What I’ve noticed The Office to be lacking this season, came back full force in this week’s episode, Garden Party. The show has been missing comedic charm and the back and forth between the characters. It’s almost as though when Steve Carell left The Office, the actors and actresses who had come to know each other and build a rapport among themselves, forgot everything they had learned. They were lost and they started from square one this season.

I think they’ve found their footing and they’re back on the right track. It bodes well for the rest of the season. I was starting to fear an entire season flop like we had a few years ago. Let’s continue the streak.

The main focus of Garden Party is a garden party Andy decides to hold at Schrute Farms. While it’s clear that Andy has intentions of his own for holding the party, he doesn’t make them completely known until midway through the episode. We’re led to believe that the party is meant to impress Robert California, the new CEO.

Is it just me or does this frivolous party seem reminiscent of Michael Scott’s love of parties? I think part of the reason this episode hit home as a classic Office episode is because Andy started to fill Michael’s shoes. Does it matter that he’s wearing the same pair of shoes? Not until it becomes a crutch to keep things business as usual. I even noticed one point in the episode where Andy mimicked one of Michael’s facial expressions exactly. Daryl offers to bring a grill to the party and the camera cuts to Andy who gives one of Michael’s classic looks of disgust.

The highlight of the episode came with the return to classic Jim and Dwight shenanigans. Dwight being the host of the garden party decides he needs to know everything there is to know about throwing a garden party. Instead of Jim offering mixed advice to Dwight like he might have done, he goes as far as publishing a book titled “The Ultimate Guide to Throwing a Garden Party” which he sells to Dwight online. Subtle, but it makes you wonder how much work would have gone into a prank like that. This leads to the biggest laughs of the episode. The book suggests announcing every guest by yelling their name as loud as possible with as much flourish as possible. Dwight adheres to this. There are also the dance portions of the night and the closing ceremony. I was unable to control my laughter for each of these parts.

As the episode progresses, we learn that Andy is throwing this party to impress his parents. He hopes that they’ll approve of him the way they approve of what his little brother does. But in the end there is disappointment for Andy as his father tells him that he shouldn’t need to search for his approval. The rest of the office overhears this via Cece’s baby monitor. In Office style, they set to make things right for their boss who is clearly down in the dumps. They turn the once over the top garden party into a comfortable work barbecue, where even Andy the boss is a welcome guest.

I fully support your watching of this episode. If you’ve been down in the dumps about previous episodes this season, you’ll be brought back up. There’s classic comedy and rivalry among the workers which will bring smiles to your face. I hope this turn in Office writing is the direction it will take for the rest of the season.