Second Drink: Prince Family Paper

Summary

Office Ladies: Second Drink – "Prince Family Paper"

Hosts: Jenna Fischer & Angela Kinsey
Date: June 8, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this "Second Drink" bonus episode, Office Ladies Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey revisit "Prince Family Paper" (Season 5, Episode 13 of The Office), delving into cringe moments, behind-the-scenes details, fan letters, and tangents both hilarious and heartfelt. They candidly discuss set secrets, the infamous "hot or not" debate, and their own personal experiences both related to the episode and wildly off-topic, all with their signature best-friend banter.

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Main Topics & Key Moments

1. Opening Gripes and Media Call-Outs

• [02:18] Jenna and Angela begin by referencing the opening of their original "Prince Family Paper" rewatch, sharing new gripes about being featured (and judged) in magazines.
  • Quote: "People magazine did me dirty, lady. I'm calling them out." – Jenna Fischer [02:51]
  • Jenna recounts how People Magazine reused an old, unflattering photo of her and recycled quotes from 2018.
  • Discussion about ageist comments about Angela and her husband in the press.
  • Reflections on press photo practices versus journalistic standards (New York Times, etc.).

2. "Prince Family Paper": Emotional Responses

• [07:24] The hosts confront their discomfort with the episode’s storyline—cringing at Michael and Dwight’s takedown of a sweet family business.
  • Jenna admits this is her "number one skip it episode" because of the Prince family’s fate and the uncomfortable "hot or not" debate.
• Listener Mail: Varied fan opinions are shared, including from Australia, highlighting love/hate relationships with the episode.
  • Quote: "I feel so bad every time I watch it... But that’s not to say there aren’t some great scenes, such as the Cold open, which is one of my favorite Jim pranks." – Miranda D. [08:20]
• Denny’s vs. IHOP: Fans (and the hosts) weigh in on this minor but memorable debate between Michael and Dwight.

3. Denny’s vs. IHOP: The Great Pancake Divide

• [10:15] Audio clip of Michael and Dwight’s "Denny’s vs IHOP" debate played and dissected.
  • Angela is indifferent; Jenna prefers Denny’s (kids eat free, claw machine, breakfast for dinner!)
  • Quote: "If you forced me to pick one...I think I would have to pick Denny’s." – Jenna Fischer [11:29]
• Personal anecdotes about their real-life diner loyalties and how those changed with living situations.

4. Cold Open Deep Dive: The Great Dwight Wire Prank

• [26:55] Behind-the-scenes on Jim's prank: running a red wire from Dwight's computer to a telephone pole.
  • They break down the stunt’s logistics––use of a rented telephone pole, green screens, VFX, and safety preparations.
  • Quote: "That’s movie magic, folks." – Jenna Fischer [30:13]
  • Reflection on how much effort went into short, silly gags for the show.

5. Set Details and Production Magic

• [31:10] Recap of Michael’s quirky office desk objects and their rotating presence.
• [40:06] Location trivia: The Prince Family Paper office was an empty mini-mall in North Hollywood, chosen for its all-glass storefront and large parking lot. Production snow and cars were brought in for verisimilitude.

6. Character Debates: "Hot or Not" and the Hilary Swank Plotline

• [17:01] Angela calls out Jim for dismissively telling her no one cares about her vote. The ladies roast "who wore it best/hot or not" culture.
  • Quote: "To that magazine and people that like to compare...I say suck it." – Angela Kinsey [15:53]
• [18:58] Origin of Hilary Swank debate: B.J. Novak was inspired by seeing two Hilary Swank films as airplane options.
• [19:39] Hilary Swank’s Reaction: She took it in stride, noting, "There’s so much more to life than looking a certain way." [20:27]
• [20:52] Hilary Swank Fast Facts: From Olympic-level swimming and gymnastics backgrounds to winning two Oscars before age 30.

7. Laugh-Out-Loud Tangents & Personal Stories

• [33:05; 36:46] Jenna’s bang journey inspired by 70s icons. Angela’s accidental paint-disaster missed text, and "Stevie Nicks side by side" photo shoot.
• [36:11; 37:00] Angela’s "mini deep dive" into real-life Scranton recycling bins, just to check the veracity of background props in the driving scenes.

8. Guest Star & Law & Order Breakdowns

• [44:48] Jenna gives a mini-career deep dive on the actors playing the Prince family: their Law & Order and TV credits.
• Angela’s embarrassing Law & Order audition story, complete with bad mime and over-preparation.
• Nod to Emily Evan Ray (Rebecca Prince) for her later work as a documentary filmmaker.

9. Great Pranks – and Accidentally Gross Ones

• [41:46] Rainn Wilson spits a chewed almond onto Steve Carell in a deleted blooper during the Prince Family Paper stakeout.
  • Quote (Blooper): "He sprayed the side of his face with wet half chewed almonds." – Angela Kinsey [43:13]

10. The Lord of the Rings Analogy...with Confusion

• [65:15] Dwight’s attempt to justify his actions with a Lord of the Rings analogy leads to Angela and Sam trying to explain the books to Jenna. Laughter ensues over who the "Lord of the Rings" even is.
  • Quote: "Who is the Lord of the Rings? Is it the guy with the beard?" – Jenna Fischer [66:03]
  • Sam and Greg step in to provide clarity, leading to a lively, humorous, and only-slightly-accurate summary of Middle-earth.

11. Set Secrets & More Fan Questions

• [58:30] Appreciation for set detailing in the Prince family office (family nameplate, handmade gifts, photo wall, child’s desk), all the work of production designer Michael Gallenberg.
• Quote: "The details...made the whole storyline even more heartbreaking." – Jenna Fischer [59:15]

12. Finale: Michael’s (Non) Shark Moment & Alternate Talking Head

• [70:54] Michael, torn with guilt, calls David Wallace and turns over the Prince family’s client list––an emotional low.
  • Alternate talking head: Michael on why ruling with "an iron fist" is overrated ("If you walk through a magnet store, you get covered in magnets. No more iron fisting for me.") [71:39]
• Michael, as tiebreaker, declares Hilary Swank hot, resolving the office debate.

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Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• "People magazine did me dirty, lady." – Jenna Fischer [02:51]
• "To that magazine and people that like to compare...I say suck it." – Angela Kinsey [15:53]
• "If you forced me to pick one, I think I would have to pick Denny’s." – Jenna Fischer [11:29]
• "That’s movie magic, folks." – Jenna Fischer [30:13]
• "You can do that? Rent a utility pole?" – Angela Kinsey [29:14]
• "Who is the Lord of the Rings? Is it Frodo? Is it the guy with the beard?" – Jenna Fischer [66:03]
• "There’s so much more to life than looking a certain way." – Hilary Swank via Jenna [20:27]
• "He sprayed the side of his face with wet half chewed almonds." – Angela Kinsey (blooper) [43:13]
• "No palm tree sighting, several recycle bins." – Angela Kinsey [37:00]
• "It broke my heart that he gave him the list. I was really rooting for Michael to destroy the list." – Jenna Fischer [71:10]

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Section Timestamps

• Opening Gripes & Magazines: [02:18 – 06:04]
• Prince Family Paper Reactions & Mail: [07:24 – 13:01]
• Denny’s vs IHOP & Fan Debate: [10:15 – 13:01]
• Cold Open (Red Wire Prank): [26:55 – 31:10]
• Set & Production Details: [31:10 – 40:06]
• "Hot or Not" Debate Origins & Reactions: [17:01 – 20:52][18:58 – 20:52]
• Guest Star & Law & Order Tangents: [44:48 – 50:15]
• Stunts & Prank Bloopers: [41:46 – 43:13]
• Lord of the Rings Analogy: [65:15 – 69:27]
• Set Design & Family Office Details: [58:30 – 59:15]
• Episode’s Emotional Climax: [70:54 – 71:19]
• Alternate Talking Head: [71:39 – 72:26]
• Closing & Next Episode Teaser: [73:12 – End]

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Final Thoughts

This episode is a perfect blend of The Office nostalgia, earnest behind-the-scenes facts, tangential deep dives (Scranton recycling bins, Law & Order auditions, Lord of the Rings lore), and the infectious friendship between Jenna and Angela. If you’re a fan of the series or just enjoy entertainment podcasts with personality and warmth, this is must-listen material—even if "Prince Family Paper" is a skip-it episode for you.

Transcript

[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]

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[Jenna Fischer]

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[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]

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[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

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[Jenna Fischer]

Hello. Welcome to your second drink of Prince family paper. Angela, you started this podcast breakdown like our original breakdown with a gripe.

[Angela Kinsey]

I did, yes. What'd I say?

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay, it was about a magazine that had put you in a side by side of who wore it best.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's so tacky.

[Jenna Fischer]

I know we discussed. Well, in honor of that gripe, I'd like to start this second drink with a similar gripe.

[Angela Kinsey]

Were you in a side by side?

[Jenna Fischer]

No, I wasn't in a side by side, okay? But People magazine did me dirty, lady. I'm calling them out. They did me dirty. What they do, okay? I get a text from my brother in law. He sends me a photo. He had bought a People magazine because he was getting on a flight, okay. And he was all excited because he was like, jenna, I'm on a flight and I opened my People magazine and here you are.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, that's fun.

[Jenna Fischer]

You think it would be fun, but People magazine did me dirty.

[Angela Kinsey]

What the hell did they do?

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay, they took a quote that I said back in, I think like 2018, like a while ago. This is an old quote that they're recycling.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay, slow news day. We're digging back into 2018.

[Jenna Fischer]

So it says with younger generations binge watching 2000s hit the Office on Netflix. On Netflix. The 52 year old is thrilled to be reaching new audiences. Not so thrilling when she's shopping at Target and is approached by a teen. Quote, they'll say, you know what, does anyone like tell you that you look like an older version of that girl from the office? When Jenna explains that she actually did play Pam Beasley on the show. Quote, sometimes they don't even believe me. She told Conan o', Brien, quote, oh

[Angela Kinsey]

my God, this is some from so long ago.

[Jenna Fischer]

I know. This is back when Conan o' Brien

[Angela Kinsey]

had a talk show, good night.

[Jenna Fischer]

And then I say, they're like, no, but you do look like her. So I remember telling this funny story that doesn't do me dirty. That's fine. That's a funny story that I told.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay, sure. People magazine. You want to recycle a snippet from an interview from 2018? Fine, we'll let you. Fine, I let it slide.

[Jenna Fischer]

But here's what they did, lady. They found an unflattering low angle photo of me.

[Angela Kinsey]

Why did they do that?

[Jenna Fischer]

Why? And then, and then here's the other thing. I know this photo. This is from before I was wearing glasses and I was like, wait, that's a kind of older photo at like a very unflattering angle. And I think they put a filter on this photo to make me look worse. Come on, lady.

[Angela Kinsey]

Do you have the original? Do you have a side by side of your original? And then their mock up.

[Jenna Fischer]

You know, I do, lady, because you know, I love a side by side and I am a mom detective and look at the difference. This is the original photo. This is the did me dirty. They put a filter on it to create all these shadows and deep lines on my face.

[Angela Kinsey]

What's that about?

[Jenna Fischer]

I don't know.

[Angela Kinsey]

Do you have, like, an. An ex boyfriend at PeopleMax?

[Jenna Fischer]

I don't know. I don't know. But, like, I'm sorry. That's messed up.

[Angela Kinsey]

Mm. Well, it's always crazy to me, too, how they. It seems like they pick the most unflattering picture of you out there. It's like, you know, there's better pictures. Why are you picking that one? Like, what is that snarkiness about? And you know what else?

[Jenna Fischer]

What?

[Angela Kinsey]

Every single time there's anything about me and Josh, they always print my age. I'm like, we get it. I'm six years older than him. We get it.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, here's something that I remember, is that when I've had my photo taken by the New York Times, because that's happened a few times. A little bit of a flex. Okay, we did it, Angela. New York Times took our photo twice.

[Angela Kinsey]

They do not edit it in any way. That's the journalistic integrity. So that picture of you is exactly as it is the day they took it. There's no filter.

[Jenna Fischer]

No filter, no Photoshop. They made that very clear, lady. I remember when they came to my house to take our picture and they told us that. And we moved two of my kitchen stools out onto my front lawn in front of my hedge, where I have really good light because they also don't bring, like, bounce boards and stuff. They're like, we're taking a natural journalistic photo. We were like, okay, can we at least take it in a place with really great light?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

And they said yes. So anyway. Okay, well, moving on to Prince family paper. We have discussed how this is a major cringe episode. Yeah, it's my personal number one skip it episode. I. I just. I can't take the hot or not debate. I can't take the Prince family demise. We got mail on both sides of this argument on Skip it or Love It. So first up, from Miranda D. In Australia. Miranda says, I gotta say, ladies, this is a skip it for me. I recently listened to your first conversation with Billie Eilish and learned it's a skip it episode for her, too. The actors who play the Prince family paper owners do such an amazing job of portraying genuinely sweet business owners, and I feel so bad every time I watch it. But that's not to say there aren't some great scenes in this episode, such as the Cold open, which is one of my favorite gym pranks.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, you know, Miranda, thank you for writing in. I know there's a lot to be discussed here, but I still get excited when you say Billie Eilish's first conversation because that meant there was a second. Sorry, I know that's not the point of this conversation. Okay, moving on. We also got a letter from Leighton R. In California. Leighton, you've written us many times. Thank you so much. Leighton said, I ranked this episode high on the list. My favorite scene was when Michael hits his car against the curb and the Prince family comes outside and helps him. And here's what really stands out. It's how nice their family tends to be despite Michael and Dwight's surveillance and attempts to shut them down. I appreciated the scene because it shows how Michael feels guilty, and then he realizes how he might feel he is hurting those genuinely great people. And this family that really works to keep their business open, and it just makes their situation more serious. And so I guess Leighton really liked all the complexity there.

[Jenna Fischer]

It is a complex episode. This is true. And it doesn't end how you think it will, which is. I mean, every time this episode comes up, I'm like, I can't believe we shut down the little family run paper place.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know. Oh, it's really difficult. It's really difficult.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, finally, we got this letter from Miranda J. In Wake Forest, North Carolina, who said, I love how strongly Michael and Dwight each feel about Denny's versus ihop. I must know the opinions of the office ladies. Which side are y' all on? Personally, I agree with Dwight. Denny's is the OG Literally beat IHOP by five years. Well, lady, before we say if we're Denny's or ihop, let's listen to this argument. Michael and Dwight are in the car, and it starts with them going over their plans for their alter egos.

[Sam]

Okay, so let's go over the plan again. All right? I am a local business owner. I need to buy paper. I find out everything about their prices and policies. Your fictitious name? Michael Skarn. Good. I am a paper salesman looking for a new job. I find out everything about their expenses and salaries. Okay? Then we meet at the Denny's and we compare notes. No, I never said Denny's. Ihop. No, ihop. I said Denny Hop. I know how I feel about ihop. Don't start. Don't. Socialist. I don't want to get into this debate again, okay? I enjoy ihop. I'll have a cup of coffee. You will have pancakes, and you'll like it.

[Jenna Fischer]

So, lady, do you have strong feelings between Denny's and ihop.

[Angela Kinsey]

I do not. I love a nice, big old, like, kind of diner breakfast. Jenna, one of my favorite things is when you and I take a trip to New York, we go to a diner and we have a big old breakfast together. And I just love it. My dad loved, like, a big breakfast, and I think it just makes me think of him. So. So I'm sorry to be a lame o, but I don't care. One or the other. They seem interchangeable to me. Is that bad?

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, well, this is Michael's point. Like, we can go to either one of these, but we're going where I want and you're going to like it.

[Angela Kinsey]

So what is yours?

[Jenna Fischer]

You know, if you forced me to pick one, if you were like, you can only go to one of these two places for the rest of your life, I think I would have to pick Denny's.

[Angela Kinsey]

Really?

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, we have a Denny's near our house. We don't have an IHOP near our house, and we go to Denny's. So for a very long time, the Denny's by our house. Kids eat free on Tuesdays, and they have a claw machine. And it was like. It was a great place to go, like, go out to dinner with little kids, especially, you know?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

And you could have breakfast for dinner at Denny's. Like, the kids could. They've got a chicken and waffles, but they've also got a really nice. They've added, like, a nice, like, rice and protein bowl. Can you tell I eat at Denny's quite a bit.

[Angela Kinsey]

I was gonna say, you are pretty versed in this menu. Yeah. I mean, I lived near an IHOP when I first moved to la and I could walk to it. And that's back when my car used to break down all the time. Remember my car that broke down during booze cruise? Finally got a new car. So there were many times where I was just like, ugh, my car's not running. And I would walk to ihop. And I was very thankful for it, lady.

[Jenna Fischer]

You know, we lived in the same area. At first. I lived by an IHOP as well.

[Angela Kinsey]

I think it's the same ihop.

[Jenna Fischer]

We pro. We might have been there at the same time. We didn't even know it. So, yeah, when I first moved to la, I went to IHOP all the time, and now I've moved kind of further away, and now I'm at. At a Denny's.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, you guys let us know. Are you Denny's our ihop? I'm very curious, and you guys, we Know, some of you might skip this episode when you rewatch, but we hope you won't skip our breakdown because it's really fun. We have some great shares about the episode. And then Sam and I try to explain Lord of the Rings to Jenna. We don't do that great of a job, but we tried.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, it was very funny for me to re listen to that now that I've seen the movie and now I know what you're talking about. And you, you don't do such a. Aw.

[Angela Kinsey]

Except I say. I say Sauron. Wrong.

[Jenna Fischer]

All right, everyone, here's your second drink of Prince Family Paper. 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.

[Angela Kinsey]

Hi, Angela. Hey, Jenna. How's it going?

[Jenna Fischer]

It's going good. Are you ready to destroy a small family business today?

[Angela Kinsey]

Prince Family Paper.

[Jenna Fischer]

The Prince family.

[Angela Kinsey]

They're the sweetest family.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, we're gonna take them down, I guess. We are so awful and cringy.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, there's a lot of cringe in this one.

[Jenna Fischer]

There sure is. Guys, it's Season 5, Episode 13, Prince Fellow Family Paper, written by BJ Novak and directed by Assad Kalada. Here's your summary. Oh, David Wallace calls Michael Scott on the phone.

[Angela Kinsey]

It's so funny to me. I'm so sorry to interrupt your summary that I acted surprised that I was

[Jenna Fischer]

going to read a summary.

[Angela Kinsey]

You're like, here's a summary.

[Jenna Fischer]

I went, oh, oh, oh.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, look who Sassy pants has a summary. She has one every weekend. Just. Just expect it. Okay, Go.

[Jenna Fischer]

David Wallace calls Michael Scott on the phone. He wants to get his help gathering intel on a rival paper company called Prince Family Paper. Michael takes Dwight along as his backup. And meanwhile, the gang debate whether or not Hilary Swank qualifies as hot.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yep.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yep.

[Angela Kinsey]

All right. I have to say one thing. I just gotta get this out.

[Jenna Fischer]

Get it out.

[Angela Kinsey]

There used to be a magazine. I don't know which one. You know who you are. They would do this thing. Who wore it best?

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

And they would put two people side by side in, like, the same dress or skirt or pants. And there was always one person that wore it best.

[Jenna Fischer]

Right. You know, and they would have a percentage. Like, people voted.

[Angela Kinsey]

People voted. And you might have worn it best because you were tall and not five one.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay. And maybe you knew to wear the right kind of heels and someone else wore flip flops with it. I don't know.

[Jenna Fischer]

Right.

[Angela Kinsey]

I'm just saying, to that magazine and people that like to compare who wore it best or who's hot or who's not, I say suck it.

[Jenna Fischer]

Thank you, Angela.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's all I'm gonna say.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, that was clearly a general comment. Nothing based on personal experience. I can tell. I'll have you know, I've also been the subject of a who wore it best? So I feel that.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, very good. You know what? You all wear it best.

[Jenna Fischer]

We all wear it how we wear it.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay. That's how I wore it, period.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's my body. That's how my body wears stuff.

[Jenna Fischer]

How about who wore it? Me. I Wore it.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

100% to me for wearing it.

[Angela Kinsey]

And you know what?

[Jenna Fischer]

I got dressed this morning. You're welcome. As you can tell, this episode might have triggered something for us.

[Angela Kinsey]

As you can tell, two gals are sitting here not super appreciating debates on who's hot or who's not. Yeah, Kevin has a lot of thoughts about it. This might be the most Kevin ever spoke in a whole episode. Yes, I think. Is this his most line count ever?

[Jenna Fischer]

Possibly.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, I think we should get to some fast facts.

[Jenna Fischer]

I agree. Here we go. Fast fact number one, new director alert.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Assad Kolada.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes.

[Jenna Fischer]

So our line producer, Randy Cordray, had worked with Assad before, and he told us that Assad was actually originally supposed to direct an episode in season four, but that season got cut because of the writers strike.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh.

[Jenna Fischer]

And so they slotted him for season five instead. So we could have almost gotten to work with this man earlier. And I tell you what, he is a delight, you guys.

[Angela Kinsey]

He's like television legend. He's directed everything.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes. He has directed 77 episodes of the Facts of Life and 117 episodes of who's the Boss?

[Angela Kinsey]

I know who's the boss. If your name is Angela, you know who's the boss.

[Jenna Fischer]

What?

[Angela Kinsey]

So the female lead's character is named Angela. You guys, this show was out in the 90s. I was in college in the 90s. I cannot even tell you how many people left this on my answering machine.

[Jenna Fischer]

Angela.

[Angela Kinsey]

I had that on my voicemail. I would say on a monthly basis.

[Jenna Fischer]

That's crazy. Let me finish telling you a little bit about Assad. We loved working with him. I found an interview he did where he said this Which I thought was so great. He said that the most essential thing for making a successful comedy is casting. He said that is because, quote, you cannot make the actor be funny. Comedy is all about rhythm, timing, pace, and energy.

[Angela Kinsey]

I agree.

[Jenna Fischer]

I thought that was so well said.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

All right, fast fact number two. We got a lot of fan questions about the Hot or not storyline. This one comes from Joe S. Who asked what inspired the subplot of the debate about whether or not Hilary Swank was hot or not.

[Angela Kinsey]

Was it a magazine that said who wore it best?

[Jenna Fischer]

It wasn't. It wasn't. BJ Novak did an interview with Indieweek and he said that he was on a flight and two of the in flight movies were P.S. i love you and the great debaters. They were both Hilary Swank movies. He was tasked with coming up with a B plot for an episode and he thought, why not debate about Hilary Swank? And then he decided that the characters could debate whether or not she is attractive. We got more questions from Amy J. And Rohit R. How does Hilary Swank feel about this episode?

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, wow.

[Jenna Fischer]

Good question.

[Angela Kinsey]

Very good question.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, she did an interview with Time magazine shortly after this episode came out. She was asked if she had seen the episode and she said this. I am not a big television watcher, but definitely everyone made me aware of it.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, geez.

[Jenna Fischer]

I think it's flattering anytime someone mentions you, but I don't think of myself in terms of that. Meaning, like, she doesn't lead with if she's hot or not. Right. Later on in the interview, she was asked about women in Hollywood in general, and she replied, there is so much put on the way we look, which is interesting. Going back to your office question, are you hot or are you not? It really does a disservice because there's so much more to life than looking a certain way. We love you, Hillary.

[Angela Kinsey]

Hillary. Well said. Well said.

[Jenna Fischer]

Fast. Fact number three, Hilary Swank is a badass. Would you like to hear a little about her? Yes. All right. She was born in Lincoln, Nebraska. She competed in the Junior Olympics and the Washington state championships in swimming, and she ranked fifth in state in all around gymnastics.

[Angela Kinsey]

Wow.

[Jenna Fischer]

All around gymnastics. That's the one where you have to

[Angela Kinsey]

do all the things you do all the things.

[Jenna Fischer]

She ranked fifth in the state. Okay. Her parents separated when she was a teenager and she really wanted to be an actress. So her mom moved with her to Los Angeles when she was 16 years old. And she's spoken a lot about this. They did not have a lot of money for a while, and they lived out of their car. They did eventually find a place to live. She enrolled in school and then when she was 20, so four years after she moved to LA, she landed the starring role in the next Karate Kid.

[Angela Kinsey]

Julie Pierce.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

You know all about this, Ange?

[Angela Kinsey]

I do, because, you guys, I got really into Cobra Kai this past year. Are you guys watching Cobra Kai? It's so good.

[Jenna Fischer]

I'm not watching it. Should I be watching it?

[Angela Kinsey]

I am loving it. It's also just major, like 80s nostalgia. It's so good.

[Jenna Fischer]

Is this something I can watch with my kids or is it more adult Y? I've heard it's a little bit skews older.

[Angela Kinsey]

It skews older than my kids? Yes. I'm not watching it with my kids.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, this is your time.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay.

[Angela Kinsey]

Josh and I watch it together. I'm sure there's, you know, teenagers that watch it, but Josh and I watch it together. So basically it's sort of picking up where they are now, right? With the two lead guys and John Hurwitz, who's the co creator. They reached out to me to play one of the kids. Mom.

[Jenna Fischer]

What?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes. And I wanted to do it, but it was filming in Atlanta, and you basically have to go to Atlanta for a while, and I couldn't do that. I couldn't be away from my kids for that long. You know, it wasn't like an in and out. But listen, John Hurwitz, if you ever move to Los Angeles, if you ever decide to film here, I am there. People have been speculating, will Julie come back? Because they're bringing all the characters back. And this is what John Hurwitz said in an interview. They discussed the possibility of bringing Julie Pierce on the show. He said, in our writers room, we speak about literally every character that has appeared in the Miyagi verse. They call it the Miyagi verse. So it's obvious we've spoken about Julie Pierce as to whether or not she'll return to the series. That's something you'll just have to wait to find out. Ooh, I'm here for it, John. Bring her back. Also, a little bit of office crossover. Jen Salata has directed several episodes of Cobra Kai.

[Jenna Fischer]

Wow.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. I would love it if Hillary swank. Hillary, go back. Go do a guest star on Cobra Kai. It'd be so good.

[Jenna Fischer]

And then maybe there's, like, some little bit you could do in her episode.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes, Hillary, maybe I could be your best friend.

[Jenna Fischer]

This is it.

[Angela Kinsey]

And then I could go Just for a week, John. Just like four days.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay. There we worked it out. Jen Salata, make it happen.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, hilary sink was 20 years old when she was a next Karate Kid. When she was 25 years old, she did the lead role in Boys Don't Cry.

[Angela Kinsey]

Wow.

[Jenna Fischer]

And she won an Oscar. She is one of the youngest women to ever win an Oscar. She also won an Oscar for her lead role in Million Dollar Baby.

[Angela Kinsey]

That movie destroyed me. I mean, both of those movies, I mean, they're, ugh.

[Jenna Fischer]

There are only 12 other actresses who have won two or more lead actress Oscars. Those are both lead actress Oscars.

[Angela Kinsey]

So she's in a very impressive club there.

[Jenna Fischer]

She sure is. So that's Hilary Swank, y'. All.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, Hilary, we are here for you. We should take a break. And we come back. There is a classic gym prank. This show is sponsored by Better Help. Well, it's summertime.

[Jenna Fischer]

It's summertime. I like summer. I like adventure, the lack of routine. But I know for some people that can be really overwhelming. If you have a hard time carving out your me time amidst the summer chaos, therapy is a really great way to get back some of that self care, you know.

[Angela Kinsey]

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[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

But you always have the option to switch.

[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

and you can find support and therapy. Sign up and get 10% off at betterhelp.com officeladies that's better. H E L P.com better/office ladies.

[Sam]

The Second World War is the largest

[Angela Kinsey]

event in human history.

[Sam]

A 20 part series with Tom Hanks.

[Jenna Fischer]

No part of the globe was untouched. No life unchanged.

[Sam]

Experience.

[Greg]

The ultimate account of World War II.

[Jenna Fischer]

Every single person had a story. These are the stories that make us who we are.

[Sam]

Listen to World War II with Tom

[Jenna Fischer]

Hanks on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Okay, lady. I did it. I did it. And you were right. I now also own a pair of Archie's art support flip flops.

[Angela Kinsey]

I have been wearing them like so faithfully for years. I have the flip flops. I have the slides because, you know, I have high Arches. And my feet hurt until I started wearing these.

[Jenna Fischer]

I mean, I am now wearing them constantly.

[Angela Kinsey]

They really make a big difference. And, you know, summer's coming, you want to run errands, you want a cute pair of flip flops, you're not going to lose that arch support with Archies, y'. All.

[Jenna Fischer]

I also found out that they were designed by a physical therapist, and the goal was to find something that felt great but still looked good. And they have achieved their goal.

[Angela Kinsey]

You can really feel the difference. So take it from us, you guys are going to love them. Shop Archie's Footwear.

[Jenna Fischer]

This episode opens with everyone just working at their desks.

[Angela Kinsey]

We're just working, just a normal day.

[Jenna Fischer]

No biggie. But then Dwight discovers a red wire that's plugged into his computer. No, other computers have red wires. What is it?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, it's a new wire. It's never been there before.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. Well, he starts tearing at this wire.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. He wants to know where it's coming from. Yeah. In the script, it says Dwight pulls the wire off the floor and follows it to the wall. And it goes over a door frame under Phyllis's desk. And Dwight crawls under Phyllis's desk.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, we did a little differently.

[Angela Kinsey]

We did it a little differently. First of all, you can't crawl through Phyllis's desk because there was, like, a backstop.

[Jenna Fischer]

Right.

[Angela Kinsey]

So it doesn't go all the way through to Stanley's desk. And in the script, Phyllis says, dwight, get out of there. And that's pretty much in the episode. And then Dwight would have said, shush, shush, shush. But I think Rain improvised. Shut up, Phyllis. So Dwight's gonna follow this wire into the hall.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. All the way outside and up a telephone pole, which we can see over Jim's shoulder in Jim's talking head.

[Angela Kinsey]

Right. And it is a real telephone pole.

[Jenna Fischer]

It's a real telephone pole. Jim says he got 500ft of red wire at a flea market for 20 bucks. How long did this take him?

[Angela Kinsey]

Jim has a lot of extra time.

[Jenna Fischer]

He gets to work so early.

[Angela Kinsey]

Pam is like, you know what? I know we were gonna carpool, but you've got that Dwight prank, and you've gotta go at three in the morning, and I'm gonna sleep in.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Like, what's the real life side of that?

[Jenna Fischer]

I reached out to Randy to find out how we did this stunt of Rain up on this telephone pole.

[Angela Kinsey]

Right. He can't climb a real telephone pole. That's not safe.

[Jenna Fischer]

No, because what he told me was that the pole over Jim's shoulder really is an actual working utility pole that's embedded in our sidewalk, you know, right out there.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. Folks, don't go climb it for a photo.

[Jenna Fischer]

Don't climb it.

[Angela Kinsey]

It can get electrocuted.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. It carried high voltage electricity. They couldn't even have a stunt person dressed as Dwight climb that pole.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

So our production designer, Michael Gallenberg, and his construction team rented a matching utility pole. You can do that? I guess. Oh, where is that?

[Angela Kinsey]

I mean, seriously, how do they know these things? This is the crazy part of Hollywood magic. Oh, you know what I'm gonna do today? I'm gonna rent a fakie telephone pole.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's huge.

[Jenna Fischer]

Huge. Well, they put it up in our parking lot between the two sound stages, and they put, like, a green padded platform around it.

[Angela Kinsey]

In case you fell.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yep. And they put up a big green screen behind the whole thing. And then they brought rain out along with, like, a stunt coordinator and a safety officer. And they had Rain climb up. It was only a few feet that he had to climb. And then in post production, they had their visual effects team digitally add rain to the real pole over Jim's shoulder.

[Angela Kinsey]

They superimposed, like, one pole onto the other.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes.

[Angela Kinsey]

Got it.

[Jenna Fischer]

Even though rain was really only a little bit off the ground, they could, like, hike it up so it looked like he was, like, halfway up the pole. Yeah. That's movie magic, folks.

[Angela Kinsey]

That is some good movie magic.

[Jenna Fischer]

But here's the thing that gets me about that. That's, like, real special effects, kind of, like stunty stuff for our little TV show about a paper company. Like, I never really thought hard about how much work it took to do that gag until we went to break it down. Yeah, right. Like, it's such a quick little blip, and you're like, that was, like, two weeks of figuring that out of prep. Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

I feel like every week we are learning how much Michael Gallenberg, Kyle Alexander, Phil Shea, our wardrobe department set designers, how they all made these little moments happen and made it seamless.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah, I know. So much work goes into these little things.

[Angela Kinsey]

It's amazing.

[Jenna Fischer]

The fruit fly wrangler. We had to know their, like, mating cycle craziness.

[Angela Kinsey]

Crazy.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, that was the cold open. Now we start this episode. Michael's in his office. He's on the phone with David Wallace.

[Angela Kinsey]

I feel like David's really playing Michael here. Cause he dangles out that regional supervisor job. He's like, you know, I still haven't filled that slot yet. And Michael's like, oh. And then he Asked Michael to go do this thing.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

To go spy on this tiny little

[Jenna Fischer]

paper company I know to do some field work.

[Angela Kinsey]

Michael's so excited.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, yeah. During this scene, I was really struck by the toys on Michael's desk because they would rotate them.

[Angela Kinsey]

They would, you guys, Every once in a while there'd be some new toys.

[Jenna Fischer]

Here's what was on his desk. A Rubik's cube. Not finished.

[Angela Kinsey]

Mm.

[Jenna Fischer]

A tiny pool table.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes.

[Jenna Fischer]

A colorful plastic expanding ball thingy. You know that thingy?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, yeah. That's a staple.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes. And also the wind up teeth. Those are always there. But the pool table had moved, so he's clearly played it recently and it's on top of all the stuff in his inbox. He can't get to anything in his inbox. It's not important. The pool table is number one of things to do. Yeah, it made me laugh.

[Angela Kinsey]

A miniature pool table in his inbox says everything you need to know about Michael Scott's work ethic.

[Jenna Fischer]

That's right.

[Angela Kinsey]

Stanley and Phyllis are going to start having this conversation about whether or not they think Hilary Swank is hot and the rest of the gang gets involved. I feel like these kind of moments happen in small offices. You sort of start to debate things. Like you pick a soccer team during the playoffs and people debate about the players and it can become a whole thing. And it's just a way to fill the boredom.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, for sure.

[Angela Kinsey]

I have a bone to pick with Jim.

[Jenna Fischer]

Why's that?

[Angela Kinsey]

At 3 minutes, 18 seconds, I titled this moment, what the hell, Jim?

[Jenna Fischer]

What is the moment?

[Angela Kinsey]

Jim suggests they put it to a vote in the bullpen. Angela says she isn't voting and Jim says nobody cares. Oh, what the hell, Jim?

[Jenna Fischer]

That's some Jim sass.

[Angela Kinsey]

Jim sass.

[Jenna Fischer]

Did you notice what Pam said?

[Angela Kinsey]

What did Pam say?

[Jenna Fischer]

Pam says, did you see her with her bangs? Oh, and lady, this made me laugh out loud because I have just recently gotten bangs and people have a lot

[Angela Kinsey]

of opinions about it.

[Jenna Fischer]

They do have opinions about my bangs. But what made me laugh was that before I got my bangs, I of course googled images of people with bangs. You have to do research. You don't just. You gotta look at all the pictures.

[Angela Kinsey]

You googled people with bangs. You texted me, I think I'm gonna get bangs.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

To which I replied, oh, no.

[Jenna Fischer]

I said, I think I'm gonna get bangs right now. Because, like, I was getting a haircut in the moment. By the time you replied, it was done. I know.

[Angela Kinsey]

I was like, oh. And I was busy with the kids, I decided we were gonna paint. I bought the canvas and all the paint stuff. We're outside. We'd made this huge mess. I'd set my phone aside so I didn't get paint on it. And then I just thought I'd check in, see what's happening. And I see this text from you that's half an hour old that says, I think I'm gonna get bangs now. And I was like, oh, no, I didn't get to weigh in. But, lady, I think they're adorable. I think they're super cute. Cause they're curly.

[Jenna Fischer]

I'm loving it. I bring it up because one of the people I saw in my research was Hilary Swank with bangs. So when Pam said this in the scene, it made me laugh. But I really based my bangs on some, like, Mia Farrow from Hannah and her Sisters.

[Angela Kinsey]

You look very 70s, kind of like beachy wave with bangs, a little bit of Terry Garr.

[Jenna Fischer]

Teri Garr wore some bangs like no one's business. That's right. But my main inspiration was probably Stevie Nicks. And I will admit that after getting my bangs, I did style my hair in a full Stevie Nicks. And then I took pictures, and I put them side by side. I was too shy to post.

[Angela Kinsey]

I want to see the side by side.

[Jenna Fischer]

You want to see my Steven?

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, my God. Do you have it on your phone?

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. I mean, I really did this. Oh, my God, Jenna, this is amazing.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, you kind of did the same mouth.

[Jenna Fischer]

I tried to. I put on the same necklace. I did, like, a whole thing.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, you did? We got to put that in office, ladies, pod stories, please.

[Jenna Fischer]

It's okay. I mean, I'm doing a whole pouty mouth, so I got a little bit, like, shy.

[Angela Kinsey]

You even did the dark eyeliner.

[Jenna Fischer]

I did. I telling you, she was my inspo.

[Angela Kinsey]

This was a whole. After I thought I knew your life. This was a whole day. I didn't know what was happening.

[Jenna Fischer]

I mean, I had to take off my glasses for the picture. I know. Which actually made it a little hard to take the picture because I couldn't see very well.

[Angela Kinsey]

Tell me about it. I can't tell you how many photos I've taken of Josh and the kids, because, you know, when you're like a family, one parent has to take the picture. And half the time, I don't have my glasses because I'm not good about wearing them. And Josh will be like, babe, these are out of focus. And I'm like, I can't tell. I Just click.

[Jenna Fischer]

I love how we literally could not be more off topic right now.

[Angela Kinsey]

We are so off topic.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay, all right, we'll get back to that.

[Angela Kinsey]

Let's get back on topic. All right, all right, all right. So we are now. Oh, God. You guys, we are about to talk about a scene I absolutely loved. It's a driving scene between Dwight and Michael. They're headed to Prince family paper. Did you notice how much they bicker in this scene? They're like an old married couple.

[Jenna Fischer]

I loved it.

[Angela Kinsey]

They bicker about who would seduce the fictional daughter. They don't even know if this person exists. Yeah, and they bicker about Denny's and ihop. They bicker about the clouds. Dwight says, get your clouds right. Michael tells them to shut up. But I have a background. Catch.

[Jenna Fischer]

What is it?

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, it sent me down a Google path. Jenna. All right, so whenever we have driving scenes, we always look for palm trees, right?

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Spot the palm tree in this one. I recognized the street they were on. It's Chandler Boulevard. It's a residential street. And guess what else I recognized?

[Jenna Fischer]

What?

[Angela Kinsey]

It was trash day, and there were blue recycle bins in every driveway. I took a few photos. Okay, I'll put those in pod. So then I thought, is that what the recycled trash bins look like in Scranton?

[Jenna Fischer]

Mm.

[Angela Kinsey]

So that took me to the recycling laws for Lackawanna County. Oh, hang with me, because there's a woman named Barbara who I am now fascinated by. First of all, that is not what recycle bins look like in Lackawanna County. So theirs are like these blue round tubs.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay.

[Angela Kinsey]

Unless they've changed. You guys can correct me. Ours are these, like, skinny rectangles with lids.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yep.

[Angela Kinsey]

So here's an article I read from April of 2019. Barbara Giovannoli is the recycling coordinator for Lackawanna County. Barbara shared that the recycling center in Lackawanna county accepts plastics and glass bottles and jars, aluminum still cans, as well as newspaper. It is a dual stream. They have containers, bottles, jars, and cans in one, and paper fibers separately. They do not accept plastic bags, takeout containers, or pizza boxes. And apparently, lady, the recycle centers get all kinds of wacky things. People put all kinds of crazy things in the recycle bins. Barbara has a tip for you she wants you to know. She says there's an easy way to remind yourself what can and cannot be recycled at the Lackawanna County Recycling Center. Quote, ask yourself, is it a bottle? Is it a jar? If the answer is no, that means it has to be thrown away.

[Jenna Fischer]

I want to meet Barbara.

[Angela Kinsey]

I want to meet Barbara. I want to meet Barbara. It's real simple. Ask yourself, is this a jar? Is this a bottle? No, trash.

[Jenna Fischer]

Wow. We have to meet her.

[Angela Kinsey]

We have to meet her. Anyway, this was a random thing I noticed in the background. No palm tree sighting, several recycle bins. Also in the scene. For those of you guys keeping track of how many times Michael Scar is mentioned in the series, this is one of them because it's going to be Michael's alias. And then they get into a real heated argument. I mean, that has history about Denny's and ihop. Yeah, they're going to rendezvous after they get the info. Michael says at IHOP and Dwight's, like, I did not agree to ihop.

[Jenna Fischer]

Socialist. Yes.

[Angela Kinsey]

He's like, you socialist. I'm going to Denny's and Michael's. Like, you are going to IHOP and you will have pancakes and you will like it.

[Jenna Fischer]

What do you like? Do you have strong feelings about IHOP or Denny's?

[Angela Kinsey]

I really don't. But I would say I've had IHOP more because there was one right on campus when I went to college. Basically, like across the street and we would walk over there and there's also one by my kids pediatrician office. So yeah, I've just been to IHOP more.

[Jenna Fischer]

I would say that if I'm looking for a pancake, IHOP is gonna come to mind.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

But I wanna say these words to you.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, what?

[Jenna Fischer]

Moon's over my hammy.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, is that.

[Jenna Fischer]

That's a Denny's special and it's real good.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay.

[Jenna Fischer]

So if I'm wanting more of an egg sandwich, I'm gonna have to head to Denny's.

[Angela Kinsey]

Now I'm just craving breakfast.

[Jenna Fischer]

I know, Me too. Kinda. Well, these guys do eventually get to their destination of Prince Family Paper. It's in like a little strip mall. Right. And I got a location alert.

[Angela Kinsey]

Let's do it.

[Jenna Fischer]

We rented an empty mini mall near the corner of Laurel Canyon and Victory Boulevard in North Hollywood, California.

[Angela Kinsey]

We rented a whole mini mall.

[Jenna Fischer]

I guess we did because Randy said our location manager, Kyle Alexander, had to find a location where we could have some sort of office front that had all windows. Because we assumed that if they were going undercover, they couldn't bring a documentary crew with them.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, that's so smart. I didn't even think about that. When I watch, every single shot is through the glass.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes. And so they had to be able to have a total glass front on this office. But then we also needed this giant parking lot. So he was able to find all of that in this little empty mini mall.

[Angela Kinsey]

I want Kyle to come on the show.

[Jenna Fischer]

Me too.

[Angela Kinsey]

He's like the master of every amazing location.

[Jenna Fischer]

So good. Get this. We had to bring all those cars. And did you notice the fakie snow residue? We put fakie snow residue on all the cars.

[Angela Kinsey]

They're still dirty from last week.

[Jenna Fischer]

I know. And then our production designer, Michael Gallenberg had to create the entire project Prince family paper offices from scratch.

[Angela Kinsey]

Michael, we want you on too. Michael and Kyle, we want you on.

[Jenna Fischer]

We're coming for you. So they're in the car and Dwight's got a little pair of binoculars and they're coming up with their plan.

[Angela Kinsey]

Dwight's binoculars are like industrial looking. They look like they have night vision.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. And then here is my question. Through this whole scene, they are eating. What are they eating? Is it a giant can of nuts? I tried to zoom in. What is it?

[Angela Kinsey]

I.

[Jenna Fischer]

Did you see it?

[Angela Kinsey]

I did. I did take a picture. I actually love the blooper for this scene so much that I filmed the blooper and I sent it to Rain and texted him and I was like, what are you guys eating? And he was cracking up. He said, ang, I am pretty sure those were smoked almonds.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah, they looked like almonds but they had like stuff on them.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, he said he was pretty sure they were smoked almonds. And while they're eating these almonds, they, they decide on a signal that they need to give each other if there's danger, they need to get out of there. And Dwight says, you gotta lick your lips. And Michael does a quick lick. Meanwhile, they're eating these almonds the whole time. And Dwight goes, no, like this and

[Jenna Fischer]

does this big like thing. Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

And in the process of doing this, they started laughing. And when they did rain, in his laughter, in his guffaw, he spit like projectile almond. It flew and hit Steve in the face. I have the blooper clip.

[Sam]

We're going to need a signal to bolt out of there at the slightest sign of danger.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay. Okay.

[Jenna Fischer]

That signal is lit to your lips.

[Angela Kinsey]

Let me see.

[Sam]

No, no, no. Like this.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, no. Oh, dude, I'm so sorry. Oh, oh, I'm so sorry, dude.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay.

[Angela Kinsey]

He sprayed the side of his face with wet half chewed almonds.

[Jenna Fischer]

I mean, you can hear it come out of his mouth. You really can.

[Angela Kinsey]

And then rain felt so bad. And he grabs like a tissue and he starts in the moment, just reacting. He just starts wiping Steve's face.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, my gosh, it's so good. It's so good. Michael then has a talking head where he says that in nature there is a food chain where the bigger shark eats the littler shark and so on,

[Angela Kinsey]

until it gets to the single cell shark.

[Jenna Fischer]

Exactly. And basically, you know, that's what they are. They're sharks. And then as he's getting out of the car, he's doing the whole Jaws theme.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

He goes into Prince family paper, he introduces himself as Michael Scarn, and he sits down and he starts having just the most wonderful conversation with Mr. Prince. Michael's doing kind of a good job.

[Angela Kinsey]

He is. And you know, he completely charms Mr. Prince.

[Jenna Fischer]

He does. He's a lawyer who knows a lot about paper. Because he is a genius. Yes, about some things, but not everything.

[Angela Kinsey]

Not everything.

[Jenna Fischer]

What's this? Is this a phone? Is this a phone?

[Angela Kinsey]

Mr. Roger Prince can't get enough of it. He's cackling, laughing. He also learns that Prince family paper is a three person operation.

[Jenna Fischer]

Mr.

[Angela Kinsey]

Prince, his wife Linda, and his son.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes.

[Angela Kinsey]

And his granddaughter Rebecca sits in the corner.

[Jenna Fischer]

Angela. I did a guest star breakdown for the members of Prince family paper.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, great.

[Jenna Fischer]

So Roger Prince, the father, was played by Dan Desmond. And I found this really interesting. From 1990 to 2001, he was in five different episodes of Law and Order, and he played a different character each time.

[Angela Kinsey]

Let me tell you, I love Law and Order. And they do that. I know they bring people back. One time you're a police officer, the next time you're a judge.

[Jenna Fischer]

I was literally just watching a Law and Order marathon, and I swear, Jeremy Sisto was like just a guest star, like a guy. And then in the next episode, he was a police officer in, like a series regular.

[Angela Kinsey]

No, I don't doubt.

[Jenna Fischer]

Did that happen?

[Angela Kinsey]

I feel like the rules of Law and Order are sort of like a soap opera. Yeah, you can come back in many different forms.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, they loved Dan Desmond over at Law and Order. He was also in the movie Bruce Almighty and most recently in the miniseries Little Fires Everywhere.

[Angela Kinsey]

Gung gung.

[Jenna Fischer]

Roger Prince Jr. Was played by Dan Bacandall. You might recognize him for his recurring roles on Veep or the Goldbergs or Space Force. He was also a regular on Life and Pieces. He has also been on Law and Order, but just one episode.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, okay.

[Jenna Fischer]

Linda Price was played by Sharon Blackwood, who recently appeared in two episodes of Ozark, has never been on Law and Order. None of them have been on Monk.

[Angela Kinsey]

What?

[Jenna Fischer]

None.

[Angela Kinsey]

Craziness. Okay. Wait, I have a Law and Order story.

[Jenna Fischer]

What is it?

[Angela Kinsey]

It's one of my more embarrassing audition stories.

[Jenna Fischer]

You auditioned for Law and Order?

[Angela Kinsey]

I did. Shocker. Didn't get it. You'll know why. You guys, I was so excited. I love Law and Order. I would watch the marathon on tnt. I loved it.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah, same. I still watch the marathon.

[Angela Kinsey]

I still watch it. If it's on, I'm watching it. All right. I got an audition. I was so excited. And I was very new to auditioning. Okay. I'd only booked a few commercials. It was to be a real estate agent. You know how the guys at the top of the show would, like, interview people while they were at work, and

[Jenna Fischer]

they're always too busy.

[Angela Kinsey]

They're always too busy.

[Jenna Fischer]

I gotta get somewhere.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Like, this murder you're investigating is a big inconvenience to me. I have to show a house.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, exactly.

[Jenna Fischer]

Are we done?

[Angela Kinsey]

Are we done? Exactly. I had just watched an episode where they were questioning these guys that were loading trash into, like, a garbage truck.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yep.

[Angela Kinsey]

They did not stop loading their trash. No, they're gonna keep. They're annoyed. I'm busy here. I gotta keep the truck moving.

[Jenna Fischer]

Always, always.

[Angela Kinsey]

I had this in my brain in the script. It said they question a real estate agent as she is setting out her signs for the day with the little flag. Her showing signs.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah, right. You know those things, Lady, I'm not even joking. I think I literally just saw this episode.

[Angela Kinsey]

Are you kidding?

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. There was a blonde woman. And she had to be blonde because that was part of the plot, by the way.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

And she was talking to them while putting out the little sign for selling the house.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, my God. I saw the part. You didn't get.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay. So I go in there, and I'm like, okay, I got this. So it's a casting agent. She's sitting across from her desk. I was so nervous, but I was like, I got this. I got this. I literally. It's three lines. It's like three or four lines. That's it. All I had in my brain was, you will not interrupt me from putting out my real estate sign. Yeah, that's the energy, Jenna. In this woman's office, I moved two chairs out of my way. Her chairs. Her chairs.

[Jenna Fischer]

I had to put up your sign.

[Angela Kinsey]

I moved them. And then when we started the scene, I am setting things out. Setting it out, moving things.

[Jenna Fischer]

Busy, busy.

[Angela Kinsey]

I'm moving things. And it must have been really distracting. She said, you know what? I'm gonna stop you.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, no, you never want to hear that in an.

[Angela Kinsey]

She was like, you're doing too much. Okay. You're doing too much. Stop moving things around and just deliver the lines. And I said, okay. This went into my brain as don't touch her chairs, but do some great space work.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah, mime it.

[Angela Kinsey]

Now I mime putting out real estate signs. Mime, mime, mime, mime, mime, mime. I must have just looked ridiculous. Yeah, I didn't get the part. I did too much business.

[Jenna Fischer]

You know who's been on Law and Order?

[Angela Kinsey]

Who?

[Jenna Fischer]

Rainn Wilson.

[Angela Kinsey]

Ugh.

[Jenna Fischer]

He plays a creepy janitor.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, I need to see it.

[Jenna Fischer]

During one of my marathons, I was just sitting there and I was like, oh, it's Rain. Rain. There he is. You know who else has been on Jackie de Botton. Ah, yeah. She was just on in the marathon.

[Angela Kinsey]

I watched Jackie. Well, if I ever get to audition for Law and Order again, I'm not gonna do a lot of business.

[Jenna Fischer]

Don't do it. Finally, Rebecca Prince. The little girl was played by Emily Evan Ray. And she's gonna come back in a couple of episodes, actually. Emily recently produced and directed a documentary called Stop the Bleed about the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida.

[Angela Kinsey]

My gosh.

[Jenna Fischer]

Emily was born and raised in Parkland, and she made the movie to give a voice to the family, friends, and the community who were affected. She won the audience award at the Fort Lauderdale Film Festival for best documentary. Wow. Yeah. That's what she's been up to.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's amazing.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes. Well, on that note, I think we should take a break and then we'll be back to join the group at Dunder Mifflin because they have more to say.

[Angela Kinsey]

There's a big debate going on. You know, so many of us only focus on where our money is today, but Acorns is the financial wellness app that cares about where your money is going tomorrow.

[Jenna Fischer]

Acorns is a smart way to give your money a chance to grow. You can sign up in minutes and start automatically investing your spare change.

[Angela Kinsey]

The Acorns potential screen is a game changer. It's an all in one shop to invest, save and grow your money. And it's in one trusted place. So you can sign up now and Acorns will boost your new account with a $5 bonus investment. And you can join the over 14 million all time customers who have already saved and invested over 27,000 billion with Acorns.

[Jenna Fischer]

Head to acorns.com officeladies or download the Acorns app to get started. Paid non client endorsement compensation provides incentive to positively promote Acorns tier 2 compensation provided potential subject to various factors such as customers accounts, age and investment settings does not include acorns fees. Results do not predict or represent the performance of any ACORNS portfolio. Investment results will vary. Investing involves risks. Acorn Advisors LLC and SEC registered investment advisor. View important [e-mail] OfficeLadies Lady I love my dad with all my heart. I don't think he would be offended to hear me say he's not a fashionista. Oh yeah, he could use a level up.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, here's the thing. Most dads, they're very famously loyal to their stuff. You know, they've got the same wallet, they've had forever, the same sneakers, the same cologne, you know.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, I'm gonna help my dad level up with some really good options from Macy's. I've done this in past years and they are always a hit. I got him a really great shirt from Tommy Hilfiger, something he would not buy himself.

[Angela Kinsey]

And you know, Macy's also has that great gift guide. I find it so helpful. They have these categories and so you can go and look so you're not just like doing some huge hunt and peck. They've got a great list for you. For every dad out there in every price range and category.

[Jenna Fischer]

Check out Macy's online Gift guide for even more ideas.

[Angela Kinsey]

Shop now@macy's.com giftguide to find the perfect gift this Father's Day. Here's the thing. Ideas are easy. We all have them. But it's turning those ideas into something real. That's the thing that usually slows me down.

[Jenna Fischer]

But that's where Canva comes in. Whether you're putting together a presentation for work or designing a logo, building a website, or even creating a social post, Canva can make anything a thing. I use Canva with my son. He started an online business trading and selling sports cards and we used Canva to design the logo and all that stuff.

[Angela Kinsey]

It's the go to tool when you need to bring an idea to life fast and without overthinking it. And here's the best part. You don't need to be a fancy designer. Canva lets you create high quality visuals in just minutes with simple drag and drop tools. I love a drag and drop tool lady.

[Jenna Fischer]

So the next time you've got an idea and you need to make it real, think Canva. Canva, the thing that makes anything a thing.

[Angela Kinsey]

Start designing [e-mail] well we're back in the bullpen.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay.

[Angela Kinsey]

And the debate is still going on the hot or not. There's a whole debate about what is attractive. Hot.

[Jenna Fischer]

Right.

[Angela Kinsey]

Kevin has a lot to say, the most ever.

[Jenna Fischer]

But first, Jim is going to comment that, you know, sometimes we forget to think of celebrities as real people. Kevin sort of says it's a gut thing, right? And then Jim gets all up in Kevin's ear and gives, like, a husky whisper.

[Angela Kinsey]

Sultry paints a picture of Hilary Swank coming up to him.

[Jenna Fischer]

We got so much mail about John Krasinski's husky voice to Kevin in this episode. It was like just. I was too shy to put it in my document. Oh, come on.

[Angela Kinsey]

Give me one nugget. Something. You remember someone saying one nugget?

[Jenna Fischer]

Basically, this woman said what? John Krasinski could debate anything in my ear if he uses that voice. It was so funny to me. But I did write down this one because Laura B. Needed a soapbox moment. So I thought I'd give it to her. Okay, Laura, Laura says this. It always bothers me that when Stanley asks why they're making a distinction between beautiful and hot, Kevin says, a painting can be beautiful, but I don't want to bang a painting. But later in the episode, Kevin turns around and tells Jim to respect the game. After Jim narrates the saucy scenario with Hilary Swank, and Kevin says, no, it's, is she hot? Not, would you bang her? But he just used the same phrase to explain why he wouldn't bang a painting.

[Angela Kinsey]

Kevin, you can't use the same argument on different sides.

[Jenna Fischer]

That's what Laura B. Says. She says, you respect the game, Kevin.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, Kevin.

[Jenna Fischer]

Laura, we hear you.

[Angela Kinsey]

Angela has been over in accounting. She hasn't wanted to participate, but she can't take it anymore. All right, Kevin. Holding court like this, she's had it. She gets up and she says, okay, I wasn't going to dignify this discussion by getting involved, but I don't even get the discussion. Hot is a temperature, people. But Kevin deserves to lose for what he said. So, yes, she's hot. She's hot as heck. She's a female Boris Becker. I love that Boris Becker. Is it for Angela Martin?

[Jenna Fischer]

Who knew? I know. I didn't even realize Angela Martin was a tennis fan. Clearly. Yeah. Well, y', all, Boris Becker was a German tennis player who shot to stardom when he won the Wimbledon men's singles title in 1985. It was significant because he was only 17 years old and he was the first unseeded player. And the first German to win the Wimbledon singles title, as well as the youngest ever male Grand Slam singles champion.

[Angela Kinsey]

It was huge. I watched it with my mom. My mom's a big, big tennis player. She's phenomenal. She was ranked by the USTA by her age group. I spent my whole childhood on a tennis court.

[Jenna Fischer]

Wow.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, My mom is.

[Jenna Fischer]

I did not know that about your mom.

[Angela Kinsey]

My mom's a badass tennis player. We're a big tennis family, Guys. There are two things that are always on at our house. Either the weather or tennis. Cause my mom has the tennis channel.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

And we'll watch old games. Oh, I'd love it when Boris Becker would play Stefan Egberg. Because my mom had shown me old games of Beyond Borg. And he was the other big Swede. There was Stephane. And Beyond Borg and Beyond Borg would play John McEnroe. Speaking of, Boris Becker played John McEnroe. And it's one of the longest games in tennis history. It was the Davis Cup. It was six hours and something minutes. Can you imagine playing tennis for six hours?

[Jenna Fischer]

No.

[Angela Kinsey]

Unbelievable.

[Jenna Fischer]

I can't imagine playing tennis for six minutes.

[Angela Kinsey]

So anyway, Boris Becker does it for Angela Martin.

[Jenna Fischer]

I think we should go back to Prince. Family paper, lady. We forgot to mention that Dwight has come in. He's going to pretend to get a job there. He says, fire your son. I'll be your son. You can visit him on the weekends.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know. He comes in like full in a

[Jenna Fischer]

china cabinet and he's gonna explain to Mr. Prince just how awful his current boss is, you know, because he says, why are you looking for a new job? And he's like, well, my current boss is cruel. Terrible. Meanwhile, Michael's kind of walking around. He wants to get a photograph of their kind of territory map over there by Mrs. Prince.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

And then he offers to help her granddaughter with a math problem. I have to say, when I was watching these scenes, I was just so impressed with the details that went in to this little set.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know. Well, I was emailing with Michael Gallenberg about this particular set and he said everything you see, they had to bring in crazy. Crazy. I loved all the details, too.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, I noticed on that little girl's desk. Did you see it? She had her own name plate.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know.

[Jenna Fischer]

It says Rebecca.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know.

[Jenna Fischer]

And also on the desk are all of these little, like, hand painted ceramic animals, like the kind that your granddaughter would give to you. And also I noticed on the wall there was one of those photo collages. Love framed photos. They had clearly Asked the actors to bring in some pictures. And all of those details, to me, just like, really set this up as a family business. And it made the whole storyline even more heartbreaking.

[Angela Kinsey]

No, they had a whole family photo wall. I zoomed in. One is like a wedding photo. And then there's like your grandson in his baseball uniform holding his baseball bat. Yeah. And then there was a big painting, like your kids do at preschool, where they take their hands and put it in paint, and then they make their handprints into flowers.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes.

[Angela Kinsey]

Just like the most amazing details. I feel like this is Michael's true dream office because it is a real family.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes. Angela, you're so right. He wants his office to be his family, and this office is a family.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know. Well, that's going to weigh on his heartstrings.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, as he wraps up his Visit, he gets Mr. Prince to just hand him a list of their top clients.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, Mr. Prince, he's just so trusting. He's like, listen, if you want to see, we do a good job, here's all of our references. Here's all of our clients.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, Dwight and Michael immediately start licking their lips.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, time to get out of there. Time to get out of there.

[Jenna Fischer]

Dwight says, sir, can you give me a ride home? Michael's like, yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

And then they sprint, they walk. Hurry, hurry, hurry to the car. Get out, peel out, peel out. Because they know. They got all the info.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes. Well, as they're trying to flee, Michael runs over, like the parking curb.

[Angela Kinsey]

He runs funny for the bumper. That cement.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. I don't know what you call that thing.

[Angela Kinsey]

What do you call that? It's like a partition. It's like the cement blocks so you don't go into the other spot.

[Jenna Fischer]

I've done it.

[Angela Kinsey]

I've done it. But I haven't backed back over it.

[Jenna Fischer]

No, of course not.

[Angela Kinsey]

Once you realize you go over it, just keep going.

[Jenna Fischer]

Keep going. Well, I asked Randy how did we do this stunt?

[Angela Kinsey]

What did he say?

[Jenna Fischer]

He said we had two different identical cars. One that was totally normal and one that was pre rigged with a damaged bumper. So Steve never damaged a car. And if you notice, the camera stays inside the car on Dwight and Michael. So what Steve was actually driving over were just a couple of sandbags.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, it totally sold it.

[Jenna Fischer]

It did. And they had to add all that kind of crunching effect in editing. So, yeah, fakey cement thing was actually sandbags and sound effects.

[Angela Kinsey]

The Prince family hears this commotion and they come running out. And of course, Mr. Prince, because he's so sweet Offers to fix the bumper. And they're like, no, no, no. Well, wait, no, please let us. We'll get a tow truck. And he's like, oh, no, they're too expensive. I got it. And Jenna, this scene made me think of my dad.

[Jenna Fischer]

It made me think of my dad, too, because of the duct tape.

[Angela Kinsey]

My dad would fix anything with duct tape. Same. My dad did this with my first car. The handle on my glove box broke.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay.

[Angela Kinsey]

My dad duct taped it.

[Jenna Fischer]

You know what it's making me think of?

[Angela Kinsey]

What?

[Jenna Fischer]

Josh's duct tape is? Zip ties all over the house. Your husband zip ties it. Our dads would duct tape it.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yep. My dishwasher tray has been zip tied for four years. It finally fell apart. We had to get a new dishwasher.

[Jenna Fischer]

But you can pretty much fix anything with duct tape.

[Angela Kinsey]

Pretty much. Including a whole bumper. So now they're in the car. They're gonna head back. Dwight still is celebrating. He wants to do high fives.

[Jenna Fischer]

He calls them the sucker family.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know. Dwight is that, like, young kid on the soccer field who doesn't know when to stop.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Like, you scored the goal, now stop taunting.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah, all right. Exactly.

[Angela Kinsey]

Michael is having some regrets.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. Dwight tries to high five Michael, and Michael's, like, not having any of it. So back in the office, Toby is studying Hilary Swank.

[Angela Kinsey]

Pam is going to make a speech. She's gonna appeal to the ladies of the office.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. What, are we gonna let the Kevins of the world decide things for us? And then Oscar projects this picture of Hilary Swank's face with all this grid on it, Right?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

And he talks about coinophilia, the symmetry. Right.

[Angela Kinsey]

Of the face.

[Jenna Fischer]

So Koinophilia is this. Stay with me here. Evolutionary hypothesis for explaining why certain animals seek mates that look a. And it proposes that animals, including humans, find the symmetry of features most attractive. I read all about it. I barely understood it.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay.

[Jenna Fischer]

It was very wordy. But in ancient Greece, they created something called the golden ratio of beauty, or phi. It's a mathematical equation, and it says if your face possesses a specific set of ratios of distance between the different features on your face, they believed it could be mathematically proven that you had a perfect face. This equation is what da Vinci used when he was creating his virtruvian man. Oh, that is what Oscar's. I think really talking about. I think he's talking about ratios. I don't think he's really talking about coin ophilia.

[Angela Kinsey]

Stanley's gonna address the group, and he makes a really moving Speech about how he's trying to be more optimistic in life. And in years past, he might have been critical, but he's not gonna be that person anymore.

[Jenna Fischer]

No, I liked this speech.

[Angela Kinsey]

I did, too.

[Jenna Fischer]

You know, he's saying, why are we doing this to one another? Let's just live our lives, basically.

[Angela Kinsey]

Mm.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. Andy calls for a final vote on Hilary Swank's hotness. It's another tie. We discover, like, this is what happens. People just argue their position. They don't listen.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's what Oscar says.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. No one's moved.

[Angela Kinsey]

No one's moving.

[Jenna Fischer]

But Michael gets back to the office during all of this.

[Angela Kinsey]

He's clearly worked up. He goes in his office with Dwight. They shut the door. He doesn't want to go through with it.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Dwight knows that Michael is bailing, so he's going to try his best to convince Michael that what they did was right. And of course, he's going to use the one argument that will clearly point this out to Michael, which is a Lord of the Rings analogy. Dwight says there was a terrible war. Ugh. So many died. Far too many died. But if Frodo hadn't destroyed the ring, then goodness itself might have died.

[Jenna Fischer]

I didn't understand that I was Michael. I have questions. I wrote them down.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay. I thought you might listen. I am not a Lord of the Rings expert. I don't want to get mail. Guys, I just am a fan. I've seen the movies multiple times. I've read some of the books. It's a big commitment to get through them all. Okay, I have not gotten through them all.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay, well, here's my first question.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay.

[Jenna Fischer]

Who is the Lord of the Rings? Okay. Is it Frodo?

[Angela Kinsey]

No.

[Jenna Fischer]

Is it the guy with the beard?

[Angela Kinsey]

No, it's not like a one person.

[Jenna Fischer]

What is the Ring?

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, it's called the One Ring, Right? The one Ring to rule them all.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, Lord. Okay, all right. Where do I even start? First of all, here's what I want to say. I know the battle that Dwight's referencing. I'm pretty sure it's the battle of the Black Gate, right? Which is the big major battle for the War of the Ring. They fought it right in front of the gate, and they were trying to distract the Eye of Sauron because the Eye of Sauron tracks whoever holds the ring. And Frodo had the ring, and Frodo was trying to get to Mount Doom to drop it into the lava lake thing, right? That's the one place it can be destroyed.

[Jenna Fischer]

Why do you have to get rid of it. Why is he destroying it?

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay, because it's innately evil. I'll explain.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay, so it's called the Lord of the Rings. But it's one ring, so it shouldn't be. Why it's not called Lord of the Rings.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay, okay, okay. So, Bilbo Baggins. Oh, my God, he found the ring. Gollum had been hiding it. This is a really bad overview from me. Anyway, he gave it to Frodo and, you know, Gandalf realized that Bill Baggins, like, when he had the ring, it kind of made him a different person. So Gandalf was like, something's up with that, you know? But there was this inscription. When you take the ring and you put it in the fire. Cause just fire can't kill it. Dragon fire can't kill it.

[Jenna Fischer]

Not even dragon fire.

[Angela Kinsey]

No. Won't melt the ring. But when you put it, like, in the. It has an inscription and it's written, I think. Is it in Elfish? Guys. Okay, don't write me.

[Greg]

I believe so.

[Angela Kinsey]

Thank you, Sam. When it's translated, the inscription says. And I did look this up, so I got it right. One ring to rule them all One ring to find them One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. So the ring is essentially evil in nature because it's an extension of Sauron. Okay. And Sauron's, like, bad. He's bad. Bad. But anyway, Frodo ultimately, you know, puts it in the lava lake thing and it finally is destroyed.

[Jenna Fischer]

So lava is hotter than dragonfire?

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, no, it had to go to Mount Doom, specifically. It's a special lava because that's where Sauron made it.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, so it had to go back to where it came from, right?

[Angela Kinsey]

Sort of, yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

It could only sort of melt into its original source material.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, I think so. Okay, here's a cool thing.

[Jenna Fischer]

You know, can I just. Before, I know we're talking about the ring, but at the end of this, are you going to tell me who the Lord of the Rings is?

[Angela Kinsey]

No, because it's.

[Jenna Fischer]

There's no one lord.

[Angela Kinsey]

It's not one lord, Sam.

[Greg]

Okay, well, so originally, they make a bunch of rings.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes.

[Greg]

There's like nine for the, like, men. Some for the elves, some for the dwarves. Then the One Ring can rule them all. That's what makes it so dangerous.

[Angela Kinsey]

Right.

[Greg]

And I guess, I mean, technically, the lord of all the Rings would be Sauron, who made it.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, because he made the One Ring.

[Sam]

Yes.

[Greg]

If you were to get this ring, you would be the Lord of all the Rings. But it will corrupt you and make you evil. And that's what happens.

[Angela Kinsey]

It damages people.

[Greg]

Smeagol, the golem, It'll.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

And the humans. The humans. It makes them like.

[Greg]

Yeah, it makes sense. You insane and murderous and jealous and awful.

[Jenna Fischer]

I mean, that sounded good. Actually, Sam, that was. You made that interesting. Oh, my God.

[Angela Kinsey]

I'm sitting right here.

[Jenna Fischer]

I mean, I was like. While I was listening to that, I was like, huh, that sounds, like, really Shakespearean and sort of like, maybe I like it.

[Angela Kinsey]

Maybe read the books. Maybe you'd like the books better than the movies because you lose interest when things get fantastical. And you could just flip a few pages past that.

[Jenna Fischer]

I don't know. Well, Michael is not moved by Dwight's Lord of the Rings logic. Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Like you. He's like, nah, I don't know. Okay, whatever.

[Jenna Fischer]

I mean, you know, he's gonna sprint out of the office with the piece of paper. He's gonna destroy it. I assumed he was gonna run to the shredder. Yeah, no, he runs all the way outside to his car, but shoot, he forgot his keys.

[Angela Kinsey]

Meanwhile, Dwight is chasing him, trying to get it from him. He gets his keys and then goes back out.

[Jenna Fischer]

And we know how elaborate it was to shoot that, because all of those places, the stairwell, the hallway, they're all in different locations in different buildings.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

So they would have to reset up and then make those guys run and then move and set up and make those guys run. They did such a good job of seeing. Selling how tired they were because they only ever really had to run for short distances.

[Angela Kinsey]

Right? Right.

[Jenna Fischer]

It was not actually all tied together.

[Angela Kinsey]

In the end, Dwight is like, michael, you have to do this. Because if we don't do this, someone will do this to us. It will happen.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. Did you see the piles of fakie snow outside in the parking lot?

[Angela Kinsey]

I did.

[Jenna Fischer]

Nice touch, K. Nice touch.

[Angela Kinsey]

Ultimately, Michael agrees to call Wallace and give him the Prince paper client list. And he realizes he's not a shark.

[Jenna Fischer]

No. It broke my heart that he gave him the list.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know.

[Jenna Fischer]

I was really rooting for Michael to destroy the list.

[Angela Kinsey]

There's going to be a callback to it. It's brutal.

[Jenna Fischer]

Brutal.

[Angela Kinsey]

Michael has a talking head. He shares. It's a bittersweet moment. There was an alt talking head. I have to play it, guys. It's in deleted scenes. The last line of it made me spit out my iced tea as I was watching it.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay.

[Sam]

I've always been intrigued with the idea of ruling with an iron fist. And it is good for ruling. But you know what it's not good for? For caressing the face of a child or making love to a woman with your hands or thumb wrestling or hanging out in the rain, or if you walk through a magnet store, you get covered in magnets. Oh, well, I'm done. No more iron fisting for me.

[Angela Kinsey]

He is so ridiculous.

[Jenna Fischer]

How did Steve get through that?

[Angela Kinsey]

I don't know. How did he get through the line

[Jenna Fischer]

about walking through a magnet store?

[Angela Kinsey]

All of it. It's so ridiculous. It made me laugh. I was like, everybody needs to hear this.

[Jenna Fischer]

How would they pick? How would they? All of these are so good. How do they get in the editing room? They have to pick one. We have to ask Greg about that. I want to hear more about their

[Angela Kinsey]

process, how to pick things.

[Jenna Fischer]

I mean, I know they would bring us in sometimes and ask our opinion, but it feels like every episode they were having to make these decisions.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, Michael ends up ultimately being the tiebreaker. So we do have a winner.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes. He very casually says, she's hot. Yeah. And then our team wins.

[Angela Kinsey]

Our team won. And we had a lot of tangents in this, guys.

[Jenna Fischer]

We did. We hope you enjoyed it.

[Angela Kinsey]

This is just a window into our searches for you guys. You're welcome.

[Jenna Fischer]

We will be back next week with stress relief part one and an epic cold open that I can't wait to talk about.

[Angela Kinsey]

Save Panda.

[Jenna Fischer]

I can't wait.

[Angela Kinsey]

We'll see you next week.

[Jenna Fischer]

See you next week. Thank you for listening to Office Lady's second drink.

[Angela Kinsey]

This episode was initially created in collaboration with Earwolf.

[Jenna Fischer]

Office Ladies is presentation of Odyssey and is produced by Jenna Fisher and Angela Kinsey. Our senior producer is Matt Beagle.

[Angela Kinsey]

Our second drinks episodes are produced by Molly Nugent.

[Jenna Fischer]

Our audio engineer is Sam Kiefer.

[Angela Kinsey]

Odyssey's executive producer is Leah Reese.

[Jenna Fischer]

Dennis. Office Ladies was mixed and mastered by Bill Schultz.

[Angela Kinsey]

Our theme song is Rubber Tree by Creed Bratt.

[Jenna Fischer]

Did you know that you can buy your car completely online on Autotrader? Really?

[Angela Kinsey]

Just visit autotrader.com, filter and search through dealer listings for the car you want. Make, model, color, and all the features that matter to you. Go ahead, get picky.

[Jenna Fischer]

Whether you're into subcompacts with heated cup holders, crossovers with all wheel drive pickups with kicking sound systems, or SUVs that can survive whatever chaos your kids unleash, just drop in your info and you'll only see cars in your budget. Really?

[Angela Kinsey]

Once you find your one and only, you can do the whole deal online and have the car delivered to your driveway. Or you can pick it up at the dealership and drive your new ride right off the lot. Really?

[Jenna Fischer]

AutoTrader makes it easy to buy your car online because the whole process is designed around your wants and must haves.

[Angela Kinsey]

Autotrader Buy your car online really?

[Jenna Fischer]

Lately I have been thinking a lot about choices, but especially about how good it feels when you make a decision that really works for you. Maybe you're committing to a long term goal like saving money for a new car, a future home, a vacation.

[Angela Kinsey]

It's being intentional about your choices and you're just giving yourself the biggest gift because you are planning for your future self and you know that idea of making the right choices for you is something that State Farm really leans into. Prioritizing what matters most and having support along the way. While you're working towards these goals of things that are important to you, the

[Jenna Fischer]

State Farm Personal price Plan can help you create an affordable price. When you choose to bundle home and auto insurance, you have options to choose from to help best fit your needs.

[Angela Kinsey]

Talk to a State Farm agent today to learn how you can choose to bundle and save with their personal price plan. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.

[Jenna Fischer]

Prices are based on rating plans that vary by state. Coverage options are selected by the customer. Availability, amount of discounts and savings and eligibility vary by state.