The Office: Christmas Wishes

What Happened, Yo!:

-It's Christmas and Andy as Santa wants to grant everybody a wish.
-Andy is bringing his girlfriend Jessica to the party and while Erin is nice about it, we see that she doesn't want to meet her.
-Robert California shows up, depressed after his recent divorce and becomes the bartender for the party.
-He convinces Erin to have a couple drinks, and soon Erin has become very, very drunk.
-Hearing that Cathy wants to switch desk clumps because she's tired of Jim and Dwight's constant pranking and oneupmanship, Andy tells them to stop pranking for the day or he will take away the Christmas bonus of the one who pranks and give it to the other.
-Jessica shows up and she seems nice.
-Dwight keeps trying to aggravate Jim into pranking him so he will get Jim's bonus, even trying to frame him for putting a porcupine in his desk.
-Erin tries to be nice to Jessica, but she also keeps getting drunker, until she eventually confesses to Andy that her Christmas Wish is for Jessica to die. Andy gets angry at her and tells her to just accept that they are over.
-Jim pretends that Dwight defaced a picture of Cece, but backs off when Andy threatens to fire Dwight.
-After his confrontation with Erin, Andy wonders to Jim if people who aren't sleeping together can be friends. He also tells Jim that he won't mess with his and Dwight's bonues after all, because that's just causing more problems. Jim says he'll pass it along to Dwight.
-Robert takes Erin for a walk, where they lament about love and he tells her he was hoping she could make him feel better. Andy notices the two of them together from afar and becomes nervous.
-Andy's nervousness escalates when he sees Robert is giving Erin a ride home, so while giving Meredith a ride (her wish was for Andy to be her designated driver), he drives by Erin's house and is relieved to see that Robert is only dropping her off.
-Jim "forgets" to tell Dwight that their bonuses aren't getting messed with, so Dwight spray paints Jim Is Awesome on his car, and writes the word Idiot on his forehead, and pretends Jim did it while he was asleep by Jim's desk.
-Meanwhile, Daryl invites Val to the party, but she accidentally comes overdressed. To make her feel better, Daryl later puts on a tux so she doesn't stick out as much.

I Liked This: The Office has a history of strong Christmas episodes and this episode was no exception. The Andy/Erin story had been limping along for a while now, but with Christmas Wishes it bounces back in full force. Andy as manager worked well here and his desire to grant the wishes of others was a good idea that didn't seem like they could've done with Michael (He's a more self-centered character than Andy when it comes to parties). Also, The Office should find more excuses to get Erin drunk, because it makes her character a lot funnier (and she was funny to start with). The whole thing with Robert was an interesting development, but like Andy, I was glad to see that he and Erin didn't sleep together. That would've been kind of creepy (Though it would make for fascinating television if handled right.). The Daryl/Val romance storyline continues to be one of the more sweet storylines The Office has tackled yesterday, and I like their whole little plot this episode. And Jim/Dwight continues to provide lots of laughs, especially with Jim's prank at the end of not telling Dwight their bonuses wouldn't be touched. Good show, Office.

But...: One issue. The character of Cathy has been completely wasted. What's the point of introducing a temp for Pam if she's not going to do anything after her introductory episode? We don't even get to see her complain about Jim and Dwight to Andy.

The Bottom Line: The Office delivers a great Christmas episode, as per usual. Hopefully, they do more episodes of this quality when the show comes back this January.

Grade: Totally Awesome! (Great)

Memorable Moments

-The cold open with Stanley ranting about wanting a normal Christmas was gold: “I’ve been here 18 years and suffered through some weird thematic Christmases. A Honolulu Christmas, a "Pulp Fiction" Christmas, A Muslim Christmas, A Moroccan Christmas, a Mo Rocca Christmas. I don't want it. Christmas is Christmas is Christmas is Christmas!"
-Creed is interested in Andy's Grandma, but Andy insists she is out of his league.
-Andy: “Mistletoe is not an excuse for sexual assault. And don’t go near Gam Gam.”
-Erin: "I love  Jessica and I haven’t even met her. In fact, we don’t need to meet. I already love you. Stay home!"
-Kevin comforts Robert. Robert: "I feel like a kitten being cradled by a gorilla".
-Toby talking about his detective novel to no one's amusement was also great. Even without Michael, he can't catch a break".
-When Erin finally lets Kelly be mean to Jessica, she keeps it simple. "Did you just Fart?", she asks Jessica in front of half the office.
-Meredith had some good stuff tonight too. From giving Jim a pamphlet on Vasectomies to apparently being a hoarder.