Stanley and David Wallace make a welcome return to join the panel. Here we learn that Andy is pretty well liked by the fans of the documentary, while Jim and Pam are fan favorites. The fans ask some pointed questions at Pam, asking her what she’s done for Jim to thank him for the sacrifices he’s made and how she could ever doubt him in the first place.
In a nice turn of events, Erin’s birth parents find her through the documentary and reveal themselves as her parents at the panel. It’s a nice little touch to Erin’s story, and I’m glad it was resolved. That’s one character arc brought to a close. As the panel ends, we get a shot of Creed in the audience, rocking a full beard and looking as clueless as ever.
It’s finally wedding time, and funnily enough, everyone brings cats as a wedding present for Angela, including Creed who’s taken on a fake identity. Even Bob Vance is back. We see Kelly Kapoor again, with her husband Ravi. And we also get the return of Ryan, who now has a baby. They’re both just like we remembered them, and by the end of the event, Kelly ditches Ravi and runs away with Ryan.
Some things never change, and I suppose that’s two more character arcs closed. The baby is left with Ravi, and Nellie eventually takes it for herself. She finally gets to raise a child, and that’s four character arcs already tied up. Even if she’s a relatively new character, I’m glad they resolved her arc too, and it’s done beautifully. It feels like pieces of a puzzle coming together.
For the last few weeks, I’ve been hoping that Jim would pull off one final prank on Dwight. Turns out, he pulled the best prank ever as he brought back Michael Scott to be Dwight’s best man. The boss is back, looking older, and the first thing he does is make a that’s-what-she-said joke. It was so great to see him back and even though I knew he was coming, the moment took me by surprise. Steve Carell kept true to his promise to not overshadow the goodbye of the other characters too as Michael Scott remained there for the rest of the wedding, but he barely ever spoke or took the spotlight.
That said, we got enough of him, at least more than I ever expected, and I was immensely satisfied. We learn that he has a couple of kids now and he owns two phones and pays two bills because one isn’t enough to hold all the pictures of his kids. It’s such a pure Michael Scott moment, and it also tells you how happy he is.
It brings complete closure to the character, and I couldn’t be happier about it. We don’t get to see him interact with the other characters, but he gets in one last hilarious Michael Scott line with a teary eye that makes up for his absence: “I feel like all my kids grew up, and then they married each other. It’s every parents’ dream.” Perfect.
Finally, Angela and Dwight get married. Their long journey finally comes to a close, and it was well worth it. Angela has grown into such a great character where she’s now part of the main plot for the finale. It’s a fitting end, and I’m glad to see both of them end up happy.
In the middle of the festivities, we see Phyllis and Stanley dancing, and apparently Stanley carved her a Phyllis-bird. Aww. Even if it was never explicit, they’ve had their own bond on the show having sat opposite each other the entire time, and it’s nice to see it come to light in the end. That makes two more characters with tied up arcs. It wasn’t really significant, but it was still nice to see, and brings in that extra closure.
Once it’s over, everyone heads out for the after-party at Dunder-Mifflin, courtesy of the documentary crew. On the way, everyone urges Toby to come, which makes him feel accepted and lets him know that maybe everything will be alright after all. It’s a perfect resolution for his arc, and it feels right.
The Halperts go home, and we learn that Pam has been showing the house for two months now, in order to get an offer and sell it so that Jim doesn’t have to give up on Athleap and they can move out. The real estate agent showing the house is Carol Stills, and it’s nice to see her back. The couple looking around decides to buy the house, meaning Jim and Pam are now moving to Austin to start a new life. And this is where it starts to feel like it’s really ending.
At the after party, everyone’s together. We see David Wallace support Oscar’s ideas and letting him know he’ll contribute to Oscar’s campaign. It certainly bodes well for his future. We finally also get to see Pam’s completed mural which she’s been working on this season. And it’s perfect: a painting of everyone in the office, their history. As everyone gets a group picture in front of it, we get a cameo from Greg Daniels too, the creator of the show.
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