The Paper Ep 9: Matching Ponchos

Summary

Office Ladies Podcast: "The Paper Ep 9: Matching Ponchos" (March 4, 2026) — Detailed Summary

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Episode Overview

In this engaging and humor-filled episode, Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey dive deep into episode nine of "The Paper," titled "Matching Ponchos." They deliver their signature blend of behind-the-scenes stories, cast and crew insights, personal anecdotes, and listener questions. The central episode plot tracks Ned and Mare on a rural road trip to investigate a potential cult, Oscar’s hilarious feud with an online troll, Esmerelda’s awkward crush on a young Barry, and, as always, plenty of real-life office shenanigans and nostalgia. The two hosts sprinkle in thoughtful tangents about makeup disasters, parallel universe careers, tidying versus messy car habits, and even cursed dreams—all with their signature Office Ladies warmth.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Makeup Fails, Aging, and Apocalypse Anxieties

[02:27–05:58]

• Angela recounts arriving at work with a “massive clump of mascara” on her face. No one noticed, including her husband, leading to a morning full of minor disasters—old makeup crumbling, clumsy hair, and blush confetti everywhere.
  • Angela: “I guess Josh didn’t notice when I said goodbye to him. [But] this morning has been a little bit of a get ready fail.” (03:00)
• Jenna relates this to her New Year’s resolution about “little fixes, big wins.” They riff on aging and makeup struggles as they near “old lady” territory, complete with wild mascara and too much blush.
  • Jenna: “Now I can barely see without my glasses. I cannot read at all ... I already worry about the apocalypse.” (04:36)
• They both share irrational apocalypse fears—Angela’s is being barefoot “like Die Hard,” Jenna’s is losing her glasses and being unable to read.

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2. Fan Chit Chat: Alternate Careers

[06:07–12:44]

• Alexander G. from Texas asks what each host would do if not acting.
• Jenna: Almost became a vet tech—she did animal rescue, considered vet school, and called her manager to discuss a career change before landing The Office. She still fosters kittens today.
  • Jenna: “If something doesn’t happen this pilot season, I think I want to take some time off. I want to go to two years of vet tech school ... acting was eight years of rejection.” (07:28)
• Angela: Grew up loving the ocean in Indonesia and might have become a marine biologist, now works with Oceana for ocean preservation.
  • Angela: “Ocean preservation is really meaningful to me, so I think I’d do something with that. ... We need the ocean, you guys.” (11:02)
• Sam & Matt (crew): Sam dreamed of owning a comic book store. Matt wanted to be a high school history or English teacher.
  • Sam: “I distinctly remember seeing the movie Clerks and being like, oh, I could do this.” (10:13)
  • Matt: “It’s such a grind and ... thankless. But I would love to do [teaching].” (10:29)
• Heartwarming shout-outs to teachers, their own families’ ties to education, and parallel universe musings.

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3. Episode Breakdown: “Matching Ponchos”

A. Cold Open: Toilet Paper Ice Cream Truck

[16:04–20:17]

• Ken and Travis distribute what look like mini ice cream cones (really, rolls of toilet paper) for PR after their sewer mishap.
  • Angela: “It was painted pink and white ... but there was some signage, huge on the side, that said, ‘By touching a cone, I waive any legal claims or rights.’” (16:31)
• Kids and parents end up pelting the truck with TP.
• Behind-the-scenes tidbit: Dave Rogers (director) shares that timing the kids’ TP-throwing was a challenge with limited prop cones.

B. Main Storylines

• Ned & Mare Investigate a Cult Farm
  Ned volunteers for Mare’s trip after Dietrich fears he’ll accidentally join a cult. They set off—Ned with his neat Ziploc snack, Mare in her notoriously trashed car.
  • Jenna: “Ned goes to open the door to Mara’s car ... a bunch of trash falls out.” (27:24)
  • Angela: “Are you a Mare or are you tidy in your car?” (27:43)
• Esmerelda’s Barry Dream Saga Esmerelda develops a crush on a photo of young Barry, resulting in recurring, hilarious sex dreams she recounts to Nicole in the break room.
  • Angela: “[Esmerelda:] ‘He had his way with me. ... Now, I think maybe he’s an incubus.’” (22:12, 30:52)
  • Angela and Jenna share their own funny “dream” confessions, with Jenna admitting to a sex dream about a (unidentified) Office castmate, leading to her avoiding them for days.
    • Jenna: “It was during my time on The Office. ... Someone entered my dream, as happened to Sabrina, and we had hot, sexy time. And then I couldn’t look at them for three days.” (24:00)
• Oscar vs. Online Troll Oscar gets trolled by "GoMudHens10" for his adverb-heavy writing. Hilarity ensues as he obsesses before discovering—with computer help—the troll is Ann Putnam, Marv’s assistant.
  • Oscar (rant): “Asshat is just such an unforgivably stupid word ... So, in this scenario, I’m a little hat worn by an ass?” (41:22–41:42)
  • The team stages an awkward confrontation, but Ann pretends ignorance, earning a killer monologue and talking head.
    • Ann: “Whoever the troll is probably just wants to hold the Truth Teller to a high standard ... make sure it’s awesomesauce.” (71:51)
  • Oscar’s chef’s kiss quote:
    • Oscar: “I see it often in people over 50. They get trapped in the year they join Facebook. It’s as if the technology sends their brain into shock and their online personalities get frozen in time.” (65:16–65:32)

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C. Notable Scenes, Quotes, and Moments

• Spider in the Car
  The infamous spider scene: Mare is on the phone, Ned frantically tries to humanely remove a (CGI) spider from the car—physical comedy at its best.

  • Angela: “He makes this noise, which is hilarious. He’s like, ‘Ahh’ ... it is hilarious.” (50:08) Behind the scenes, Dave Rogers confirms the spider was CGI and Donal’s physical comedy carried the moment.

• Improvisation & Tech Upgrades The hosts geek out on the evolution of TV filming, comparing how car scenes and props were manually handled on The Office to The Paper’s high-tech approach—improved lipstick cameras, green screens, and remote control camera features.

  • Jenna: “Now ... you can remotely pan, zoom ... our cameras were fixed in one place. That’s all you got.” (40:50)

• Cult Farm Visit Mare and Ned arrive at the “collective” to find everyone in matching red ponchos. Jenna points out Ned’s yellow backpack continuity and suggests Creed should’ve made a cameo as one of the cultists.

  • Jenna: “How great would it have been if just one person in a red poncho was Creed?” (63:10)
  • Angela reveals the pencil sharpener museum Mare mentions is a real place in Logan, OH, with over 5,000 sharpeners.
    • Angela: “There’s an estimated 5,000 pencil sharpeners. ... It’s fascinating to me.” (62:12)

• Road Trip Bickering, Tire Change & Ice Cream Float Mare and Ned’s work trip devolves into petty fighting over editorial control and who deserves the diner’s lone ice cream float. Dave Rogers shares that Donal’s brain freeze improv didn’t make the final cut but was a highlight.

• Esmerelda Tries to Break the "Curse" Esmerelda’s comic attempts to rid herself of “incubus” dreams involve salt, garlic necklaces (given awkwardly to Barry), and a dramatic spell-breaking kiss.

  • Jenna: “If you find yourself with an incubus, ... start with prayer, an exorcism ... cleanse your space with sage, incense, holy water, or blessed salt … Some folklore suggests putting scissors or a knife under your bed.” (57:02–58:19)
  • Angela: “She gives Barry this necklace, and it’s got garlic in it. ... She walks past and she, like, throws a chair on the floor: ‘Damn it, Barry!’” (55:43–56:05)

• Listener’s Local Stories: Around the Town
  [45:03–48:55]
  Winter car-sinking contests, local business awards, stage management wins, and historic wrestling victories deliver the heart of small-town America, true to the paper’s world.

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Behind-the-Scenes Gold

• Dave Rogers’ and Chelsea Fry’s Involvement
  Dave Rogers provides ample behind-the-scenes info about directing, filming logistics, and even the cast’s reaction to the Office Ladies’ set visit. Big praise for Chelsea Fry, whose performances they celebrate and who will guest on the next podcast episode.

  • Dave Rogers (quoted by Angela): “One of the highlights ... was that [Jenna and Angela] visited the set. The cast was excited and nervous to meet you ... it was really special.” (74:45)

• Real-Life vs. TV Production Overlap
  The hosts gleefully observe how things were handled “back in the day” (real driving! actual fruit flies!) and celebrate modern shortcuts (CGI! green screens!).

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Memorable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• Angela (on audience Meet & Greet): “This spider ... was humanely removed, but the physical comedy was Mr. Bean level.” (50:08)
• Jenna (on catching cult vibes): “Well, this is how I accidentally joined a call girl ring once ... because I thought I’d joined a singing group.” (68:25)
• Oscar’s chef’s kiss: “So in this scenario, what, I’m a little hat worn by an ass? An ass wears a hat? Or am I an ass-shaped hat?” (41:26)
• Angela: “How great would it have been if just one of the people in a red poncho was Creed?” (63:10)
• Jenna (on the pencil sharpener museum): “I’m actually feeling angry right now that I ... am only just learning about this.” (62:03)
• Dave Rogers (quoted by Jenna): “It was the magic of filmmaking ... art department did a great job making it look like a farm. I can’t believe this was shot on the backlot.” (63:35)

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Important Timestamps

• Fan Question & Alternate Careers: [06:07–12:44]
• Toilet Paper Ice Cream Truck scene breakdown: [16:04–20:17]
• Esmerelda’s dream storyline: [21:45–26:46]; [30:52–33:15]; [54:49–58:19]
• Oscar’s troll storyline (incl. chef’s kiss moment): [41:15–42:47]; [65:16–65:38]
• Ned & Mare cult road trip (car mess, spider scene, tire change): [27:24–29:44]; [50:00–51:40]; [69:32–70:47]
• Pencil sharpener museum reveal: [61:09–62:12]
• Behind-the-scenes technology: [40:30–41:15]
• Emotional set visit recap: [74:04–75:12]

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Final Thoughts & Next Week Tease

The episode closes with gratitude for the cast, crew, and Dave Rogers’ detailed notes. The hosts preview next week’s “Paper” finale breakdown, with star Chelsea Fry joining them in studio.

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Overall Tone

The conversation is upbeat, banter-filled, honest, and sprinkled with genuine affection for both the fictional world they’re recapping and the real-life community they’ve built. Their behind-the-scenes commentary pulls back the curtain in a way only true series insiders can provide.

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This episode is a must-listen for fans who adore intricate behind-the-scenes recounting, hilarious real-life tangents, and the warm community spirit that defines both The Office and its beloved podcast spinoff.

Transcript

[Angela Kinsey]

You know, lady, I love getting a deal. I love, like when you're shopping and you find a way to get a little cash back for your purchase for things you actually like.

[Jenna Fisher]

Are you talking about Rakuten?

[Angela Kinsey]

I am, yeah.

[Jenna Fisher]

I was over on Macy's.com and you have the option to pay with Rakuten and they're not the only place. I mean, I also saw it on Instacart and Sephora.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, I mean, the categories where you can get cash back using Rakuten are like fashion, beauty, electronics, home essentials, travel.

[Jenna Fisher]

Yes. There's so many. It's really simple. Here's what they've done. Stores pay Rakuten for sending them shoppers and then Rakuten shares the money with you as cash back. Yeah, you can sign up. It's absolutely free and it just takes a few seconds.

[Angela Kinsey]

Download the free Rakuten app or go to rakuten.com to start saving today. That's R a K u t e n rakuten.com youm know, a lot of times you get ads that are just not meant for you. You're like, why am I getting this? And a lot of times those business to business marketing ads get wasted on the wrong people.

[Jenna Fisher]

Well, LinkedIn doesn't want to be one of those people that's sending out an ad that's not targeted, that's not intended. They have grown a network of over 1 billion professionals and 130 million decision makers. And that is where it stands apart from other ad buys.

[Angela Kinsey]

First of all, you can target your buyers by job title industry, company role, seniority skills and company revenue so you can stop wasting budget on the wrong audience.

[Jenna Fisher]

If you want to reach the right professionals, use LinkedIn ads.

[Angela Kinsey]

It's why LinkedIn ads generate the highest business to business roas of all online ad networks. Seriously, all of them.

[Jenna Fisher]

Spend $250 on your first campaign on LinkedIn ads and get a free $250 credit for the next one. Just go to LinkedIn.com office that's LinkedIn.com office.

[Angela Kinsey]

Terms and conditions apply.

[Jenna Fisher]

I'm Jenna Fisher.

[Angela Kinsey]

And I'm Angela Kinsey.

[Jenna Fisher]

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

[Angela Kinsey]

Each week we will dive deeper into the world of the office with exclusive interviews, behind the scenes details and lots of BFF stories.

[Jenna Fisher]

We're the Office Lady 6.0. Hi there, Angela. Hey.

[Angela Kinsey]

Good morning.

[Jenna Fisher]

Good morning. You were telling me a tale as I was warming up my coffee this morning about your mascara.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, here's the thing, you guys. I walked in, said good morning to Sam, good morning to Jenna, hi to Matt on zoom. I go to use the restroom. I have a massive mascara clump on my cheek. Mm. Nobody.

[Jenna Fisher]

I didn't know I was in my own world getting my coffee ready.

[Angela Kinsey]

Sam, did you know?

[Jenna Fisher]

No.

[Sam Kiefer]

Apparently, I didn't look up for my phone when you came in. Apparently not.

[Angela Kinsey]

But also, I guess Josh didn't notice when I said goodbye to him. I always give him a kiss goodbye. No giant black clump and mascara on my cheek. But pretty much this morning has been a little bit of a get ready fail. I slept with my hair wet, so you know what I woke up to?

[Jenna Fisher]

Your hair looks great for having slept with it wet.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, I tried to tame my hair all morning.

[Jenna Fisher]

It looks great.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, it's underneath. Don't look at the back. Okay, whatever. Let it go. Let go of the back of my head a long time ago. But then also, I will hold on to makeup way past the time you're supposed to hold onto it. Like, my powder compact right now is just one tiny square that's left. Most of it is broken off. And then I will smush what's left of the powder, and then. I'm not throwing that away. Well, I was doing this with my blush as well, and I had dropped it once, so I had a crack through it, and it was getting a little precarious, but I still kept finding a way to use it. And this morning, I'm rushing because my hair is crazy. And I grabbed that blush out of the drawer and I open it, and all the inside of it has crumbled like a fine paper. And it went all over you.

[Jenna Fisher]

Just like, blush confetti.

[Angela Kinsey]

All over the sink, all over the counter. I had to change my top, so I don't know what the lesson is, you guys. Maybe just, like, when things are past their due date, let them go.

[Jenna Fisher]

You know, this sounds like my New Year's resolution about, like, little fixes, big wins.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes.

[Jenna Fisher]

Like, if you fix that problem, then it won't explode on you later.

[Angela Kinsey]

Maybe it's okay to toss that very old blush. I think it's three years old.

[Jenna Fisher]

Well, you know, lady, my problem is that now I can barely see without my glasses. I cannot read at all. You know, I already worry about the apocalypse.

[Angela Kinsey]

Sure.

[Jenna Fisher]

I'm worried that I'm going to lose my glasses during the apocalypse, and then I'm not even going to be able to read a book during it.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, that'd be horrible.

[Jenna Fisher]

Can you imagine?

[Angela Kinsey]

No. I worry that I'm gonna be barefoot during the apocalypse, and it's gonna be like Die Hard, where he's running around barefoot trying to fight the bad guys.

[Jenna Fisher]

This is another one of my worries. Yes, Shoes and glasses, very important. Well, I can't see my face when I put my makeup on anymore. And it doesn't matter if I use one of those magnifying mirror things. It's not enough magnification. So every morning when I do my makeup, then I put my glasses on and I see what I've done, and it's never great.

[Angela Kinsey]

Do you have to tone it down?

[Jenna Fisher]

It's not the toning it down. It's that, like, the eyeliner isn't in any way straight. It looks straight to me when I put it on in a blur. Or I will have, like, gobs of mascara underneath my eye, and I can't see them until I put my glasses on. So I have to do my makeup, then put my glasses on and then go in with, like, a wet Q tip and fix everything.

[Angela Kinsey]

I wonder what we're going to look like when we're old ladies. Like, legit old ladies. Like, I think I'm going to have too much blush.

[Jenna Fisher]

Yep. Too much blush. Too much lip.

[Angela Kinsey]

And you're going to have, like, a lot of mascara globs.

[Jenna Fisher]

Yep.

[Angela Kinsey]

I can't wait.

[Jenna Fisher]

I can't wait. I feel the same way. I don't mind. All right, should we get into our fan chit chat question of the week?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes. Should we also say what we're here to discuss today? I mean, we can, you guys. We're going to get to it. We're doing episode nine of the paper. It's called matching ponchos. But first, let's have a chit chat.

[Jenna Fisher]

This one's coming to us from Alexander G. In College Station, Texas.

[Sam Kiefer]

Howdy, Jenna and Angela. I'm Alexander G. From College Station, Texas. My question for you guys is, if you guys have not pursued acting, what would Yalls career be? I'm very curious to know you guys answer to this question. And love the pod. Thank you, guys.

[Angela Kinsey]

All right.

[Jenna Fisher]

Thank you, Alexander.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know. I thought that was such a thoughtful question.

[Jenna Fisher]

I've thought about this. Yeah, I know my answer.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, you should go.

[Jenna Fisher]

I think I would be a vet tech.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, you'd be such a great vet tech. You have such a heart for animals, Jenna.

[Jenna Fisher]

Yeah. I mean, those were the two choices I was weighing when I was younger. I thought, do I want to become a veterinarian? Do I want to become a vet tech? Do I want to become an actor? Right before I got my job on the Office, I had just started doing rescue work with kitten rescue. And they teach you, like, a lot of vet tech kind of stuff. You know, giving medications, giving fluids, giving vaccines, being able to spot illnesses, things like that. There's a lot of that in the rescue stuff, and I really loved it. So I called my manager, Naomi, and my acting coach, Robert, and I said, you guys, I think I might want to make a change. If something doesn't happen this pilot season, I think I want to take some time off. I want to go to two years of vet tech school. I just. The acting thing is feeling like just eight years of rejection. I'm just like, that's no joke. It has worn me down.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. It can be a real beat down.

[Jenna Fisher]

Yeah. And this other thing is giving me purpose. It's making me feel joyful. I feel needed, and I feel good at it, and I want to pursue that. And then I'll know, like, should I go back to acting? But I might need to take, like, a sabbatical. Well, as we know, I ended up going out for the Office, and then everything sort of changed, and that path was the one chosen for me. But I've continued to do the animal rescue work. I mean, I'm fostering kittens right now.

[Angela Kinsey]

I mean, that's one of the first things I learned about you in our friendship. Yeah, you were fostering kittens the first time I went to your house.

[Jenna Fisher]

Oh, is that true?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes.

[Jenna Fisher]

Oh, my gosh. That's right. We had a screening of the pilot of the Office and I had foster kittens. Yeah, I remember that. I've been fostering and socializing little feral kittens for over 20 years now, and I love it. So I think if I wasn't an actor, that's what I would do. And I think if I hadn't gotten cast on the Office, I very well might be doing that right now. And I'm kind of doing it. Kind of doing both.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, you are. You found a space for both things in your life.

[Jenna Fisher]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

What about you, Sam?

[Sam Kiefer]

Growing up, I really wanted to own a comic book store, but I was alive when everything went to Amazon. So, like, there is no real physical print media anymore, so you can't really. Yeah. There's like five existing comic book stores left in Los Angeles.

[Angela Kinsey]

There's one in the Valley our son has been to.

[Sam Kiefer]

Yeah. The ones that have been there have been going for like 30, 40 years now. But yeah, that's what I'm Sam, have you been to Secret Headquarters?

[Angela Kinsey]

I have, yeah.

[Sam Kiefer]

That's my home shop. I love Secret Headquarters in Silver Lake.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. Shout out to Secret Headquarters. What all can you find there, Sam?

[Sam Kiefer]

Everything. They're really well stocked. They're up to date. They're really knowledgeable and really nice.

[Jenna Fisher]

Sam, I could really see you running a comic book store.

[Sam Kiefer]

I could, too.

[Jenna Fisher]

I could also see you back in the day running a video store.

[Sam Kiefer]

Yes.

[Jenna Fisher]

And knowing about, like, all the movies and being able to suggest a movie.

[Sam Kiefer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Like the local one. Like, I know growing up the town where I would go visit my grandparents.

[Sam Kiefer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

They didn't have Blockbuster, but they just had a guy that had started a collection and had his own little, like, store where you could go rent movies.

[Sam Kiefer]

Yeah. I also grew up in a real small town in Wisconsin, so I didn't have that big of dreams. I distinctly remember seeing the movie Clerks and being like, oh, I could do this. Like, I could work in a menial job forever, but a creative one. Yeah, exactly.

[Jenna Fisher]

Yeah. Matt, what about you?

[Sam Kiefer]

I think high school history or English teacher. I think I might still want to do that one day. It's just, like, big shout out to teachers. It's such a grind and so hard and so kind of thankless. But I would love to do that one day.

[Angela Kinsey]

Aw.

[Jenna Fisher]

Matt. My mom was a history teacher, middle school history teacher for over 35 years. Yeah. Eighth grade.

[Sam Kiefer]

Middle school would be tough.

[Jenna Fisher]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

And Jenna's sister is a teacher, and my sister's a teacher.

[Sam Kiefer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Lots of love for teachers here at office, ladies.

[Jenna Fisher]

All right. Angela, what about you?

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, you know, growing up in Indonesia, a big part of my life was the ocean. And we'd go out to the Thousand Islands, and it was my real happy place. I loved to explore. I just loved it. And my love for it has never stopped. And so, off and on for years, I thought maybe I would go into some type of marine biology. And then I always had the acting bug, but those were my two loves. And then since being out in California, I started working with Oceana, which is a nonprofit trying to help save our oceans and protect them. But ocean preservation is really meaningful to me, so I think I'd do something with that. Something about protecting these very fragile marine ecosystems. And we need the ocean, you guys. We need it. We need to take care of it. So, Yeah, I think doing something like that.

[Jenna Fisher]

Yeah, that's cool. I could see that.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. Yeah. It's interesting always to think about, like, your parallel universe life, like you know the movie Sliding Doors? Like, what's that other version of you?

[Sam Kiefer]

Somewhere I can see you somehow being a mascot for the ocean, for ocean cleanup with, like, the six pack rings on you, like you cutting them. I could see you, like, teaching kids through song to cut those. Or straws going, turtles, noses.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, exactly. Don't throw away that plastic bag. It looks like a jellyfish.

[Sam Kiefer]

Exactly, yeah.

[Jenna Fisher]

Oh, it's already begun.

[Angela Kinsey]

There it is.

[Jenna Fisher]

You're mixing your improv performance with ocean preservation.

[Angela Kinsey]

There it is. And I did. I did a trip to Belize, you guys know, with Rashida Jones. I've talked about that, to sort of highlight the barrier reef there. So. Yeah. Well, thank you, Alexander. We love getting to talk about all that. I love that conversation.

[Jenna Fisher]

Why don't we take a break and when we come back, we'll discuss episode nine of the paper matching ponchos.

[Angela Kinsey]

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[Jenna Fisher]

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[Angela Kinsey]

And there's so many tools we haven't even used yet that Squarespace provides. I mean, lady, who knows what's next for us?

[Jenna Fisher]

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[Angela Kinsey]

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[Jenna Fisher]

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[Angela Kinsey]

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[Jenna Fisher]

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[Angela Kinsey]

indeed.com officeladies just go to indeed.com officeladies right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Indeed.com officeladies Terms and conditions apply. Hiring. Do it the right way with Indeed. All right, we are back from break. It's time to talk about episode nine, matching Ponchos, written by Le Correa and directed by Dave Rogers.

[Jenna Fisher]

Yes, Dave Rogers. And he gave us the best tidbits about this episode.

[Angela Kinsey]

Such good ones. I mean, listen, everyone we reach out to in the office universe has always been so amazing, but for, like, super specific details, Dave Rogers is, like, all star 100%. Give us a summary, Jenna.

[Jenna Fisher]

All right, Ned and Mare embark on a road trip to interview a possible cult leader. Meanwhile, Oscar seeks to confront his online troll, and Esmerelda has fallen under the spell of a young photo of Barry.

[Angela Kinsey]

This is, I think, my favorite episode.

[Jenna Fisher]

I think it's mine, too.

[Angela Kinsey]

There's so many moments that I was like, I love this moment.

[Jenna Fisher]

Same.

[Angela Kinsey]

All right, we're going to start with a cold open. Ken and Travis are manning a Softies toilet paper slash ice cream truck. Ken is dressed as a milkman. Travis is dressed as Santa, and they're handing out what looks like to be ice cream cones. Did you see what was on the side of the truck? No.

[Jenna Fisher]

What? I mean, it was painted with the Softies logo and all that.

[Angela Kinsey]

It was painted pink and white with the Softies logo, like the Softies lady that we've seen. But there was some signage, huge on the side. I had to freeze on it. It said, quote, by touching a cone, I waive any legal claims or rights.

[Jenna Fisher]

Oh, wow.

[Angela Kinsey]

So I kind of have to call BS on the parents that are letting their kids take these cones. And they all bite into them thinking they're ice cream. They look like toilet paper.

[Jenna Fisher]

They are toilet paper. They're little mini rolls of toilet paper on an ice cream cone.

[Angela Kinsey]

They smell like mint, which is just what you want to wipe your sensitive areas with. What? Yeah.

[Jenna Fisher]

This whole thing is their sort of, like, goodwill way of trying to get the community to forgive them for the giant sewer clog that they caused.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. And Marv put Ken in charge of this sort of brand rehabilitation effort. Right.

[Jenna Fisher]

I have questions.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, yeah.

[Jenna Fisher]

Number one, how much money did this company Spend on this custom painted ice cream truck and these tiny toilet paper rolls that fit on top of ice cream cones. Like, this was a lot of money.

[Angela Kinsey]

I mean, I'm just going to go out on a limb here and say I don't think Ken always has the best idea. Marv maybe should take a look at Ken's, like, budget for things.

[Jenna Fisher]

Also, why is Travis dressed like Santa Claus? Is it December? Is this their, like, nod to Christmas? Is this their Christmas episode? Cold open.

[Angela Kinsey]

Listen, we don't know the answer to this question, but in my mind, the character of Travis is like, oh, we gotta dress up. Okay, I have a Santa outfit.

[Jenna Fisher]

Yeah, I'm gonna see kids. Kids love Santa.

[Angela Kinsey]

And Ken's like, I'm gonna dress like an ice cream dude. And Travis is like, oh, well, all I have is a Santa suit. I don't know.

[Jenna Fisher]

Cause it looks like summer outside to me. Like, it looks warm. The kids are not wearing coats and scarves and stuff. It doesn't look like winter in Ohio.

[Angela Kinsey]

It looks like, at best, early autumn.

[Jenna Fisher]

Well, what it made me realize is that in season one of the paper, there was never a holiday episode. There was not a Halloween episode. There was not a Christmas. We have not seen this group celebrate a holiday.

[Angela Kinsey]

I would just put this out there. Season two writers. I feel like a holiday episode would give lots of stuff to write in the paper.

[Jenna Fisher]

I know. And personally, we loved getting to shoot them. So maybe you're listening, America.

[Angela Kinsey]

Go report on the Christmas festival of lights.

[Jenna Fisher]

There you go.

[Angela Kinsey]

There it is.

[Jenna Fisher]

It writes itself.

[Angela Kinsey]

Itself. Well, just what you guys want, writing pitches from us. Well, what's going to happen in this cold open, like we said, is the kids start to eat it. They realize it's toilet paper. They get really angry. The parents get angry. They start throwing the toilet paper rolls at the truck. And then Ken and Travis have to peel out of there. And I just call BS on the parents. If I walk up to a truck that says by touching a cone, I waive any legal claims or rights, I might be like, this is not the ice cream for us.

[Jenna Fisher]

Yeah. Also, if it's not Christmas time and there's a man dressed as Santa inside of an ice cream truck, I'm going to steer my child in another direction.

[Angela Kinsey]

Turn around. We did ask Dave Rogers about this scene, and this is what he said. He said one thing that was super tricky was the kids all wanted to throw the toilet paper cones as soon as we shot take one, but they only had a limited amount. So Dave needed these kids to wait before they could throw them. And I just can't imagine that. Cause, like, you tell a kid they get to throw something, they're just gonna go all out immediately.

[Jenna Fisher]

Well, we used to do stuff like that on the office. Like, I remember there was a scene where a cake got destroyed, but we only had so many cakes, so we would shoot the top of it over and over and over again, and then we just shifted. Shot the destroy the cake part at the very end.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. Dave said, needless to say, cones would accidentally get thrown, so there'd always be one kid who couldn't resist.

[Jenna Fisher]

Well, now the episode begins, and we find out Mair has been approved to go investigate. If this, I guess, what is it? Farm is actually a cult.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, it's a farm that's three hours south of Toledo, and she's pretty excited to get to the bottom of this. Also, her neighbor's son, I guess, is at the cult and missed his mom's birthday. So she's like, I'm gonna investigate.

[Jenna Fisher]

She was supposed to go with Dietrich, but when she goes to grab him to get on the road, he says, I can't go with you.

[Angela Kinsey]

He's afraid he'll end up joining a cult. He had a dream about it the night before that he joined. So quickly, Ned comes out and is like, I'll go with you. And he's super excited about it. So now the two of them are going to take off on this adventure.

[Jenna Fisher]

Well, he loves buying his squash from this farm community at the farmer's market. So he's like, I'd love to see where they grow it.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. Up next is my favorite Esmeralda storyline in the whole first season so far.

[Jenna Fisher]

Really?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes.

[Jenna Fisher]

Okay.

[Angela Kinsey]

I liked it more than her and Ken in cahoots.

[Jenna Fisher]

Okay. Yeah, we might vote for her and Ken and cahoots. But I did like this one.

[Angela Kinsey]

I thought she shined. Oh, my God. Sabrina is so good. What we learn is this first talking head is so funny. She found in the archives of the paper an old picture of Barry when he was 30. And he was very handsome.

[Jenna Fisher]

He was very handsome.

[Angela Kinsey]

Very handsome. Well, that image really stuck in Esmeralda's mind. And then I guess, basically she has a sexual fantasy dream about Barry when he was in his 30s. But Esmeralda, of course, that's not how she, like, shares about it. She says Barry did something very inappropriate because he came into my dreams and he had his way with me. And she said, listen, if that happened once, fine. Okay. I was willing. There was a mutual attraction. But she's like Barry is now coming to me every night. Okay, I have needs. Maybe more than other people, but, I mean, then I come into work and he pretends like nothing happened. How dare he? As if Barry is gonna know that she is having sexy time dreams about him.

[Jenna Fisher]

Lady, this happened to me.

[Sam Kiefer]

What?

[Jenna Fisher]

I had a sex dream about a co worker once.

[Angela Kinsey]

Is it anyone I know?

[Jenna Fisher]

Yes. What? It was. I. Yeah. And I couldn't look at him for three days. I couldn't look at him.

[Angela Kinsey]

You know what? I think I know who it is.

[Jenna Fisher]

It was so weird.

[Angela Kinsey]

Are you gonna say who it is? Can I guess? I'm having a memory. I'm having a memory. Shoot. I forget who it was, but it wasn't who anyone would expect.

[Jenna Fisher]

Yes. I will only say this. I'm not gonna say who it was because I don't want any clickbait articles about it. But it was during my time on the office. It was while I sat at reception and this person sat in the bullpen. Like you could see everybody from reception. So I'm including everyone in the bullpen.

[Angela Kinsey]

Except not really. The accounting note.

[Jenna Fisher]

I could see the accounting nook if I wanted to. Okay, you're trying to whittle it down and I won't let you.

[Angela Kinsey]

But it's not who all the clickbaity people would want it to be.

[Jenna Fisher]

Correct.

[Angela Kinsey]

Correct.

[Jenna Fisher]

I'll just. It wasn't John. Everybody there? Yeah. But someone entered my dream, as happened to Sabrina, and we had hot, sexy time.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, my God, lady.

[Jenna Fisher]

And then I couldn't look at them for three days. I was so embarrassed.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, I wonder if you had to do a curse. We'll get to it. Remove the curse.

[Jenna Fisher]

Angela, has that ever happened to you? Like, have you ever had a sex dream about a co worker or somebody who then you have to see?

[Angela Kinsey]

I haven't. Oh, I'm sorry. I haven't. I mean, every once in a while I'll watch a movie and then it's maybe, like, have a dream about someone in the movie like, that I found super attractive.

[Jenna Fisher]

Sure.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's so lame. I'm kind of lame. I think at work, though, it's like. I don't know. I just always. I don't know. I don't know.

[Jenna Fisher]

I mean, I think it really surprised me because usually, you know, I just dream about someone like Brad Pitt giving me soup. Right.

[Angela Kinsey]

You know, like, I dream that Ryan Gosling ran errands with me and it was super hot.

[Jenna Fisher]

You did?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes. I didn't know he was, like, driving and I was in the passenger seat. And I was, like, running. I was, like, going through the list of places we needed to go, but I was so attracted to him, and I was like, play it cool. Play it cool. You're just running errands.

[Jenna Fisher]

Oh, my God. I feel like our love languages are so clear.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know. Run errands with me or make me soup.

[Jenna Fisher]

Well, next up, we're gonna get to the scene that you and I saw being filmed in person when we visited the set of the paper. It is this scene that begins Oscar's storyline. Oscar's delicious, wonderful storyline. He gets a comment. A little comment pops up on his computer. He's written a review of South Pacific, and someone has commented on it. Someone named Go Mudhens 10. And they're insulting Oscar. They say, geez, how many more adverbs can you use? And they call him an asshat.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes. I love the term asshat.

[Jenna Fisher]

I do as well.

[Angela Kinsey]

It makes me asshat. And dip always bring me joy.

[Jenna Fisher]

Those are your two faves.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. Adalola is going to have a talking head where she explains sort of the trend that's been happening. This troll will pounce on anyone that gets any tiny mistake wrong. But they use weirdly dated Internet memes to insult everyone from probably circa 2012. Well, there was a runner in the extended peacock version where Travis Detrick and Adam read some of the outdated ways that go mudhens 10 comment on things, and I just. It cracked me up. I wanted us to hear it.

[Jenna Fisher]

Wow.

[Sam Kiefer]

Your third article about brook trout this week.

[Jenna Fisher]

It's amazeballs how you refuse to broaden your scope. Irma Gerd dangling modifier alert. I don't. I don't understand any of that.

[Sam Kiefer]

Epic fact check fail. This is funny. Go one ends ten is funny.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, this just made me laugh. Like, amazeballs. Ermengard. Like fail. It's as if, like, maybe me or you, like, we're stuck in that time too. I think sometimes we are.

[Jenna Fisher]

Well, now Ned and Mare are gonna get on the road. Ned goes to open up the door to Mara's car. She's gonna drive, and a bunch of

[Angela Kinsey]

trash falls out so much, I took a screen grab. There's all these takeout containers, wrappers, water bottles. Like, it's all over the place. I was curious, you guys, is your cart tidy? I want to do a poll in Stories. Are you a Mare or are you, like, tidy in your car?

[Jenna Fisher]

I feel like I'm between mayor and tidy. Like, things don't fall out of my car. When you open the Door like mayor feels a lot more in the world of Michael Scott. Remember when Michael and Ryan are cleaning out his car?

[Angela Kinsey]

Blue Blast. Blue Blast.

[Jenna Fisher]

There's still some night swept on the

[Angela Kinsey]

stick and the, like, the fish sandwiches containers. Sam, what about you? Are you mare or are you tidy?

[Sam Kiefer]

I'm obsessively neat and tidy with my garf. I get it washed every week.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, my goodness. All right, Matt.

[Sam Kiefer]

I've become very tidy. My wife, I don't know, she's pretty organized in general, but just treats the car like a total trash dump and, like, puts trash in pockets and little side holders. And I'm like, why? So I clean it out now, but I wouldn't be like that normally, but it's a reaction to her, you know,

[Angela Kinsey]

so I'm always been pretty tidy with my car, but there was a chapter of my life when the kids were little that I just had to, like, turn the other way.

[Sam Kiefer]

That's it.

[Angela Kinsey]

There were those goldfish crackers everywhere and Cheerios, and there'd be, like, some kind of sticky something on something, and I just was like, this is what this car is. This car is like a human people mover.

[Jenna Fisher]

It's a traveling high chair.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes, that's what it was.

[Sam Kiefer]

My wife will take, like, we'll be at a party or something, and, like, she'll have a paper plate and doesn't want to throw it out there. And, like, we'll take it and then, like, put it in our car. I'm like, you're taking trash into our car? That doesn't have to be there.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's hilarious. I do have good friends where the wife is similar. And one time, impromptu, I asked her to give me a ride. We were leaving a thing at the school, and I was just like, oh, hey, could you give me a ride to my car? I had to park far. And the look of just, like, sheer terror that came over her face. She was like, uh. I was like, it's just a few. Do you mind? And she was like, uh. And then when I walked up to her car, I was like, I think she saw my face of like, oh, my God. I was like, you know what? I'll walk. It's fine. It's fine. There was so much. You couldn't see the front seat. There was so much stuff.

[Jenna Fisher]

Wow.

[Angela Kinsey]

Wow. Okay.

[Jenna Fisher]

Well, did you notice Ned's Ziploc bag full of snacks?

[Angela Kinsey]

I did.

[Jenna Fisher]

For the car ride?

[Angela Kinsey]

I did. It warmed my heart.

[Jenna Fisher]

It made me remember when we went on our work retreat up to Santa Barbara last year when we met Kendra.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fisher]

You drove Ange. Do you remember what I ate?

[Angela Kinsey]

It's all I ate.

[Jenna Fisher]

I was still during my treatment, and I would get really nauseous in the car especially. I mean, I was just spent a year nauseous, basically. But all I could eat was saltines.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, I was gonna say crackers. And they got everywhere.

[Jenna Fisher]

Everywhere. I just ate sleeves of saltines the whole car ride.

[Angela Kinsey]

And I didn't understand how little salting cracker particles could, like, travel. I found them all over the place.

[Jenna Fisher]

I felt so bad. Like, when we finally got home and dropped your car off, I was like, I apologize. Like, please, I'm so sorry.

[Angela Kinsey]

It's okay. It's okay.

[Jenna Fisher]

Well, we're back in the office now. Esmeralda's in the kitchen with Nicole, and she's explaining these sex dreams that she's having about him.

[Angela Kinsey]

It did crack me up. Nicole was like, wait, I'm confused. Are these, like, a nightmare? And Esmeralda's like, oh, no, he was wonderful. Okay, Very surprising. I can't complain about that. But then she says, it's just now I think maybe he's an incubus. Like, he's like a sexual demon. And Nicole's like, maybe you should talk to a professional about that.

[Jenna Fisher]

Well, I was curious. What is an incubus? So I looked it up. First of all, it's a rock band.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, yeah. That I knew.

[Jenna Fisher]

Yep. But it is also a malevolent mythological demon believed to sexually prey on women while they sleep, causing nightmares and sleep paralysis. Oh, incidentally, you can also be haunted by a succubus, which is a female demon who comes to men in their dreams to seduce them and drain them of their energy. And according to the National Library of Medicine, Studies indicate that 11 to 12% of people in the general population have reported being visited by an incubus or a succubus.

[Angela Kinsey]

Come on.

[Jenna Fisher]

11 to 12%. It's more common in students and psychiatric patients. In that group of people, it has happened 41% of the time.

[Angela Kinsey]

Huh.

[Jenna Fisher]

Yeah, but it's not considered a nightmare. It's an actual, like, haunting from a demon that enters your dreams and has sex with you.

[Angela Kinsey]

Huh. Well, we did get a letter. Not about that. Okay, this is very different, but I found it interesting. Trish from Chicago, Illinois, wrote in to say, hi there, longtime listener of Office Ladies. And I couldn't help but think of Angela Martin with this blouse that Esmeralda is wearing. Did you ladies see all of those buttons?

[Sam Kiefer]

Oh.

[Angela Kinsey]

Did you notice the blouse?

[Jenna Fisher]

Now, that you say that.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know. I saw that comment, and I went and looked, and it is like ye olde blousy blouse with those tiny little, like, satin buttons that go all the way down and down the wrist as well.

[Jenna Fisher]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

But I can tell you who would not want an incubus, and that's Angela Martin.

[Jenna Fisher]

This is true.

[Angela Kinsey]

She would get thee behind me, Satan.

[Jenna Fisher]

I feel like she would know what to do.

[Angela Kinsey]

She would. Well, now some really amazingly delicious, hilarious car driving scenes are gonna start. It's Ned and Mare in the car. I actually texted Chelsea and I said, I just want you to know we are gonna be singing your praises because those driving scenes were amazing.

[Jenna Fisher]

I sent her the same text. Did you really? Yes.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, the driving scenes start with Ned and Mare kind of wondering, would they be pray to a cult? They easily fall into one, right? And as they're talking, they go past, like, a meadow and there's sheep. And he's like, oh, my gosh, that sheep looks like Flossy. He had a sheep growing up. And then he tells Mar. But then, you know, it had to go live on this farm. And Mare is like, oh, my God, no. That sheep died. They just tell you that the animal's gonna go live on a farm.

[Jenna Fisher]

Yeah. She's also like, wait, how did you have a sheep growing up?

[Angela Kinsey]

What are you, a Hungarian prince? That's what she says.

[Jenna Fisher]

And he's like, oh, I went to a petting zoo and I fell in love with this one sheep. And so then my parents bought it for me and let me bring it home, but then it wasn't housebroken, so then it had to go live on the farm. She's like, there's so many things that you've just said that are so unrelatable. It's a very funny scene. And we got a fan question from Sheena P. In Austin, Texas, who asked how much of the flossy convers was improv. Well, I asked Chelsea. She said it was all pretty much scripted. She also said that her and Donal were just saying. Cause, you know, they're back shooting season two now. They were just reminiscing about season one and saying that this day of shooting these driving scenes was one of their most fun days to shoot.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, I had some questions for Dave Rogers about these driving sequences. I wondered where they filmed them because it looked like real farm community. And we also had a question from Caitlin P. In Wakeman, Ohio, who said, was Mayor actually driving? And here's what Dave had to say about all of that. Dave said, okay, let me start by saying that the things we used to do in the Office when we'd have the cast actually driving the cars is now a thing of the past. Lady, that's probably a good idea. I mean, I can't believe I drove the car when Dwight ran me off the road.

[Jenna Fisher]

Yeah. I can't believe that Katherine and I were driving when I'm teaching Nellie to

[Angela Kinsey]

drive and she's eating a salad.

[Jenna Fisher]

I mean, what were we thinking?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. Craziness. Dave goes on to say, they actually don't let you free drive anymore, even if we have precision drivers on the road as background cars. We shot a lot of scenes on the Office with cast driving. And I'm a fan of it as it looks real, because it is real. But I think all television shows have stopped allowing that because of safety reasons. So Mare was not really driving, but the car was also not on a

[Jenna Fisher]

trailer, because that's the other way we would do it. Sometimes we weren't really driving, but they would put the car onto the back of this big trailer and they would tow it.

[Angela Kinsey]

So it looks like you're driving, but you're just being towed.

[Jenna Fisher]

Yeah, but you're really out on the road. Yeah, but that was not the case here.

[Angela Kinsey]

No. Dave said because of the amount of driving scenes and the earlier sunset times that come with daylight savings, combined with a packed shooting schedule that included shooting numerous other scenes on the same day. Dave described that there were these plates that literally wrapped around the car, the front, sides, and back. And there were also screens in the front of the windshield. And here's what that looks like, you guys, Jen and I have both done this. Like, I did a driving scene for the television show Better Things, and when they have plates around the car, it had, like, scenery on these big, like, screens. Was that your experience, Jenna?

[Jenna Fisher]

Well, he's calling them plates. Cause that's the industry term. But I think it's more accurate to say they're like giant green screens that surround the car, and then they project the road onto it, the moving road, onto these screens that surround the car.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, there were, like, these huge squares on stands that surround the car.

[Jenna Fisher]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

And then they can put whatever they want on those big squares to show wherever you are. So my driving scene was in a city there in the country.

[Jenna Fisher]

Yeah. I did this for that television show I did in London called Yumi and the Apocalypse. And it was crazy because, like, in this episode, there's gonna be a moment where, like, Donal puts the window down, Ned puts the window down, and Then like all this air comes in. And so they have old timey fans. And also like, truly, there's just some dudes in the back just like rocking the car.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. I did find it kind of sad, surreal, because I'd only ever done driving scenes on the Office where we were actually on the road. So the things I looked out the window were real trees I was passing and stuff like that. And when I did my scene on better Things, I'm in the backseat and we hit a bump. But it's kind of distracting because there's just like three men right outside. Yeah, like kind of raising the car. David said while there are pros and cons to using this technique, ultimately he felt like it looked pretty realistic and allowed them to have more shooting time. And that took away a lot of pressure for everyone. And I think you see them having fun. I think it really paid off.

[Jenna Fisher]

They tricked me. So I watched it and my question was the same. Where did they do these driving scenes? And when we got this information from Dave, I went back and rewatched it. I can't tell at all.

[Angela Kinsey]

Same. I literally thought they took a road trip to like some part of Northern California where it's farming community.

[Jenna Fisher]

Same. Well, I had another question for Dave about how they shot these scenes, especially now, knowing that they weren't really on the road. You know, Ange, my family is rewatching the Office. It's my kids first time seeing the show. It's been really fun. But something I'm noticing is how when we had driving scenes on the Office, you know, we used the little lipstick cameras inside the car. There is a real degrade in quality, like if you see us in the Office and then it cuts to people in the car. I didn't really notice it before, like originally when I watched the show. But now in this rewatch, I'm really seeing it. And I asked Dave, like, this looks really clear. Like, I didn't. I'm not seeing that degrade in quality. Were you using lipstick cameras? Like, how did that work? And Dave said that the lipstick cameras that we used in the cars shooting the Office, they did not have the same quality of resolution or lenses that our regular cameras had. He said, but that was the style for documentaries back then. That was what happened on reality shows when you got in the car and that they sort of saw that as part of the storytelling. They liked it. Yeah, they embraced it. He said. But now, you know, we're several years from the Office ending. And he believes the documentary crew got some newer equipment they still use lipstick cameras, but now lipstick cameras can get you a sharper image. And listen to this. They can be controlled remotely. You can zoom, you can pan. We couldn't do any of that stuff. Our lipstick cameras were fixed in one place. That's all you got.

[Angela Kinsey]

You saw, and you only saw what their lens saw.

[Jenna Fisher]

So he said they used three in the car, but they could pan, they could zoom. He said it was amazing. He said he positioned one as a wide shot and then he did two that kind of were cross angled. He wanted to be able to see the actors, but he also wanted to see out the side windows.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, you got me. I thought it was amazing. Really well done. Well, now we go back to the Toledo Truth Teller in the bullpen. Oscar is really spinning out over being called an asshat. And he has a rant. Jenna and I both texted Oscar Nunez about how amazing he is in this rant. I mean, eventually he's gonna come on and we're gonna talk to him all about it.

[Jenna Fisher]

But this was my chef's kiss moment of the episode. I think we should hear it.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oscar, do you have the order number

[Sam Kiefer]

for asshat is just such an unforgivably stupid word.

[Angela Kinsey]

Unforgivably.

[Jenna Fisher]

Another adverb.

[Sam Kiefer]

Okay, well, it's a vile thing to call someone. But all I'm saying is how stupid it is because what? So in this scenario, what, I'm a little hat worn by an ass? An ass wears a hat? Or am I an ass shaped hat?

[Angela Kinsey]

What? Do you see what I'm saying?

[Sam Kiefer]

You just.

[Jenna Fisher]

I want to find them.

[Sam Kiefer]

I want to find them and grab them and just explain to them how funny it is the whole scenario, how amusing it is to me. That's all. Because you can't. But you can't because it's computers and it's Internet. So you can't tell them. Cause you can't find them. Cause there's no way you could track

[Jenna Fisher]

down their IP address. IP address? Yeah, it's traceable.

[Sam Kiefer]

I can track them. No, no, no.

[Jenna Fisher]

Oscar, look at me.

[Sam Kiefer]

Dude. Revenge is a very dark road and it can be surprisingly expensive. Okay? But if you do want to go down this road, you'd call it. And the number is 3271.

[Jenna Fisher]

Lady, I love the journey that Oscar goes on. He's angry, but then he's like, but it's funny. It's funny to me.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. And then also a little bit that this dates all of us were of a certain generation that you're like, but you can't find it, it's computers. Yeah. There's no way you'll ever know. And they're like, actually, it's just you can track down the IP address.

[Jenna Fisher]

We should mention that Oscar was nominated for a critics choice award for the paper for best supporting actor in a comedy. And this is why, guys, this is it right here.

[Angela Kinsey]

Watch this scene. He does this very funny thing too where he does like a little tiny hat like on his head. He's like, am I an ass that wears a hat? Like, it's great. Oscar's just brilliant. Well, why don't we take a break and when we come back, there is a spider in mare's car.

[Jenna Fisher]

Sorry, I'm laughing about it. I know because it's so good. I watched this scene so many times.

[Angela Kinsey]

We need to break it down. We'll be back. The Emmy winning comedy Scrubs is coming back to ABC with a fresh Pulse. It's been 15 years since we've checked in with the gang at Sacred Heart Hospital. The beloved original cast, Zach Braff, Donald Faison and Sarah Chalk scrub back in older and maybe wiser Judy Reyes and

[Jenna Fisher]

John C. McKinley also reprise their iconic roles. And Scrubs fans, you'll be thrilled to see some of your other fan favorite characters pop up. Though we can't reveal any more names just yet.

[Angela Kinsey]

After creating huge hits like Ted Lasso and shrinking, executive producer Bill Lawrence has put together a diverse, talented group of writers to bring to life the Scrubs universe of today.

[Jenna Fisher]

And there's a healthy injection of super funny, colorful new characters including a fresh group of newbie interns and co workers slash nemeses like Vanessa Bayer and Joel Kim.

[Angela Kinsey]

Booster the new season of scrubs Wednesdays at 8, 7 Central on ABC and streaming on Hulu.

[Sam Kiefer]

Pancetta mushroom tortellini. You could eat smart, still fit in your bikini.

[Angela Kinsey]

I ordered blue apron.

[Sam Kiefer]

I been happy ever since they sent pre portioned meals.

[Angela Kinsey]

I don't make no measurements.

[Sam Kiefer]

Saute the pancetta then I add the

[Angela Kinsey]

mushrooms large skillet cause you can't have too much room.

[Sam Kiefer]

Garlic, pesto, tomato paste, Calabrian chili season. To taste, order blue apron. Today.

[Angela Kinsey]

We are back and it's time for around the town. Our first one is from Sarah T. In Burlington, Wisconsin. Sarah wrote in and said every winter my town puts an old car on the ice of the lake downtown. There is a contest for whoever can guess the day it falls through the ice. It just recently made its yearly appearance.

[Jenna Fisher]

Sam, so many questions.

[Angela Kinsey]

So many questions. I actually googled this after I read it. This is a whole thing.

[Sam Kiefer]

Yeah, this is right where I grew up. I remember this.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, they put all kinds of things on the ice.

[Sam Kiefer]

Yeah, they do refrigerators, all sorts of things.

[Angela Kinsey]

I saw one where they made a giant kind of like look like a paper mache statue of a person. Like to see when he slowly sank in.

[Jenna Fisher]

When do they get the stuff out?

[Sam Kiefer]

I don't know that they ever do.

[Angela Kinsey]

No, they have to drag it out.

[Jenna Fisher]

Cars and refrigerators at the bottom of this lake?

[Sam Kiefer]

Look, I'm going to assume so.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, no. I hope they drag him out.

[Sam Kiefer]

Who's gonna drag him out? Whose responsibility is that?

[Jenna Fisher]

I don't know. Also the contest. What do you win? Just bragging rights.

[Sam Kiefer]

I'm gonna assume meat or beer or cheese since Burlington, Wisconsin.

[Jenna Fisher]

Sarah, we have questions.

[Angela Kinsey]

Sarah, we have questions. I also know winter really drags on up there and you kind of need to make some entertainment for yourselves.

[Sam Kiefer]

Oh, yeah, I'm on board with this.

[Jenna Fisher]

Next up is Kristin A. From Shenandoah, Iowa. I run a small dealership in southwest Iowa. We were just named the Iowa nomination for the national independent quality dealer award.

[Angela Kinsey]

Hey, congratulations, Kristen.

[Jenna Fisher]

The winner will be announced in June at the national convention. It's based on industry involvement, business operations and community involvement. It's huge for our town and huge for women thriving in a male dominated industry. So wish us luck.

[Angela Kinsey]

Good luck.

[Jenna Fisher]

Good luck, Kristen.

[Angela Kinsey]

Next up, we have Beth S. From Columbia, Maryland. Beth says proud mom. Reporting from Howard County, Maryland, high school actor and avid the office fan, Luke is now assistant stage manager of this spring's production of Cinderella the musical. After over 10 years of acting in youth theater programs, Luke has decided to explore other aspects of theater and began training to be stage manager. Acting as assistant stage manager this season he hopes to continue in this role as he continues high school with some acting should the perfect role come around.

[Jenna Fisher]

Luke, thank you so much for exploring stage management. It is such an important part of the theater experience. I mean, you're the Kelly Cantley of the show. You're the first AD you keep it going, you keep it scheduled. The props you call the show, you call the show.

[Angela Kinsey]

None of it happens without you, without

[Jenna Fisher]

a great stage manage. So I love it. And also keep performing, Luke.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fisher]

All right. Our last around the town from Jenny L. In big Piney, Wyoming. Ms. Kamia R. A senior at Big Piney High school, became the first female and only second wrestler in school history to win the statewide wrestling tournament. Ron Thon in Wyoming, this means you are the best wrestler in your weight class in the whole state because they do not break into school sized classifications. Congratulations, Camilla.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fisher]

What a huge accomplishment.

[Angela Kinsey]

Way to go.

[Jenna Fisher]

I loved hearing about these young people who are out there doing what they love and just crushing it.

[Angela Kinsey]

Thank you so much for writing in and sending you around the towns. It just makes me so happy and I think of my grandmother every time.

[Jenna Fisher]

Keep them coming. You can find the folder for your submission on officeladies.com all right, let's get back to this paper breakdown. Angela, like we said, we're going to be back in the car with Mare and Ned.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. It starts with Mare eating a bag of chips, which she then just throws over her shoulder into the backseat.

[Jenna Fisher]

And then Mare gets a call from a writer from Cleveland Today magazine who was very impressed by her article on the sewer clog.

[Angela Kinsey]

And while Mare is talking to this writer, she spies out of the corner of her eye a pretty big black spider crawling alongside the window next to Ned.

[Jenna Fisher]

Yeah. So she kind of motions. She's like, could you get rid of that spider? And he's like, oh, he is completely unnerved by this spider.

[Angela Kinsey]

He does so many hijinks, trying to basically get this spider into a cup. He's got, like, a piece of paper. He's got an old paper cup he's trying to shove it in. And Mara's like, just smush it. Just smush it. And Ned's like, I have a system. And it's humane. He's gonna try to get the spider out the window, but he tries to

[Jenna Fisher]

throw it out the wind. It does that thing where, like, the web sort of connects to the cup and then it swings in his face

[Angela Kinsey]

and it blows back into the car, but he can't find it. Is it on him somewhere? He panics. He, like, makes this noise, which is hilarious. He's like, ah. It's all the. While Mara is trying to have this very serious conversation with this writer, and it is hilarious.

[Jenna Fisher]

We got a question from Christine Kay in Dublin, Ireland, who said, hey, ladies, I'd love to know everything about the spider in the car scene. Was the spider cgi? How was it choreographed? How much was improv? It just cracks me up every single time I watch it. The physical comedy is brilliant. Mr. Bean level. Well, we asked Dave. Dave said the spider was cgi. They rehearsed and guided the actors on exactly where the spider would be and what it would be doing. Dave said Donal just really sold it.

[Angela Kinsey]

He did.

[Jenna Fisher]

He sold getting hit in the face with it, trying to get it off his body. He said the visual effects team did an Amazing job making it all feel real. Dave said at one point in pre production, they did talk about having a real spider. They even talked about having a real spider walk across one of the lipstick cameras. But Dave said he thought it was kind of unnecessary. He was afraid that it wouldn't register as clearly. I mean, this is just reminding me of how when we did that fruit fly scene in the break room of the office, it was real. They brought in a fruit fly wrangler. There's so many things I'm noticing that we did on the office. We were really driving. We brought actual fruit flies in, and now they can do it with all of this technology.

[Angela Kinsey]

I think about what Greg said when he was on our episode breaking down the booze crew, that they went to such effort to have this boat go out into the open ocean at night so you could see that we were on the ocean at night. And he said it just looked black.

[Jenna Fisher]

Yeah. He said we could have very easily been on a soundstage, and probably if we were on a soundstage, they could have made us look more like we were out at sea. Because you're right. I remember that he said we pointed the cameras out, and you could see nothing.

[Sam Kiefer]

It was just.

[Jenna Fisher]

Just night.

[Angela Kinsey]

And then they wouldn't have lost four actors out to sea as they were trying to get to shore.

[Jenna Fisher]

But then we wouldn't have had all these fun stories.

[Angela Kinsey]

We wouldn't have all the stories, and people wouldn't have actually really gotten nauseous, which is what happened.

[Jenna Fisher]

Yes.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, I couldn't help but think, this is so random, but I was watching the scene, and I'm cracking up about the spider and sort of like the two types of people. Like, Mara's like, just smush it. And he's like, no, I want to help it. Get back to nature, lady. Josh and I went to look at tile. Okay, we have a leak in our son's bathroom in the shower. They're gonna have to bust open the tile. Anyway. We're gonna have to replace the tile. So we go to this tile store together. We open the door and walk in, and there's like, this kind of little lobby way, but only in the way that a tile store would do. A lobby. Which means that the lobby itself, the tile, features all kinds of different tiles.

[Jenna Fisher]

Yeah, I know what you're talking about.

[Angela Kinsey]

So you walk in, and then there was a woman kind of sitting behind a computer, and she's like, do you guys have an appointment? And I was like, we do. We had just stepped in. We're like, two steps into this tile store, and then this other woman walks past us in front of us. She's got a clipboard. She works there, and all of us at the same time. Four strangers clock this huge spider crawling across their tile lobby. And this woman doesn't even skip a step. She just strolls past us and spoon steps on it, smushes it. It's a big spider. It's a big smush. And then she just keeps on going, leaves the spider carcass. And me and Josh are like, is anyone gonna. Do I. What do I. What do we do here? Do we tidy up this thing? Do we just go about our day? It was so odd. It was so, like, just a weird moment between four strangers.

[Jenna Fisher]

I mean, I would find that unnerving. I'm a scoop it into the cup person.

[Angela Kinsey]

I'm a scoop it into the cup person, too. I'm like, let's try to. Like, I was playing tennis the other day. There was a bee on the tennis court. I'm like, wait, wait, wait. I went and got a stick. I tried to get the bee to crawl on the stick, and then I took the bee on the stick over to the bushes.

[Jenna Fisher]

I mean, listen, we need to protect our bees and spiders. They're actually really important. You know, they eat mosquitoes. Well, thankfully, Ned did not squish this spider because we would've missed out on this hilarious scene.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. Well, now I think maybe one of my favorite moments. I mean, there's so many in this episode next to the whole spider storyline. We're back with Esmerelda. She is gonna give Barry a gift, a quote unquote gift she found in the mailroom. And really, this is her taking the advice of her psychic on how to break the curse. She has a talking head about all the steps she's taking to break this curse. And I really want us to hear it. I'm trying to be rational and practical about this very situation. Of course I sprinkled salt on my doorstep and on my windowsills. That did nothing. Now, my psychic told me that there is another method that is scientifically proven that is going to be to break the incubus. Oh, wow, that looks nice. I think you should wear it for

[Jenna Fisher]

seven days and seven nights without showering

[Angela Kinsey]

and then bury it under a red rock with the full moon. So, yeah, she's given Barry this necklace, and it's got garlic in it. He just smells it. He's like, ugh. And he tosses it in the trash. Esmeralda is so pissed. She Walks past and she, like, throws a chair in the floor. She's like, damn it, Barry. This did make me be a lady that Googles.

[Jenna Fisher]

What'd you google?

[Angela Kinsey]

Different ways to break a curse.

[Jenna Fisher]

Oh, What'd you find?

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, have you ever heard of any of these? I'm just going to throw out a few. The uncrossing bath. You take a bath with ingredients meant to uncross you, such as salt, rue, sage, I don't know, egg cleanse. You roll a raw egg over your body to absorb the negative energy, but then you have to dispose of it far from your home. Salt protection. Esmeralda mentions this. You put salt under your doormats, in the corners, put it around your house to remove negative influences. Then there's protective herbs. Then there's a thing with a broom. Have you heard of this lady? You place a broom upside down behind the door to ward off negative visitors. I mean, it goes on and on. There was a lot.

[Jenna Fisher]

Well, I also googled. I was a lady who googled.

[Angela Kinsey]

What did you google?

[Jenna Fisher]

Well, I googled how to rid yourself of an incubus.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, that's very specific. That's good. I bet there's no broom involved.

[Jenna Fisher]

There isn't. Because the thing is, you know, all of these rituals, like the ones you're naming, they're usually tied to a specific type of haunting or bad luck or issue. And there are very specific rituals to rid yourself of an incubus.

[Angela Kinsey]

So Esmeralda's psychic needed to get more specific with her.

[Jenna Fisher]

Yeah, because it doesn't include anything with garlic or salt.

[Angela Kinsey]

Right.

[Jenna Fisher]

Or burying something under a red rock with a full moon. I don't know where her psychic got this. If you find yourself with an incubus, everybody, here's what you can do. You can start with prayer, exorcism. You can cleanse your space with sage, incense, holy water, or blessed salt. I guess the salt has to be blessed because this is a demon, right? An incubus is a demon, so you've

[Angela Kinsey]

got to get spiritual.

[Jenna Fisher]

Correct. You can also take a bath in the blessed salt. Some folklore suggests that you should put a piece of cold iron, such as scissors or a knife, under your bed.

[Angela Kinsey]

I saw the iron thing in my list.

[Jenna Fisher]

Also, place your shoes facing away from the door. Don't know why. Okay, this one I was confused about. I guess an incubus is afraid of their own reflection. So if you surround your bed with mirrors, it won't come into you at night while you're sleeping.

[Angela Kinsey]

That sounds kind of vampirey.

[Jenna Fisher]

I know. Finally Use a dream catcher. But get a big one, a real big dream catcher. And maybe it'll catch the incubus before it can get into your dream. Have you ever done anything like this? I've saged my place before. I've done a sage. When I bought my house, I walked around and I saged it. I still have a ghost, but she's friendly, so I'm okay with it.

[Sam Kiefer]

I've had hippie woo woo friends come over and sage my places for me.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, same Sam. One of my friends came over when I bought my house. Cause it's an older house. And she's like, well, first of all, we're gonna sage it. So she did that. A week later, my mom and sister came out. They prayed over the house. Smart. So I've got everything covered.

[Jenna Fisher]

Yeah, that's good.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, I think everywhere I live, I'm gonna do both things.

[Jenna Fisher]

Yeah, might as well.

[Angela Kinsey]

Might as well, right? Good energy. Only here people agree. So we're back in the car, and Mare is finishing talking to this writer from the Cleveland paper. And it really bumps Ned because basically Mare says to the writer how hands off Ned is, as the editor, that she can just basically do whatever she wants. And he starts to say something, but then Mare is done with the conversation, hangs up the phone.

[Jenna Fisher]

I mean, she's intending it as a compliment because the writer is like, I'm surprised that with your paper's affiliation with softies that you were able to write this article. And she's like, oh, no, no, no. My editor, he's very hands off. She makes a comment where she's like, I mean, I think the readers read the article before he did.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's what really gets him.

[Jenna Fisher]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Because then he doesn't seem hands off, like letting his reporters really have integrity. Then it seems like he's just half assing it.

[Jenna Fisher]

Yeah. So they stop at a diner on their way. They haven't gotten to the cult place yet. They stop at a diner, and Ned decides, you know what? I wanna review your questions. He's decided suddenly to take an interest in these questions she might ask.

[Angela Kinsey]

Because he had no interest before.

[Jenna Fisher]

Exactly. He was like, I trust you. Well, now he gets out a pen, a red pen, and he's like marking up the document.

[Angela Kinsey]

Mare does have a throwaway line here where she looks out the window and says, I think my dad took me to a pencil sharpener museum around here.

[Jenna Fisher]

Oh, yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

I mean, come on. A pencil sharpener museum.

[Jenna Fisher]

Wait, is that real?

[Angela Kinsey]

It's real.

[Jenna Fisher]

Stop everything.

[Angela Kinsey]

It's real. Yes. I had to be a lady who googled again. This is so fun. There is a pencil sharpener museum in Logan, Ohio, and I went to the website. Here's what it says. Stop by the Hocking Hills Regional welcome Center and visit one of the more unique museums you will see. The Paul A. Johnson Pencil Sharpener Museum. Reverend Paul Johnson began his collection more than 20 years ago. It has over 3400 pencil sharpeners featured in national magazines. It's reputed to be the largest collection in America. And recently, they added Frank Parade's collection. And with those combined collections, there's an estimated 5,000 pencil sharpeners. And there's pictures. You wouldn't believe the different types of pencil sharpeners. It's fascinating to me.

[Jenna Fisher]

I am actually feeling angry right now that I am 52 years old almost, and I'm only just learning about this pencil sharpener museum. Like, what? I need to go there, like, soon.

[Angela Kinsey]

Do you love a pencil sharpener?

[Jenna Fisher]

No, I love museums of tiny things, like pencil sharpeners.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, I love pencil sharpeners.

[Jenna Fisher]

I love the randomness of this collection.

[Angela Kinsey]

There's pictures on the website, you guys. I'll share it in stories. Well, now Ned and Mare are going to arrive at the Fertile Soil Farm Collective, and the camera crew can't come with them. They have to stay back.

[Jenna Fisher]

Yeah. Mare says, quote, the cult dude is kind of secretive in an on brand way. So they walk up, the cameras stay back. But you can see people are all kind of doing yard work. They're raking, and they're all wearing these red ponchos.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, matching ponchos.

[Jenna Fisher]

I noted that Ned still has his yellow backpack from when we first met him in the first episode. I thought that was a nice callback. I have a missed opportunity alert here.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay.

[Jenna Fisher]

How great would it have been if just one of the people in a red poncho was Creed?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes. Come on. Right, Sam.

[Jenna Fisher]

Thank you.

[Sam Kiefer]

Yes. Yeah.

[Jenna Fisher]

We don't hear from him still with

[Sam Kiefer]

the beard from the last episode.

[Jenna Fisher]

Just a quick push in.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. He doesn't even have to say anything. He's just raking some leaves with the other people.

[Jenna Fisher]

Exactly.

[Sam Kiefer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

That would have been great.

[Jenna Fisher]

I asked Dave Rogers, where did you shoot this? And he said it was the magic of filmmaking. They shot it on the Universal backlot at a place that was a house that had some good trees and some good brush around it. He said the art department did a great job making it look like a farm. And I can't believe that this was shot on the lot.

[Angela Kinsey]

This is, like, just blowing my Mind, I know we're kind of a broken record here, but you guys, when we went to Schrute Farms, we went to a frickin farm an hour outside of la. We had to have a rattlesnake wrangler because there were rattlesnakes everywhere.

[Jenna Fisher]

We had to leave our houses at 4:30 in the morning.

[Angela Kinsey]

I mean, I guess that's what you get when you shoot on a big time, real deal old Hollywood lot, which is amazing. They have all these different nooks and crannies that look like New York City or an old town square or a farm. And we just shot in this tiny soundstage in Van Nuys. So we had to travel. If we had to show any part of the world, we had to get out.

[Jenna Fisher]

We had to load up in a van and go on the road.

[Angela Kinsey]

And watch out for rattlesnakes.

[Jenna Fisher]

Yep.

[Angela Kinsey]

Or a bee in John's Eggs.

[Jenna Fisher]

Correct.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, back at the Truth Teller, Oscar announces he has discovered who the troll is.

[Jenna Fisher]

I guess he called the IT department after all.

[Angela Kinsey]

He did. Guess what?

[Jenna Fisher]

It's coming from inside the building. It's coming from Ann Putnam's office. Marv's assistant and sister in law, Ann.

[Angela Kinsey]

They cannot believe this, but Oscar has a talking head. That's great. Where he says it makes sense.

[Jenna Fisher]

Let's hear it.

[Sam Kiefer]

I see it often in people over 50. They get trapped in the year that they join Facebook. It's as if the technology sends their brain into shock and their online personalities

[Jenna Fisher]

get frozen in time.

[Sam Kiefer]

So Ann is basically a snarky millennial trapped in the body of a boomer.

[Jenna Fisher]

That is such a funny description.

[Angela Kinsey]

I think there's some real truth in it.

[Jenna Fisher]

There might be.

[Angela Kinsey]

And look, I know my sister Janet listens to the podcast, but Janet, the emojis you used are very telling to me. When you started having like the smartphone

[Jenna Fisher]

thing, why I only use a handful of emojis and I think it's because early on there were only a few to choose from and now there's so many. I only use facepalm heart and like the person who's crying while they laugh.

[Angela Kinsey]

See, I think that shows when you joined the sort of smartphone thing. Right? Yeah. Sam, what about you?

[Sam Kiefer]

I am partial to the guy giving the salute. Oh, it's a good. I've heard your sentence and I want to not give input to the conversation. Wrap it up emoji.

[Angela Kinsey]

I use the smiley face that has the like straight line smile of all teeth. Like.

[Sam Kiefer]

Oh yeah, yeah, Angela. I'm constantly using that one because I always Feel that way.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. Or I use the lady in the red dress running.

[Jenna Fisher]

Yeah, you love that one.

[Angela Kinsey]

You love that one.

[Jenna Fisher]

Four. That's like party.

[Angela Kinsey]

I think it's just like, I'm a badass. I'll run in my dress.

[Sam Kiefer]

Isn't she dancing?

[Jenna Fisher]

I think she is.

[Angela Kinsey]

But, like, my sister Janet will do like. Like the hand emojis. That's like thumbs up, then I love you, then peace, fingers, and then like a hamburger, a glass of wine, champagne, things too.

[Sam Kiefer]

Well, the thumbs up just reads as passive aggressive. That's like texting.

[Angela Kinsey]

She's not passive aggressive.

[Sam Kiefer]

I was just reading how people want to cancel the thumbs up because people think it's passive aggressive. And I was like, oh, no, that's my most common one.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, I do thumbs up all the time.

[Jenna Fisher]

It's news to me.

[Sam Kiefer]

Me and my dad wouldn't talk if we didn't do thumbs up emojis.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, yeah.

[Sam Kiefer]

It's a perfect dad and son emoji, I'll give you that.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay. Yeah, Yeah. I don't know, maybe it's time to throw some new ones in our emoji resume.

[Jenna Fisher]

Guys, you know what? I wanna put this out there in our office ladies text thread. Feel free to try on new emojis. No judgment.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. Okay.

[Jenna Fisher]

It's our safe space to try new things. I can't wait.

[Angela Kinsey]

I can't wait.

[Jenna Fisher]

Well, now we're gonna go back to fertile soil. They're leaving. They're getting in their car. And Ned has decided they're not a cult. Mair thinks they are a cult.

[Angela Kinsey]

Mare's like, you didn't let me ask any hard hitting questions. And they get in the car and they're just annoyed with each other.

[Jenna Fisher]

Yeah. And this back and forth about whether or not they're a cult or not follows them back onto their drive home.

[Angela Kinsey]

Mm.

[Jenna Fisher]

It did make me wonder, could the right cult get you? This was a question Ned asks early on.

[Angela Kinsey]

Right.

[Jenna Fisher]

Because I kind of joined a cult once on accident.

[Angela Kinsey]

And this is being your friend all these years, I want to say this is really on brand. I think when people first meet us, Sam, maybe you would think I'm the one that would fall prey to a cult. No, not at all, Actually, Jenna.

[Jenna Fisher]

Well, this is also how I accidentally joined a call girl ring.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes.

[Jenna Fisher]

Because I thought I had joined a singing group. Yes.

[Angela Kinsey]

You're oddly, like, very susceptible to these groups.

[Jenna Fisher]

I am?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. And you're such a critical thinker.

[Jenna Fisher]

I know. And yet I also believe a ghost lives in my closet. Lady, I don't know.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, lady, if you ever get sucked in by a cult, I'd come and get you.

[Jenna Fisher]

Thank you. I know that you will.

[Angela Kinsey]

You're welcome.

[Jenna Fisher]

That's best friendship.

[Angela Kinsey]

Mm. Well, now as they're arguing and driving down the road, Mary gets a flat tire.

[Jenna Fisher]

Yes. They're gonna have to change this tire. Mare is gonna change it. Ned's just, like, sitting in the back of the trunk. Like, do you know how hard it is to ratchet up your car in the first place? And he's just sitting in the back.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, yeah.

[Jenna Fisher]

What the heck, Ned?

[Angela Kinsey]

What the heck, Ned? I do have a wardrobe catch here. What is it, 15 minutes, 25 seconds? I absolutely loved the boots that Mare's wearing, so I had to google them. I went onto one of the websites I use to check costume and wardrobe stuff. ShopYourTV.com says they are the six inch classic mock women's short boot in black boundary leather by red Wing.

[Jenna Fisher]

Oh, are they expensive?

[Angela Kinsey]

They retail for $319.99. But they are really cool looking. You wanna see?

[Jenna Fisher]

Yeah. Oh, those are super cool.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know.

[Jenna Fisher]

Yeah, those are really cool.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know. I kind of want a pair now.

[Jenna Fisher]

If I were Chelsea, I would ask to take those home at the end of the season.

[Angela Kinsey]

I hope she gets them.

[Jenna Fisher]

Well, I asked Dave Rogers where they shot this. And guess what? Also on the universal back lot. They found a street on the lot just right around the corner from that house that was being the farm. And I mean, this is crazy. This street on the universal backlot had a hill because Mare's gonna get mad at Ned and she's gonna roll the tire down this hill and make him chase after it. I can't believe that was on the universal backlog.

[Angela Kinsey]

I can't either. That lot is huge, though. It goes on and on.

[Jenna Fisher]

Well, this is true.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, now here's a moment of truth. Oscar and the rest of the gang are gonna go confront Ann about her. Her snarky comments. And the character of Ann could win a little Oscar here.

[Jenna Fisher]

She really could.

[Angela Kinsey]

She's like, what? Who would do such awful things? And then she's like, oh, dang it. Marv has told me I need to set a password. And I just thought, who would ever just come on my computer and do something like that? I just feel horrible. And they're just like, oh, no, it's okay. It's okay. They believe it.

[Jenna Fisher]

She's like, they shouldn't give people my age these machines.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. Yeah. She completely convinces them that she had nothing to do with it. And they all leave. And then she has this talking head where she says, you know what? Whoever the troll is probably just wants to hold the truth teller to a high standard of quality. Marv has invested a lot of money, so they need to make sure it's awesomesauce.

[Jenna Fisher]

So it is Ann.

[Angela Kinsey]

It is Ann.

[Jenna Fisher]

Do you think she'll keep doing it?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, I do.

[Jenna Fisher]

I do too. Well, Ned and Mair have changed their tire, and they're stopping at this diner again. On their way home, Ned tries to make a peace offering to Mair. He gets her this ice cream float, but he only buys one, and it's only for Mair. And so they get in this crazy, weird fight about who should eat this ice cream soda and go back and forth about it. It's very childish.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. Mm.

[Jenna Fisher]

Dave shared that there was a fun bit of improv during this scene that he wished would have made it in. There was this moment, I guess, where Donal improvised actually eating the ice cream float. Like, he's like, fine, Mare. I'll eat it. And he downs it in, like, four spoonfuls. And then Mare is shocked. And then he continues to try to make his case with her, but he has to stop because he has brain freeze. Dave said it was such good improv. He thought it was so funny. He put it in his director's cut, but ultimately got taken out.

[Angela Kinsey]

Aw.

[Jenna Fisher]

But he loved it.

[Angela Kinsey]

Maybe they'll get to do super fan versions of the paper.

[Jenna Fisher]

Super fan versions of the peacock version.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes.

[Jenna Fisher]

They can add even more.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. Well, Ned and Mare are still bickering, and they're back in the parking lot. Now they're going to get in the car to drive back home when Ned gets a phone call. It's Detrick calling to tell them they were nominated for the Ohio Journalism Awards. Yes, Mara is nominated for her Softies Clogs Toledo story, but the entire paper is up for the overall excellence in journalism, and they are just elated.

[Jenna Fisher]

Yes, they do a little happy dance in the parking lot.

[Angela Kinsey]

So I guess all is forgiven there.

[Jenna Fisher]

I mean, this is very exciting.

[Angela Kinsey]

Big news.

[Jenna Fisher]

Mm. And, you know, the next episode, the season finale, is the Ohio Journalism Awards. We're gonna see how this all plays out. But this episode is gonna end with Esmeralda walking into the office, and she just walks over to Barry's desk, and she just gives him a big kiss on the lips. Yes.

[Angela Kinsey]

And then she says this whole speech where she's like, you have been kissed on the 17th day of the month. I command you to forsake Me. Set me free. Set me free. And then she's like, the spell is broken. And Barry's like, okay. I loved it. One last thing I want to share from Dave Rogers. I thought this was so sweet. He said one of the highlights of the week of him directing this episode was that they got some very extra special VIPs that came to set. Jenna, you mentioned this. These are Dave's words, not ours. He said the lovely Jenna Fisher and Angela Kinsey, who, I might add, got a huge round of applause from the cast and crew when they stepped onto the set. Some of the cast told me later they were both excited and nervous to meet you, but it was so nice having you guys there. And those of us who worked on the Office, like Greg, Rusty, Kelly, Keisha, Veda, Steve and Laurie and Sergio, and of course, Oscar were really thrilled and so happy to see you guys.

[Sam Kiefer]

Aw.

[Angela Kinsey]

That was really special. We both teared up. It was such a great group of people.

[Jenna Fisher]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, you guys, thank you so much for listening to today's episode and for sending in your questions, your comments, your chit chats, your around the towns. And of course, a huge thank you to Dave Rogers for giving us behind the scenes details.

[Jenna Fisher]

Dave would like you to know that the season nine Superfan episodes of the Office are up on Peacock right now. You know, he works work so hard on them. And we're going to talk more about those in a few episodes, but they're really special.

[Angela Kinsey]

And of course, a big thank you to Chelsea Fry. Oh, my God, we loved watching you in this episode. Thanks for always texting us back when we DM you.

[Jenna Fisher]

All right, everyone, we love you and we will see you next week. And we should mention that next week we'll be breaking down the finale episode of the Paper with Chelsea Fry in the studio. Yes. So be sure to join us for that one. We love you guys. See you next week.

[Angela Kinsey]

See you then.

[Jenna Fisher]

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 Fisher]

Our senior producer is Matt Beagle. Our audio engineer is Sam Kiefer, and our associate producer is Ainslie Bubico.

[Angela Kinsey]

Odyssey's executive producer is Leah Reese Dennis.

[Jenna Fisher]

Office Ladies was mixed and mastered by Bill Schultz.

[Angela Kinsey]

Our theme song is Rubber Tree by Creed Bratton.

[Sam Kiefer]

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