, Jim/Pam, Dwight/Angela married, happy, and talking to each other (especially Dwight on Jim and Andy (since he considered both back then as enemy) and Angela being closer and less uptight on Pam, Erin, Jim and finally Andy after the terrible treatment she gave him.

[@dusktomidnight7207]

@@W0LV1E45 dude chill out its just a TV show

[@odiram]

The Pete/Erin love story is my least favorite thing in the whole show. They had just finished getting Andy and Erin together in what I thought was a goofy but endearing arc, and they were both child like enough that they seemed to fit with one another, but then Andy just does a complete character reversal so Ed Helms can do one of the Hangover movies and they half heartedly throw in an Ersatz Jim/Pam rehash to wrap things up.

[@kristenrimmel4436]

Hot take, I REALLY like how Erin's character was developed. We are introduced to just another secretary, who transforms into an anxiety driven (quickly agrees to being called by her middle her middle name rather than her first name, can't put out pencils on a shelf because it's not something she's completely used to) and societally influenced young woman (agrees to boyfriends and stay with them because she believes she should; learns a fake language because that's what Dwight, a man she has grown to respect, as told her to do), who then is given decent backstory (being in foster care and a never adopted child; finds paternal love in her biggest male influence, Michael; always longing to be wanted/loved) who is honestly one of the most caring people on the entire show (helps Andy find his engagement ring even though she still cares about him; tries to help Nellie successfully adopt a child). She gets her happy ending, meeting her biological parents, and honestly feels like a fully rounded character. I know she's kind of a "manic pixie girl" character, but more than that she's an anxious, insecure "weird girl" trying to find herself. And I feel like a lot of women related to her. She's always felt important to me.

[@razkable]

i like how she and dwight become like siblings and she follows him like a big bro or cousin and she sees mike like a uncle or dad or grampa figure....and how mike doe snot sexualize her at all...he sees her as a kid

[@nipplestealer9044]

Erin is hands down one of the worst characters on the show and she should never have played a bigger role.

[@kalpic11]

All that and I love a lot of the jokes they wrote for her. I always remember her incorrectly spilling the old lady’s pills into the daily container thing and warming up Gatorade instead of tea.

[@adamp6320]

Worst character, can't stand her and she is a cartoon

[@XatxiFly]

I do like that she was a woman who was a big weirdo in an often relatively ungendered way, there aren’t enough of those characters

[@ripwitch9833]

Hot Take #5 Ryan should have never returned after he got arrested for fraud.

[@TheCowardRobertFord]

That's very clear, but they didn't want to lose B.J Ryan as a writer in a moment when some of them were going to Parks & Rec.

[@leoveas9965]

Nah, him turning into a sociopathic dissaster on his last episodes was one of the best parts of the show

[@tinfoilslacks3750]

It's not worth losing HEY SHOE BITCH

[@Agentmg17]

Personally, I never liked how Jim made huge choices without consulting Pam. Like buying his parents house, and the new sports job.

[@cookeris]

True. But Jim always supported Pam and her dreams. And she didn't support Jim's.

[@ume-f5j]

But if he hadn't made such big leaps, him and Pam wouldn't be together.

[@Agentmg17]

If y'all think that's romantic... that's fine. My opinion doesn't invalidate yours. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@lane6216]

Agreed. Red flag city.

[@joshplaysdrums2143]

Big Joel, Jack Saint, and Philosophy Tube all just uploaded. I'm muy happy.

[@vincelestrade3758]

The Office would have been perfect for me if the following occurred: 1. Kevin remained a more multifaceted character. He remains good at a limited skill set of things, and those skills are expanded upon and used for the benefit of others later on. 2. Andy does not lose his progression, but instead remains with Erin or finds actual, earned fulfillment elsewhere. 3. Erin is developed a bit more. The show references her anger and insecurities, but it should have also shown her growing more mature, possibly with the help of a better Andy, or otherwise from her experiences.

[@theautisticguitarist7560]

Hey you look familiar.

[@darylgraham4313]

Sometimes I enjoy watching detailed analysis not because it's correct but because it forces me to consider why I think it's incorrect.

[@lucarzewski3455]

I actually love the meatball hot take, I always felt exactly the same. You don't know how many times I've rewatched the scene where Dwight pulls out his stapler, just to hear Stanley's amazing and authentic laughter... the scene always brings me a huge amount of joy. And then being told that it's actually supposed to be inauthentic is always kinda jarring. Stanley's laugher in that scene is always so wonderful to watch.

[@mitchellgeorge6031]

Jim is an extremely complex character. On one hand, he’s kind, sensitive, and a good match for Pam but on the other hand, he’s arrogant, a bully, and a home wrecker.

[@t.dominey4150]

I mean it wasn't his place to break them up but it's not like he ruined a happy relationship. Pam clearly didn't want to be with Roy

[@hiddenleafdrip3869]

@@t.dominey4150 it wouldn't change that he's a home wrecker though? Whether the relationship is good or not lol

[@nymeric5833]

@@hiddenleafdrip3869 if its a bad relationship, is it really a bad thing to be a "home wrecker" in this context?

[@samuelduchesne5841]

​@@nymeric5833roy isnt that bad

[@BigJoel]

Howdy! Thanks for watching my video! If you liked me and my takes, consider becoming a patron lol: www.patreon.com/bigjoel Ok bye!

[@johnmalsantri1026]

Michael Scott suffer from severe delusions of grandeur and entitlement. He won't listen to anyone who tries to correct him. He dismisses all criticism. He has a pathological need to impress others. It's the only way he can maintain his delusions. The whole comedy of the show is that Michael's attempts to aggrandize himself always end in utter *failure* and *humiliation.* The character does have some rare moments of success. But that is despite his delusions; not because of them. We can sympathize with the character because there's a little bit of the egoist in all of us. We've all embarrassed ourselves at one time or another. But for Micheal, it's pathological.

[@WonderfulLizardOfOz]

Got any Frasier hot takes?

[@razkable]

my hot take is people love to bring up jim and pam in videos about the office saying they liked them as a couple or whatever and their bond is the heart of the show but to me that only is because neither character on their own(aka when not interacting with dwight or mike especially) is that interesting....just my own hot take ...i have noticed many vids on the office love to shove this couple in my face and say look how great they are as if it was so perfect lol..ok...it was not..but also without her semi playful affair stuff with jim, pam would legit be the worst main female character in a sitcom i have ever seen cause for like 4.5 seasons she does not make me laugh shes so stale and bland and she has no real goals she just likes roy jim and to draw..thats about it and prank dwight...and lets not forget crap on mike to the camera crew...as if she is above him or could be a better manager...and then she learns the value of him by the end...total hypocrite and a bad character until season 5 imo..

[@razkable]

to me the entire documentary style gets ruined when we follow the michael scott paper company..the crew had literally 0 reasons to follow that..and they did it anyways?...why?..how?..who?..or jim in stamford...seems like a big commitment for a guy who left don't you think?..

[@razkable]

i like jim telling andy that he won't call him drew...andy up to that point was a jerk to dwight....and who dated a child lol...hes a worse michael scott

[@salemoftheopera]

I cant believe you didnt mention the best love triangle, Pam, Jim, and Toby

[@ReitheOffbeatOtaku]

I've never watched The Office, so my only hot take is that the "It's called hentai, and it's art," scene shouldn't have been deleted.

[@caboosemcgrief]

It was deleted?!

[@JosetheDopeLPs]

Big Joel, I can truthfully say you are my favorite video essayist on this platform now that Every Frame A Painting is gone. I love how much effort you put into your speech while still making it easy and relaxing to keep up with. You also always get to the meat of whatever you're talking about without any boring introductions, beating around the bush, or tangents. I have no doubt your English major background is a big factor in this. I also dig the lighthearted atmosphere your videos always seem to have. You don't seem to take yourself too seriously and I admire that in a person. You the best boi!

[@halfeatenburrito6195]

oh shit where did Every Frame A Painting go, his videos stopped getting recommended to me but I thought that was just algorithm.

[@paladin9137]

@@halfeatenburrito6195 there is a post in the about section of the channel. Nothing sinister, just the end of the channel

[@lucyq1445]

I really like lessons from the screenplay also in place of every frame a painting

[@JosetheDopeLPs]

@@lucyq1445 LftS is lit as fuuuccckkk

[@wesleygrove9635]

Some others you might like are Scruffy and Sideways, though their videos tend to be more niche video essays on music

[@Pato-vu7be]

I hated that whole Andy Erin and Pete sorry line. I liked Erin and Andy and it really made me dislike the 9th season along with a few other things.

[@morganmccoll566]

Pato •• but Andy ultimately turned into hot garbage, and Pete and Erin are great together

[@WiloPolis03]

I hate how they ruined Andy but I kind of like how that story echoes Roy, Pam, and Jim

[@darthgriffin7741]

Wilo Polis plagiarized*

[@WiloPolis03]

@@darthgriffin7741 How is it plagiarism if it's by the same people? Plus it's intentionally supposed to be like Roy, Jim, and Pam, just kind of like the next generation of that love triangle

[@darthgriffin7741]

Wilo Polis no they got new writers for season 9, but even if they didn’t copying stories you did 6-8 seasons ago is called laziness.

[@funkitala]

i just realized meredith is part of the "sexual abuse of men played for laughs trope" that pop culture detective talks about :-(

[@xenocake8388]

Big Joel: 4 Office hot takes Me: :/ Big Joel: I really like the Office Me: :D

[@raspar6]

The comment about "nothing's going to happen to us for a long, long time" was foreshadowing for the Jim/Pam arc in that season, where Jim wants something more from his life. We're supposed to notice his expression when she says that. I think maybe they realized that that arc was going to be a bit of a downer though, so they threw in a cute love store with Erin/Pete. It's true about the love-triangles though: just because people have chemistry at work doesn't mean they should get married. I just imagine like what if, after years and years of office pranks, Jim and Pam went on a date and realized that they had nothing else in common....

[@dubitataugustinus]

I used to love Andy and then they absolutely destroyed his character.

[@W0LV1E45]

so stupid that Greg Daniels thought it was a good idea and Ellie deciding that Erin should have ended up with Pete since the writers have a debate on it since it was risky (a risk that failed) and Ellie justifying by her maturing even though both matured in S8 finale. Plop was just pointless, and destroying Andy's character just to make Dwight the manager is also poorly handled. it should have ended with Andy/Erin going on a boat trip and sold the boat and used the money to start their new life and get married after they returned and announces them leaving Dunder Mifflin to start a family and a new business or an orphanage for Andy and Erin's lack of parents and to make children feel like they have a purpose.

[@mitchellgeorge6031]

I always hated Andy

[@iwanttobelieve2]

Joel uploaded a 22 minute video about the office? It's going to be a good day

[@frogwhisperer2067]

Office characters as cats and dogs, incase you were wondering: Dogs: -Michael (Golden Retriever) -Dwight (Doberman Pinscher) -Pam (Cocker Spaniel) -Andy (German Shepherd) -Kevin (Bulldog) -Stanley (Mastiff) Cats: -Jim (American Shorthair) -Angela (Turkish Angora) -Oscar (Abyssian) -Ryan (Bombay) -Phylis (Maine Coon) -Toby (Persian) -Meredith (Stray) Creed: Raccoon

[@christinash5333]

Where’s Pete......

[@frogwhisperer2067]

Audrey SH Hmm...Greyhound

[@frogwhisperer2067]

Audrey SH Wait I was confusing Pete for Gabe. Him and Erin are both definitely dogs but I’m not sure what breed, Clark is a cat

[@rotap7536]

I was, thanks

[@HellaMobile]

Frog Whisperer but Andy calls Oscar cspan, how you gonna ignore that

[@chanceyousef5649]

"Pete is the weirdest character" this is creed erasure.

[@alinktoana]

sooo can we wish for a companion/comparison piece about Parks and Recreation/Leslie Knope? c:

[@harrylane4]

Comparison: parks is leagues better, and it's better because they all like each other, which should make for bad writing, but somehow makes for the funniest, most compelling tv I've seen in years.

[@ColonelRPG]

I love The Office and I liked the last two season too. There's so much subtext in so much of it, it's definitely one of my all time great. My favorite line is Michael Scott going "more than a friend: a coworker". Such a tiny detail in a pretty hilarious scene that has nothing to do with that particular detail, I just love it.

[@chuckbatman5]

I don't remember the scene that's from but that may be the most quintessential Micheal line I've ever heard. Everything about his character can be described and inferred from that one phrase

[@ColonelRPG]

@@chuckbatman5 It's the scene where Michael tells Pam he's dating here mom :)

[@chuckbatman5]

@@ColonelRPG lmao I forgot he dated Pam's mom

[@lolaarcana]

RE: Meradith, there seems to be a weird American thing where all sitcoms have a character that every one just bullies. I don't get it, but it's really common.

[@mothcub]

I can and will stop you

[@morgansearle3912]

You are the chosen one. Save us, whilst there are some Office Hot Takes still to save.

[@ThatOneGuy7550]

Liberate us!

[@methecat776]

The only reason I wanted Pete and Erin to date is so that Erin could get away from creepy old dudes

[@elijahfordsidioticvarietys8770]

(Drumroll please) THEY'RE BOTH ADULTS.

[@antipsychotic451]

@@elijahfordsidioticvarietys8770 yeah, but being "both adults" doesn't take away the creep factor of a huge age gap in a relationship.

[@elijahfordsidioticvarietys8770]

@@antipsychotic451 yes it does.

[@antipsychotic451]

@@elijahfordsidioticvarietys8770 How, exactly? Is an 18 year old dating a 30 year old acceptable to you just because it's legal? You don't think there's any imbalance of power or maturity in a relationship like that?

[@elijahfordsidioticvarietys8770]

@@antipsychotic451 no. I’m talking about a thirty year old dating a forty year old.

[@mozata6838]

*sees Big Joel upload* Welp, looks like I'll getting to Cincinnati 22 minutes after sundown

[@LezbeOswald]

hot take: a lot of times, Jim’s kind of a bully. like a lot of the stuff he does (mostly to Dwight) in the name of “pranks” are incredibly mean-spirited or uncalled for. the show wants you to empathize with Jim bc Dwight’s annoying and can be sexist or racist or whatever so he “deserves it” and i’m not gonna act like Dwight’s flawless or anything. but sometimes Jim takes things way too far.

[@metademetra]

Personal hottake on the show: when it gets uncomfortable, it gets *extremely* uncomfortable. On one hand that's a great thing, because when characters are going through a bad time, you feel it. But other times it hits a "too real for comfort" spot. Like when Michael was with Jan. Jan is a downright rotten person. Watching her manipulate Michael is a very difficult task. I recently watched the dinner party episode, and it was up there with "Screams of Silence: The Story of Brenda Q" (except made competently) as one of the most uneasy viewing experiences I have had. I mean sometimes it was funny, but it was mostly unpleasant. Even if that's the purpose, it's not something I can rewatch very often.

[@raveng8217]

Agreed, Michael and Jan's relationship was downright abusive and extremely uncomfortable to watch. One scene that always stuck out to me was the episode where Michael takes all of the women from the office to the mall and he tells them that Jan regularly "forgets" their safe word when they're having sex. It was a quick line, but the implications of that are very disturbing to think about. Honestly Michael and Jan's relationship was very hard to watch, and in my opinion is one of the darkest elements of the show as a whole.

[@slackingsource]

Meredith is not "gross" because she's older, she's "gross" for the same reasons Packer is, because of their both unwanted and constant harassment.

[@eggynack]

Meredith is consistently gross in a way that doesn't connect to harassment. As I recall, the most consistent way she's portrayed as gross is by saying she did some sex thing (or by saying she did some other gross thing). Packer, by contrast, usually does display his grossness by directly harassing someone. Just consider her primary nexus of sexual grossness as an example, Business Ethics. She's gross because she's been exchanging sex for discounts and steak, not because she was offering something unwanted.

[@sananton2821]

@@eggynack She sexually harasses multiple people in this video alone. Those are the examples Joel chose.

[@psychicbyinternet]

@@eggynack I mean, there are scenes in the video you are commenting on where she is objectively sexually harassing the men in the office.

[@prettyraddad]

Andy wasn’t originally intended to have his character arc end the way it did but the producers got kinda mad about him leaving when they were almost done to film the hangover so they changed it if I remember correctly

[@beanieguitarguy4070]

I hope one day we get a show with a love triangle that ends up with a polyamorous relationship.

[@brewskimckilgore6796]

im sure this exists but idk where

[@soleman23459]

@@brewskimckilgore6796 they do it in sense 8

[@silverkyrie4714]

Kinda disagree on your opinions on Erin. Aside from the bad love triangle thing, she was a pretty good character with a lot of interesting things about her. But I agree with everything you said about Pete and the Pete - Andy - Erin triangle. It is worth nothing though that they don't even seem to be together in the last episode, and that last episode doesn't focus on her relationships with Pete or Andy, and instead finishes her story with her meeting her parents, which was something she's wanted throughout the series. Her lack of parents and growing up in foster homes her whole childhood was consistently an important and defining part of her character, as well as her desire to find her parents, and latch onto others as parental figures, mainly Michael, to a lesser extent Phyllis. Having her arc end by entirely ignoring the love triangle and seemingly admitting neither character was good for her, and instead ending with her finally finding her parents, was an extremely nice moment. I'd like to think the love triangle thing was an intentional criticism of love triangles like you were getting at. And after it's over the show admits in the finale that it's irrelevant and ultimately pointless, and she's more than that triangle or her relationship with either of them. And instead gives an ending fitting and important to her own character.

[@W0LV1E45]

They should have ended on Andy/Erin together and both realizing that they both don't need parents (Erin seeing andy's parents shitty treatment) while Andy realized that he doesn't need parents and feel like he would have been better parentless than have a parents that hates you no matter how hard he triea to get love and appreciation from them.

[@IncorrectHB]

One scene of a love triangle I didn't really like was when Erin got mad at Andy for not telling her that he proposed to Angela

[@keenanpaterson783]

Yeah that was weird

[@thequester7634]

It was absurdly contrived. To an absolutely ridiculous degree.

[@Tama-Hero]

Erin had some genuinely heart wrenching moments and I'm sorry you can't empathize with someone whose childhood was taken from her by hardship and who longs for a family. Her relationship with Micheal especially made all the boy stuff worth it.

[@airshow406]

Yes I thought the relationship between her and Michael was so adorable. It’s similar to how Dwight used to worship the ground Michael walks on but comes from a more earnest and childlike place.

[@kourtenayt1927]

GO TO YOUR ROOM YOUNG LADY! lol

[@raveng8217]

Yes, I really like Erin for this exact reason! And I actually DID care when she ended up with Pete in the end. She's a sweet girl with a troubled past who ends up dating two guys (Andy and Gabe) who are both awful to her. Due to her lack of a good childhood and family, it's no surprise she ended up in these terrible relationships. But Pete, although being boring and forgettable, seemed to actually treat her well! I truly was rooting for them to get together, because it was nice to see Erin finally in a (seemingly) healthy relationship

[@beanieguitarguy4070]

Hey, bud. Erin isn’t real.

[@JustinY.]

This is so me when I watch the Office for the 4th time

[@Odinsday]

Wait, you're alive?

[@thegoshdarnbatman1602]

Hi Justin!

[@nickcarrino8120]

Damnit, I've been working for weeks trying to stop him from doing these hot takes

[@Dorian_sapiens]

I signed petitions and called my senators, but to no avail.

[@notexactlysiev]

Great timing! I just started watching the office 2 days ago and after the first season it instantly became one of my favorite shows ever.

[@ashh8552]

I appreciate so deeply that the last hot take was about the magic of someone enjoying something truly and authentically without needing an explanation for why, like how Big Joel’s ganna make this video about the Office because he loves it and he doesn’t need a reason and you can’t stop him. The full circle warms my heart

[@teraphIl1000]

These takes are hot, they're cool, they're all temperature Big Joel.

[@KingoftheJuice18]

More lukewarm takes!

[@WiloPolis03]

*Biggest hot take of all* Robert California was the best part of Season 8. He was one of the few things that carried the season

[@brigit9692]

Robert California was a great replacement for Michael -- they're both (often unintentionally) funny in ways that make people uncomfortable, but are still completely different characters with distinct personalities, and I wish more people were able to appreciate Robert for what he is as a character without getting caught up in how they feel about Michael leaving or the later seasons in general

[@WiloPolis03]

Yeah, and I can kind of see how Spader's performance doesn't work for everyone (although I personally love his performance), but moments like "I am never uncomfortable" or "I'm the ****ing lizard king" are so memorable

[@brigit9692]

@@WiloPolis03 long live the Lizard King

[@Kiwi_TaylorsVersion]

God I love James Spader and was afraid to watch season 8 because I've only seen bad reviews. But I absolutely love it! I dislike many of the stories on that season but Robert makes up for it

[@emalaw1329]

I can see why people could dislike him, as he feels like he comes from a different universe, almost carrying the vibe of a cartoonish supervillain...but damn, is he fun to watch

[@HappyWetPants]

I was inconsolable due to the fact that I could not stop you from giving us hot takes on the office but eventually I matured and learned to look at my new life from a more positive perspective and now my inability to stop you is oddly charming

[@frogwhisperer2067]

Office characters that voted for Trump: -Michael -Dwight -Angela -Kevin -Stanley -Phylis Office characters that voted for Hillary: -Pam -Oscar -Meredith -Kelly -Toby Could’ve voted either way/Didn’t tell anyone who they voted for: -Jim -Ryan -Andy Didn’t vote: -Creed

[@frogwhisperer2067]

Silvio Porto Oh my god you’re so right

[@XatxiFly]

absolutely not, this is Phyllis libel

[@JotItDownQuick]

Joel your analysis of the meatball prank is SO GOOD, I love the the joy and kindness that seeps from your personality and worldview into your videos

[@danielharmon15]

You hint at it with Jim's pranks, but my hot take is that Jim wasn't that great of a guy and don't understand why he's placed as this perfect/likeable character. They frame his pranks as harmless, while some were just cruel to Dwight. He goes behind Pam's back to buy a house and accept the job in Philly which they frame as "classic Jim big romantic gestures". Whenever Kelly wants to spark a conversation, he tries to evade it. He lies about Michael and the koi pond. When he has the office staying late, he forgets to inform Hank to keep the gate unlocked and fails to call Hank later. etc. He just constantly acts entitled, like he's above everyone else and that if he put in more effort, he'd be somewhere else. I'm not saying that these things don't make for an interesting, compelling character. But to idolize Jim and his behavior.... I like in the seventh season's "Search Committee" when Ryan says "Little advice? Take a day off from the whole Jim schtick. Try caring about something. You might like how it feels...James."

[@fusetunes]

u should watch kurtis conner's video on this subject!! he believes jim is genuinely a good guy but he also goes into depth discussing some of the points you brought up.

[@hMusic-tb8hl]

Thank you ! I actually think Jim isn't a great guy. Same with his relationship with Pam. He was kinda creepy about it and forced it until she said yes, then often acted like a douchebag. Idolizing unhealthy relationships gets really annoying. And I mean, Jim and Pam are bullies (when your strongest connexion is built on agressively pranking a coworker, there is a problem). I don't see a great love story, but problematic narratives bringing two bullies together.

[@lel9422]

the entire concept of the show revolves around the fact that all of the characters have their weaknesses like pam even though is likeable, cannot defend herself when people are being unfair to her. there is a whole season showcasing that how jim is even a worse boss than michael - a guy he found to be criticizing and laughing at. this also pplies to jan for example, she was introduced as perfect businesswoman but became a trainwreck at the end.

[@wackmidi]

These are mine: 4. I hate how everybody is a dick to Toby 3. Threat Level Midnight is the best episode of the series. 2. I was fine with Michael leaving, it was beautifully written but I wanted him coming back in some episodes (as a guest appearance) to catch up with everybody instead of three lines and four minutes of screen-time in the Finale. 1. Andy deserved better. In Here Comes Treble, it is revealed that the Bernard family is pretty much broke, plus I really hoped he could find somebody a la Michael and Holly. Sure, I was happy he got the job in Cornell, but he deserved more, man. He's the god damn Nard Dog.

[@Stongna_Bologna]

I love that painting too! I saw it in my highschool art teacher's classroom and it evoked SOMETHING in me. A vague sense of dread? Fear? Awe? I didn't even know the name of the art but I love looking at it.

[@boundbythecurve]

I like the meatball joke. If you don't add the twist where Jim is the butt of the joke, then it's too similar to the opening jello joke from the first episode. And I also like that Jim is the butt of the joke, but so are Dwight and Stanley. They're eating gross meatballs. I don't want to dissect the frog here, but it was a surprising twist that still makes me laugh. Everything else you said was well considered.

[@eggynack]

I don't think that the twistless joke is at all similar to the opening jello joke. The joke with the jello was just that Dwight was inconvenienced in an amusing way that Michael reacted a funny way to. The joke with the meatballs, meanwhile, is how surreal it is that Stanley specifically likes meatball jokes, and also the desperate lengths Jim will go for that reaction. Jim was already the butt of the joke. Dwight wasn't meaningfully impacted by it, so the main outcome was that Jim is doing idiotic meatball jokes to the delight of an onlooking Stanley.

[@colette2529]

Erin had a lot of potential as a character, I think. She's stuck in her childhood because she never really had one, and she looks desperately for those family connections in the wrong places, just like Michael. Throwing her together with non-character Pete and inconsistent Andy was really doing her a disservice-- neither of them helped her learn more about herself or the world, which is what she really needed in a character arc.

[@raveng8217]

I actually disagree a bit tbh. After having such bad relationships with both Gabe and Andy, I think Pete was a step in the right direction for her. He's definitely boring and forgettable, but he also seems caring towards her and stable in a way that Gabe and Andy weren't. That's just my opinion tho, I really like Erin and it was nice to see her end up with a guy who didn't treat her like crap.

[@colette2529]

@@raveng8217 I def agree that in the universe of the show, that relationship is probably a pretty great step for her. I wish, from a writing perspective, that her love story had been more fleshed out and personalized, but her story itself did already have a really sweet, emotionally resonant conclusion with her finding her birth parents, so at this point I’m just being greedy. :-P I remember I wrote this comment because I felt as if Big Joel had written off her character entirely and I wanted to argue her potential- but I should def rewatch the video to see if he actually said that or if I was just being sensitive, haha I will say, I don’t think Pete is ever shown to engage with Erin beyond a surface level and seems to see her as more of a naive cutie than someone with trauma that they’re processing, but this is a very /granular/ take at this point, I’m getting way into the Office hot take reeds

[@raveng8217]

@@colette2529 Nah you're not being sensitive, he pretty much did write off her entire character, which is very unfortunate because I do think she has a lot more depth than he gave her credit for. I do agree it definitely would've been nice to see their relationship fleshed out more; you raise a good point that their relationship seemed very surface-level, so it's entirely possible that I'm just assuming that Pete would be a better boyfriend for her than he actually is 😅 But since they didn't flesh out his character or their relationship in any way whatsoever, I guess there's no real way of knowing for sure either way. You're also 100% right that this take is getting VERY granular and specific 😂 I've been rewatching The Office lately so I've been thinking about it a lot, and I find great enjoyment in over-analyzing stuff like this 🤷🏼‍♀️

[@raycearcher5794]

No hot takes about how Robert California is a fantastic character who's inexplicably maligned by the fanbase?

[@ShirDeutch]

Gotta disagree with ya there, brah. Erin is a delightful character, and I really liked how her positive energy managed to turn Andy into a likable character. Having said that, it was kinda heartbreaking when he just reverted to his old self, especially when the main reason they did it was just so Erin and Pete could get together. So yeah, dude, I totally agree with you here.

[@PistachioBandit]

THANK YOU. I just binged the series for the second time and those last seasons with their Erin and Andy focused plots are HARD to get through. Erin is such a flimsy character. She's funny and the actress is charming but god damn it seems like she doesn't have much to her other than being dim, naive, gullible, and foster kid. Pete is as blank as the paper they sell, I can't recall anything about him other than his face. Pam's inability to act on or even acknowledged her feelings is so damn relate-able, and watching her grow into a more confident person while still retaining the qualities that defined her was very satisfying. Jim seems like a lot of real people one might encounter as well. And Meredith is one of my favorite characters, not because of the trash-queen thing ( though some of that was funny) but because she was her own person who wasn't ashamed of her lifestyle and would call people out. She knew who she was and refused to let people make her feel bad about it and that was great. Though on this recent watch-through I did notice how she was never given any of those character-developing arcs, stories or even moments to flesh her out and vindicate her in the way other oafish, selfish, or unlikable characters were. The PHD thing was funny, but imagine how funny it could have been if they devoted a whole episode to that, where everyone gets an invitation to her graduation or whatever and they have to re-evaluate their interactions with her over the better part of a decade to find their biases had caused them to tune out a lot of what she had said during those years.

[@degrassi420]

The way that Andy’s character gets repurposed into the villain of the love triangle despite his character arc before that really reinforces your point about it. The viewer is goaded into rooting against a character that they’ve known longer, and against a relationship they watched form, to the point were you sort of forget that Andy was a good person.

[@Ingestedbanjo]

Pause the video at 0:13 and never unpause it again to win.

[@Jocelyn12700]

my hot take: Pam had the most amazing growth & character development of the series, but the writers got lazy and stopped developing her character past s5. they wasted too much screen time on unlikeable/annoying characters, like Andy and Dwight, and stopped giving Pam valuable storylines. tldr; the writers did Pam dirty past season 5

[@leoveas9965]

I was with you until you called Dwight annoying. He´s literally the best character

[@razkable]

you could of said annoying people like nellie plop jim 2.0 val her bf cathy jo deangelo nate senator gabe packer erin angela kevin robert all getting too much screen time that took away from pam instead of andy and dwight...sorry but i like later andy and dwight ....the show threw in so many wasted people at the end ..like that assistant in season 9 or isabel and esther...what was the point of them?..seriously...

[@nextabe1]

The reveal at the end of the meatball prank kinda breaks my brain. How far out has this been planned? Were meatballs specifically always the objective? Too many questions...

[@iso-kun1644]

Big Joel - He Cannot Be Stopped.

[@alexandercolefield9523]

We've all been Meatballed.

[@DeadwingDork]

someone stop him!

[@lucysour]

Oh man I had the same thought process about the meatball joke the first time I saw it. It was pretty funny and cute that Stanley was so tickled, then the explanation was a bit of a let down. I felt I was getting to know Stanley a bit more, a staunchly reserved character that's usually in a bad mood, but alas, it was I who was pranked. Very astute hot take.

[@morimoomoo]

wow! i loved these four, completely legal hot takes!

[@kaylawaye]

I see a lot of people complain about Erin's character being unrealistic, but one of my foster sisters was almost just like her. That's why she's my favorite character.

[@Uncle-Mike]

Brits have a hard time swallowing (& digesting) the NBC 'The Office', and it's understandable. The difference is cultural, inherent to the both their life experiences and comedic tastes. Your observations about Michael are truly what make the US version watchable, year-after-year. You see the same with 'Veep' and even 'Breaking Bad' - our anti-heroes always have a deep well of sympathetic character inside them. Also - I noticed Bryan Cranston's name in the credits, as Director. This one was 'Work Bus'. Great episode.

[@fokii9880]

“Love triangles are great” *TerribleWritingAdvice is typing* . . .

[@kevin_andrews735]

Need to drink some soothing milk after those hot takes.