The US version of The Office remains one of the best sitcoms produced. Throughout the series’ nine seasons, the Dunder Mifflin family and crew provided laughs to audiences and gained a solid fanbase that holds strong even a decade after the series finale. While fans fell in love with the endings for Michael, Jim, Pam, Dwight, and Angela, one series’ regular left off on such a sour note that viewers couldn’t help but wonder what had happened. Andrew Bernard deserved so much better than his The Office finale. So why didn’t the writers give it to him?
A leftover from Dunder Mifflin Stamford branch’s merge with Scranton way back in Season 3, Andy’s (Ed Helms) introduction to the Scranton crew was chaotic. The ever-eager, uber-ambitious salesman stepped on a few toes with his dedication to becoming the new top dog in Scranton…or at least the new assistant to the regional top dog. He alienated Michael with his eagerness, made an enemy of Dwight with his attempts at usurping him as Michael’s resident suck-up, and managed to cover the office in a measure of know-it-all smarm. But still, the Cornell, a cappella-singing goofball, managed to endear himself to fans with his unrelenting enthusiasm after a rough start. So, his Season 9 change into a grumpy and self-obsessed relic of his earlier years didn’t sit well with the fans.
The Departure of Michael Scott in The Office
In The Office’s final season, Andy went on a character journey. It’s just too bad that fans liked him where he was. Fans of the series had already ridden along with the character as he transformed from a slightly obsessive people pleasure to the quirky and supportive lead of the Scranton Dunder Mifflin team. But after his family drama of Season 8, followed by his brief ousting after Nellie’s takeover, Andy was left a bit adrift. Cue Season 9, and Andy, fresh from corporate-mandated leadership training, has somehow gone back to the insufferable character we were first introduced to in Season 3. He is disagreeable and arrogant, and while he was always these things, in the earlier seasons, these unlikable traits were combined with a congenial spirit that made his character palatable.
In Season 9, Andy is a miserable louse. He is bitter, argumentative, and mean-spirited to an appalling degree. He has fractures with Jim, Dwight, and Nellie (the former two with whom he had managed to build friendships), where his character comes off as petty and dismissive. His return to all of his character’s previous faults is disappointing and trashes all the development the character had made before. Fans of the series blamed the writer’s attempt to try to re-capture the magic of Michael Scott. Ever since Michael’s absence, the series had seen a succession of managers and CEOs who hoped to fill the gigantic hole left by the lovable dunderhead. Andy’s Season 9 regression was seen as an example of this, as the character seemed to embrace Michael’s worse tendencies without a fraction of his charm.
Andy’s Lovelorn Mistake Held Over by Holmes’ Hangover
Perhaps the greatest injustice of Andy’s Season 9 change is the destruction of his relationship with Erin. Among all the changes to his character, fans found Andy’s careless disregard of Erin (played by Ellie Kemper) to be the most unforgivable. After pining for the upbeat receptionist since Season 6, Andy and Erin had finally settled comfortably into dating. Whereas the chipper and energetic Erin would be a better match for the mid-season Andy (see their relationship in Season 6), by the time Season 9 comes around, the bitter and insensitive Andy is a terrible partner who belittles and dismisses the supportive Erin.
This plays out in a horrible display in Episode 6 after Erin goes to support Andy at the selling of his family’s boat. With her encouragement, Andy decides to set sail one final time, only to ditch her to go to the Bahamas with his brother for three months. Upon his return, a suntanned Andy brushes aside Erin’s hurt feelings in an attempt to convince her to continue their relationship. In a great moment of development, the usually permissive Erin owns her feelings and forcefully declines his suggestion that they start again.
Their breakup isn’t the end of Andy’s manipulations of Erin. However, the scenes show the problem with Andrew Bernard in Season 9. At the close of the series, while the character arcs of many of the cast members progressed (Jim/Pam/Daryl with the Philadelphia story, Oscar/Angela/Dwight’s love affairs), Andy did not have the same opportunity to have his character sent off in a flourish. Since the beginning of the series, actor Ed Helms had taken on more projects outside the series.
Amid the 9th season, Helms left to film the third Hangover film. This resulted in his character, Andy, being put on ice for almost half of the final season. This was a foolish decision, as by the time Andy returned, all the other characters had made great strides in their storylines in preparation for the series’ end. In contrast, the juvenile and unresolved Andy was left out of place. Even during his absence, no provision was made to address the resolution of his character. The writers seemingly ignored it; worse, they unspooled the previous progress that his character made, which could have been its own ending.
Despite Helm’s absence during a great deal of the final season, the greatest flaw in Andy’s character lies with the writers not doing enough. The progression of Andy from the arrogant annoyance in his introduction to the competent goofball at the start of Season 8 shows the capability of the writers to finish Andy’s story strong. Instead, they regressed his character and pushed him to the side. Meanwhile, several other long-time characters saw their relationships and professional opportunities grow to a satisfying end.
Ed Helms is a talented actor. And in spite of his absence, not much effort was made to advance his character, whether he was there or not. The reason for this is unclear. Perhaps with the series ending, the writers saw no benefit in giving Andy the heave-ho happy ending that he deserved. The Office is available to stream on Peacock.
