A.A.R.M. Pt 2
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We're going to share a little bit about IXL Learning. IXL Learning is an online learning program for kids. It covers math, language arts, science, and social studies.

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20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at iXLLearning.com slash Office Ladies. Visit iXLLearning.com slash Office Ladies to get the most effective learning program out there at the best price. Sleeping through the night is my everything. It's like a goal. It is.

You just got the new purple mattress. Tell everybody about it. I'm going to tell you the one we got. We got the Purple Restore Premier Mattress. We got the king size. And here's the thing. My husband and I are very different sizes.

We are different shaped people and this mattress matches both of us. Well, I am very jealous that Purple sent you a whole mattress. I asked for the pillows and it is my favorite pillow. I just need to say one more thing, Jenna. As a woman of a certain season, these mattresses have thousands of air channels that allow free airflow. Hear me out. Cooler sleep.

Yeah. Cooler and cooler sleep means deeper sleep. So you got to get the gel flex grid. It's what we have. OMG. It's amazing. Visit purple.com to find the perfect purple for you and enter code office 10 to get 10% off.

I'm Jenna Fisher. And I'm Angela Kinsey. We were on The Office together. And we're best friends. And now we're doing the Ultimate Office Rewatch Podcast just for you. Each week, we will break down an episode of The Office and give exclusive behind-the-scenes stories that only two people who were there can tell you. We're The Office Ladies. Hello. Hi, everybody. It is AARM part two. You know what that means.

Next week is the finale. Yeah. Wow. This is season nine, episode 25, written by Brent Forrester and directed by Dave Rogers. And here's your summary. Newly convinced that Philip is his son, Dwight unromantically proposes marriage to Angela. She says no. With the help of the documentary crew, Jim reassures Pam that she is more than enough for him.

Daryl's co-workers make one last request before he leaves. Andy's singing dreams are shattered by Clay Aiken. And Dwight proposes, again, romantically to Angela. And she says, yes, nothing says romance like a bullhorn. That's one of my favorite parts of that scene.

Well, everyone, I am holding my pockets mug again, but it's not because I have a soapbox today. It is because we have found Katie.

Katie, the maker of the Pockets mug and the Hummingbird mug. Which I am holding right now as well. Kaya Goodwin from South Carolina went full mom detective, although she actually solved this case. So slightly mom detective. Yes. She found Katie and Cassie was able to get in touch with her. And everybody, Katie has an Etsy store for her pottery.

It's so beautiful. Katie, you are so talented. Jenna and I have already picked a few things we want to buy. It's true.

We told Katie we would share about her Etsy shop. Now, I believe she's willing to make more pocket mugs, but please be kind to her because she is just one gal making amazing pottery. So we don't want to overwhelm her. With pocket mugs and hummingbird mugs, you have to be patient. She makes everything herself. Yes. Her Etsy shop is called Ravens and Widow, and we will link to it in our stories this week. We sure will. Cheers, lady. Cheers.

All right. So here we go. Fast fact number one. Let's talk about the next acapella sensation celebrity judges, Aaron Rodgers, Clay Aiken, and Sonti Gold.

Can you believe it? We got these three? Amazing. So when we got the script for this, when we did the table read, there were just like placeholders. It was like pop star, country star, and athlete. And we found Santee Gold and Clay Akins through Allison Jones. But-

But our own Brian Baumgartner is how we got Aaron Rodgers. That's true. Because he had met Aaron at like a celebrity golf tournament or something. Yeah. And Aaron Rodgers was a huge fan of The Office, like super fan, super fan. He even came to set.

one time. Remember when we were filming and he wanted to take pictures with all of us? Yes. So after the table read, Brian went to Greg and the producers and was like, hey, how about athlete is Aaron Rodgers? I mean, he would...

flip out to do this. And that is how we got Aaron Rodgers, who, by the way, had just recently led the Green Bay Packers to victory in the Super Bowl and was the Super Bowl and NFL season MVP for that season. Yeah. You know, I have a little bit of an embarrassing story of when I first met Aaron. OK. So Brian had done the golf tournament with him. Yeah. Yeah.

And they became friends. And I don't know if it was like a few weeks later or what, but Brian texted me and was like, hey, my friend's in town. We're going to go have dinner. Do you want to join us? I'm going to get a group of people together for dinner. I was like, sure. Sounds great. All I knew was his friend played sports, right? That's it. Brian didn't say anything else in the text.

So I go to this dinner and man, oh man, am I noticing people like from every walk of life tripping over themselves to say hi to Brian's friend. And I'm sitting next to him at dinner and we're talking about work and stuff. And I go, so you play football? And he said, I do. And I said, that's so fun. That's really cool. And I was like, what position do you play?

He said, I'm a quarterback. And I go, wow. That's like big time. And then we don't really talk any more about it. You know, we just talk about all kinds of other stuff.

And this is when I had just started dating Josh. And the next day, he and I are on the phone. And he was like, how was your dinner with Brian and his friends? I said, so fun. I met such a nice guy. He's – I think he's a – oh, he's a quarterback for I think Seattle. Something with a bird. Maybe a hawk. And he goes, what's his name? And I said, Aaron. Aaron.

And he goes, no, no, no, there's no quarterback named Aaron for Seattle. He goes, I go, well, I think he's a pretty big deal because people were really excited to meet him. And then he goes, is it Aaron Rodgers, Ange? And I said, yes, that's it. And he goes, oh, I see you had dinner with him. He had no idea. He was just so nice and just unassuming. And anyway, I didn't know he was the quarterback for Green Bay.

Well, I have a really fun audio clip for later in the episode because there was somebody else who also did not know who he was when they met him on our set that day. Oh, yeah. I'll save it. But it made me chuckle.

Well, I'm a huge football fan, a football person, and I remember when he came to set and I was just so tickled that he was so excited to take a picture with me. Yeah. You know, because I was like, you're Aaron Rodgers. Oh, there were so many fantasy football teams on our show. The whole set was so excited to have him visit. It's very true.

Well, I'm excited to talk about another big guest star from this episode. It's our fast fact number two, and it is Santi Gold. Angela, we have a story about her. We were at a benefit, a fundraiser where she was performing. Yes, we got pretty excited. This is recently. This is, you know, a long time since she's been on the show. Yeah, this was just a few years ago, you guys. It was. First of all, I'll say we were right at the front.

Like we were right at the lip of the stage. We were dancing hardcore. Yeah, we were. She was playing Creator, my favorite song. And can we have it, by the way? Could we listen to some of that? Oh my gosh, yes. Can we? Can we play a little bit of it? I'd like to. Because I want you to understand this is what Angela and I are rocking out to at like the front of this performance. The very front of the stage. Yes. Yes.

Got no need for the fancy things. All the attention that it brings. Tell me no, I say yes, I was chosen. And I will deliver the explosion. Do good to say what you owe. This river runs deep.

Okay, so that is one of my songs I listen to when I want to feel like a badass boss lady. That's right. So we are two badass boss ladies. We are rocking out at the foot of the stage. And she says, everybody come up. Come up. Come on stage and dance with me. We're like, we will. We're like, heck yeah. We start to mount the stage and a big, beefy guy. He was a bouncer. Like a bouncer person. Yeah, who worked at the venue was like, you will not be going on stage. And she was like, you are coming.

I was jealous. Yeah.

I was like, oh no, we don't want to get thrown out. We don't want to get thrown out. Also, you guys, we were totally sober. We were. We were just really excited. She said, come up on stage. She did. But I know Santi and she's an amazing person. And I traded text messages with her and she said that she would send in audio clips for this episode. Here's the first one. She's going to tell us how she got her job on The Office.

Oh my God, I just watched the link that you sent me. It's so funny. He's so great. So yeah, I was a huge fan of The Office. From the beginning of The Office, I was a fan of The Office when it was just the UK version of The Office. And then when it turned to the US version, I remember it was so different, but yet...

I don't want to say funnier, but it kind of was. It was just so good. And so from the very beginning, I was watching it and I had seen pretty much every episode. So what happened was I, it was like I had been touring for quite a while and I wanted to do something just that seemed fresh and knew something that I didn't know how to do. And that seemed fun. So I started, I started taking some acting classes and I went on, I think it was my very first audition was for

Anchorman 2. And I went and the casting agent, she said that I did really, really well and she really liked me. And then she was like, but because I had never acted before, the director wanted to go with someone who had more experience. So, you know, so I didn't get that, but she was like really nice. So she called me very shortly after and she's like, but would you want to come on The Office? And I couldn't believe it. I was like,

That was like my dream, because I just really wanted to be on something funny. I don't think I even really wanted to ever be an actor. I just wanted to be on something funny. And The Office was like my number one wish list. So yeah, and I get to come on and just play myself. And so that's how that happened. And I was so excited about it. It was like a dream come true.

So fun. Well, Dave said that she was super sweet and very talented. Dave also said she was so friendly and really warm. But then when the camera started rolling, she had to just switch into just like pissed off. And he said it was a really funny thing to watch her have to do that. I can relate. Well,

Well, I have more audio clips from Santi that I'll play later in the episode. But now, Angela, it's over to you for Fast Fact 3. Yes. Okay. So you guys know that I have been watching The Office of Look Back. It's the bonus feature on Disc 4 Season 9. I have some more to share from it. I am titling this first part, Feeling All the Feels.

Okay. Here's the cast talking about the show. Very cheesy music. Just wow. We knew we were a part of something different and new, which was always thrilling. I can't think of another thing that I've done for this long that is so important to me.

I was on the set for this finale and I was looking around and I was just struck by the fact that there's no way you could assemble this type of cast again. It was just my absolute pleasure to be a part of this show. I'm really proud of what we did. I've been waiting here for 45 minutes. And the people are amazing. What's great about the show, that in its heart is an optimistic show. And I think that that is its legacy.

Oh, my gosh. Angela, I was trying to eat a snack while you played that clip, and then I got choked up. I couldn't swallow. I watched it all happen. It's pretty emotional to watch this. Okay. And then I wanted to share a second part, which is just us reflecting on will it hold up?

And then also sharing the fact that we were entering those weeks where it was like our last table read, our last hot snack, our last time in hair and makeup. And it was really hitting us all. I hope it holds up. You know, I turn on Nick at Night and I see Roseanne or I see Everybody Loves Raymond. They're great. Seinfeld holds up. Years later, you watch these shows and they still make you laugh. And I just hope we're one of those shows. ♪

I don't think anybody thought we would go over 200 episodes. It is very emotional right now on the set. Everything is the last something. And I have one more thing to share. It's from my digital clutter. It's dated May 10th, 2013.

which was after this episode aired, and it's from Dave Rogers. Hey, gang. I just wanted to thank everyone again for really kicking ass and doing what you do to make AARM such a truly special episode. I could not be happier or more proud of what we accomplished, and I am thrilled with the amazing feedback we've been getting from fans and critics alike. I am so honored to have earned the opportunity and trust to direct and edit such a pinnacle episode.

Greg, Claire, and I are deep into the finale, and I can tell you that that, too, will be an unbelievably spectacular sendoff for one of the greatest television shows of all time. See you soon. Dave.

Oh, that's really sweet. You know, in that first clip, I guess I said something about how I didn't think I had been involved in something for so long that had such an impact on my life or something like that. Yeah. And I remember thinking that. I remember thinking like how my memory of high school or my memory of college, those years are like were so influential on my life and were so formative that

And the office was both of those combined together. Like that's how much time we spent there.

Yeah. A lot of life happened. Well, that was Fast Fact 3. I'll be sharing more next week. Okay. So get your tissues ready for next week, lady. Okay. I'm not ready for next week. I know. I'm not either. I'm not. Well, why don't we take a break and we'll be back to break down AARM part two. Part two. Hi, I'm PJ Vogt. Here to tell you about my new podcast, Search Engine.

Search Engine was one of the very best new podcasts of 2023. According to Vulture, Vogue, Time Magazine, and The Economist, we answer fascinating questions about business, tech, and history. Questions like, why are drug dealers putting fentanyl in everything?

Who should be in charge of artificial intelligence? How did ADHD medication get so popular so fast? Listen and follow Search Engine with PJ Vogt, an Odyssey podcast. Available now on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. I think that if Dwight Schrute had a security system...

it might be simply safe. It for sure would be simply safe. Here's the thing. It's easy to set up. It has 24/7 monitoring agents that keep a close watch over your property. They actually stop crimes before they happen. Here's the part I think Dwight would like.

You know, the agents, you can actually like talk to the intruder. The agents can sound a siren, flashlights. They can alert the police. Well, that's this would be Dwight's favorite thing. Sounding a siren. That's what I'm saying. Yeah. Well, here's...

What I like about SimpliSafe, I just love how user-friendly it is. I love how easy it is to set up. I love that you can sort of change things as you go depending on your needs. And also, their customer service is fantastic.

Protect your home with 50% off a new SimpliSafe system, plus a free indoor security camera when you sign up for fast protect monitoring. Just visit simplisafe.com slash officeladies. That's simplisafe.com slash officeladies. There's no safe like SimpliSafe. We are back. This episode starts over in accounting. Oscar is holding Phillip. Phillip's being a little fussy.

And Dwight comes over and offers to hold him. And immediately, Philip stops crying. I want you guys to know this really happened. If you notice, there's no cutaways because when Rain held the baby, the baby actually stopped crying instantly.

It was really amazing. And if you watch Oscar's reaction, it's really earnest. He's like, wow, I'm impressed. Rain is the baby whisperer. Well, this was a callback to the viewing party episode in season seven when Dwight is the only one who can calm Cece. That was like a plot point of that episode. But when we got on set, we found that it was also true that Rainn Wilson could calm babies. Yes. It's just so wild. Yeah.

I mean, he is a tall person. I think maybe they feel safe in his arms. He's kind of like a big person to wrap arms around you. I don't know. I know. He's the baby whisperer. Yep. Well, now Dwight is going to take Philip into his office. He's actually on a mission to find out now if maybe Philip is really his son. So they're going to play a game called Shroot or Consequences. How great were our

Our toddler actors, Vince and Evan. I know. So cute. So, so good. Well, you know, in this scene, Dwight is trying to get Philip to choose between a dirty old beat or a check for a million dollars. And I don't know who appeared in this scene, if it was Vince or Evan, but he was only supposed to point to the beat. But he said...

Oh, it's so cute. And Dave said he was so excited. I bet. But just everything. He put his little hand in his jean pocket. It was so cute.

So, you know, lady, I was a producer on this season. And one of the things that's really cool about that is that I have a lot of digital clutter. And so I'm going to get out a little producer digital clutter for you. Yay. So I'm not very good at saving personal emails. But when I've produced things, I keep very detailed folders for my producing work. OK. So I went into my folder and I found a document titled

shrooty things baby Philip can do. Okay. So sometimes the writers would do a breakout room. Yeah. Where they would just pick a few writers to go into a room and sit there and pitch ideas on a very specific thing. So here are some of the things that were pitched that did not make it. The baby crushes an empty soda can in his hands. Okay.

Philip eats dirt from Dwight's potted plant. Angela says he has never eaten dirt before. Dwight realizes the dirt in the plant is from Shroop Farms. This one I really liked. The baby keeps walking into the manager's office. People joke that he really wants to be manager. That's cute. And Dwight notices.

This one also made me chuckle. Pam's mom brings her baby Phillip into the office and Jim's Phillip pranks Dwight's Phillip.

And finally, Dwight has a spare mustard-colored shirt hanging on the back of his office door. Philip pulls it down and covers himself with it like a blanket. That's cute, too. I know. But this was like a three-page document of all the different things that baby Philip might do to reveal that he's actually Dwight's son. Our writers were the best. The best. That's what they would also do with talking heads. Yes. And that's how we would get candy bags. Mm-hmm.

Our next scene takes us to the break room. I absolutely love this Daryl runner in this episode where everyone wants to spend time with him. They're really bummed he did the Irish exit. And Aaron says, OK, listen, for the next 12 hours, we each get 90 minute segments with Daryl.

And Daryl's like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait a minute, OK? Maybe I made the mistake of sneaking out of here. That's on me. But I'm not going to spend the rest of the day here doing stuff with you guys because you're feeling sentimental. And they're instantly like, no, you have to. So Daryl said, fine, pick one thing. One thing, and I'm going to do it with all of y'all. We don't know what that thing's going to be, but they've got to go figure it out. Well, now we're going to check in on Andy Bernard.

The last time we saw him, he was frustrated because he felt like there were certain contestants who had feel-good stories and they were getting more attention than the other people in the line. Yeah. So Andy was going to make sure he had a feel-good moment. He's going to rejoin the line dressed as an older man. He has put on age makeup.

But Casey Dean just recognizes him immediately. And Andy's like, no, no, no, I'm an old man. She's like, yeah, yeah, yeah, I get it. Yeah. And she's like, you are shorter than before. And he's like, yeah, I took my lifts out because this character is my real height, unlike Andy Bernard.

Lady, this sent me on a Google search. I became really curious about lifts in your shoes and how those work. Well, there's a lot in Hollywood. Well, that's why I got curious about it because I've heard that. I've heard that the male stars wear the lifts in their shoes. If they're a little shorter. Yeah. But I'm like, how does it work?

Well, I guess that you can wear a regular shoe and it's just like how you imagine. There's like just a little wedge that you put inside the sole and then it bumps you up a little bit. Also, you might see some of your shorter male actors in a lot of cowboy boots. Oh.

Because they have a little bit of a heel. That's a natural lift, right? Like just the shoe gives you a lift. Right. Well, I guess one of the problems with putting lifts in your shoes is that if you go more than, I mean, a half inch, then your heel pops out the back of your shoe. So you can actually like end up walking out of your shoes. So they invented something called elevator shoes. Okay.

that look like a regular shoe, but they're more like a woman's wedge, like a wedge heel. Oh, I'm sorry. Are you talking about a sneaker that might have a little heel built in? No, no. Not what I'm wearing? No, you...

That is not an elevator shoe because I can see that it has an exaggerated heel. Oh, it's sneaky. Yes. The elevator shoe. I watched a whole YouTube video on it by this guy who was reviewing the best elevator shoes. He was riveting. And yeah, it looks like a beautiful, I think it's even an Italian made leather businessman shoe.

But on the inside, I don't know. It's like the way they designed it. It just looks like a shoe. But it makes you like two inches taller. That's a lot. It is.

I would be like 5'3". I don't know. Maybe you need an elevator shoe. I have questions. What's it like to walk in them? Can you turn your ankle easily? No, it's easy to walk. According to the video, they're really comfortable and easy to walk in and actually better than putting a lift in your shoe because this forms around your foot. The lift, this guy was saying, is actually kind of dangerous because you can walk out of your shoe. You can twist your ankle. You're not actually getting good arch support.

So gentlemen out there, if you're looking for a lift, I guess the elevator shoe is what you should look into. Is your way to go. Now the lift, obviously, you can put in and out of different pairs of shoes, which I guess gives you variety, but I don't know. Well, Andy Bernard probably would love an elevator shoe. I think he would.

But not for this character, not for Old Man. No, not for Old Man. Old Man is shorter. Well, you know, Andy dressing up as an old man isn't going to help him because someone that works for the show comes out and says, you know what? We're done taking auditions. They need everyone in the line to go home. And Andy is furious. He's like, no. And he runs past the security guard into the building. Casey's going to help him out. She's going to form a distraction. She jumps on the security guy's back.

And I love her last moment where she's like, you won't be seeing the last of Casey Dean. We love Casey Dean. But Andy makes it inside. He does. The audition moderator who gave the bad news is Ryan Bailey. He's been on Chicago Med Arrested Development and How I Met Your Mother. And, you know, last week we had these great audio clips from Jessica St. Clair, who played Casey Dean. And she told us an amazing story about this scene right here. You have to hear it.

something that was funny and weird was that I was, I believe like four months pregnant, but I hadn't told anybody. And so I, I did share it with the makeup artist because I was like, sorry, my face is so puffy and I look a little bit like the Hulk. But you know, I'm pregnant. I

There is a scene where I have to jump on the back of a security guard who's trying to like drag me off the off the set. And I really wanted to impress, you know, the director and, you know, and all this one of my favorite shows. And so I really went crazy. And I like launched myself onto this gigantic gentleman like a like a cat, like a rabbit cat.

And after the second take, the director ran out and he said, I don't want to step into your personal space, but the makeup artist has let me know you're pregnant. You might not want to throw yourself onto that man so violently. And so I did spend a couple of takes going, God, I hope I didn't.

I don't hope I didn't knock that baby out of me. That'd be a real shame. Maybe it would have been worth it for the show.

Oh, Jessica. She is so funny to me. I know. I think she's one of those people that can just read the phone book and I'd be laughing. I know. Is that still an expression? People don't even say it anymore. Because we don't really get phone books anymore. Okay, insert read boring item and I'd still be laughing. Well, she also sent us in an audio clip just about her general takeaway from getting to do the show and I want you to hear that too.

So I was so excited to be with Ed in a scene. Anytime I get to be with someone from the UCB, it's very easy. It's like super easy lifting because you kind of know each other's rhythms. And if somebody improvises, you're ready to improvise back with them. I can't

remember if there were too many things that were actually improvised. They were short little scenes, but I'm sure there were little bits and bobs back and forth. One of the things I love about Ed is he's not only wildly funny, but he's quite charming. So I didn't have to act too hard. You know, he's a real gentleman and a scholar. So it was really fun to get to have like a little romantic moment with Ed and

Um, and I remember being very panicked that I had to sing. I do that strange, like, but like, I'm not a singer. I mean, I'm pretty sure I was kicked out of my, uh, college career.

acapella group, the Miss Chords, because instead of singing the harmony like I was supposed to, I would just sing the melody. And they finally they were like, we're not hearing any alto. I'm like, and you never will, bitches, because I don't know how to do that. So I remember being a little nervous about singing. I just had to sort of go for it and hope that it wasn't too offensive to anybody's ears. She's so funny. Yeah.

Everything about that clip is so funny to me. If you guys want to hear more from Jessica, you have to listen to her podcast, The Deep Dive, that she does with June Diane Raphael. Or download her audio book, The Art of Small Talk, that she did with Casey Wilson because it's more of that. So funny. Well, now Dwight is going to return Phillip to Angela. Oscar is going to ask Dwight if he got Phillip to eat.

He said he won't take the bottle. And Dwight says it's because he's of superior intelligence. He knows when he's being tricked out of a real breast. And that's when Kevin says, oh, yeah, he's not that smart. He doesn't know where I hid his toy duck. Yeah. Kevin. I know. He's still jealous. Now we're going to go to Jim's desk. There is the biggest envelope ever. This is a bulls**t card for me. I was going to play a bulls**t card. Really? Yes. Yes.

to finally play a bullshit card here. You know, last week we talked about how Jim seemed to on the fly get an idea that he needed something from the documentary crew and they immediately agree to whatever favor he needs. Now I'm like, how many hours have passed and they have somehow...

assembled this disc for him? Nine years of footage. Nine years of footage. They edited it together so quickly. Well, my bullshit card wasn't so much about that. It was more, I titled it Big Envelope Cringe.

Why? Why is your bullshit card about the size of the envelope? Because it's like laughable to me. It is a giant gray envelope and then written in huge letters. It says, Jim Sharpie. It's like, Cameron, did you catch the envelope? Okay, let's make it bigger. It's like almost the size of like an iPad.

Okay. The size of the envelope did not bother me in any way. It felt appropriate for a disc. So we're playing two bull cards. I guess so. I mean, I just want to know how they got through all of this footage so quickly. I mean, impressive. Very impressive. Well, big envelope or not, Jim is very happy to have it.

We're going to go back to the auditions. The last person is on stage. It's a young woman. Yes, she's very talented. She's singing Beautiful by Christina Aguilera, and it's going very well for her. So this gal who's singing, her name is Rachel Crow, and she was a contestant on the first season of The X Factor when she was 13 years old. I have an audio clip.

Now I love you, but I gotta stay true. My morals got me on my knees. I'm begging, please stop playing games.

I mean, that's amazing. She brought down the house. She went all the way to the quarterfinal round. And after that, she went on to star in the TV series Schooled. She did our show. She's done a fair amount of work in animation. In fact, she's the voice of Tip in the Netflix show Home Adventures with Tip and O. She's phenomenal. What a voice. I know.

Well, I was going to point out one other person in this scene, and that is Clay Aiken. I was really rooting for him in American Idol. I will never forget his performance of Bridge Over Troubled Waters. Oh, right. So good. Yeah. And I brought a clip of that. I'm loving today. Bridge over troubled waters.

Ooh, that still packs a punch. I mean, I get chills. It's so beautiful. Wow. Wow. Well, let's see. I've got a little location breakdown for you. We shot this on location.

All of us had the day off. It was two days off. Ed filmed these scenes. They were in Burbank, and we did not get to meet any of these folks on the day. No, we didn't. I know. Well, Andy is going to try to sing for them, and it does not go well at all. Yes, he enters as the old man.

But it's very clear he's not really an old man. Aaron Rodgers calls him out. But he's going to go ahead and start singing. He's going to sing You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile. And you know what? They aren't feeling it. They're not feeling it. So he quickly switches gears and he starts singing the Cornell fight song. Yep.

I was curious if that is the actual Cornell fight song. I assume it was. And I found a compilation of Cornell a cappella groups singing it. Well, okay.

That's precious. How perfect is it, though, that they're acapella groups? Andy would be so proud. But the judges are not impressed. They're not. And then Andy has a full meltdown. Yeah. I can see them all trying not to laugh. All of the judges are trying not to laugh.

Yes, I asked Santee Gold about this. Here's what she had to say. I think for me, probably the funniest part and the hardest part to hold it together was when I said to him that he couldn't just sit there and cry. And he's like, I can't sew, just sit here and cry. And he's like, really like yells it.

Just now watching it, I watched it and I forgot the whole thing and it's so funny. I mean, he did it differently every time. So every time was like new opportunities to crack up laughing. But I think that's part of the fun of it. To have to hold it together is also the fun of it and to come up with other things to do besides laugh. But I really enjoyed it. I mean, it was kind of like everything that I thought that...

I wanted it to be, it was. And I remember talking to my friend who was like my main friend that we love the office together. And I told him that I was on the office and he didn't believe me. And he's like, "You kidding me?" You know? 'Cause it was like a dream for that to be the first thing to do.

And also because it's so many years later now, a lot of people had no idea that I was ever even on there. And, you know, The Office has had such a continually growing fan base. It seems like it had a whole new new life all over again, which is great. It's like a legacy. And so people have discovered me on the end on the end episodes and been like, oh, my God, are you in The Office? It's really funny because it's so unexpected and it's such a nice surprise. So it just keeps it keeps surprising people all these years later.

So, Angela, since I knew that this was Santi's first on-camera acting job, I just kind of asked her in general, like, how was that, like, coming onto the set? And she told a story that I think you'll enjoy. Here it is.

Yeah, so the day of, I remember coming there. They told us to wear our own clothes because we're supposed to be playing ourselves. So that part was simple. We just got out of hair and makeup and then went in and it was just me, Clay Aiken and Aaron Rodgers. And I knew who Clay Aiken was, but I did not know who Aaron Rodgers was. And I don't know anything about football.

um so I asked him I said oh what do you do and he's like oh I'm a football player I said what team do you play for and he said I believe he said the Green Bay Packers if that's a team I'm so bad I still don't know about football but um and then I asked him what city was that and he told me and for some reason I thought he was joking and I was like no for real what city is it and he's like no that really is it um so it's kind of a funny intro we end up getting along really well and having a

But yeah, I remember that they were changing the lines a lot, which made me feel a little bit anxious because I'm not used to that and obviously didn't have any experience with that. I mean, with any of it at all. It was also new, but the improvisational aspect was so actually fun to be in and watch Ed Helms just master. He was so funny. And yeah, it was hard not to laugh, but at the same time,

It was fun to just be in it with him and just get to experience it and not fall apart. But we did it obviously several times and every time he did it different and every time it was hilarious.

And so I always, I don't know, I always just really have a fun time watching people who master their crafts and just being able to just be a witness of it. So I remember the experience being more like me getting to watch him and really, really enjoying that and just being a part of it at all, you know?

Lady, I just love this runner of people asking Aaron Rodgers, what is it that you do? Oh, football. That's so neat. Like, I don't know why. It's just very funny to me. Well, in my experience, he was really kind in the moment. Yeah.

Well, Dave Rogers said all three of these guys were so great to work with. He remembered that Clay Aiken was really funny and had a great sense of humor. And he said he was really great at doing improv.

Dave said that Aaron Rodgers was really down to earth, super friendly. He came in really prepared. He knew all his lines and gave great reactions. He really came off very relaxed and natural. And he said that our editor, Claire Scanlon, was a huge fan of Sante Gold and was so bummed she couldn't be there. So Dave asked if Sante would mind writing her a note saying,

and autographing it and giving it to Claire. And Claire was over the moon. That is so sweet of Dave and so thoughtful. I know. But also so nice of Santee Gold to be like, sure, no problem. I know. Well, I want to give a big thank you to Santee for sending in all those audio clips. You know, she has a podcast as well, Ange. It's called Noble Champions. And here's how it is described.

Noble Champions is a modern-day salon created and hosted by the multi-platform visionary artist Sante Gold. In each episode, she sits down with some of today's leading artists, authors, activists, and progressive thinkers who stand up, stick up, and speak up for important causes.

The first season is out now, and she's going to have new episodes premiering this fall. So check it out. Great. We'll put that in our stories. I would love to give her a shout out as well. I love NPR's Tiny Desk Concert series, and Sante Gold's is so great. So if you're a fan of that series and haven't seen hers, it's a great watch, and I'll put that in stories as well. Great. Well, why don't we go to break? Because when we come back, Phillip and Kevin are finally going to make amends. Well, I want to go to break because...

Angela, you brought in like two coolers worth of food today, and I've been waiting patiently to get to eat it. Will you tell everybody what it is? Yeah. So-

Josh and I sold a cookbook. I've shared that with you guys. And this week is the cookbook photography. And what that means is we're making like 11 recipes a day and then professionally food styling and taking the photos. It's turning out so fantastic. But it also means every day Josh is bringing home like 11 recipes a

My fridge was so full. So today I said, you guys, I'm bringing in food for everyone. I have lasagna rolls. I have an amazing chicken and rice soup. I also have brisket with all the sides. I also have chocolate chip muffins. I have millionaire bars, no bake chocolate and oatmeal drops, an almond cake. So I have a lot of things.

So we're going to have a feast at lunch. You told me about this last night and I've been distracted because I can't wait any longer. The coolers are sitting right next to me. We'll be right back. Let's go Peloton. Oh, sweet Peloton. I love my Peloton. Peloton has workouts for every mood. My general mood is I don't feel like doing this, but Cody Rigsby, he gets me there. You love Cody.

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View important disclosures at acorns.com slash office ladies. All right, we are back. Our bellies are full. I just ate the most delicious brisket with potatoes and carrots. And then I had a pecan cookie for dessert. Yes, Josh, you fed us all today. Thank you so much. And all of these things that I just ate are going to be in the cookbook, Ange? Yes. Okay.

I know. This is going to be a good cookbook. It's looking so beautiful, too. I'm really excited about it. Well, we're going to head over to accounting. And Oscar and Angela...

They need to try to smooth things over with Kevin. So they're going to present him with a gift from Philip. Yes, Philip got Kevin a $25 iTunes gift card. There's only $7 left on it. Yeah. But it's from Philip. And Kevin is very moved by this. He has a talking head where he says he and Philip are going to be best friends. Yeah, he's kind of standoffish at first, but...

You know, he likes you when he starts buying you things. I mean, this is the advice that they give you if you're going to have a second kid. They say have the baby buy a gift for the first kid. I've never heard that. To butter them up. Oh, you didn't know that? I didn't. Oh, my gosh. I mean, I remember I was five years old when my little sister Emily was born. And she gave me in the hospital when I visited her. My parents were like, Emily got you this. And it was a little dog.

And I named it Prancy. And it was my favorite stuffed animal. And I still have it on my shelf in my office today. And I guess when you're that little, you're not like, oh, the baby can't walk or speak. No. But bought me a gift. Yeah. I mean, I immediately liked her. I was like, this kid is terrific. I was really good at giving gifts. Yeah. Well, that says a lot about Kevin, where he's at. I know, right? About a five-year-old. Yeah.

Well, the whole group has decided what they want to do with Daryl. They have decided they all want to dance with him. And Daryl says, all right, you're going to need some good speakers. Let's go. I do have a bullshit card to play here in Daryl's office. What is it? Daryl left. He got his things and he left. And he had no plans to come back to his office, right? Sure. Well, guess what was sitting in the corner? What?

His fakie bass fish thing. Oh, that he brought up from the warehouse to this? Yes, he left it behind, along with a box of some other things, but sitting right there is the fakie bass thing. You know what? I'm going to say...

He did that on purpose. He's not taking it with him. Maybe he doesn't need that in his snazzy new athlete office. I guess not. Maybe he's going for a new decor now that he's like a big deal agent guy. So he just left it. He's like, anyone want it? It's here. Yeah, maybe. Dwight has called Angela into his office. He tells her to close the door and have a seat.

He believes Philip may be a shrewd. And as such, Philip is entitled to a farm and inheritance and the right kind of upbringing, you know, under rigorous shrewd traditions. He also says that Angela will be compensated with a marriage proposal as well. It's kind of an afterthought to his speech. And there was a lot to play in this scene. Yeah. At first, Dave wanted me to be excited about the idea.

of Dwight raising Philip. But then when he says, and of course a marriage proposal will be also offered to you, I'm supposed to then turn and be like, no, that's not how I want this. And so once again, Angela says, Philip is not your son and she leaves. Yeah. Meanwhile, in the break room, Jim has brought Pam in and there's a laptop sitting on one of the tables and a DVD that

And it's clear, you know, he's going to play this DVD for her, but Dwight interrupts him. He throws the now beanbag at Jim's head and hits him right in the head. Yeah. Serious. Serious. So is Dwight just walking around with beanbags in his pockets? Yeah.

Yes. Yes. I believe he is. So Dwight says, I'll be right back. And Pam waits for a second. And then she is like, no, I got to see what this is. I'm going to put this DVD in the computer. She doesn't wait that long. She doesn't.

And now we're going to cut back and forth between this scene with Jim and Dwight and what Pam is doing in the break room. I loved this scene, how it cut back and forth. I thought it was so beautiful. I loved seeing the footage of early Pam and Jim. It was really emotional to watch. It was emotional to watch as –

Someone who worked on the show and was in these scenes to see the progression of the characters, but then as a fan and then as someone who's been rewatching them with her best friend, it was very layered emotion for me. Yeah. Yeah.

Well, we got a few fan questions about this montage that Pam is watching. One from Randy C. in Columbia, Maryland, who said, Jenna, when filming the sequence where Pam watches the DVD, was there anything really on the screen or was it put in during post-production? Oh, we also had a fan question from Angela K. in Los Angeles.

What did she say? Jenna, were you actually watching the footage in the video? And may I also add that your performance in the scene is beautiful and made me tear up. I love it.

Well, I'll have you both know, Randy and Angela Kay, I was watching it. And I was watching it for the first time. Oh, wow. When they started rolling. Aw. I knew what was coming. I knew I was going to see this montage of us as Jim and Pam. But there's no way to prepare yourself for it. There's not. Because there were so many wonderful moments. Mm-hmm.

Sarah R. from Cleveland, Ohio, wanted to know who created the video. It was Claire Scanlon. She collected the images. Dave Rogers gave her a few suggestions. There were a few suggestions in the script. She picked out the song Open Your Eyes from Snow Patrol. Dave said that he believes John Krasinski came in and worked on it a little bit with Claire. He knew what was on it, but I did not.

But this was the last scene that we shot for this episode. So this was a Friday. It was evening. It was just us on the set. It was very quiet. Really kind of reminded me of when we did Casino Night, when everybody else had gone home and we had like a smaller group for this really emotional moment between these two characters. Well, I'd also love to give a big shout out to Dave Rogers for how he directed this, because I thought it was really beautiful that you watched all of this scene.

Just heartfelt emotion from Pam. And then Jim is talking to Dwight about Pam at the same time. And Dwight is thinking about Angela and

When Jim tells Dwight to forget about fear and doubt and do whatever he can to get the one woman who's going to make everything worth it to just do it. And he says, you love Angela. You probably always have. And Rain is Dwight. His performance is brilliant, too. So good. He's tearing up. And he tells Jim he's a good assistant.

So there's so much emotion happening in these two moments. I thought it was really well done. Well, this whole thing ends with Jim walking back into the break room, seeing that Pam has watched the video and handing her the original teapot note, the one he took back and put in his pocket all of those years ago. Mm-hmm.

We got a fan question from Lainey B. in Westerville, Ohio, who said, was it always the plan to revisit the teapot card Jim wrote for Pam? Or was it something that the writers remembered and wanted to incorporate into the episode?

Lainey, it was not always planned. Like not from when we did that first Christmas episode did anybody say, one day we're going to reveal what was on this note. It sort of took on a life of its own. People became so curious what was in the note that Jim didn't give Pam anything.

And I've told this story before, but when we were pitching to Greg about season nine, I said, Greg, we have to read the teapot note. I mean, it's the greatest callback of the whole series. It's brilliant. This is a fantastic idea. Did they lose their minds when you pitched it?

Well, I felt like I kind of had to convince them a little bit because... What? Here's the thing. Greg said, I don't think we'll ever be able to write anything that would satisfy everybody's imagination of this note after all these years. Like the beauty of the note is that as the audience member, you've written the perfect thing on the note. That's brilliant. I mean, he's so smart, right? That is a very smart take.

But it's enough for me to just see it. Well, that was the thing. We didn't have to read it to you. You just needed the satisfaction of Pam getting it. She finally gets it. Of Pam reading it. Yes.

Yes. And then you still get to fill in the blank, but you get that closure. I've told this story before, too, but John Krasinski wrote the note. It was a private note. That he wrote to you as Jenna. Correct. About being your scene partner all those years. Yes. So it was kind of like a goodbye, thank you note. I still have it. It's private.

I'll never reveal what was in it, but it was a beautiful, beautiful note from one scene partner to another. It made me cry. So when you see me crying in the episode, those are my real tears. I did notice when you were reading it, it seemed like some genuine surprise that you didn't know what was going to be given to you. Yes. They told me they were going to let John write the note, but I thought he was going to write it as Jim to Pam.

So as I'm reading it and I'm realizing that it says, Dear Jenna. Yeah. And then it's just this beautiful letter about what it has meant for us to work together and be these scene partners. And, you know, it's like to be Jim and Pam. Yeah. Yeah. I was like, oh, my gosh. Oh, oh, my goodness. Yeah. You see your face goes through a bunch of realizations. Yeah. And I think you can see everything.

John watching me read it. Yes. I think you see him be like, okay, I'm standing here as she reads this letter. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I agree with Greg. I'm glad you've never shared what you actually read, what was from John to you, because I don't want to break that fourth wall. I want to imagine this moment between Jim and Pam, and I want to imagine what I would have wanted Jim to say. Mm-hmm.

Well, as a wrap gift at the finale, I wanted to return the favor. So I bought a little teapot and I wrote a note to John from Jenna, my own little teapot note to him, thanking him for all those years working together and what it had meant to me. I mean, it's

I'll never have a scene partner like that again. I feel like I have a work partner and a creative partner like that here with you, Angela. This is like another moment of like chemistry that you just –

You can't plan for it. It's just like it's perfect. But to go on a nine-year journey with another actor in such an intimate and vulnerable way as our characters do, it's pretty special. I mean, we're bonded for life for sure. For sure. It's nine years. Yeah, I feel the same way.

And, you know, we reached out to Dave about this episode, and he shared something about this scene, about how they would cut from Jim and Dwight back to Pam. And it's something he fought for, and that was to keep the music playing under the cutaways. Mm-hmm. And at first, I guess Greg wanted to take it out whenever they cut to Jim and Dwight.

But Claire agreed with Dave, and they said it would be a great tool that the documentary filmmakers could use to underscore these two moments. And he really felt like it tied the two scenes together. And ultimately, Greg agreed, and they kept the music throughout both scenes. And I do think it tied them together beautifully. So there's one more thing about this scene that caused quite a stir after it aired. And it all has to do with a little mistake that they made.

You know that very first slide of the little slideshow where Jim has written a note to Pam? Yes, he wrote, Beasley, you think I'll have regrets. I asked the doc crew to help me show you why I won't dot, dot, dot. Well, when this episode first aired, Pam's last name was misspelled. It was spelled B-E-E-S-L-E-Y, but that's not how you spell Beasley.

You spell it B-E-E-S-L-Y. No E. No E. And fans were like, Jim misspelled his wife's name in the love tribute video. But then people started arguing over what is the correct spelling of Pam's last name. There's been several versions online. Well, here's what I can tell you.

In the very first page of every script, there's a cast list. And from script number one to script finale...

Pam's last name has always been spelled B-E-E-S-L-Y. That's how Greg intended it. However, it is misspelled a couple of times in early episodes and then in this episode. But in business school at her art fair, it's spelled correctly. In the credits for Threat Level Midnight, it's spelled correctly.

On the big poster outside their wedding where they misspelled Jim's last name, Halpert. Her name is spelled correctly. So that is the correct spelling. You heard it here. You heard it here. And Angela, when you made us those matching blue hoodies, you spelled it correctly. I did. So I have a hoodie with Beasley on the back.

I don't know how this happened exactly, but it has been corrected. So they corrected it for the DVDs. They corrected it for syndication. But on the first viewing, it was spelled wrong.

But, you know, there were some people who tried to justify it by saying, hey, Jim didn't make the video. The doc crew made the video. Right. The doc crew didn't know how to spell her last name. Yeah. But also doesn't inspire a lot of confidence in the doc crew to get everything right. I mean, literally what they're supposed to do is just document. Well, let's move to the bullpen because Erin is queuing up the music. There are disco lights. It is time to dance. Yes.

And I thought you might like a breakdown of this dance sequence. Please. When the music starts, the kitchen door opens and Daryl is standing with his back to the bullpen and a leather jacket with his collar up. He spins around. His first dance move is with Stanley. They do a series of handshakes and then chest bump. Then Daryl and Nellie have a very sexy dance. I was like, that's a couple I hadn't thought of before. Okay.

Then Daryl and Toby do a dance where, what are they doing? Are they pretending to ride a pony? Are they pretending to rope a cow? It's like the- Yeah. Are they lassoing one another? One another? I don't know. Then Daryl and Phyllis do a really fancy choreographed kickball change spin, then a dip move. Phyllis was having fun in real life in that moment. For sure. All of her dancing days coming back. Then Daryl does air guitar with Creed. And then with Meredith-

Daryl doesn't really dance, but Meredith waves her hand over his crotch and then spanks his butt. And then at 17 minutes and 23 seconds is my favorite. It is Daryl, Kevin, and Oscar. They're doing a very Madonna Vogue kind of dance moment. It is epic. Epic.

Then Pam and Jim and Daryl and Aaron form a line and dance, kind of like a, I don't know what that was, a Congo line kind of thing? Kind of. And then it ends with Daryl and Aaron spinning in a circle, holding hands in front of reception.

We got a lot of fan questions about this. People wanted to know if music was really playing or if we had to do that thing where you're dancing to silence. Oh, yeah. Music was really playing. It was playing low, but we had it so that we could dance to the beat. But there were two rehearsals for this. Our resident choreographer, Marianne Kellogg, came in and she worked with each person on what their dance with Daryl might be.

So that was all planned. It wasn't like we just did impromptu moves or anything. Dave said it was actually a fairly complicated scene. It had to be carefully choreographed with camera and with Daryl's movement through the office. He wanted to make sure that everyone was in focus and had their moment. We had a fan catch that I know about.

From personal experience, it was Kelly Y. from Carver, Massachusetts, who said, I have been waiting nine seasons to tell you this background catch that I notice every time I watch this episode. At 17 minutes and 45 seconds, when Jim and Pam are dancing in the background, you can very clearly see John mess up his dance move and mouth the words, oh, shit. Kelly said this makes me crack up every time. Kelly...

John and I were added to this dance scene at the very last minute. I don't know why, but we had not been at the other rehearsals. And so on the day we got our dance moves and we were so clumsy and we kept messing up and we were cracking ourselves up because we were like, why can't we do this simple dance move? Yeah.

But this is just such a wonderfully joyous moment. Yeah. In this finale before the finale. And Daryl has a talking head where he says, you know, leaving quietly seemed dignified. But having Kevin grind up on his front while Aaron pretended to hump him from behind is a more accurate tribute to his years there. He said he's really going to miss these guys. Yeah. Yeah.

Well, now everyone's leaving for the day and they say, we'll see you at Poor Richard's. Because remember, everybody's going to gather at Poor Richard's because the documentary is airing tonight. Yeah. Oscar says, I'll drop Philip off at my mother's. I love that Oscar's mother is Philip's babysitter. I know. How cute. And he says, Angela, you can't come with me because I don't want my mother to know I'm living with a straight woman and get her hopes up. Yeah. So Angela is going to drive to Poor Richard's by herself. But oh, boy.

Dwight comes out of nowhere. He's got a siren on top of his car and a bullhorn, and he's shouting at her to pull over. Well, I have a lot to say about this scene. We wanted it to feel as real as possible. Okay, well, we have a fan question from Rachel S. in Shetland, Scotland, who wanted to know, how did you do this driving scene and pulling over? Because...

I think that's you in the car, Angela. Am I right? It looks like you. You are correct. So we did a combination. And I have a lot of pictures from this particular scene. I brought my camera to set that day. And also Steve Burgess took a bunch of pictures. We did a combination of my car being pulled.

where I'm not driving. That's in the straightaways. And then where we pull off the road is really me. That's what I thought. Yes, that's really me. When he cuts you off and kind of forces your car off the road. Right, because it had to be us because I get out of the car so quickly. And they had cameras everywhere. They had cameras mounted to the car. They had lipstick cameras inside so they could catch a bunch of different angles. And then we also did have stunt drivers for when the cars were going really fast on the straightaway.

Okay. Okay. Well, when you get out of that car, Angela, talk about coming in hot. Well. You are pissed. I'm pissed. I just got run a road. I mean, you'd be pissed off. Yeah. So here's the thing. When we did the first take of this, it just felt a little stiff, right? Yeah.

And Dave and Brent were like, you guys, why don't you at the beginning improvise to get into the main beat of the scene to the proposal? So we were like, OK. So I thought I would play you the scene and then I'll tell you the parts that were improvised. OK. Great. Dwight? Move to the side of the road. Hold. Over. Dwight, what the f*** is your problem? Who drives like that? I love you.

Then I don't care if the penelope's not my son! I will raise a hundred children with a hundred of your lovers if it means I can be with you! Can you put that down? This expresses loudly I love you! This is a ring taken from the buttocks of my grandmother, put there by the gangster patriarch of the Kors dynasty, melted in a foundry run by Mennonites. Okay, yes! Yes, I will!

I love you. I love you. And I lied to you. What? Philip's your son. What? Why would you say that? I just needed you to want to marry me because you wanted to marry me. Get out! I'm a dad! You're a dad! Oh, it's so good. It's so fun to rewatch that. I have to tell you guys, we really...

Man, we put our hearts out there for that scene. So the parts that are improvised are Dwight, what the f*** is your problem? Yes. And then him saying, shut up, woman. Okay. And then me saying, who drives like that? And him saying, listen to me. Then we start the scripted part with, I love you and I don't care that Philip's not my son. I improvised, can you put that down and it's too loud? And then Rain riffed off a scripted line about that's how he expresses his love.

And then after Angela says she will marry him, we kissed. And I said, I love you. And that wasn't scripted. And Dwight said, I love you. And then we went into the beat where I shared with him that I had lied to him. And the scene was supposed to end with Dwight just saying, get out. But then Rain improvised, I'm a dad. And I said, you're a dad. And then we kissed again.

So Angela, we did get a fan mail flurry here. People really want to know, how do you or the writers justify the fact that this DNA test said that Dwight was not the father? People want to know, did Angela pay them off? Did Dwight take the wrong diaper? There were a lot of babies at the family portrait studio. Tell us what you think.

Well, I understand the fan mail flurry over this because it was set up that it might not be Dwight's child, right? Very clearly. This is how I always made it make sense for me. When Dwight takes the diaper, Angela doesn't know if he got Phillips or not. She goes with him. She's very invested. This could end her marriage. And although she loved Dwight, she thought it was over for them.

They had missed their moment. And she had built this whole life with the state senator, for better or for worse. So she sat there with him and waited for the results. And they held hands because I think it was as big for her as it was for him. She didn't know if he was going to find out the truth that she knew all along. Okay. And she didn't say anything because she wasn't ready to tell him. And then when they said, it's not your child, she is relieved.

Because now she can keep her life intact. And there's a lot of sadness for her as well. But what you're saying is that...

And you've said this before, that she never really consummated her relationship with the senator. The only person she was sexually active with was Dwight. This was Dwight's baby. But somehow something sort of serendipitously happened in the testings. But somehow something went wrong in the testing facility or maybe he grabbed the wrong diaper. And that's why the test result said that.

I think he grabbed the wrong diaper. Okay. There were a lot of babies there that day. Okay. I think he grabbed the wrong diaper, but Angela couldn't be sure. And that's why she followed him there. And then I think there were many times she wanted to tell him, but she thought he had moved on. And then I think she didn't know how to tell him.

I just wanted to add one final thing about this scene that I will never forget. After we did the take that we knew was the one, you know, we were both crying. Rain and I were both tearing up. Dave yelled cut. And I looked over to our first assistant camera operator, Chris Workman, and he was wiping tears away from his eyes. Oh, my gosh.

And it just made me so happy. You know, our crew was rooting for this couple. Rain and I were rooting for this couple. And I asked Brent Forster, our writer, what it was like to write this proposal scene. And here's what he had to say. There were moments on The Office where it seemed like something sacred had happened on set. Jim and Pam getting married at Niagara was a moment like that where everyone who was there seemed like they had been transformed by seeing it live.

And another moment like that was Dwight proposing to Angela in the second to last episode. We knew in the writer's room that we had created something clever with Angela's lie to Dwight, but we didn't know how it would play until the actors showed up on set. Well, Angela Kinsey and Rainn Wilson had been playing these characters for nine seasons, and there was so much real emotion pent up.

When Dwight proposed to her and she accepted, there was this feeling of joy on set. And then she reveals that he's also a father. Now, Rainn Wilson is a father. And the joy of that moment seemed to hit him by surprise.

And it rippled through him and Angela and the whole set. The director called cut and everyone just looked at each other with these gentle smiles on their faces like they had seen something sacred. The writers set it up, the actors bring it to life. And when the actors bring to life real sacred emotions of joy and love, I think that's the highest that our art form can achieve.

Oh, that's beautiful. I know. Yeah. What a wonderful thing to say, Brent. Thank you. Well, I know there's something crazy about this day of shooting. This must have been very emotional for you, Angela, because this day of shooting started with this scene, this proposal scene. Then y'all broke for lunch and we read...

the finale, we had a giant table read with hundreds of people. Yeah. So you went from that to the final table read. To then all of us being together at Poor Richard's to watch the beginning of the documentary airing. Yes. I was a hot mess all day. Sure. I cried off and on all day. I remember being so tired that night, just emotionally so tired. And

I have pictures, Jenna, of you and I walking in together to that final table read. Holding hands. Holding hands. We were so, oh man, just overwhelmed by the moment. And we walked in together holding hands. Next week, I'm going to play an audio clip of Greg's speech to us before we read that final episode. It's really beautiful. Mm-hmm.

But I mention all that because when we go to this next scene where we're all gathered at Poor Richard's as a group and we're going to watch the documentary, all of us are coming off of that very emotional table read. And I'll just never forget sitting in that group scene together. It was kind of perfect. Yeah. It really created that moment in us.

And I have a picture of you and me and John and Rain from the bar. Yeah. Sitting there. Yeah. It's one of my favorites.

So here's what happens. Angela and Dwight arrive to Poor Richard's, but the bartender is refusing to put the documentary on because there is a college baseball game on. Can I give the bartender a shout out? Please do. The bartender is played by Scott Robinson. He is a longtime friend of Kate Flannery and I. He is an amazing improviser and performer.

In fact, he and Kate had a hilarious lounge act they did for years. Oh, it's so good. So good. It's called The Lampshades. It was described as America's favorite dying lounge act. They even at one point had their own single called Out of Space. You got to hear it. She packed my bags last night pre-flight.

This show is so funny. I saw it two times, maybe three times. I can't get enough of it. Kate would wear this jumpsuit, this crazy wig, and she would do this like squat.

And that deep squat and then pop up and do a high kick. It was incredible. Very athletic. And a red romper. Yep. And Scott was such the perfect scene partner in The Lampshades. His character is hilarious. I mean, it's what you imagine. Just like slick back hair, like pencil mustache and his little cigarette. Cigarette hanging out of the corner of his mouth the entire show. Yep.

So this episode is going to end with Andy entering, which was so great to have Ed Helms back with us in this big group scene. And he's going to be the tie-breaking vote that's going to get the bartender to switch it from baseball to the documentary. And it begins. Yeah. And it begins with the first few lines of the pilot. Mm-hmm.

We had a fan question from Amy A. in Pasadena, California, who asked, were we actually watching something or was that audio added in post?

No, Amy, we were actually watching it. Dave put together a short video. So you saw the logo that came on before the documentary. He said, if you look closely at the names and the end credits from like the previous show, he put his nephews, Jaden and Owen on there. So sweet. But we were really watching that first scene of Jim in Michael's office.

And it was really sentimental. Yeah. That is AARM part two, everyone. I can't believe it. I want to give a big thank you to Sante Gold, Steve Burgess, Brent Forrester, Dave Rogers, Jessica Sinclair. And now next week is the finale.

Guys, before we go. Oh, before we go. Brian Salengo or Salengo sent in a song he wrote about the podcast. I think it's very sweet. Oh. Joy can come from places unexpected. Ladies who Google and become mom detected. We hung on every tangent, tidbit and tell all.

The ladies who were there got to walk us through it all. Like the times that we went behind the scenes to see just how you planned it. Like the wedding in Niagara or the failure to save Bandit. Doc and Fast Fat. All the office content you'd ever want in a podcast. Birthdays and interviews.

And oh my God, how perfect is Keanu? We've learned a million things along the way Like the undisputed genius of the late, great Phil Shea And all the candy bag lines that made us laugh And all the little stories that were in the shooting draft

The purchasing of music rights right down to the penny. It's how the hell did Steve Carell never win an Emmy? Deep dive and fast fad. All the office content you'd ever want in a podcast. Birthday.

It all seems so very arbitrary. I started this job at a podcast network because they were hiring. I took a desk behind an old shower curtain because it was empty.

But no matter how you get there, or where you end up, human beings have this miraculous gift of making that place their home. A podcast is such an ordinary thing, but there's a lot of beauty in ordinary things. Isn't that kind of the point? It seems this rewatch podcast is coming to an end.

But every Office fan knows we can just listen again to the deep dives and the fast facts. All the Office content you'd ever want in a podcast. Birthdays and interviews. Office ladies, by now you know we love. Whatever's next, you know we'll follow that too.

Wow. I don't even know what to say. That was so beautiful. So nice. It was so lovely. Well, and I love that Keanu made it in. That was so wonderful. Thank you, Sam, for sharing that with us. Sure. Thank you to Brian for reaching out. Yeah, that was really, really lovely, Brian. Thank you.

I know that it would have meant so much to Phil to be in that. So thank you for giving us that too. And we're not going anywhere. And we're also going to keep trying to get Keanu on this podcast. So we can't finish this out until we speak to that man. Okay. But we have lots and lots of more Office Fun stuff coming your way. And we're excited to start sharing about it with you all. Thank you so much. I'm so emotional.

For this community, you've meant so much to Jen and I. Okay. We'll see you next week. See you next week.

Thank you for listening to Office Ladies. Office Ladies is a presentation of Odyssey and is produced by Jenna Fisher and Angela Kinsey. Our executive producer is Cassie Jerkins. Our audio engineer is Sam Kiefer and our associate producer is Ainsley Bubbico. Odyssey's executive producers are Jenna Weiss-Berman and Leah Reese-Dennis. Office Ladies is mixed and mastered by Chris Basil. Our theme song is Rubber Tree by Creed Bratton.