Finale, Pt 2

Summary

Office Ladies Podcast Summary: Finale, Pt 2

Release Date: October 30, 2024
Hosts: Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey
Podcast Title: Office Ladies
Episode Title: Finale, Pt 2

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Introduction

In the poignant finale of their beloved re-watch journey, Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey dive deep into the concluding moments of The Office. This episode, titled "Finale, Pt 2," serves as a heartfelt farewell to viewers, unwrapping the final threads of the Dunder Mifflin saga. Hosted by Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey, who portrayed Pam Halpert and Angela Martin respectively, the podcast offers an intimate behind-the-scenes look that only true insiders can provide.

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Episode Overview

Plot Highlights: The hosts begin by summarizing the key plot points of the finale:

• Dwight and Angela's Wedding: The culmination of their long-standing relationship.
• Kelly and Ryan's Reunion: A rekindling of their tumultuous romance.
• Nellie's Anticipated Baby: Finally, Nellie Beesly gets the child she's been longing for.
• Pam and Jim's Future: The couple makes significant decisions about their life together.
• Dunder Mifflin's Final Gathering: The entire office comes together for one last night.

Notable Quote:
Jenna reflects on character arcs with enthusiasm:
“All right. Dwight and Angela are getting married. Kelly and Ryan are going to reunite. Nellie gets the baby she's been hoping for. Pam and Jim make a very big decision about their future.” [02:57]

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Behind-the-Scenes Insights

Wedding Day Challenges: The hosts recount the challenges faced during the filming of Dwight and Angela's wedding at Big Sky Ranch. Adverse weather conditions, including high winds and rain, presented logistical hurdles.

Notable Quote:
Angela shares her apprehensions:
“We were really in the middle of nowhere. It was full fog and mist. You would have thought we were sort of like in the Highlands of Scotland.” [13:10]

Steve Carell’s Surprise Return: A significant highlight of the finale was the return of Steve Carell as Michael Scott. The hosts delve into the meticulous planning required to keep his appearance a secret from both the cast and network executives.

Notable Quote:
Jenna explains the secrecy:
“Greg had the idea of the final episode being Dwight and Angela's wedding, and Steve agreed Michael would be there.” [15:09]

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Fan Questions and Theories

Throughout the episode, Jenna and Angela address numerous fan questions submitted via mail and social media, affectionately termed "bull cards." Topics ranged from Steve Carell's unexpected return to plot inconsistencies, such as the aging of characters' children.

Notable Quote:
Angela responds to a fan's concern about Robert California’s absence:
“Where is his brother? Where is his sister and his cute little nephew who he taught how to milk?” [42:10]

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Show and Tell Segments

The hosts incorporate a nostalgic "show and tell" segment, sharing memorabilia from their time on The Office. Items include scripts, wedding programs, and personal cards exchanged between them over the years.

Notable Quote:
Angela presents a heartfelt card:
“Angela, it's true what Steve said. No matter what happens with the show, I am so happy to have met you. You have quickly become one of my closest girlfriends, and it is such a gift.” [26:33]

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Emotional Farewells and Final Moments

The finale is filled with emotional farewells as characters bid adieu. Jenna and Angela reflect on their own experiences, the longevity of their friendship, and the bittersweet nature of ending such a long-running series.

Notable Quote:
Jenna shares her gratitude:
“I was thinking of life and just the world events and all kinds of things. I was filled with such gratitude for all the things that we've done, you know, over these five years.” [90:33]

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Special Guest Appearance: Creed Bratton

In a touching culmination, Creed Bratton returns to perform his original song "All the Faces," encapsulating the essence of the series and the journey of the characters.

Notable Quote:
Creed shares the inspiration behind his song:
“Imagine going back and watching a tape of your life. You could see yourself change and make mistakes and grow up. You could watch yourself fall in love, watch yourself become a husband, become a father. You guys gave that to me, and that's an amazing gift.” [93:54]

Performance Highlight:
Creed performs "All the Faces," bringing tears and smiles to the hosts and listeners alike, symbolizing the end of an era.

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Conclusion and Final Thank Yous

Jenna and Angela conclude the episode with heartfelt thanks to the cast, crew, and loyal listeners who have supported them throughout their five-year re-watch journey. They reflect on the personal growth they've experienced and express optimism for future endeavors, including the continuation of the podcast beyond the finale.

Notable Quote:
Angela emphasizes the importance of their community:
“And I want to thank you guys who are listening and who've been there with us from the beginning. You sent in amazing fan questions and background catches and bull cards and you have helped make this podcast what it is.” [116:07]

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Final Thoughts

"Finale, Pt 2" of the Office Ladies podcast is a touching tribute to The Office, blending behind-the-scenes anecdotes, emotional reflections, and interactive segments that celebrate the show's enduring legacy. Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey deliver a comprehensive and heartfelt closure, ensuring that fans feel connected and appreciated as they bid farewell to the beloved series.

Transcript

[Angela Kinsey]

This show is sponsored by BetterHelp.

[Jenna Fischer]

This month is all about gratitude. And you know, sometimes there's one person that we just don't thank enough and that's ourselves. Because sometimes it's hard to remind ourselves that we are trying our best to make sense of everything in this crazy world. And it just, it's not easy.

[Angela Kinsey]

It's not. It's a lot to hold.

[Jenna Fischer]

Listen, I think accessing gratitude is so good for your mental health.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

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[Jenna Fischer]

I am grateful for therapy.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes.

[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

That's better. Help. H E L P.com officeladies lady I.

[Jenna Fischer]

Was first introduced to this product through like one of those Internet ads and I'm absolutely crazy about it.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, let's tell everyone what it is.

[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

We really got excited about this toothpaste. I have been using element. My daughter loves the cocoa ginger. I also like the lemon lavender. But let's just talk about the toothpaste for a second.

[Jenna Fischer]

It was first used by NASA astronauts in space. It contains something called. I'm going to give this a try. Nano hydroxyapatite or nha. And this is a compound that rebuilds teeth without fluoride, which makes it really safe to swallow.

[Angela Kinsey]

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[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

That's LADIES15. Make the switch to non toxic for the whole family.

[Jenna Fischer]

I'm Jenna Fisher.

[Angela Kinsey]

And I'm Angela Kinsey.

[Jenna Fischer]

We were on the Office together and we're best friends. And now we're doing the ultimate office Rewatch podcast just for you.

[Angela Kinsey]

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.

[Jenna Fischer]

We're the Office ladies Hello.

[Angela Kinsey]

Happy finale part two.

[Jenna Fischer]

This is really it. This is season nine, episode 27, written by Greg Daniels, directed by Ken Kwapis. Would you like a summary?

[Angela Kinsey]

I would.

[Jenna Fischer]

All right. Dwight and Angela are getting married. Kelly and Ryan are going to reunite. Nellie gets the baby she's been hoping for. Pam and Jim make a very big decision about their future. And everyone at Dunder Mifflin gathers for one last night together.

[Angela Kinsey]

And this. You guys remember when Greg asked us all what we hoped for our characters? Mine was I hoped that Angela and Dwight would end up together. So I love watching this. It's so awesome.

[Jenna Fischer]

It's so perfect. Well, fast fact number one, Angela, is your look back moment.

[Angela Kinsey]

All right, this is our final look back. You know, this is the bonus feature on disc four for season nine. And when I was watching all of it, one of the things that really stood out to me was when everyone reflected on what the writers meant to the show and what Greg Daniels meant to everyone. Let's listen.

[Creed Bratton]

First and foremost, it's a writers show, and we really owe everything to the writers on this. We also owe the writers and especially Greg Daniels, a big debt of gratitude in that they trust the actors enough to let us play with their lines and improvise off of them and come up with other line ideas and pitches.

[Angela Kinsey]

You don't get to do that on.

[Creed Bratton]

A lot of other TV shows.

[Angela Kinsey]

I think what helped it push through was a phenomenal cast and a really.

[Creed Bratton]

Great writing staff and the perfect man for the job.

[Angela Kinsey]

And Greg Daniels.

[Creed Bratton]

Greg Daniels said in our first meeting, he's like, you know, American comedy is like this big ship, you know, big like a cruise liner. And if you can just point it one degree in the right direction, you can make a big, big difference. But you can't turn comedy that sharply. And I feel like that's what the Office did, is it took American comedy and it turned it one degree in the right direction.

[Angela Kinsey]

At the time, comedy was very silly, and there were a lot of very.

[Jenna Fischer]

Broad shows on the air, and I.

[Angela Kinsey]

Think it was just the perfect time for reality to hit comedy. I think that there's something sort of like it was lightning in a bottle for the entire cast and the entire creative team. It's kind of a troop of people who understand writing and performing all at the same time.

[Jenna Fischer]

I spent more time here than I did on the set.

[Angela Kinsey]

I spent more time here than I did at home. I definitely spent more hours here over.

[Jenna Fischer]

The past 10 years than anywhere else in the world.

[Angela Kinsey]

And it's not a very pretty Place to be. But there was a lot of laughter and a lot of great ideas.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, Greg really was the visionary behind this show. It was not an easy thing to adapt something that was only 13 episodes long, but a brilliant concept and turn it into this 201 episodes of American television. I mean, that was Greg.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

And also our writers.

[Angela Kinsey]

He assembled such an amazing team. And, you know, as Jen and I have done this rewatch, those of you that listen know how gracious the writing staff has been. And Greg, they've come on this show, they have sent us in answers and audio clips, and we're just so appreciative to them.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, lady, you shared in our book that you had a writing professor who said, if something is a pleasure to do, it's a pleasure to watch. And I think that's what BJ was saying in that clip. Like, yeah, it was my pleasure to sit in this dumpy writer's room for 10 years.

[Angela Kinsey]

If you watch it on the DVD, he is in the writer's room. And there's. There's not much there, you know. No, no. But it is true. It's. We just all had such a joyful time doing this show, and I think people feel it when they watch it.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. Well, Angela, I loved your look backs.

[Angela Kinsey]

Thanks. I enjoyed watching that.

[Jenna Fischer]

I couldn't watch it, everybody. I told Angela, I'm like, I'll be a puddle. I can't do it.

[Angela Kinsey]

I said, jenna, do you want to watch it together?

[Jenna Fischer]

And you were just like, no.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, I was a puddle. So, yeah, I'll say.

[Jenna Fischer]

I haven't watched the finale until we had to watch it to break it down because I don't know if this is true. And I actually wish we would have asked Billie Eilish this. I know some people who will watch the whole series, but they won't watch the finale.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, man. So they're missing some really good nuggets.

[Jenna Fischer]

I know, I know. And actually, I'm glad now that I've seen it, but.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. Well, I'll tell you what I did after I watched the Look Back. And I recommend that you do this because it's really emotional. I then watched the season nine bloopers.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, no.

[Angela Kinsey]

And then I was just laughing. So I went from tearing up to laughter. And that's the way you gotta do it.

[Jenna Fischer]

All right, well, let's move on to fast fact number two. I'm calling this one wedding weather. Yeah, we shot all of Angela and Dwight's wedding at Big Sky Ranch. We shot for three days at the Ranch. We shot on a Thursday, a Friday, and a Sunday. Thursday was actually my birthday.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, yeah, that's right.

[Jenna Fischer]

It was also the day Steve was there.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh.

[Jenna Fischer]

So that was a really, really fun memory for me from that birthday. But there was an issue. Like any real wedding, we couldn't control the weather. And it was crazy windy. It was cold.

[Angela Kinsey]

It rained.

[Jenna Fischer]

The high was 61. The low was 45.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. I remember them being worried the tent would blow away. They were waiting it down. The lanterns were swaying. You saw the cloud bank rolling in.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, I remember wondering, are we able to shoot this?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Because the sky was very, very gloomy and ominous. And Matt Sohn actually had to put up all these giant lights and, like, floodlights in order to try to brighten up.

[Angela Kinsey]

It was dark, everything.

[Jenna Fischer]

It was.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

But the call sheets for these three days, they said, we will shoot rain or shine. Please be prepared.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yep. And we have some great, great pictures that really showcase the windy conditions. I mean, I have one of the clouds rolling in. I don't know if you remember, Jenna, but my veil kept blowing all over my face.

[Jenna Fischer]

I do.

[Angela Kinsey]

I have a picture of me and John, and the veil is about to wr around us. But our favorite, hands down, is a photo we discovered when we wrote our book, the office BFFs.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

I took the picture standing in Angela Martin's shallow grave.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes.

[Angela Kinsey]

Of everyone looking back at me. I really wanted to remember what I saw on Angela's wedding day. And I took that picture, and I never thought anything about it. You know, we looked at it. I put it in a scrapbook. But when we started to do our book, we were really zooming in on pictures to make sure the image was good, the quality was good. And, Catherine, it's so funny.

[Jenna Fischer]

I can't believe we didn't see it for years.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know. Catherine, in this picture, everyone looks cold. Jenna, you look freezing. Cate Flannery is actually doing a thing with her face. Like, ooh. But Katherine's face is completely covered by her hair. Yeah, it's hilarious. We'll put it in Stories. I also found in my digital clutter an email from our key second assistant director, Stephanie.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, my gosh. I was just texting with Stephanie recently.

[Angela Kinsey]

I love her.

[Jenna Fischer]

Remember I told you I went to that birthday party where we discussed whether or not the birthday boy was right?

[Angela Kinsey]

Right.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay, Shower grower. Right. So I thought, oh, the morning after the birthday party, I'm gonna send a fun text to all the ladies about, you know, some inside joke from the party. So I send it to my friends Michelle Ann and Steph.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, no, you texted the wrong Stephanie.

[Jenna Fischer]

I texted the wrong Stephanie. And so, Steph, our second id. After a while of us not hearing from Steph, who was at the party, she texts back, hey, ladies, this sounds like a really fun party. I do, but I think you're. I think you mean this for a different Steph.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, no.

[Jenna Fischer]

But anyway. And then I was, like, texting her on the side. How are you, though? All right, so go ahead. Steph sent an email.

[Angela Kinsey]

She did. It was to the entire cast, and here's what it said. Hey, guys, I'm looking forward to the giant days we have coming up. They should be a lot of fun. I am trying to make the days run as smoothly as possible and want to alert you to our plans in advance. Due to the nature of the set and the gorgeous views at the location, there is very little indoor space available to us. We are planning to take advantage of the remoteness of the set. And we will see 360.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, I remember this.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. So that meant we do not have any holding areas planned.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes. There were no trailers up there. The trailers were down this long hill. You had to take a van. So once we got ready at the bottom of the hill, you would take a van up to the top. And then you were just at this wedding.

[Angela Kinsey]

Right. Stephanie said, while we're shooting, there will be a small group of you who are working inside the house. This is a hot set. Please don't move anything around.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yep.

[Angela Kinsey]

So we were inside that house, Dwight's farmhouse. The other thing I wanted to note is, she wrote there are 33 principal.

[Jenna Fischer]

Actors working today and 50 background performers.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yep. She wrote, we are preparing for rain. And lastly, please be aware that there is no cell phone service. My cell phone has not been working at this location. Production is renting a temporary cell phone. Please try me by that or email me. We were really in the middle of nowhere. She included directions, which were very detailed. And I remember that drive, don't you, Jenna?

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

In the morning, it was full fog and mist.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yep.

[Angela Kinsey]

And we were driving. You would have thought we were sort of like in the Highlands of Scotland.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes, very much. That's a great comparison.

[Angela Kinsey]

We had to go through two different canyons.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, I think that these conditions actually lent themselves to a really, really fun final shoot experience. It really reminded me of our early days on set when none of us had phones or working computers.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

And we just would sit on set and hang out, and that's what we did. When we shot this wedding, we just hung out and it was really fun. We hung out in parkas that had a piece of tape with our name on it. That's how we knew which parka was ours.

[Angela Kinsey]

It was super cold.

[Jenna Fischer]

So cold.

[Angela Kinsey]

And we just huddled up in that drafty house and talked and laughed and it was great.

[Jenna Fischer]

All right, this is a big top of show, everybody. And I've got a big, fast fact three.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Because we had a big guest star on this episode, Mr. Steve Carell.

[Angela Kinsey]

I still can't believe how they pulled this off. I really can't.

[Jenna Fischer]

We got a lot of fan mail about it, and I have a whole breakdown on how we made it work. Let's get into these fan questions. Bailey E. From Manitoba said, one of the scenes from the Office that never fails to make me cry is when Michael comes back to be Dwight's best man. I've always wondered, whose idea was it to have Steve Carell come back and was it a surprise to the cast? And Megan K. From Tampa, Florida, said, I'd love to know your lady's feelings on Steve coming back to the set. In the opening credits, his name is not mentioned, so it was a huge surprise for viewers to see. I absolutely bawl every time I see it, and I would love to know how it all came together. And Hugo S. From Kyoto, Japan, said, what was the process in getting Steve to return for his final episode?

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, Jenna, you know everything that was happening behind the scenes that the rest of us didn't know, so you have to share.

[Jenna Fischer]

All right. Well, it was Greg's idea to have Steve come back. He had wanted that for a very long time, and he asked him pretty early in season nine. But Steve was reluctant. He felt like Michael's story had really ended. He didn't want to open it back up again, and he especially did not want to come back after two years and have this finale episode be about him. Steve really felt like my character had his ending. This is everybody else's ending, and he didn't want to overshadow that.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, he's very gracious that way.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. But then Greg had the idea of the final episode being Dwight and Angela's wedding, and Steve agreed Michael would be there.

[Angela Kinsey]

I believe that. I believe Michael would want to be there for Dwight and Angela.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. It was a creative reason that was supported by history, you know? So I remember being up in the writer's room with John when we found out that Steve was going to come back, and we were sworn to secrecy. This was like, really Epic to pull off. I've told this story before. Rainn Wilson turned to me and he said, not even Angela. Jenna. I was like, okay.

[Angela Kinsey]

So aggressive.

[Jenna Fischer]

I mean, he knows I tell you everything.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know.

[Jenna Fischer]

It was really hard not to tell you because, Ang, you did not find out until he showed up on set that day.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know the exact moment. I had driven through the two canyons, I had taken the dirt road. I was at our base camp in the middle of nowhere. It was cold and foggy, and right as I was getting to hair and makeup, the set PA turned to me and said, oh, Steve is here. And I said, what are you talking about? And at first I thought she meant Steve Burgess. And she was like, steve Carell is here. I said, what? And I opened the door and there he was. He was sitting in hair and makeup. And I just was like, Steve. I was like, oh, my gosh. And I just hugged him and we were laughing. I couldn't believe it. I was, like, so confused. And then we just got to chat in hair and makeup, and it was absolutely wonderful.

[Jenna Fischer]

I remember the vibe in the hair and makeup trailer when he was in there.

[Angela Kinsey]

Buzz buzzing.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. A body buzz. Everybody was like, it was a party.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, this was really crazy because Greg did not tell NBC that Steve was coming back.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, this is what I remember. At the table read when all the NBC suits were there, all the executives in the script, it was Creed, right?

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. So that's the thing. When you turn in a script, they use those script pages, those locations, those scenes, to set a budget for your episode. And so they had a scene at our table read between Dwight and Jim. But it wasn't the scene that ended up in the show, but there was a scene, it was a placeholder of Jim helping Dwight right before it's time to go to the wedding. Same number of lines, same page count as the real scene with Steve. And then later, Michael has a talking head where he says, oh, it's like all my kids grew up and they got married. Creed read that?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes. At the table read. Creed read it.

[Jenna Fischer]

It was a Creed talking head.

[Angela Kinsey]

It got a laugh.

[Jenna Fischer]

It did.

[Angela Kinsey]

So no one at NBC knew?

[Jenna Fischer]

No. And Steve Burgess told me that NBC has a rule that nobody can be filmed for the show without a signed contract. So in order to follow the rules and still keep the secret, Steve Carell signed a contract to do the show for this episode, but Steve Burgess kept it locked in his desk drawer until the day the show aired.

[Angela Kinsey]

Steve Burgess.

[Jenna Fischer]

So he could be like, no, no, no. Look at the date I had a contract. I just forgot to hand it in.

[Angela Kinsey]

This is some serious maneuvering.

[Jenna Fischer]

There's more, lady. So usually every day after you shoot, you send those tapes into the studio. They're called the dailies.

[Angela Kinsey]

Right. For them to review. If they have something they didn't like, they want to take out. Yep, yada yada.

[Jenna Fischer]

They didn't send Steve's scenes. They kept them locked up somewhere else. And then Dave Rogers did a cut of the episode because the network has to give notes, sent a Steveless version.

[Angela Kinsey]

So there's a lot of people in cahoots here to keep Steve's appearance a secret. And I know Greg had a specific reason. Share it, Jenna.

[Jenna Fischer]

He was afraid that if he turned in any footage of Steve Carell on the show before it aired, that NBC would make promos out of it and ruin the surprise.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, they would want the ratings for sure.

[Jenna Fischer]

Right?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. And then it wouldn't have been a surprise. I get that.

[Jenna Fischer]

So finally we had our final cut. The version that we had to turn into the network with Steve. With Steve. But we weren't turning it in. And I guess NBC finally put their foot down and said, we will not air something that no one here has seen. So Greg and Steve Burgess and Dave Rogers and Claire Scanlon said, you can come stand in our edit bay and watch it.

[Angela Kinsey]

Did that piss him off? I'm sure none of this never happened.

[Jenna Fischer]

Steve Burgess was like, I'll never work in this town again. And Greg was like, it'll be fine. So Steve Burgess said, you should have seen their faces as they're standing in the edit bay the day before the episode was gonna.

[Angela Kinsey]

Were they so grumpy that they had to come to our studios and stand in that edit bay?

[Jenna Fischer]

He said when they saw Steve come on, there was this mixture of them being like, so pissed and so excited. And Dave Rogers said that they waited until 9am the day the finale aired to actually hand over the episode.

[Angela Kinsey]

Wow.

[Jenna Fischer]

Is that the greatest kept secret?

[Angela Kinsey]

I mean, yeah, it's gotta be one of the best kept secrets in television. I would have been so stressed. I would've been horrible. But also, I'm so glad I didn't know. I'm so glad.

[Jenna Fischer]

I was so excited when you finally knew. I was like, ah. But I mean, even that, like, we still had to keep the secret till it aired.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

We did so much press and everybody asked us if Steve was coming back. David Letterman asked John Krasinski if Steve was coming back. And John lied to him.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, lied to his face.

[Jenna Fischer]

Lied to David Letterman.

[Angela Kinsey]

David Letterman. No. We were asked tons of questions about the finale and Greg sent out an email and was like, I need you all to come together and not say a word on this. And we didn't.

[Jenna Fischer]

Mm. All right, well, like I said, that's a very long top of show. But there was a lot to cover.

[Angela Kinsey]

There was and there still is a lot to cover. Maybe we should take a break and when we come back, I brought some show and tell items.

[Jenna Fischer]

I can't wait.

[Angela Kinsey]

Let's go. Peloton.

[Jenna Fischer]

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.

[Angela Kinsey]

You love Cody. Here's what I like about peloton. I love the variety of training programs because I'm not going to want the same workout that Josh wants. We're super different and peloton has something for both of us.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, there's so many ways to challenge yourself. If you're training for a 5k, a 10k, a marathon, they have programs for strength training. They've got boot camps. Oh my gosh. They have pilates. They have just great stretching.

[Angela Kinsey]

And their coaches are really motivating. They keep you going.

[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

Know I've been using simplisafe for years. It just brings me peace of mind. I like knowing that my home is protected 24 7. And with SimpliSafe they have active guard. So that can actually prevent break ins from happening. It can prevent package theft and vandalism because there's live monitoring agents who can see, speak to and deter any suspicious individuals outside your home before they even get the chance.

[Jenna Fischer]

Simplisafe is offering our listeners exclusive early access to their black Friday sale this week only. You can get 60% off any new system with a select professional monitoring plan.

[Angela Kinsey]

This is their best offer of the year. Head to simplisafe.com officeladies that's simplisafe.com officeladers there's no safe like simplisafe. We are back and we are starting with finale show and tell.

[Jenna Fischer]

Should I be getting my camera out?

[Angela Kinsey]

Maybe. Sam, Cassie, guess What I brought today, I brought my finale part one and two script. It's the shooting draft that we were given at the table read, and I had the entire cast sign it.

[Jenna Fischer]

Wow.

[Angela Kinsey]

Wow.

[Jenna Fischer]

I love that.

[Angela Kinsey]

Isn't that cool?

[Jenna Fischer]

You should frame that.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know, right? This is what I found as I went through my bins of stuff. I had a bin called trailer finale. Oh, yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

What's next?

[Angela Kinsey]

What's next is I'm going to share one more here, and then I have two more that I'll share later in the episode. Okay, so here's the thing. I want you all to know about Jenna and I's friendship. Jenna is a card giver, and it's something I love about her. And I have saved all the cards you've ever given me, and you always give me a card that marks a big moment. I am horrible at giving cards. I love to make a gift. I love to buy a gift. But in our friendship, you give cards, and I brought a few. First of all, you gave me a card when we started this podcast.

[Jenna Fischer]

I did?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes.

[Jenna Fischer]

I have no memory of this.

[Angela Kinsey]

And you wrote in it, you said, I have no idea if anyone is going to listen to us, but I'm just happy I get to do this with my best friend.

[Jenna Fischer]

That's such a nice.

[Angela Kinsey]

You're a good card writer. Okay, then. I saved the card you gave me at the end of the show when we wrapped the Office. Here it is. This is a picture of me coming over the partition. We shared this in our book. This is how you saw me for nine years. Just my little tiny head coming over the partition.

[Jenna Fischer]

This is how I met you.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's right. And you wrote this. And if it's all right, I'm going to read it.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay.

[Angela Kinsey]

Angela, it's true what Steve said. No matter what happens with the show, I am so happy to have met you. You have quickly become one of my closest girlfriends, and it is such a gift. At my age, I don't always expect to meet a new person who I could bond with so easily. You are the funniest woman I know. Now it's in writing. And I just love our time together. BFF Jenna.

[Jenna Fischer]

Aw. Well, you are the funniest woman I know.

[Angela Kinsey]

You put it in writing.

[Jenna Fischer]

It's in writing. It's been written down.

[Angela Kinsey]

Anyway, it's one of the things I absolutely love about our friendship is you are great at giving cards. And I save them, and they mean so much to me.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, I guess I'm good at giving cards. And you're Good at saving things.

[Angela Kinsey]

This is true.

[Jenna Fischer]

And that's one of the things I love about you.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, that ends our show and tell right now. Oh, I also want you guys to know I have tons of pictures from this episode. I had brought my camera. I'll be sharing them in stories. But also, Steve Burgess sent us so many fantastic behind the scenes pictures from this episode. Just like a treasure of pictures he did. We'll be putting those in stories as well.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, let's get started. Here we are. We're at Schrute Farms. The wedding guests are arriving and they're bringing cats as gifts. I loved it.

[Angela Kinsey]

Here's how this scene was described in the shooting draft. Kevin puts his cat in the gift basket behind him. Pete has a cat for her too. Behind him. Creed, wearing his beard, puts a cat in the basket. The cats keep escaping from the basket. A caterer keeps scooping them up and putting them back in the basket. Meredith shows up with a cat. She looks gorgeous and classy.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, well, that's a little bit more than what we see play out in the scene. In this scene, we do see Dakota introduce herself to Creed. This is when we learn her name.

[Angela Kinsey]

Mm. Creed says he's Jeff Bamotto. He sells ceramic tile out of Newark.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. He has a wife named Catherine.

[Angela Kinsey]

Mm. He can show you his Social Security card if it helps. Dakota's like, okay, whatever. I would like to point out that our writers, Jen Salata and Graham Wagner are reprising their roles as the Schrute family members. They're arriving for the wedding during the scene as well.

[Jenna Fischer]

Now we see Kelly and Ravi. They're in their seats for Dwight and Angela's wedding when Ryan approaches. He's got a baby strapped to his chest.

[Angela Kinsey]

I have a show and tell moment for here.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, already?

[Angela Kinsey]

Already? Kelly, what is it? Kelly and Ravi are holding the wedding program. Uh, I kept one. Phil Shea gave it to me and I still have it. Look, Sam, Cassie, I have the wedding program.

[Jenna Fischer]

Wow, that is a good prop to have.

[Angela Kinsey]

We shared this in our book as well. But it says that Angela and Dwight's wedding is taking place on Saturday, 14 June at 3:00 in the afternoon.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay.

[Angela Kinsey]

It says that her co maids of honor are Pam Halpert, Meredith Palmer, Phyllis Vance, and Rachel Martin.

[Jenna Fischer]

So that was actually a plot point that got cut out. It's why we are all throwing your bachelorette party, because we are your co maids of honor.

[Angela Kinsey]

Mm. And the groomsmen are Andy Bernard, Oscar Martinez, Zeke Schrute, and Mo Schrute. Bestus Minch, Jim Halpert. Angela does not have a maid of honor.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, interesting.

[Angela Kinsey]

It also lists Dwight and Angela's parents. Do you want to hear their names?

[Jenna Fischer]

Sure. We're going to see Angela's parents later.

[Angela Kinsey]

Angela's mother and father are Ann Marie Martin and Shawn T. Martin.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay.

[Angela Kinsey]

Dwight's mother and father are Hedda Mannheim Schrute and Dwight Schrute Senior. There was a flower girl. Cece Halpert.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes.

[Angela Kinsey]

And the ring bearer was Philip Halstead Lipton. There you go. Dwight and Angela's wedding program.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, that was all done by the late, great Phil Shea.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yep.

[Jenna Fischer]

Kelly's gonna ask Ryan if he's a.

[Angela Kinsey]

Manny, and Ryan's like, no, this little guy's mine.

[Jenna Fischer]

Mm.

[Angela Kinsey]

I would like to give the cutest smile in the finale Dundee.

[Jenna Fischer]

In this scene, is it to the little baby?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes. What a cutie.

[Jenna Fischer]

Steve Burgess said we had three pairs of twins.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, wow.

[Jenna Fischer]

As possible babies. But there was one baby, and he, unfortunately did not know the name. That was, like, superior to all the babies. And that's the one you see there winning the smiley Dundee.

[Angela Kinsey]

What a. Oh, I want to give.

[Jenna Fischer]

A guest star shout out to Sendhil Ramamurthy, who played Ravi. He's back. He's amazing.

[Angela Kinsey]

He's so good.

[Jenna Fischer]

He's so good. Well, Kelly thinks Ryan's baby is adorable, especially compared to some of the uggos that Ravi treats as a pediatrician.

[Angela Kinsey]

Ravi says they're called premature sweetie.

[Jenna Fischer]

Right.

[Angela Kinsey]

It's good to see you again, Ryan.

[Jenna Fischer]

Mm. And, you know, from the minute Ryan sits down, we see a look on Kelly's face, and I think we all know what's gonna happen.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, you know it.

[Jenna Fischer]

You know it.

[Angela Kinsey]

We are now in the bridal dressing room. Pam, Phyllis, and Angela's sister Rachel are helping Angela get ready. Angela's really struggling in her heels, I guess, you know, spending hours in a trunk. Her legs are all sore.

[Jenna Fischer]

She can't really stand up or walk, and she's really mad at Phyllis about it.

[Angela Kinsey]

This is the first time we see Angela in her wedding dress.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes, that's true.

[Angela Kinsey]

We've mentioned this before, but it looks very similar to Phyllis's wedding dress. It's a strapless dress with a lace jacket. Angela's hair is half up, half down. This was a very fun wardrobe fitting. I still have the pictures from it. And, of course, Kim Ferry wanted to do a little classic mini bun swoop. So her hair is half up, half down with the cute little knot.

[Jenna Fischer]

I saw it. I loved it. It was a Great detail. And a callback to the character. Well, Phyllis is going to tell Angela, I'm going to get you to the altar, and you can take that to the bank.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes. I have such a clear memory of Phyllis saying, you can take that to the bank. She was so proud that she was going to take care of things, and it was a really sweet moment.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, now we're going to go to the groom's dressing room. Dwight's getting ready. Jim is helping him.

[Angela Kinsey]

We have a callback. Another little Easter egg. Dwight does his air guitar to pump himself up.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, yes.

[Angela Kinsey]

I love that. He's like, I was born ready. And it's that callback to what he would do in the stairwell before there was a big meeting.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, Jim's gonna give him some news. He says, I just found out that I cannot be your bestest mensch because the bestest mensch has to be older than the groom. What are we gonna do?

[Angela Kinsey]

Raine and Jon are really funny in this scene.

[Jenna Fischer]

They are.

[Angela Kinsey]

When John is. Jim is like, I'm significantly younger than you. And Dwight's like, I don't know if I'd say significantly. Maybe a teeny bit.

[Jenna Fischer]

That's when Jim says, I just really wish there was something I could do. And then his eyes kind of look off the camera pans over, and guess who's there.

[Angela Kinsey]

Michael Scott.

[Jenna Fischer]

I know. And Dwight says, michael, I can't believe you came.

[Angela Kinsey]

And Michael says, that's what she said.

[Jenna Fischer]

And that's the last time Steve Carell ever said that's what she said. He has not said it since. That was the last time.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, it was perfect. If that's gonna be your last one, that's a great way to go.

[Jenna Fischer]

Perfect.

[Angela Kinsey]

Jim says, Best prank ever. Now it's time for the wedding ceremony. The processional begins, and Phyllis is carrying Angela on her back while a string quartet plays Sweet Child of Mine.

[Jenna Fischer]

Steve Burgess said Sweet Child of Mine was very difficult to clear. This is the song the writers wanted, but since we did not use Guns n Roses singing it, it was allowed. But it still cost $50,000.

[Angela Kinsey]

Damn.

[Jenna Fischer]

Just to have a string quartet play it. Popular song.

[Angela Kinsey]

Wow. I have to think that Angela and Dwight had a few arguments over the song choices for the wedding.

[Jenna Fischer]

You think so?

[Angela Kinsey]

I don't think Angela would have picked Sweet Child of Mine as her entrance.

[Jenna Fischer]

We got a fan question from Jenna F. In Los Angeles, who said this seemingly simple bit of Phyllis carrying you down the aisle actually required a pretty elaborate set of circumstances to pull off. You wrote about it in Your book, the office BFFs. But Angela, will you tell the story on the podcast?

[Angela Kinsey]

Thank you, Jenna F. For writing in. You've been a loyal writer, commentator on this podcast. Well, this is how it was described in the shooting draft. Dwight stands in a shallow grave with an empty one next to him beside Jim and Andy and the ushers under a bower of flowers. The guests are in suits and look great seated on hay bales with white cloths covering the tops. Phyllis walks down the aisle with Angela riding on her back, smiling and nodding to all the guests. When she gets to the front, Angela daintily steps off and into the grave next to Dwight. But to make this walk down the aisle happen. Well, first of all, Phyllis could not carry me down the aisle. That was not safe for her to do. So they actually got a stunt woman that had Phyllis's similar hair color that carried me down the aisle. And we had to practice this. I had a rehearsal. So we had to set up two different angles for the camera. The camera that would be behind Phyllis and I walking down the aisle were really filming me on the back of the stunt woman because you couldn't see her face. And I am really being carried. And that's why you see my legs dangling, right?

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes.

[Angela Kinsey]

But of course, they also needed a shot of us coming towards the camera. And as we walked towards the camera, it was actually Phyllis and me behind her on this wooden plank being held by two men.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes.

[Angela Kinsey]

And we had to practice the walk together because Phyllis does one step together. You know, that traditional kind of walk down the aisle where you take one step and then your feet come together and you take one step. So we had to practice this. And there was one time where Phyllis got too far ahead and my arms are on her neck and the men with the plank did not meet her. And I almost fell off the thing.

[Jenna Fischer]

It was such a crazy thing to see Angela because we're all sitting there being the wedding guest. And you know the two guys holding you on a piece of wood.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know.

[Jenna Fischer]

And you're sort of holding on to Phyllis. And then they removed the guys in post and the wood, which is so crazy to me because I remember I turned to John and I was like, I don't understand. We can just paint them out. We can just get rid of them.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

He was like, uh huh.

[Angela Kinsey]

They did. There's a whole wooden plank in tubin.

[Jenna Fischer]

You wouldn't expect that on the office. There would be like an elaborate special effects moment. But this was. This was of the caliber of something you might see in the Matrix, Dare I say exactly.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, thank you for bringing the Matrix.

[Jenna Fischer]

I needed Keanu to be here with us in some way for the finale.

[Angela Kinsey]

I really appreciate that.

[Jenna Fischer]

There are so many things that have happened to us over the last five years since we have been making this podcast. I was going over them in my head. I was thinking of life and just the world events and all kinds of things. And I was filled with such gratitude for all the things that we've done, you know, over these five years. But I thought, I am not done here, though. I am not done. And the one thing, the one thing that we have not managed to capture in this five years is Keanu.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know.

[Jenna Fischer]

And so we cannot stop podcasting until.

[Angela Kinsey]

We have that, until we get to interview Keanu.

[Jenna Fischer]

You know, he's going to be on Broadway and waiting for Godot with Alex Winter, and that's next fall, and I feel like that's a reason to come talk to us.

[Angela Kinsey]

Maybe we go to the play and then we talk to him in New York City.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, lady, you know, any reason to go to New York City and see a play? I'm all over it.

[Angela Kinsey]

Done.

[Jenna Fischer]

Done.

[Angela Kinsey]

I do want to say, while we've been talking, our balloons that say congrats have fallen.

[Jenna Fischer]

They have.

[Angela Kinsey]

They're hanging on by one string. We have a few other things to cover from this scene. Number one, I want to say, I think Greg Daniels should have won an Emmy for this episode, in particular for all these wedding scenes. They are so funny. So funny and so well done. I love that even though Angela Martin is on Phyllis back, she is still waving to people who are seated kind of awkwardly. My hand is in Phyllis face. I'm holding a bouquet in the other hand while I'm trying to hold on. I love that. Kevin fist bumps Angela and she fist bumps him back. And Meredith gives her real enthusiastic thumbs up. Those were improv moments, and it's just such a happy thing. And then when Angela crawls into her, Michael comes over and gives her a hug. That was not in the script. Steve did that in the moment, and I love it. I'm just so happy to see him. I'm hugging him for real.

[Jenna Fischer]

31 minutes, 6 seconds. I want to give a shout out to the couple who I assume are playing Angela's parents. They're in the front row, both tiny folks, both blonde. And then when Oscar comes down the aisle with Philip, the woman playing Angela's mother is just gazing at Philip like a grandma would also want to give.

[Angela Kinsey]

A shout out To Michael Tuba Heatherton. He is back. He is the minister and he's going to marry Dwight and Angela.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes, that's Veda's husband, Veda, our script supervisor. And he was the minister in the farm. But he's had multiple roles on the show.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes, we've broken him down. He has been so many different characters. He's sort of like our soap star who keeps coming back as different characters.

[Jenna Fischer]

He is. Or like Kirk from Gilmore Girls. You know, Sean Gunn played the character of Kirk on Gilmore Girls, but he has, like, multiple jobs and, like, even for a while had multiple names.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, very much like Kirk then.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes. Well, now we're gonna have Kevin read a passage.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes, it's from the Song of Solomon.

[Jenna Fischer]

We had a fan question.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay.

[Jenna Fischer]

From Stephanie C. In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. What is this timeline for wedding guests? First of all, Dwight and Kevin just buried the hatchet yesterday. And now he's not only at the wedding, but he's a reader.

[Angela Kinsey]

And Angela had Kevin read at her wedding.

[Jenna Fischer]

Then Erin just met her parents this morning, and now they're at the wedding of her co workers. Not only are these people extremely flexible with their day, but Angela and Dwight are extremely flexible with their wedding plans. I'm sorry, but as head of the ppc, I'm surprised she would allow for these last minute changes.

[Angela Kinsey]

I don't disagree.

[Jenna Fischer]

All right. We also have a bull card from Annette G. In Newcastle, Australia, who said, I call bull. They took time to introduce Dwight's siblings on the farm, only for them to disappear from the show and not even attend the wedding in the farm. And I know it was created with the intention of being a pilot, but it was still an episode in the Office. They showed this bond between Dwight and his siblings and nephew, only for none of them to be at his wedding.

[Angela Kinsey]

I so agree with this. Where is his brother? Where is his sister and his cute little nephew who he taught how to milk? Yes, I see that bull card and I raise it.

[Jenna Fischer]

What do you raise it to?

[Angela Kinsey]

Super bull.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay, good. Well, people had more things to say. Cora C. In Easthampton, Massachusetts, said, this bothers me every time I watch this episode. Why have none of the children aged? Both Cece and Philip look the same as a year ago. Cora. It's true. And we actually discussed this. But here's the thing. Those kids were such cute patoots and we were so attached to them, we just put them in the episode. Anyway, it's true. Phillip should be a year older. Cece should be older.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know.

[Jenna Fischer]

We don't care.

[Angela Kinsey]

I Hear it. I get it. But also, I always find it jarring when one of your shows, all of a sudden the characters aged and they look so different. Like they're clearly not the same person.

[Jenna Fischer]

Right. Exactly. We would have to cast a whole new person.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

And I think you might have been like, who's Oscar carrying down the aisle? We had to know. It was Philip.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

You know, and Jim looking at the unveiling last episode, he needed to have the Cece that we all know.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

So.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know. I know. All right.

[Jenna Fischer]

I have something. I noted.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay.

[Jenna Fischer]

I spotted Val sitting next to Nate. You know, in the last episode, we were talking about the people who were on the panel versus off the panel. And I thought about listing Val because she was not on the panel, but I kind of thought, you know what? I bet she moved on. Maybe she moved on. We don't even know. Does she still work in the warehouse? I'm not sure. But here she is. She's at the wedding, but she's not sitting with Daryl. But later on, she's going to leave with Daryl. What's happening? Do you think they were broken up? Are they going to hook up after this wedding? Is it one of those where they're like, she's been gone?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, it might be a wedding hookup. They happen.

[Jenna Fischer]

I had a wedding.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know. I know who it was, too. It was not me.

[Jenna Fischer]

Had sex in the bushes of my wedding.

[Angela Kinsey]

That is crazy.

[Jenna Fischer]

My real life wedding to Lee.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Two of the people I had already made out in the bushes. Did they have sex or did they just make out?

[Angela Kinsey]

I think it was like, heavy petting. Make out. This is what I heard. Do people still say heavy petting? Is that a term?

[Jenna Fischer]

I don't know. I've never spoken to them about it.

[Angela Kinsey]

I've never spoken to either of them about it.

[Jenna Fischer]

Guys, they're famous. Two famous people did some heavy petting in the bushes of my wedding.

[Angela Kinsey]

There's an Office Lady 6.0.

[Jenna Fischer]

I was surprised. I was like, okay, I was surprised.

[Angela Kinsey]

You know, I wasn't. I wasn't. Because here's the thing. It was your wedding, so you're busy. People are coming around you. You got a lot going on. I observed this from the beginning. I was like, what. What's happening over there? I saw some. Some looks happening, like Kelly and Ryan kind of looks.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah, yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

And I was like, something's going down.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, it was a oner, because these people are not a couple.

[Angela Kinsey]

They are not.

[Jenna Fischer]

I'll say that. I believe they were both single. At the time.

[Angela Kinsey]

So single and in the bushes. Okay, where are we? Okay, I know one thing I want to talk about, which is now the minister pronounces them man and wife, and he says, release the doves. Yeah, the doves do not move.

[Jenna Fischer]

They do not.

[Angela Kinsey]

Everyone has this huge reaction. Like what? Like the reaction does not match what's happening, in my opinion. Like, so the doves don't fly away. People wouldn't be like, what?

[Jenna Fischer]

I don't know. Does it feel like bad luck that the doves don't fly? Well, that was how I interpreted it. That everybody was like, oh, no, the doves aren't flying for their love, for their live.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's so funny how you said that. Well, I'll tell you, there was a reason. Okay, so I remember this gag for the wedding. I remember talking about it with Phil. The idea was that one of the things Angela had on her registry were cats, and she could bring her cats. They have this basket of cats. Well, it said in the shooting draft, after the minister says, release the doves, nate bends to the wicker cage that has a dozen cats clawing at it. He shoos the cats away and opens a door. Doves shoot out in a hurry to get the hell out of there. Everyone applauds. Okay, I have this very clear memory of talking to Phil Shea about it and asking him, how is this gonna work? Like, how you can't really have cats clawing at the basket, you know? And I guess they were gonna do some movie magic with that, and ultimately it didn't work. And I asked Steve Burgess about it, and he said when they went to release the doves, the doves would not fly.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, that just happened. That was real.

[Angela Kinsey]

That was real. He said, maybe it was the wind or the stormy weather, but they wanted to stay in their little basket.

[Jenna Fischer]

They were happy.

[Angela Kinsey]

They did not want to leave it. So then they had the character of Nate trying to shoo them out, and he said they would not fly away. And in the final cut, they did get one or two out, but they just walked back and forth around the basket. So they did have to CGI these doves walking around the basket and not flying. They had to CGI them out. Wow. Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

So we had to remove two men in a plank and some lazy doves.

[Angela Kinsey]

Some lazy doves. And everyone had the reactions they had because we were told, there are cats clawing at the basket.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, we were still doing that story.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes.

[Jenna Fischer]

Got it.

[Angela Kinsey]

So that's why everyone has that huge reaction, because it's like, Cats are maybe going to kill these doves, right? But none of that happened. They left the reactions in.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, one of my favorite moments now is coming up. It's a small moment, but Dwight and Angela, they exchange their rings and they kiss and they're married. And Dwight says, everyone, the hay you're sitting on are also your seats for the reception. So there's some hay hooks.

[Angela Kinsey]

Complimentary hay hooks are placed on the aisle. Just stab them on in there. Is your moment about Ed Begley Jr. It is. Oh, gosh, it's so good.

[Jenna Fischer]

Just. Can I give him a Dundee for Bess Pratt Fall for his fall when he's trying to move the hay bale is so committed and so amazing.

[Angela Kinsey]

He falls and the hay bale comes on top of him.

[Jenna Fischer]

It's so good. What I loved about it is, remember when Erin kicks the box and then her leg gets stuck in it and.

[Angela Kinsey]

She loses her shoe?

[Jenna Fischer]

It felt like it is in this family's DNA. I just really loved it.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, I did, too. I do have a bull card to play here.

[Jenna Fischer]

What is it?

[Angela Kinsey]

It's not super bull. It's just bull.

[Jenna Fischer]

Regular.

[Angela Kinsey]

We never see the bales of hay in the sunshine.

[Jenna Fischer]

We never see them again.

[Angela Kinsey]

We never see them again.

[Jenna Fischer]

Chairs.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know, I know.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, lady, why don't we take a break and when we come back, we'll go to the reception with no hay bales added at all.

[Angela Kinsey]

But there is a pretty awesome first dance. We're all driven by the search for something better, right? But when it comes to hiring, the best way to search for a candidate isn't to search at all. Don't search match with Indeed.

[Jenna Fischer]

I had one job where I had to go through a whole hiring process. I had to hire an extra person for our office, and it was so overwhelming and slow. And Indeed did not exist then. And I sure wish it did.

[Angela Kinsey]

I always love that you were an office administrator.

[Jenna Fischer]

I was.

[Angela Kinsey]

In your previous life.

[Jenna Fischer]

I was. And the worst part of that job was the stretch where I had to hire people because it was so hard.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. Well, Indeed is your matching and hiring platform with over 350 million global monthly visitors according to Indeed data and a matching engine that helps you find quality candidates fast.

[Jenna Fischer]

And listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit. To get your jobs more visibility@ Indeed.com.

[Angela Kinsey]

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[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

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[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

We've talked about this before. We have shopped on quints. You can get a cashmere sweater for $50.

[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, and a weighted blanket just makes you feel so snuggly.

[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

That includes beautiful jackets, cotton cardigans, soft denim and so much more.

[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

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[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

Quince.com officeladies Whenever I travel, I love to learn new languages. Wherever I am, learn phrases. I always wish I knew more.

[Jenna Fischer]

This is very true about you and it's a really cool thing about traveling with you actually.

[Angela Kinsey]

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[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

Here's one of the things I like about it. It has built in true accent features so you can get feedback on your pronunciation.

[Jenna Fischer]

I like that you can learn on the go that you can use the mobile app. And right now they have a lifetime membership that has all 25 languages.

[Angela Kinsey]

That is such a great deal. You can have it for your trips and any language needs you have in life.

[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

This offer will not last long. Visit rosettastone.com officeladies that's unlimited access to 25 language courses for the rest of your life. Redeem your Holiday [e-mail] OfficeLadies today for yourself or as a gift that keeps giving.

[Jenna Fischer]

We are back, and Dwight and Angela are having their first dance. It is to Motley Crue's Angela, and Dwight is carrying Angela around. This is a callback to the fact that your legs are still hurting you. We had a fan question from Sarah M. In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, who said, was Angela in a harness for the wedding dance?

[Angela Kinsey]

No, Sarah, I was not in a harness. That was just Rain holding me. He held me the whole time. It was described in the shooting draft like this. Dwight and Angela are dancing their first slow dance to the Tom Petty song Here Comes My Girl. Oh, yeah. Which that song does come. Later, the script says, we reveal that Dwight is holding Angela up closer to his face. Her feet dangle. That's all it said. Rainn and I improvise our whole first dance. I loved that they changed it to Motley Cruz. Angela. I think it fit the weather so perfectly. I want us to hear it.

[Creed Bratton]

Everybody.

[Angela Kinsey]

When the winds cry. Angela. It was a windy, stormy day, and this was the song. But, yeah, when we started dancing, Rain did this really great tango move. And then when he turned, my legs kind of kicked out. And I purposely held them rigid so they would fly out behind me. We had such a blast. All of the smiles you see are real. We were having so much fun.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, it was fun to watch. It was very joyous. It felt like a real reception.

[Angela Kinsey]

It did.

[Jenna Fischer]

It really did.

[Angela Kinsey]

And then Dwight says, everybody else, come join us. And that's when you hear Tom Petty's Here Comes My Girl. And Jim and Pam have this really sweet moment.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, wait, Cassie. What? You have something?

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah, I have something.

[Angela Kinsey]

I noticed in the background of the scene, Pete and Erin are dancing together. So I think they're still dating at this point. Oh, good, Cassie.

[Jenna Fischer]

I did not catch that.

[Angela Kinsey]

I didn't either.

[Jenna Fischer]

I caught that. Later in the episode, they are seated together with Erin's parents, but they were not seated together during the wedding. Do we have another wedding hookup? Is it possible that they were not together because they were not together on the panel? They're not together as the wedding is happening, but now here they are dancing together, and then he sits at her table.

[Angela Kinsey]

I mean, this is what happens at weddings. Clearly, people hook up.

[Jenna Fischer]

Good catch, Cassie. And speaking of hookups, Ryan is about to approach Ravi. He needs some help with baby Drake.

[Angela Kinsey]

He gave baby Drake A strawberry. Knowing he's allergic. Knowing he would have this rash and fever to get Ravi away so he could hook up with Kelly.

[Jenna Fischer]

It's the most romantic gesture to Kelly. She can't believe it and they start making out right there.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yep. She says, you gave your baby an allergic reaction just to talk to me. She's very moved.

[Jenna Fischer]

She's hot to trot now.

[Angela Kinsey]

She sure is.

[Jenna Fischer]

Now we have this sweet scene where Michael is showing photos of his kids to Pam.

[Angela Kinsey]

So cute.

[Jenna Fischer]

I loved getting to have this moment with Steve. I got them all to myself.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know.

[Jenna Fischer]

For about 20 minutes while we shot this little bit. Pam says Michael has so many photos he had to get two phones with two numbers and two bills. But he's just so happy to have a family plan.

[Angela Kinsey]

So sweet. So stinkin sweet.

[Jenna Fischer]

We had a fan mail flurry about this little moment. Summer J. From Houston, Texas said, I find it hard to believe that Michael would not bring Holly to the wedding. Was this a scheduling conflict with Amy Ryan, who could not attend? It just seems so strange and a little sad that we see so many cameos at the end of the show. But the love of Michael's life is gone. Please explain, Summer. It was a scheduling conflict. It was originally intended for Holly to also come to the wedding and also bring their kids, but Amy Ryan was not available on these dates. There was a talking head that was scripted for Holly and she was going to be holding their children. Some Irish twins. Elizabeth P. From Toronto, Canada said, we find out that Michael has a few kids with Holly. Does this mean he got his third vasectomy reversed?

[Angela Kinsey]

Snip snap, snip snap, snip snap.

[Jenna Fischer]

And also a fan question from Ivana O in Aurora, Colorado, who said, I am dying to know what Michael named his kids. Is there anything in the show Bible or deleted scenes that tell us this? There is. Holly's talking head.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's right. Read it, Jenna.

[Jenna Fischer]

It says Holly was gonna have this talking head while Dwight and Michael were dancing together in the background to Rosalita. So we see this happen, but that's where this talking head would have been. And Holly says this life is good. We have two sons, Chebensher and Lo Shaban. Michael named them. He said it was based on the feeling he had when he first saw them. Then we were going to see the kids dancing. Chebinshire, Chebanshire and Lowshebin.

[Angela Kinsey]

How do you spell Chebinshire?

[Jenna Fischer]

C H E B O N S H U R Chebinshire N Loshebin L O W S H E B I.

[Angela Kinsey]

N. Well, when they go to Disneyland and everyone else can find a magnet with their name on it, these kids, they're not going to be able to.

[Jenna Fischer]

They will.

[Angela Kinsey]

But, you know, it made sense to me that just Michael came to the wedding. I mean, when you have young kids, if you don't have childcare, one of you stays home. You kind of have to divide up these events and say, who can go to what? Can someone watch the kids? And if they can't, one of you goes and one of you doesn't.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

So that made sense to me.

[Jenna Fischer]

It made sense to me, too.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, now we have a montage of people dancing. First up are Erin and her father. And they dance just the same.

[Jenna Fischer]

So sweet.

[Angela Kinsey]

So sweet. Now Toby and Pam dance together. And Toby just sobs the whole time.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes. He's very sad. Pam's like, is it me? Is it Nellie? And he's like, it's everything, Toby. You know what? I'm glad we had that, because that also happens at weddings.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's what I was gonna say. There's always some person who is just weepy.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yep.

[Angela Kinsey]

Now Phyllis and Stanley dance together. This is so cute. Phyllis says, I missed you. Stanley says, I missed you too. And then Phyllis has the sweetest talking head. She's crying real tears here because we were all getting pretty sad with each passing day. As we filmed the finale, it got just more and more real that we were saying goodbye to the show.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. Phyllis has a talking head where she says people think that Stanley is a mean old grump. But would a mean old grump make this statue of her? And it's like Phyllis. Because he told us he carves birds.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Now he's carved Phyllis as a bird.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. The top half is Phyllis. And then her legs are like bird legs. It's so cute.

[Jenna Fischer]

I have a secret about this talking head.

[Angela Kinsey]

What is it?

[Jenna Fischer]

Phyllis is not at the wedding. She's in the Dunder Mifflin parking lot with a green screen.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh.

[Jenna Fischer]

Because the carving wasn't ready when we were up at Big Sky Ranch, so she had to pick it up later. You cannot tell. That's a green screen.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's really well done.

[Jenna Fischer]

That's secret intel from Steve Burgess.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's some mov.

[Jenna Fischer]

We did get a fan mail flurry of people wanting to know if Phyllis got to keep the bird. And she did. She said that in her interview with us that she kept this. I texted with her because I don't think we knew where she keeps it. She said she keeps it in her home office. So she does not have her bushiest beaver Dundee, but she does have the bird carving.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, I'm glad she has it.

[Jenna Fischer]

Me too.

[Angela Kinsey]

Kelly and Ryan are now gonna leave the wedding together. They're running down the hill to their cars. Ryan says, I love you. Kelly says, I love you too. Ryan says we're gonna be together forever. And Kelly says we're running off into the sunset. And then Ryan has this line, omg. He says, I finally mastered commitment as he leaves his own child behind. Yeah, he's mastered commitment.

[Jenna Fischer]

I liked this ending for this pairing.

[Angela Kinsey]

It's perfect.

[Jenna Fischer]

It was all in character.

[Angela Kinsey]

It's so perfect. Well, the reception is now in full swing. Dwight and Michael are dancing together. I loved seeing these two guys having fun on the dance floor. Angela and her sister Rachel are dancing as well. We improvised what our dance moves would be, and we decided we dance just the same.

[Jenna Fischer]

Also dancing are Meredith and a man.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes.

[Jenna Fischer]

That man was Cate Flannery's real life boyfriend and our set photographer, Chris Haston. Now, later in the warehouse, he's also going to be the photographer who's taking our photo. So I like to imagine that he was the PBS photographer sent to Dwight and Angela's wedding to document things. And we have another wedding hookup.

[Angela Kinsey]

Another wedding hookup.

[Jenna Fischer]

But it mirrors her real life romance because he was our photographer.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's right.

[Jenna Fischer]

Mm. We got a fan question from Stephen K. In Fairlawn, New Jersey, who said, everybody's dancing to Springsteen's Rosalita. How was this song decided on and how much did it cost to get the song? Well, Steve Burgess said we always wanted to use it. It was scripted. This was in the script, this song suggestion. And Bruce Springsteen songs are very difficult, if not impossible to clear. So Steve was like, I mean, I'll give it my best shot. He said, it took a while. We found out that our request went to Bruce himself.

[Angela Kinsey]

Whoa.

[Jenna Fischer]

He was a fan of the Office and said, you can use the song. It costs a lot of money.

[Angela Kinsey]

The Boss agreed.

[Jenna Fischer]

The Boss agreed.

[Angela Kinsey]

What did it cost?

[Jenna Fischer]

100,000. So I hope you all enjoy that dance scene.

[Angela Kinsey]

Wowza. Well, Ravi is now going to return with baby Drake. And then he learns from Kevin that Kelly and Ryan have left. And he gives the baby to Kevin, says, call Child Services. They'll find someone better to take care of him than Ryan.

[Jenna Fischer]

Ravi is a pediatrician.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

And he's just going to hand the baby to Kevin and say, call Child Services.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Nelly is going to take the baby from Kevin.

[Angela Kinsey]

She's so happy. She's finally gonna have her baby.

[Jenna Fischer]

We had a bull card from Kyle M. In Albany, New York, who said, you can't just take a baby Nelly, especially on camera, Especially on an airplane to Europe, Especially out of the country. You just can't.

[Angela Kinsey]

I think that's a super bull card.

[Jenna Fischer]

It is. Kyle said the writers wrap things up so well with the other characters in believable ways. But now I call bull.

[Angela Kinsey]

It's a F bomb.

[Jenna Fischer]

Bull really is.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, now we have this famous Michael Scott line. He is watching Pam and Jim and Angela and Dwight. They're talking, they're laughing, and, you know, I just think we need to hear it.

[Creed Bratton]

I feel like all my kids grew up and then they married each other.

[Jenna Fischer]

It's every parent's dream.

[Angela Kinsey]

Every parent's dream.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. Angela, we had a fan mail flurry. Oh, yeah, in all caps. Angela, don't forget the tapeworm story. You promised us you would tell us. You promised that you would tell everybody what we were talking about back there in the background of Michael's talking head.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay.

[Jenna Fischer]

What are we laughing about?

[Angela Kinsey]

All right, well, we shared a little bit about this in our book, the office BFFs, but I will tell you the whole story.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yep.

[Angela Kinsey]

When the camera pushes past Michael while he's doing this talking head, you see Angela, Dwight, Pam, and Jim, and we are all laughing, and I am being very animated, way more animated than Angela Martin ever would. I'm clearly telling a story. And, you know, Ken Kwapis told us, it doesn't matter what we're saying back there. We're not going to hear you. So we just really started chatting. And I don't know how this subject came up, but Rainn told us the story of how he had a tapeworm when he was a kid growing up in Nicaragua.

[Jenna Fischer]

He wrote about it in his book.

[Angela Kinsey]

He did the Bassoon King. He said he was walking down a road and his butt itched. I'm quoting Rainn. Rainn said this. His butt itched. And he reached up to see what was going on, and he pulled a worm out of his butt.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Mm. We were like, what?

[Jenna Fischer]

It was such a random share.

[Angela Kinsey]

It was such a random share. We all started laughing, but then I couldn't catch my breath. And I was laughing and laughing, and you're like, lady, what's going on? And I said, my sister had a tapeworm. And then we all started laughing. I mean, she's fine now, you guys, but when we lived in Indonesia, she got this tapeworm. And I told all of you this story. This is what's happening in the background. I said, here's the deal. It laid dormant in her body for years. And then one day it woke up. John couldn't take it. John could not take it. He was like, what are you talking about? It laid dormant and then she started having like some stomach issues. Like, it's like she couldn't eat enough, you know, because the tapeworm was like eating her food. Yeah, yeah. Then she went to doctors, they tried, you know, what's going on. They couldn't figure out what was going on. Then everything stopped. It went dormant again for years. And then it woke up. She had this like, yo, yo thing happening in her body for so long. And then finally a doctor figured it out that she had this tapeworm and they gave her this medicine. This also wrecked John. He was like, what did they do? I said, they gave her this medicine that killed the worm inside her and then she pooped it out. That's what we were talking about. There it is. Those are some tapeworm stories. And we were cracking up. It was probably one of those. You had to be there. But we were so thrown by rain share. And then we thought we were done. And then I was like, wait a second. I got one about a table worm that went dormant for years.

[Jenna Fischer]

That was a nice moment. I remember. I remember she.

[Angela Kinsey]

We were laughing so hard.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, the wedding is over now. Val, Darryl, Meredith, Andy and Pete are all leaving. They convinced Toby to join them in the warehouse for a documentary after party.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, Andy says it's only six. Come on, let's go. 6:00pm I'm glad I have the wedding program. That said, the wedding started at 3 because I feel like 6pm It's a quick wedding. And also 6pm and it's done. That's so early.

[Jenna Fischer]

Listen, I have some things to say about this. This is the longest day. This day started with a panel discussion. Then we all went home and changed clothes. We went to a wedding. A reception. Yeah, everyone's leaving the wedding reception. It's still light out and we still have another documentary reception to attend.

[Angela Kinsey]

It's a big day. This is a big day. Before we leave the wedding altogether though, I really need to give an award to the best outfit at the wedding.

[Jenna Fischer]

Who is it?

[Angela Kinsey]

Valley. Oh, she looks so chic. Her dress is gorgeous. It's very structured. The top of it is like a tank top neckline. It's white. Then there's a big square of this vibrant blue with a high waist with like two gold kind of belt buckle accessories on the waistband. And then the bottom is black. She's got this gorgeous blue wrap, a gold braided bracelet, and a green handbag with white trim. She. She looks fantastic.

[Jenna Fischer]

You really liked this outfit?

[Angela Kinsey]

I loved this outfit.

[Jenna Fischer]

That's quite a description.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, it was really a showstopper. And I think she gets best outfit at the wedding.

[Jenna Fischer]

Something that I failed to mention until now is Pam's disappearing flower.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, flower in the hair.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah, flower in the hair.

[Angela Kinsey]

Flower.

[Jenna Fischer]

Not in the hair. In the hair, not in the hair. You know what happened?

[Angela Kinsey]

Wind.

[Jenna Fischer]

We put a flower in my hair and we shot for a whole day, and then we were like, I don't know if we like this flower. So we just took it out.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, no.

[Jenna Fischer]

So there you go. When Jim and Pam arrive home, Pam does not have a flower in her hair, and they are tired. Pam's like, ugh, this day. I mean. Yeah, because you still have to go change clothes and go to another event. But guess who walks out of their house? Nancy Carell.

[Angela Kinsey]

Nancy Carell. Because Pam has sold their house. I have so many bull cards to play here.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, yes, there's this really fun scene where Jim's like, what's happening? Who are these people? Carol walks out of their house with a couple of potential home buyers. And this is when Pam says, I just wanted to say thank you for being so great this past year, and I don't want you to have to give up anything to be with me. So to show you how much I love you and to show you how much I believe in your future, I have been showing our house for about two months.

[Angela Kinsey]

Two months?

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

He's like, oh, that's why it's so clean.

[Jenna Fischer]

She's like, uh huh, uh huh. And then she has this line, you know, you bought it without telling me. I thought maybe I could sell it without telling you.

[Angela Kinsey]

Kaboom. This is such a great marriage. This is. Okay.

[Jenna Fischer]

Thank you for saying that. I know that this is supposed a big romantic gesture.

[Angela Kinsey]

It feels a little tit for tat, but I know for the story, they want Pam and Jim to be able to move on together, you know?

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes. Jim got his big moment with the teapot. They wanted Pam to have a big moment. But I said in the writers room, I said, I'm not sure that the answer to this couple's problems is for Pam to adopt this habit of making big life moves without consulting the other person.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, they don't want to be the gotcha couple. Gotcha. Sold the house.

[Jenna Fischer]

I know. It's like, here's what we're doing now, actually. Originally they were going to come home and there was going to be a sold sign in the yard. And Jim was going to be like, what's this? So I said, maybe the big romantic gesture is that she's been showing the house. But you notice in the scene, they do actually decide together to do the move. The people say, we'll take it. And then Pam kind of looks at Jim. So in a way, Pam is like offering an opportunity. And then they do finally agree on something together in the moment. And I was like, okay, I like that. That does feel romantic.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. And they hug. They're super happy. I did love that both Steve and Nancy got to be in the finale. I thought that was really nice.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes. And the home buyer was played by Jay Falk, our season nine script coordinator.

[Angela Kinsey]

Aw. Well, Pam and Jim are now going to arrive at the PBS viewing party. It was described in the shooting draft, like this interior warehouse. We see people from the office mixing with various members of the crew. There is a promotional backdrop with the logo for the office and American workplace on it. Kevin and Meredith pose with several executives for a picture. After the picture is taken, they try to walk away, but another group approaches them and they have to pose for another picture. There's a table with food and refreshments, and another table is full of office and American workplace swag. Phyllis and Stanley are examining the swag. Phyllis takes a mug and a production person stops her and says, these are for PBS executives only.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, the person who says that is Allison Jones.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's right.

[Jenna Fischer]

She said Greg really wanted her to be in a scene, and she was kind of reluctant, but she said, I'll do it if my scene is with Phyllis.

[Angela Kinsey]

Aw.

[Jenna Fischer]

Because they were co workers, you know.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. There is now a montage of scenes of everyone mixing and mingling and talking.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. Pam is going to unveil her big mural, her warehouse mural called the History of Us. She dedicates it to Jim. And the crowd applauds and Pam says, oh, let's take a photo in front of it. And all these people crowd in for the photo. This was another opportunity for Greg to get some of our crew members in there.

[Angela Kinsey]

And Greg.

[Jenna Fischer]

And Greg. Greg is who has his arm around Pam.

[Angela Kinsey]

I thought this was really moving to watch because you see so many faces from our show, so many of our amazing crew, our writers, our producers, our editors, the directors, the cast. And you get to hear Cate Flannery's real life boyfriend Chris Hasten's voice as he's taking the pictures.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes, I noticed. Howard Klein, Stephanie R. A D, who I recently texted about my party. Rusty Mahmood, Veda. Dave Rogers is in there. Claire Scanlon is in there. There's so many people.

[Angela Kinsey]

It's like, it's our show.

[Jenna Fischer]

It's our show.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, it's our show. Family.

[Jenna Fischer]

We had a question from Mary M. From Maryland. Who said, who painted Pam's mural? Well, Mary, it was painted by Jules Komesko. She's the person who did all of our office art. But here's the thing. It was not finished when we had to shoot this scene. It was still in the conception phase. Like, Greg was still making tweaks to what this mural would be. So we are actually posing and reacting in front of a blank wall. Steve Burgess said that they were working on this mural until the very Last minute, until 2am the night before the episode aired.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, my goodness.

[Jenna Fischer]

She never painted it on the wall. She painted a smaller version, which they then superimposed onto the wall in post. And that smaller version he thinks Greg got to keep.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, that's really cool.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, in this montage of the PBS party, we also do see Dave Rogers and Terry Weinberg. They even have a little scene together, and it's in deleted scenes.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, now you see the employees giving each other little sly glances and sort of motioning toward the staircase that goes nowhere. And that's because they have plans to have their own little Dunder Mifflin party up in the bullpen.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yep.

[Jenna Fischer]

And when they get up there, the phone rings just as Jim and Pam are entering. Jim goes and sits at his desk, and Pam notices the phone is ringing, and she answers it.

[Angela Kinsey]

She says, dunder Mifflin, this is Pam.

[Jenna Fischer]

I really wanted to say that line one more time because I improvised that in one of our early morning work sessions on the pilot. And I remember Greg saying, oh, that's so good. That's so realistic. And I said, well, that's how I used to answer the phone at all my jobs. I would say the company. This is Jenna.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

And he goes, I love that. That's a great detail. And that then became part of my character.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

So that was one of the things I said to Greg. I had very interesting requests for the finale. I was like, I want a scene with all the ladies, and I want one more chance of saying, dunder Mifflin, this is Pam. Because I haven't been the receptionist for a long time, and I wanted to sit behind that desk just one more time before the show was over.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, I Loved it. I mean, Jim clocks it. He immediately looks up. It probably took him back in time to their early days. And Pam says, oh, I'm sorry. Jim Halpert doesn't work here anymore.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

And then Pam has a talking head. And, you know, I want to play it because I love it so much. Jenna. This is one of my favorite Pam talking heads of the whole series. And I know a lot of people quote Pam's end final talking head. Right. That's a very famous one that gets quoted all the time, but this one is actually my favorite. Let's hear it.

[Jenna Fischer]

I didn't watch the whole documentary. After a few episodes, it was too painful. I kept wanting to scream at Pam. It took me so long to do so many important things. It's just hard to accept that I spent so many years being less happy than I could have been. Jim was five feet from my desk, and it took me four years to get to him. It'd be great if people saw this documentary and learned from my mistakes. Not that I'm a tragic person. I'm really happy now, but it would just make my heart soar if someone out there saw this and she said to herself, be strong. Trust yourself. Love yourself. Conquer your fears. Just go after what you want and act fast, because life just isn't that long.

[Angela Kinsey]

Isn't that beautiful?

[Jenna Fischer]

It's beautiful writing.

[Angela Kinsey]

It's so beautiful.

[Jenna Fischer]

It's just so great.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, well, it's beautiful writing, and your performance was just so great. And, you know, this talking head, I think it just hit me differently than the first time I heard it. I was in my 30s, and I haven't really, really listened to it in years. And now it just hits different at 53.

[Jenna Fischer]

It does. It sure does. It's the wisdom of someone who's had a lot of life go by.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. Be strong. Trust yourself. Love yourself. Love it. I love it.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, in the background of that talking head, you saw a lot of moments from Jim and Pam's relationship. You saw this one yo yo moment with Jim, kind of that was us messing around on set. That was not in an episode.

[Angela Kinsey]

They just captured it.

[Jenna Fischer]

They just captured it. That was one of the many times that, like, they would be rolling on us early, early on, and they just wanted us to do stuff to capture as B roll. And that was just one of the little things we came up with that Jim and Pam did. It was really cute. Yeah, I loved seeing it. Reminded me of those times.

[Angela Kinsey]

I loved seeing the passage of time. Really showed you how long you got to Know these characters and how long we played these characters.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, the next talking head is Kevin. He says, if there's one thing I've learned through this whole experience, it's that if you film anybody long enough, they're gonna do something stupid. It's only human, natural.

[Jenna Fischer]

That's right. And then Angela and Dwight come in. Yes, their honeymoon can wait, they say.

[Angela Kinsey]

I'm so curious what their honeymoon was.

[Jenna Fischer]

Same.

[Angela Kinsey]

I do wanna play a clip from this scene. I've titled it. Guess which line I had to adr. Oh, okay, let's hear it.

[Creed Bratton]

Hey, guys.

[Jenna Fischer]

Hi.

[Creed Bratton]

Hey.

[Jenna Fischer]

What about the honeymoon?

[Angela Kinsey]

The honeymoon can wait till tomorrow. We wanted to hang out with you guys. I mean, when are we all going to be here together again?

[Jenna Fischer]

Aw, is that the line? When are we all going to be here together again?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes, lady.

[Jenna Fischer]

That is so crazy. I did not know that you had to ADR that line. But when I was watching this episode, I thought to myself, I don't remember Angela ever getting through that line. You kept crying every time you said it, it got, like, stuck in your throat. You couldn't get that line out.

[Angela Kinsey]

I couldn't get the line. I was too emotional. And then I had to go back and do it in adr. So I actually got to see a little bit of the finale before it aired. Just that scene, you know, and it was so wild to me because when I went to do the adr, we had wrapped, we had packed up our trailers, we had taken everything we wanted to take from the set. We were gone. It was done. And then they called me to do ADR at Universal. And for me, that was actually my last day of work on the Office was in this ADR booth saying that.

[Jenna Fischer]

Line saying, you couldn't get out, that.

[Angela Kinsey]

I couldn't get out. And I have a picture of me in the booth because it says the office, you know? And that was my last day of work.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, Dwight is going to propose a conference room meeting with Jim and Pam just for fun when he gets back from his honeymoon. But Jim says, actually, we need to talk.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. Pam and Jim go into Dwight's office and they share with him that they're gonna follow Athleep to Austin.

[Jenna Fischer]

Austin Now?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. And Dwight says, no, don't say it. You're fired. You're both fired. And Jim's like, dwight, come on, don't end on a bad note.

[Jenna Fischer]

But Dwight was saying that because now he can give them a severance package.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. He says, in true Dwight fashion, don't be an idiot. It's for the severance.

[Jenna Fischer]

I know. And he gives them one month for every year they've been at Dunder Mifflin, so that's pretty nice. How long do we think they've been there? Like seven or eight years. Are they gonna get, like, almost a year severance pay?

[Angela Kinsey]

That's what I thought. They're almost getting, like, a year's salary.

[Jenna Fischer]

That's a lot.

[Angela Kinsey]

Both of them.

[Jenna Fischer]

Both of them, exactly.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. Jim also says, and you know what, if you're ever in Austin. And Dwight says, what? For what? The art, the music, the incredible nightlife. No, thank you.

[Jenna Fischer]

He's not interested.

[Angela Kinsey]

But if you're ever in the area, you'll always have a place to stay in my barn.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Jim says, there it is.

[Jenna Fischer]

And then we have a Dwight talking head that I just really, really love.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

He says, do I get along with my co workers? Well, first of all, I don't have co workers anymore. I have subordinates. And then he says he does get along with his subordinates, and he kind of talks about each of us, and there's little flashbacks to him spending time with us.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. We learned that Meredith Palmer is the only person who knows how to properly head bang to Motorhead. Oscar is his godfather to his son. Angela, his former accountant, is now his wife. His top salesperson, Jim Halpert was his best man at his wedding. And we find out who his best friend is.

[Jenna Fischer]

It's Pam.

[Angela Kinsey]

It's Pam.

[Jenna Fischer]

He says, pamela Beasley Halpert is my best friend.

[Angela Kinsey]

So sweet.

[Jenna Fischer]

Meanwhile, in the bullpen, there's a whole group that has gathered around Andy's old desk because they are watching his commencement speech for Cornell, and it's a big hit.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. Darryl says, you know what? You did good. Real good. Andy says, thanks, Dad. I mean, Darrell.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes. And then Andy has this famous talking head where he has the famous line, I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

And I think you can hear Ed's voice cracking when he says it.

[Angela Kinsey]

You can hear the emotion in his voice right after he says that. And he says, someone should write a song about that.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, you know, Sam and Cassie and Jenna, Andy's famous line. I've just thought a lot about it because that's how I feel about our podcast. You know, we're in the good old days right now.

[Jenna Fischer]

We are.

[Angela Kinsey]

We had five years. Five years to get to do this. What a gift. And I want you to know that I've been Aware since day one how special it was. Aw, Sam. There hasn't been a day that's gone by that I haven't appeared.

[Jenna Fischer]

And you know, it is almost exactly five years.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. October 2019. Yep.

[Jenna Fischer]

To October 2024.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, this brings me to my last show and tell. And this isn't much. It's only something I think you guys would appreciate. But I saved my note cards from the first season of the podcast.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, goodness.

[Angela Kinsey]

And you each get one, and I have a frame. But I didn't frame them yet because I wanted you to pick. I had a lot and I had to weed through. Here you go, Sam. You get to go first. You were with us since day one and you get to go first. Here's what you get to choose. You get either I watch the deleted scenes. Exclamation point. It's the first time I'd ever watch the deleted scenes. That was hot girl. Or you get Kelly. Still in an updo. Exclamation point. Because we were tracking Kelly's hair. Okay. Or great jam moment at the end and Jenna's skin looks flawless.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, I think I know which one I want.

[Angela Kinsey]

Diversity day. This one. The peep shot. Asterisks through the blinds. Michael playing with his truck. So busy. Healthcare. 8 minutes and 14 seconds. Pam left her salad on the table. Exclamation point.

[Jenna Fischer]

That led to a very fun conversation.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes. John says D. White.

[Jenna Fischer]

Ooh, D. White.

[Angela Kinsey]

Mm. So there you go. These are all from the early podcast days. It's gotta be. John says D. White. Okay. All right, I have a frame for you. Thank you. All right, that leaves Cassie. I'll come pick.

[Jenna Fischer]

I know which one I would pick for you. Cassie, I'm curious if you'll pick the same one that I have on my mind.

[Angela Kinsey]

I think I'm gonna go peep shot. The peep shot.

[Jenna Fischer]

Peep shot. I am surprised.

[Angela Kinsey]

Which one were you thinking I was gonna pick?

[Jenna Fischer]

I would have given you. I watched the deleted scenes because of all the late night emails that you get from. From Angela with time codes for deleted scenes.

[Creed Bratton]

Yeah, I was thinking that was the.

[Jenna Fischer]

One you're probably thinking about, but I like how random this is.

[Angela Kinsey]

The peep shot I got made fun of quite a bit for because it's called a spy shot, but I thought it was called a peep shot. I also, like I put in quotes. So busy.

[Jenna Fischer]

So busy.

[Angela Kinsey]

He's so busy. All right, Jenna, that leaves you miss.

[Jenna Fischer]

I'd like the one that notates my flawless skin, please.

[Angela Kinsey]

You might. All right, there you go. All right. Thank you, Angela. You're welcome. That's the end of my show and tell for the finale, I want to.

[Jenna Fischer]

Note that Cassie, you decorated everything. Sam, you got us a John Wick themed drawing. Angela, you've given us your note cards. I've shown up empty handed to our finale. I hate to drop the big old C bomb here at the end of the finale, but it's, you know, these are some of the details that you don't have the bandwidth for anymore. And it's been on my mind, like what is my thing that I could bring or what could I do? And we are planning a little team dinner.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes. And you're planning it. You're picking the restaurant. That's the things people don't see.

[Jenna Fischer]

It's true. But I just, I guess I do want to take this moment, since we're in this moment, to just say again, a lot of life has happened in five years.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Particularly in this last year for me. And coming here each week and doing this, it gave me purpose and joy. And I thank you all from the bottom of my heart. And I thank our office ladies, community as well. I love this podcast. I love being here and I love you all.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, we love you too. And we're just so thankful, Jenna. We're so thankful. You are doing great. And we're so thankful.

[Jenna Fischer]

I am doing great.

[Angela Kinsey]

You're doing f great.

[Jenna Fischer]

I'm doing great. I lifted weights this morning.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes, yes.

[Jenna Fischer]

Get it, Jenna. I sure do. Can I say £20 on my biceps, everybody?

[Angela Kinsey]

I was going to do this weight training class with Jenna, but I can't lift as much as her. I have no upper body strength. So the lady is very. She's like, Angela, maybe you and I should too, like, until I can catch up.

[Jenna Fischer]

Start with some baby weights.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, baby weights.

[Jenna Fischer]

There was a lot of evidence that weight training specifically would really help me with some of my side effects from some of the medicines I still have to take.

[Angela Kinsey]

It's a shame we're on the last episode because baby weights is such a good nickname. I did. Josh got me some £2 and 5, so look out. I love you, baby weights.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, let's see. Where are we? We're in the middle of some very sentimental sharing, but so is everybody else in the office. How about that for a transition?

[Angela Kinsey]

I like it.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oscar has one of my favorite final talking heads. For me, it's really between Oscar and Ellie. I love that Oscar says you take something ordinary like a piece of paper. It's not much, but if you see it in the right way. And he's folding a piece of paper. He says, and that's what you did with this documentary. And he holds up a little origami swan. But then he says, but seriously, you made a nine year documentary and you couldn't once show me doing my origami?

[Angela Kinsey]

He found a way to get it in there, though. He did. And now we're gonna see Creed come out of the bathroom with no shirt on. He's brushing his teeth. He clearly is living there again.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes. It brings up a lot of questions, like, I guess we don't use that closet or open that door ever. Everyone's very surprised to see him, but also very happy because he's gonna get his guitar out and he's gonna sing for us.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes.

[Jenna Fischer]

We'll have more to say about Creed playing the guitar for all of us a little bit later.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes, we will. Now Jim is gonna have his talking head. He says, imagine going back and watching a tape of your life. You could see yourself change and make mistakes and grow up. You could watch yourself fall in love, watch yourself become a husband, become a father. You guys gave that to me, and that's an amazing gift. I feel like there was a lot of John in this talking head.

[Jenna Fischer]

Look what's on my document. I put asterisk. I really saw John Krasinski in this talking head. Yeah, that's John.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. All of those things happened to him in the course of this show.

[Jenna Fischer]

They did. It's true. In this moment, we're kind of flashing back and forth between Creed playing his song and people having different conversations, different.

[Angela Kinsey]

Moments, different talking heads.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes. For example, Kevin is going to become so overcome with emotion, he tells Oscar he might be gay. And I love Oscar. You're not gay.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know. Kevin is just feeling a lot of feelings. Erin is now going to have a talking head where she says, how did you do it? How did you capture what it was really like? How we felt and how we made each other laugh and how we got through the day. How did you do it? Also, how do cameras work?

[Jenna Fischer]

I love her talking head.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know, it's really sweet.

[Jenna Fischer]

Now, we have a fan question that I've placed here for a specific reason. It's from Lily and W in Ontario, Canada, who wrote justice for Angela. Oh, I feel so badly that Angela Martin does not get a talking head in the finale. Can someone explain why? Was there one that was filmed and maybe didn't make the final cut? Angela, how do you feel about this?

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, there were several, you know, on the DVD in the deleted scenes. There are so much footage that didn't make it. And it wasn't just my talking head. Toby also has one that's really funny. But I did have one. And you know, when it aired and my talking head wasn't in it, I was a little bummed. But it was also my wedding day. I had a lot of fun stuff in this episode.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

But here it is, if you'd like to hear it.

[Jenna Fischer]

I would like to hear it.

[Angela Kinsey]

Ten years ago, a doctor told me the muscles in my cheeks had atrophied from lack of smiling. So I had exercises to do at bedtime. It helped some, but now I'm smiling all the time and I don't even notice. So, yeah, I think I'm less of a total bitch now.

[Jenna Fischer]

That's very funny.

[Angela Kinsey]

And I have a picture when I was looking through my digital clutter. Greg Daniels emailed me after I did my talking head and he took a picture of me from the side. You can see the camera. You can see Brian Whittle operating the boom. And I'm facing camera, giving the talking head over by accounting.

[Jenna Fischer]

What a neat picture.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. Darryl is going to say, every day when I came into work, all I wanted to do was leave. So why in the world does it feel so hard to leave right now? And then there was a scene in the deleted scenes. It's not even in the shooting draft. I feel like this is one of those moments that happened on the day.

[Jenna Fischer]

This was part of those rewrites of the script that we mentioned last week. How Greg was adding scenes, taking scenes away so they were not in the sort of shooting draft. But you share what it is. This was originally Greg's idea for the ending shot.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. So Daryl is going to ask everyone who's been here the longest and everyone starts to share their stories. The scene was so special to the cast. Everyone decides the person or thing that's been there the longest is that plant.

[Jenna Fischer]

Planty, planty.

[Angela Kinsey]

Let's hear this clip.

[Creed Bratton]

Who's been here the longest? It was me.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, it's me now.

[Angela Kinsey]

I started two days after Stanley.

[Jenna Fischer]

Why do I remember working here before Stanley? I'm pretty sure I was here before you, though. I'll tell you who's been here the longest.

[Creed Bratton]

That poor plant. Planty.

[Angela Kinsey]

Wait, I remember that plant before. That plant is a survivor.

[Creed Bratton]

It's time for him to move on.

[Angela Kinsey]

Let's set him free.

[Jenna Fischer]

Or her. Seriously, Come on.

[Angela Kinsey]

I'm just saying let's get him some real sunlight once and for all. Yes.

[Jenna Fischer]

Somebody give me a hand. I'm on it.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, my gosh.

[Jenna Fischer]

We're really gonna do this.

[Angela Kinsey]

Go ahead.

[Creed Bratton]

All right. Don't over pack the dirt.

[Jenna Fischer]

Amateurs.

[Angela Kinsey]

Office plant.

[Jenna Fischer]

Office plant.

[Creed Bratton]

Office plant.

[Angela Kinsey]

Office. Plant. Office plant. Yay.

[Jenna Fischer]

I remember shooting that, and I have so many pictures from all of us outside.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes. It was a really special moment for the cast. We all stand around Planty, and it's just one of the moments I remember so vividly.

[Jenna Fischer]

So originally, the idea was that the episode was going to end like the final shot of the episode was going to be of Planty. And the idea was just like that this thing was gonna continue to grow.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes.

[Jenna Fischer]

You know, after a lot of us.

[Angela Kinsey]

Have moved on, I went to the very final line of the script for the shooting draft, and this is what it says. B roll of the replanted office plant with Dunder Mifflin behind it as the sun comes up over the parking lot.

[Jenna Fischer]

But we're going to end a slightly different way. We're going to have some more talking heads. We're going to see Creed get arrested. Meredith and Phyllis are going to share. And this is all kind of intercut with scenes of us gathering up our things and leaving for the final time.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes. If you go to 48 minutes and 14 seconds, that shot of all of us leaving was actually the last shot we filmed together as a cast.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. So Pam has the final talking head, and when the one liner, which is the schedule of scenes for an episode comes out, you know, I would love to read it. I saw that the very last thing that was scheduled for the last day of shooting was Pam's talking head. I went to John's trailer and I said, john, did you see the one liner? And I showed him, and I said, I don't want to be here alone. I don't want to be here all by myself. Yeah, I want us to end together. And John said, we have to end together. So we went together to Ken, Kwapis, and Greg, and they said, oh, we thought it would be really poetic to end the show by filming the very last moment last. But we hear you, so here's what we'll do. We're going to film your talking head if everyone doesn't mind waiting. And then when you're finished, we will film that final B roll of everyone leaving the office and of Pam taking the watercolor off the wall. How does that sound? And John and I were like, yes, we need to all be together. When you say, that's a wrap on the office, that's a series wrap. I'm like, I don't want to be here by myself.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. Yeah. And that's what they did. And we were all so thankful. And, you know, I have video of all of us watching you do that talking head. I'm finally going to post it. I've been saving it for years. And it was just really moving that when they said that's a wrap that we all, we all just poured into the bullpen. Our crew, our writers were all standing around waiting, watching with us on the stage, and we all just hugged and cried, and all of us, well, we.

[Jenna Fischer]

Did that exit way more times than we needed to.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know.

[Jenna Fischer]

And Ken Kwapis said after about like six times, he turned to Greg and he said, greg, I think we got it.

[Angela Kinsey]

We're done.

[Jenna Fischer]

And Greg said, what do we do? And Ken said, well, we have to say that's a wrap, but I think you should say it, Greg. So he said, I'll have him do it one more time. Okay. And Greg was like, okay. So we did it one more time. And I remember every time we would leave, we would crowd. All of us would crowd into that little area by the elevator, and we would stand there for a beat. And then you would hear them say, all right, reset. Back to one. Going again. And there was always this very pregnant pause. Like once we got to like, take three, take four, you're like, how many times can we do this?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

And then finally we were all standing there in that, like, pregnant pause. I heard Greg's voice.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

He said, cut. That's a wrap. That's a series wrap on the office. And then we all came out from that area and we were surprised by our crew that they had had gather.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. Every time we walked to the elevator bank, I was next to Phyllis because when you watch the scene, Dwight goes to help with the plant, and I'm kind of left perched on top of front reception. It's pretty high. And Phyllis and Oscar would help me down. So I would walk out with them and Phyllis and I would hold hands, waiting to see if we would go again.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah, that was pretty emotional. But the episode ends after Pam's talking head.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes. Pam famously says there's a lot of beauty in ordinary things. Isn't that kind of the point?

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, that's just. That was Greg's philosophy of this show. It was meant to mine the beauty in ordinary day to day life.

[Angela Kinsey]

It's beautiful.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. That's what we were shining a spotlight on. So amazing. And I loved shooting this talking head I was talking to Ken Kwapis. That's who was sitting across from me in the job when Jim finally asked Pam on a date. And that's who I got to deliver my final talking head to. And it's very meaningful to me. I love that we see Steve again one last time.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. I love that we get to see Michael. And he's hanging Hope in a frame.

[Jenna Fischer]

That's right. And then that sort of morphs into our actual building. They sort of go from the watercolor to the actual Dunder Mifflin. And I love how plain it is. I love it's literally the most ordinary looking building you could imagine.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

And that was our building.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. And Pam gets to take her painting home.

[Jenna Fischer]

And Jenna took it home, too. It's in my living room. Well, guys, that is finale part two. But we're not finished yet, because from the moment we started this podcast, we knew exactly how we wanted to end it.

[Angela Kinsey]

We did. And my neighbor is coming through for us because we reached out to Creed Bratton and we said, creed, will you sing your song on our podcast, all the Faces? That's the perfect way to say goodbye to this rewatch. And he said yes. And he's here today.

[Jenna Fischer]

So give us a second, which to you will literally feel like one second. And he's going to set up and we'll chat with him.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, here is our special guest we've been talking about. We are so excited. In fact, our very first guest in our new space here to celebrate the end of the rewatch with us is Creed Bratton.

[Jenna Fischer]

Hi, Creed.

[Creed Bratton]

Hi, ladies. Thanks for having me.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes, thank you.

[Jenna Fischer]

You are here. You are going to be leaving tomorrow. We got you on your last day in town. Tell everybody where you're.

[Creed Bratton]

I'll be in Ireland and England, Norway, Denmark, Holland, Slovakia and Czechoslovakia on tour. On tour for the month of October.

[Angela Kinsey]

Amazing. We're going to put all of your tour dates in our Instagram.

[Jenna Fischer]

Thank you.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes, thank you. And then we're so thrilled because you are here today. This was actually something Jenna and I have talked about for years, and then you brought it back up to us.

[Creed Bratton]

When I called accidentally that time.

[Jenna Fischer]

And will you tell everybody you really have called accidentally. You know, online people think that we set that up.

[Creed Bratton]

No, no, folks.

[Angela Kinsey]

No.

[Creed Bratton]

You really just said, I just called to check in because I was curious to see where you guys were on the show. And I thought, you know, I'll call pumpkin and check in.

[Angela Kinsey]

And you did.

[Creed Bratton]

And I did. And then you guys were on the air still no that's honest to God. And I know Creed lies, but myself as Creed, I don't lie.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's true.

[Creed Bratton]

That the character does.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, this song is one that you sang on the finale.

[Creed Bratton]

That's right.

[Jenna Fischer]

And tell us how that came about, because it's such a great story.

[Creed Bratton]

It's a great story. I'm in. It's probably about, I don't know how long was before we did the table read. You know, before we did the table read? A month and a half. Month.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Creed Bratton]

At least over a month. So I'm in my trailer, and we've all been talking. How are we going to possibly end this show, this amazing show that we all love? What are we going to do for the finale? It's got to be amazing. Now, Greg Daniels came back to right the ship and do it with us, you know, so I'm sitting in my trailer and there's a knock on the door. It's a PA now, you know, Rain and I have trained them never to look us in the eye.

[Angela Kinsey]

Stop it.

[Creed Bratton]

No, no, True. I opened the door. Production assistant, his head production assistant. And they help us out on the show. So his eyes are Mr. Bratton. I said, Speak up. And he went, Mr. Bratton. I said not so loud. And so he. I said, what do you want? He said, gray wants to see you in his office. I said, why didn't you say so? So I push him out of the way, and I charge. I charge. What's up, boss? Which I always said that with great. What's up, boss? So. Oh, Creed. Oh, Creed. I'm asking all the actors how you think your character should lead the show. So I said, well, I wrote this song called all the faces in 1970, right after I left the grassroots. I'm sitting in my house in Ramirez Canyon. My wife is in the other room, and my daughter Ami is in their little bassinet. And I'm playing guitar by the fire, and she yells at me. She said, that's a beautiful song. Who wrote that? And I said, I think I just did. So I told Greg this. He said, well, let me hear it. And I said, well, Tim, I think I should be playing this song in poor Richards. And all the cast, all you guys walk through, we see your faces, and I'm singing this song. He hears the song. I can see he's moved. I don't hear another word. Cut to a month and a half later. We get on a bus, we go over to. Over Universal, right? And everybody's there. The brass, NBC and Universal. And the photographers and the press.

[Angela Kinsey]

Big finale, table read.

[Jenna Fischer]

Deal.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Creed Bratton]

And read. In the finale, we're going through with our yellow markers mark, and we're going to talk. And I just have this little bit at the end and I come and turn the page over and says, Creed sings his original song, all the Faces.

[Jenna Fischer]

That's how you found out?

[Creed Bratton]

That's how I found out at the table read. That's the first time I knew I was going to get. Because I thought, nah. I tried, but they would have. It's not happening. And then there was. Was happening. And I almost cried. And I looked around. Oh, my. And then I started panicking and thought, oh, my God, I don't have my guitar. And there's that PA that I gave a bad time to. He looks. He hands my guitar, but he looks like he's going to drop it. Messing with me, you know, Payback's a bitch, folks.

[Angela Kinsey]

So Greg had arranged for your guitar to be there?

[Creed Bratton]

Yes, yes.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, my gosh.

[Creed Bratton]

And I sang it and of course. And the executives are there and there's not a dry eye in the house. Not at all. And by the way, we know these people eat their own, for God's sake.

[Angela Kinsey]

So you even made the execs cry.

[Creed Bratton]

I made the execs cry. So that's the story. So. And then I played it one more story. When we were recording it, Brian couldn't get the boom right because it was in the shot. And John Krasinski says. He's sitting next to you.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yep.

[Creed Bratton]

And he says. He says, creed, I'll put the microphone under my arm. So he puts this long, telescopic, you know, shotgun mic underneath his arm right out here. So it's picking up my guitar. So thank you, John, for recording my guitar.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. What was that like for you, playing for us in that scene? I mean, it was very emotional for us.

[Angela Kinsey]

I have.

[Creed Bratton]

I had to just.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Creed Bratton]

Tie it together and get real professional because I could have broken up. But I just. All I was. I was just. I'm in my head, I'm not paying any attention. I'm just singing the song.

[Angela Kinsey]

Right.

[Creed Bratton]

Well, it was a big deal. It was a big deal and it changed my life. Having that song get out in the. Go viral like the. Still sells and still people come to the show and they want to hear that song. It's a. What a gift. What a gift.

[Angela Kinsey]

Beautiful song, Creed. And we are so incredibly fortunate to have you in the studio to play it for us today.

[Jenna Fischer]

We do.

[Creed Bratton]

Thank you for having me as friends and this wonderful song keeps going. And I knew the song was beautiful when I wrote it, but with the double whammy of being in our show, it's just taken on this mojo that's undeniable.

[Angela Kinsey]

The Office fans are the best. They're the best.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, thanks for coming here before you leave on your tour so that we could hear it live.

[Creed Bratton]

Thank you for having me.

[Jenna Fischer]

I don't get the tissues.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know there's no tissues. Seriously, I want to pause and get tissues. And then Creed's going to play all the Faces.

[Creed Bratton]

Oh, all the Faces, Take one. I saw a friend today it had been a while and we forgot each other's names but it didn't matter Deep inside the feelings still remain the same we talked of knowing one before you've met and how you feel more than you see and other worlds that lie in spaces in between and angels we can see and all the faces that I know have that same familiar glow I think I must have known them somewhere once before but where, when? I don't know and all the faces we see each and every day.

[Angela Kinsey]

When.

[Creed Bratton]

We get home at night there's one face we need and when my mind's absorbed on my private little screen and I'm walking blind through sea of unknown men I hear a voice reminding they're across the street walks an old forgotten.

[Jenna Fischer]

Friend.

[Creed Bratton]

And we don't have to say a word it's really better left unsaid Just light through eyes that recognize all the faces that I know all the faces that I know and all the faces we see each and every day when we get home at night there's one face we need and all the faces I see each and every day When I get home at night you're the face I need When I get home at night Need? You're the only face I need.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yay.

[Angela Kinsey]

It was awesome.

[Creed Bratton]

Mic drop, Creed.

[Angela Kinsey]

Mic drop.

[Jenna Fischer]

Gotta give you a hug.

[Creed Bratton]

I got so into it, I can't remember if I sang the last verses, but I think sound it sounded like completely.

[Angela Kinsey]

I think it was perfect.

[Jenna Fischer]

Cre.

[Creed Bratton]

I was good. I was. I had to look away from your girls because you're so good, you know?

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, thank you so much.

[Creed Bratton]

I love you girls.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, that was just the greatest thing ever.

[Angela Kinsey]

You know, when you're in a moment and you know it's special and you're just like, I don't want to forget this.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, everyone, we always end our episodes with thank yous because this podcast really is a collaboration, just like the Office was. And for this episode, we want to give a very big thank you to Steve Burgess and Dave Rogers for helping us with all of our finale facts. But we also have to thank all of our cast, our directors, our writers, our crew members, Greg Daniels, everybody who came on the pod and answered our text messages and weird emails over these past five years.

[Angela Kinsey]

There were many.

[Jenna Fischer]

So many.

[Angela Kinsey]

I also want to just thank our office family for texting us and emailing us words of encouragement as we went along. When they would hear an episode, if something meant something to them that we shared, it just kept us going. It meant so much. And I want to thank you guys who are listening and who've been there with us from the beginning. And you sent in amazing fan questions and background catches and bull cards and you have helped make this podcast what it is. We're so thankful.

[Jenna Fischer]

We also want to thank our Office Ladies team, especially Sam Ainsley, Ileana and Cassie. In fact, I'd like to give a special mention to Cassie here. Cassie, I feel like you really are the unsung hero of our team, everyone. She does so much behind the scenes to make this show. Each week she helps us creatively. She edits the show. We really couldn't do it without you, Cassie. I mean, the only reason that we were able to transition from one company to another in the middle of our rewatch with everything that I have had going on personally this year, was because you took such good care of us. And so thank you, Cassie.

[Angela Kinsey]

Thank you, Cassie.

[Jenna Fischer]

Of course, it's been my pleasure.

[Angela Kinsey]

And of course you guys know that Sam is the other person here with us each week. It meant so much to us to have Sam back to finish the rewatch. But we have some really exciting news to share with everyone. Sam is going to stay on with us for Office Lady 6.0.

[Jenna Fischer]

We could not be more excited.

[Angela Kinsey]

We have our team. I'm so thankful. Second breakfast for everyone.

[Jenna Fischer]

Second breakfast and Office Lady 6.0 starts next week. No breaks. We are diving right in next Wednesday. We will be here talking with casting director Allison Jones.

[Angela Kinsey]

She was number one on the list of someone we wanted to talk to. It's a fantastic interview. We love you guys so much. We will see you next week. Sam, Cassie, I think we all need to say at the same time, we did it. One, two, three.

[Jenna Fischer]

We did it.

[Angela Kinsey]

See you next week.

[Jenna Fischer]

See you then. Thank you for listening to Office Ladies.

[Angela Kinsey]

Office Ladies is a presentation of Odyssey and is produced by Jenna Fisher and Angela Kinsey.

[Jenna Fischer]

Our executive producer is Cassie Jerkins. Our audio engineer is Sam Kiefer. And our associate producer is Ainslie Bubaco.

[Angela Kinsey]

Odyssey's executive producers are Jenna Weiss Berman and Leah Reese. Dennis.

[Jenna Fischer]

Office Ladies is mixed and mastered by Chris Basil.

[Angela Kinsey]

Our theme song is Rubber Tree by Creed Bratton. Klarna is your smarter everyday spending partner for the holiday season. Shoppers can use Klarna's Pay in 4 product to split their purchase into four interest free payments.

[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

Arranged pursuant to a California Finance Law License NMLS number 1353190 Klarna balance account required. Klarna may get a commission. Limitations, terms and conditions apply. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Whether you love true crime or comedy, celebrity interviews or news, you call the shots on what's in your podcast queue. And guess what? Now you can call them on your auto insurance too. With the name youe Price Tool from Progressive, it works just the way it sounds. You tell Progressive how much you want to pay for car insurance and they'll show you coverage options that fit your budget. Get your quote [e-mail] to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive, Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Price and coverage match limited by state law.