THE OFFICE
Episode recap of “Phyllis’ Wedding”
Aired 2/8/07

****SPOILERS AHEAD****

It’s the wedding of Phyllis Lapin and Bob Vance’s (of Vance Refrigeration, as noted in the wedding vows). In order to get an unprecedented six weeks off for her honeymoon, Phyllis asks Michael to be in the ceremony by pushing her wheelchair-bound father down the aisle. When Pam arrives at the wedding, she realizes it’s identical to one she planned for her called-off wedding to Roy (right down the bride’s gown!). In one of his typical pranks on Dwight, Jim convinces him to stand guard at the door all night to prevent the entrance of wedding crashers. (The opening sequence of the episode shows Jim conducting a Pavlovian experiment on an unsuspecting Dwight involving Altoids mints.)

As the day goes on, Michael’s behavior becomes increasingly inappropriate, as he recalls his horrible childhood memories from his mother’s wedding to his stepfather. Michael is also under the impression that the bride’s father’s last-minute rise from his wheelchair to walk his daughter to the altar was done just to upstage him. He then interrupts the ceremony several times, and later the toast to quote from THE PRINCESS BRIDE (mare-wedge …). Michael then gets ejected from the reception.

Against proper etiquette, Kelly shows up wearing a white gown and tiara because she says she “looks really good in white.” In what’s definitely the funniest moment, Phyllis tosses the bouquet and as Kelly is about to catch it, her reluctant boyfriend Ryan appears from behind and knocks the bouquet away and into the hands of Toby’s date.

At the reception, Jim happily looks on as Karen (played by Rashida Jones, daughter of legendary musical composer Quincy Jones) playfully sings “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” with Scrantonicity, Kevin’s Police cover band hired to play the wedding. Dwight sneaks a few moments for a slow dance outside the hall with his secret love Angela. Later, Roy gives the band $20 to break from their set list to play Pam and Roy’s special song (Jewel’s “You Were Meant For Me”). An emotionally vulnerable Pam dances with her ex-fiance after seeing Jim and new girlfriend Karen dancing contently. Jim is conflicted about his feelings for Pam after seeing her leave with Roy.

At the end of the night, Michael is able to redeem himself after he inadvertantly “finds” the Uncle with dementia who Dwight mistakenly tossed out of the reception earlier. The episode ends with Michael saying something he perceives to be profound: “They say that your wedding day goes by in such a flash that you’re lucky if you get a piece of your own wedding cake. I say that’s crazy. I say, let them eat cake! Margaret Thatcher said that about marriage. Smart broad.”

What does the future hold for the people of THE OFFICE? While it’s a given that Phyllis and Bob will live happily ever after, how will the Jim, Karen, Pam, and Roy love quadrangle be resolved? Will Dwight and Angela finally admit their love for each other to their coworkers? Can Michael and his boss Jan make it work? Can the tortured Ryan ever get away from annoying girlfriend Kelly?

Luckily, the show has been picked up for a fourth season, so they’ll be plenty of OFFICE goodness in the future.