When Season Four of The Office began, we learned that sometimes a half-hour show doesn’t work as a full hour. But, as evidenced by the season finale, sometimes it does. The Office came back with a vengeance after the writer’s strike hiatus, and the season finished strong. The writing was tight, the laughs came fast and furious, and there were more than enough twists and surprises to keep die-hard fans happy.

The show began with an old fashioned Jim Halpert prank on Dwight, in which Jim forwarded all of Dwight’s calls to his own bluetooth. It feels like a while since Jim has played a joke on Dwight, and it was nice to see that despite the fact that Jim is now trying to succeed at his job, he is still making time to have fun at work. Ryan was extremely obnoxious to Jim in their first phone call, but it was still surprising to hear Jim be so aggressive in his voicemail back to Ryan, considering the guy is his boss. Or was, before he got arrested for fraud. Ryan’s bust was a huge shock, and it was played for great effect. What will the aftermath of his arrest be – will Ryan be gone from the show? Or will he get off on a technicality and still come after Jim? If Ryan is really gone, will Jim go for the now vacant position and try to bring Pam to New York with him?

Everyone was expecting for Jim to propose to Pam, including both Jim and Pam, apparently. Jim went out of his way to make the night special, but it turned out to be such a perfect opportunity for a proposal that Andy couldn’t resist popping the question to Angela. Why she said yes is anyone’s guess, especially given the final seconds of the show. I guess the moral of the story is if you’re going to propose during a fireworks show, do it quickly. The fact that Pam was disappointed could be a good thing in the long run, if it made her realize how much she does want to marry Jim. And he still has the diamond ring, so things should work out all right for those two.

On to Toby, who is leaving Dunder-Mifflin, much to the delight of one Michael Scott. Michael’s dance at the start of Toby’s last day was brilliant, as was setting an alarm on his watch counting down the minutes until Toby left (which inevitably backfired when he had to give Toby his watch as a going away gift). Michael wanted to spare no expense for Toby’s going away party, even using his grandma’s birthday gift money that he stuffed in his shoe and forgot about. Angela gets mad at Michael’s requests for an anti-gravity machine, and Phyllis is left in charge of planning the party. The tension between the two of them over the Party Planning Committee is not new, but it truly came to a head tonight when Angela told Phyllis that she shredded her vendor information, sheerly out of spite. Toby got a few more pathetic moments out of his unrequited love for Pam, and of course due to Michael’s unrequited hatred for him. The way Michael had planned Toby’s exit interview was priceless, and having security reluctantly escort him out was a fantastic final insult.

Holly, Toby’s replacement, met with initial hostility from Michael, as he views all H.R. people his natural born enemy (“Spoiler alert – I win.”), but he quickly discovers her charms and goes from wanting to haze her to wanting to make her a mix CD for her commute. Watching Michael immediately fall for a woman he barely knows isn’t particularly surprising, but what IS shocking is the fact that Holly not only likes him back, but she has the same ridiculous sensibilities as Michael. She makes fun of Toby and even jokes about hosting an orgy. When Michael confuses yoga with Yoda, she rolls with it and does her own impression. She seems to be genuinely interested in Michael, but his potential new love is deterred by the news that Jan is pregnant. Not by Michael – she made him wear two condoms – but from a sperm bank near the IHOP. These reveals were all handled beautifully, and of course Michael is too dense to realize that he should go for Holly when it would be easier for him to be a sort-of dad. Hopefully the Holly-Michael-Jan love triangle will be more fully explored next season.

Overall, this was a hysterical episode of The Office, and it made for a great season finale to boot. For all the people who said the show would head south when Jim and Pam got together, Greg Daniels and Co. have showed that they still have plenty of tricks up their sleeve. The stage is set for a hilarious Season Five, and with Toby and Ryan’s apparent departures, does that mean that either of them will be featured in the upcoming spinoff?

Best joke of the episode: The entire running gag of Holly thinking Kevin was mentally challenged. The moment at the vending machine was particularly hysterical.

Alan’s Score: 9.7 out of 10