Secretary's Day (The Office)

"Secretary's Day" is the 22nd episode of the sixth season of the U.S. comedy series The Office and the show's 122nd episode overall. It aired on April 22, 2010 on NBC. It was written by Mindy Kaling, who portrays Kelly Kapoor on the series, and is also the second episode^[1] directed by Steve Carell, who portrays Michael Scott.

The series—presented as if it were a real documentary—depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. In the episode, Andy tries to make his girlfriend Erin's Secretary's Day a special day, but things don't turn out well when Erin learns of Andy's previous relationship with Angela. Meanwhile, Oscar circulates a video he made in which he compares Kevin's voice to the Cookie Monster's, causing Gabe to try to assert his authority in the office.

Synopsis

It is Secretary's Day, and Andy (Ed Helms) tries to make Erin's (Ellie Kemper) day a memorable one. He convinces a reluctant Michael (Steve Carell) to take her to lunch at a place of her choosing. During lunch, Erin asks Michael to tell her about Andy before she joined the staff, and he mentions that Andy was previously engaged to fellow office worker Angela (Angela Kinsey), a fact which Andy had concealed from Erin, to Michael's surprise. Upon learning about the engagement, Erin tries to conceal a fit by wrapping her hair around her face, and is silent on the drive back to the office. During the main party, when Andy starts to play a song he wrote for Erin, she throws cake in his face and reveals her knowledge of his engagement to Angela. Though Pam tries to persuade her that Andy's engagement to Angela is unimportant, revealing that she also was engaged to another co-worker before marrying Jim, Erin decides she can't trust Andy anymore and breaks up with him. At the end of the day, Michael cheers her up with some jokes and Andy notes that at least someone has made her happy on Secretary's Day.

Meanwhile, Oscar circulates a video he made, which dubs Kevin's voice over footage of Cookie Monster. It is a hit with the staff, and they continuously make fun of Kevin with Cookie Monster impersonations. Kevin complains to Gabe about their teasing. In an effort to assert his fledgling authority, Gabe bans the office from talking about the video or Cookie Monster. When the jokes continue, Gabe suspends Pam without pay for contradicting his orders, then Jim for defending her, and then even Dwight for applauding Gabe's punishments. Pam consults Toby about this, and after looking into it he informs her that Gabe can suspend people but does not have the authority to dock their pay. Meanwhile, Gabe learns the same thing from corporate, but rather than admit his mistake to Pam, Jim, and Dwight, he decides to salvage his pride by saying he will revoke the suspension if they apologize. Pam and Jim decline, thus effectively getting a two-day paid vacation, while Dwight apologizes and kisses Gabe's hand instead, as Jim and Pam neglected to share Toby's information with him. After Jim and Pam leave, Gabe decides to save face and mock Kevin as well, but does a poor impression. Kevin retaliates by doing an impression of Gabe, and the rest of the office joins his mockery.

At the end of the episode, Kevin tries to get Oscar back by dubbing Oscar's voice over footage of Count von Count. Only Michael finds it funny, but Kevin is satisfied with this, not even minding when Michael calls him "Cookie Monster".

Reception

In its original American broadcast, "Secretary's Day" was watched by 6.30 million viewers, with a 3.2 rating and a 9 share in the 18-49 demographic.^[2]

Cultural references

Michael refers the movie Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire in his conversation with Erin which she re-refers in her conversation with Andy. Michael is listening to the audio book of the novelization of the movie based on the book, instead of the book itself. Michael also references When Harry Met Sally's famous quote, "I'll have what she's having", when Erin screams in the restaurant, similarly to the scene in the movie.

References

External links

• "Secretary's Day" at NBC.com
• "Secretary's Day" at the Internet Movie Database