“There’s a lot of beauty in ordinary things. Isn’t that kind of the point?” This closing line of NBC’s “The Office” could not be more perfect to describe the essence of the show.  How producers were able to take such an ordinary, mundane paper company and turn it into so much more—a show of humor, heartbreak, and hope—is difficult to comprehend.  After eight years, nine seasons, and 201 episodes of ingenious hilarity, NBC’s “The Office” has come to an end.

On Thursday, May 16, before the final episode, NBC played an hour-long segment featuring the cast of “The Office,” during which the actors spoke about the impact that the show has had on their lives and their favorite moments from filming the show.  The segment gave all actors a chance to say some final words to fans of the show and prepare them for the series finale, which aired at 9 pm on May 16.

The series finale takes place one year after the previous episode, and the story begins on the day before Dwight and Angela’s wedding.  The documentary crew has returned to film footage for bonus features to go along with the documentary.  There is to be a “where are they now?” panel the following day during which the workers of the office will answer questions from fans of the documentary, so most of the employees, current and previous, of Dunder Mifflin Scranton return for the weekend.

Dwight reveals that since the documentary aired a year ago, there have been several changes to the staff of the office.  Stanley retired, so Dwight sent him off with a cake.  Dwight then gave Kevin a cake with “Get out” written in frosting, implying that he was fired.  Tobey also received a cake indicating the termination of his position at Dunder Mifflin.  Creed also has left Dunder Mifflin, for he was arrested for selling drugs.

Andy has had a rough time bouncing back after his failure auditioning for “America’s Next A Capella Sensation” because the video of Andy crying in the audition room has gone viral, people have made parody videos mocking Andy, and someone autotuned the video to turn it into a song.

Jim organizes Dwight’s bachelor party since Jim is the best man, or in Schrute language, the “bestest mensch.”  Jim has been pranking Dwight for eight years, but he promises that there will only be good surprises for Dwight regarding his bachelor party and wedding.

The men in the office get in a limo and head out for Dwight’s bachelor party.  The limo stops in the middle of nowhere and Jim surprises Dwight with the opportunity to shoot a bazooka.  Next, the guys go to a private room in a restaurant where a stripper shows up, but Dwight mistakes her for his waitress and does not catch on that she is not there to take his food order.

Meanwhile, the women of the office are at Angela’s bachelorette party when a male stripper shows up, and to everyone’s disgust, the stripper is Meredith’s son.  Meredith is not phased, however, and she encourages her son to perform as if his mother is not there, even giving him pointers and corrections during his performance.  After the stripper leaves, Angela is kidnapped by Mose, Dwight’s cousin.  When Pam calls Jim to tell him what happened, Dwight informs everyone that the kidnapping is part of a tradition in which Mose takes the bride, brings her to a bar, and when the groom finds her he has to buy everyone drinks.  Jim, obviously behind this prank, directs the limo driver to the pub that Kevin owns since being fired from Dunder Mifflin so that Dwight can sort things out with Kevin and be nothing but happy on his wedding day.  After resolving issues with Kevin, Dwight retrieves Angela from the trunk of a car where Mose hid her.

The next day, the coworkers go to the panel, where there is a huge turnout.  The employees answer questions and Erin’s birth parents reveal themselves during the Q&A.

Later that day at the wedding, Ryan sees Kelly with her new boyfriend.  Ryan has a baby with him, and explains that his girlfriend had a baby and ran off, leaving Ryan responsible for the child.  Wanting time alone with Kelly, Ryan gives his baby a strawberry— which he is allergic to—and asks Kelly’s boyfriend, a pediatrician, to take the baby inside and make sure he is okay.  Ryan and Kelly run off together to start over and leave the baby with the boyfriend, but Nelly later takes the baby to care for him herself.

Right before the wedding begins, Jim plays his final prank on Dwight.  Jim tells Dwight that the minister just informed him that the “bestest mensch” is supposed to be older than the groom, and since Jim is younger than Dwight, he will be unable to be the best man during the wedding.  Michael Scott then enters the room—the moment all fans have been waiting for—and Dwight says, “Michael, I can’t believe you came” to which Michael replies with his famous line, “That’s what she said.” Perfect re-entry for Michael Scott.  Jim had organized this so that Michael could be the best man at Dwight’s wedding.

Angela’s legs hurt badly from being locked in a trunk for three hours the day before, so Phyllis gives her a piggy back ride down the aisle.  Dwight and Angela stand in graves during the wedding, a tradition to remind them that death is the only escape from their marriage—so romantic. Michael talks to everybody and tells them that he has kids with Holly.  After watching the employees interact with each other, Michael tells the camera crew, “I feel like all my kids grew up and then they married each other.  It’s every parent’s dream.”

After the wedding, Pam surprises Jim when she tells him that she put their house on the market so that they could move to Austin, Texas for Jim’s company because she did not want him to have to give up his dream.  Excited about their move, the couple shares their secret with the members of the office.  The documentary crew throws an after party in the office warehouse, and Pam reveals a mural that she painted of the employees in their positions in the office.  All the cast and crew of the documentary are at the party, so the office employees go upstairs to their office so that they can enjoy their time together.

Upstairs, the office employees say their final thoughts to the camera crew.  Andy admits that he spent so much time thinking about his old pals at Cornell while he worked in the office, and now he still thinks about his old pals, but they are his friends from the office that he is thinking about.  Andy remarks, “I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days before you’ve actually left them.”  Jim reflects on his time in the office, and says that everything he has in his life, he has because of his boring, awesome job at Dunder Mifflin.  Darryl’s last comment to the documentary crew is “Every day when I came into work, all I wanted to do was leave, so why in the world does it feel so hard to leave right now?”  The series ends with Pam.  Pam takes the painting she made of Dunder Mifflin off the wall—Michael had bought this painting from Pam at her art show—so that she can bring the office with her to her new life with Jim in Austin.  With the camera crew, Pam talks about how at first she thought it was a little strange that the crew wanted to make a documentary on a paper company because that seemed like a boring topic.  Pam admires all of the great things about her time at Dunder Mifflin Scranton, and Pam ends “The Office” with a perfect line: “There’s a lot of beauty in ordinary things.  Isn’t that kind of the point?”

On that note, “The Office” comes to a close. Although the series finale was not as tear-jerking as it was hyped up to be, this episode was a cute, clever way to say goodbye.  Michael Scott did not play a big role in the series finale, but the two jokes he made were worth his appearance, as the “that’s what she said” joke is what Michael is known for.  The finale was optimistic, and it summed up what great times each employee had during his time at Dunder Mifflin.  “The Office” certainly will be missed, but the humor expressed through trivial everyday circumstances makes the show unforgettable leave behind a great legacy for “The Office.”