I imagine that in retrospect, the sudden fame of Ellie Kemper will be considered one of the great rising star stories of TV history. She paid her dues in the web video scene and as an occasional comedy writer for years before she got her big break on The Office. The Erin character was originally only supposed to appear in three or four episodes and Kemper herself has described the decision to add her to the regular cast as a surprise. The Office already had a very well-established cast of characters and the only one who carved out a permanent place after guest starring was Ed Helms as Andy Bernard. That Ellie Kemper could go from a low-profile bit part to one of the show's central characters in the space of half a season is pretty remarkable. Seeing how much of "Secretary's Day" focused on Erin and how natural that seemed is actually kind of shocking, given that The Office has survived for so long on the strength of its familiar cast.

I think it's appropriate that Pam returned from maternity leave on Secretary's Day. It forced us viewers to note how far she has come since the first season. She went from being a mousy admin assistant with no real joy in her life to basically embodying the modest success available to the folks in bizarro-Scranton. Though I don't believe we'll be able to see such a slow-cooked evolution in Erin, I can't help but imagine that a similar evolution is implied in Erin's time behind the reception desk.

After all, now Erin has to deal with the full brunt of DM Scranton's incestuous social network, her first real trial by fire. Up until this episode, her life at the company has been fairly carefree. When her customary lunch with the boss on Secretary's Day involves Michael revealing that Andy used to be engaged to Angela, things get ugly fast. I have to say, I'm glad this moment finally came. There just wasn't that much the series could do with Andy and Erin's blissful infatuation period. The Office has always done better with heartbreak, disappointment and the desperate pursuit of happiness than with simple developments. With the conflict far from resolved at the end of the episode, we now get to look forward to at least a few episodes of Andy doing ridiculous things to win Erin back.

Speaking of ridiculous, the Sabre liaison Gabe finally got some significant face time in this episode. Zach Woods is really a perfect fit for The Office, an actor who can balance an outward appearance of respectability with a bubbling fountain of absurdity just below the surface. Looking to establish himself as an authority in the company, Gabe decides to spearhead an initiative to curtail the mockery of Kevin via an uncanny Cookie Monster themed video Oscar created. When nobody listens to him, he attempts to suspend Jim, Pam and Dwight as an example. The problem is, Gabe doesn't have the authority to do that, so the whole thing backfires on him. Rough as it can be, The Office isn't exactly cruel. By getting taken down a couple pegs and being exposed for his silliness, I think Gabe will be more readily accepted as a part of Michael Scott's weird family (even if he does look like a stick bug).

Best Moment: The build-up to Andy getting a cake in the face. A big speech, a promise of a song, an acoustic guitar and a harmonica on a stand, punctuated with buttercream frosting.

Biggest Laugh: Meredith using Pam's breast pump because "it feels good". Really, the whole breast milk exchange was classic.

Episode Rating: 4.9/5- Some of the squirming bits were too intense for my tastes, but the rest of the episode was one for the books. Erin has an especially entertaining method of freak-out ("when I was in foster care, my hair was my home").