PDA

"PDA" is the sixteenth episode of the seventh season of the American television comedy series The Office and the show's 142nd overall. It was written by Robert Padnick and directed by Greg Daniels. It originally aired on February 10, 2011. It was viewed by 6.90 million people.

Cold open
In the cold open, Pam comes into Darryl's office and tries to comfort him because of the recent loss of his nearly 97-year-old grandmother. She hands him a card that the office members signed to show him support and he opens it. He reads aloud the card's contents, which include notes such as "Days like this don't come often enough" and "Time to celebrate, you deserve this." Pam tells him it's possible that some people may have thought it was his birthday. The suspicion is confirmed when Dwight and Andy come in with a party hat, streamer and a cupcake and give Darryl birthday wishes. He turns to the camera as Andy gives him a playful punch, a tear rolling out of his eye.

Synopsis
Darryl asks Andy about his Valentine's Day plans with his new girlfriend Rachel, as Phyllis offers suggestions for the date. Michael and Holly then walk by and kiss before saying goodbye, only to rejoin each other and kiss repeatedly, eventually going back into Michael's office while kissing. Michael reveals that it has been a week since they have started dating again, and comments "it goes to show that everything you want in life, you get, and you can't work for it. It just comes to you." With their newfound happiness they are oblivious that, with the exception of Kevin who enjoys watching them, the entire office is uncomfortable at their displays of affection, despite being happy for them. At Oscar's prompting, Gabe holds a meeting about PDA, saying that Sabre is tolerant of office relationships, but not PDA, pointing the finger at Michael and Holly (who are shocked that the PDA meeting is about them). They both agree to stop, but while Holly follows through, Michael can't help himself.

Michael then declares to the office that he genuinely loves Holly, who is at first taken aback, but then reciprocates. When Michael and Holly make a scene complaining about not being able to touch each other, Gabe reprimands them, suggesting that they are acting this way to have a full on relationship before Toby returns from jury duty, which would send Holly back to Nashua. Michael then becomes worried that they will have to break up again, but Holly assures him that they can make it work. Michael points out that they broke up the last time because of that and can't see Holly for the rest of the day.

Michael then confronts Holly to tell her that he is breaking up with her. Holly, however, says that they should decide for themselves and not let the company decide their future. They both resolve to move in together and announce it to the office.

Jim and Pam have too much champagne during lunch, causing complications when they have to return to work. During the PDA meeting, Dwight mentions a list of people who have had sex in the workplace, and Jim and Pam are among those not mentioned. After sobering up, Pam comments on how she finds it weird to have sex in the office, but eventually is drawn to the idea. They both agree to give it a try, but they have a hard time finding a place to do it, from hidden places in the warehouse to Ryan's closet. They eventually return from the closet by accounting with ruffled hair and wrinkled clothing, as the entire office eyes them suspiciously. In a talking head, they claim that they have never and will never have sex in the office since they have "a home, a bed and a shower". However the talking head ends with a smirk from them, which on top of the wrinkled clothing after they leave the closet implies they did have sex in the closet.

Andy tags along on a romantic treasure hunt Gabe has made for Erin, both deciding that it is not awkward since Andy is now dating a friend of Darryl's named Rachel, who was the only other Caucasian at one of Darryl's parties. Andy is at first reluctant but relents at Erin's friendly urging. The hunt starts with a puzzle picture, which leads to Gabe's stereo in Darryl's office, which leads to glow in the dark stars in Ryan's closet, leading to sparkling cider at Dwight's Caffeine Corner, and finally to a Valentine's cookie in the break room. When the cookie tells her to enjoy her Valentine's kiss, Erin thinks she's supposed to kiss Andy, but he points to Gabe blowing her a kiss through the window. As Andy leaves awkwardly, Erin looks at him longingly.

The final scene shows different members of the office describing their perfect Valentines, ending with Holly and Michael who when asked what they will be doing that night, make squeaking noises to imply intercourse.

Connections to previous episodes

 * In "Blood Drive," Phyllis and Bob Vance have sex in a public restroom. This season it's Jim and Pam who have sex in a public place on Valentine's Day (in the closet).
 * Michael says "Whispering and tickling have their place in business!" This could be a little reference to his negotiation tactics from Wikipedia in "The Negotiation" and the tickling method called "fluffy fingers" he learned from Darryl in "Did I Stutter?"
 * Jim enthusiastically jumps into a big box in the warehouse, reminiscent of Dwight in "The Alliance".
 * Gabe puts a Sticky-Quip on the radio that Erin must find. Gabe promoted Sticky-Quips as a new product from Dunder Mifflin-Sabre in the previous episode, "The Search".
 * The first place Jim and Pam try to have intercourse in is the "restful location" Darryl tells them about in "The Chump".
 * The entire office previously learnt that Dwight and Angela had intercourse in the office (on Oscar's desk) in "The Duel".
 * Hank's CDs of himself singing from "Crime Aid" can be seen behind him at Dwight's Caffeine Corner.
 * Dwight's ideal Valentine's Day where he makes a profit from selling his reservations to couples making last minute plans is reminiscent of "Moroccan Christmas", where he sells dolls to parents buying a gift at the last minute.

Trivia

 * Holly says that Michael can put both his legs behind his head. This contradicts "Goodbye, Toby," where Michael tells Holly he can't even sit cross-legged, much less do yoga.
 * In the cold open of this episode, while Andy is delivering birthday punches and the camera cuts back to Darryl, Andy's voice is not synced up with the audio playing. This may be due to the fact that actor Craig Robinson was unable to cry on command, and filming needed to be cut in order to apply fake tears to Robinson's eyes.
 * Dwight is on board with the hookup zone idea, even though he has already hooked up with Angela in the warehouse closet several times.
 * When Jim and Pam walk out of the camera crew closet, they say they went on a walk, but later in the series when we actually see this closet is just a closet, there is no door to outside.
 * Dwight mentions all people who have had sex in the office: Dwight, Angela, Ryan, Kelly, Meredith, Phyllis, Darryl, Creed, Michael and Holly.
 * While Holly and Michael are kissing in the breakroom, the slot B9 is filled with snacks instead of the chocolate heart that Erin finds later. It is possible that Gabe went to place the heart himself while Erin is having her break at Dwight's Caffeine Corner.
 * The final scene is of several office members describing their ideal Valentine's Day:
 * Dwight: "I'm at home, three cell phones in front of me, fielding desperate calls from people who want to buy one of the fifty restaurant reservations I made over six months ago."
 * Ryan: "Anybody can be Prince Charming one day a year, with the dinner and the flowers and and all that. But you know what impresses me? When a guy can do that no days a year."
 * Kelly: "Flowers, diamonds, three-course meal, violinist comes to my table to serenade me."
 * Kevin:" Pizza, soda, the moon, someone to share it with."
 * Kevin:" Pizza, soda, the moon, someone to share it with."

Amusing details

 * Oscar coughs repeatedly to hint to Michael and Holly they are being inappropriate, but Michael thinks that Oscar is sick because the coughing is grossing him out.
 * Angela rolls her eyes when Dwight says he has done PDA in the office, and yells at him when he mentions her name on the list of people who have had intercourse at work.
 * Holly attempts to use her hands to mime what Michael's would do when he sits on her lap during the first part of the meeting.
 * When Michael says that masturbation will be allowed in the "hookup zones", Creed nods his head in approval.
 * One of the places Jim suggests to Pam they could have sex in is a cardboard box in the warehouse.

Cultural references

 * As Andy gives Darryl his birthday punches, Darryl cries silently and stoically. A public service announcement from "" ends with an iconic image of a Native American shedding a single tear.
 * Blu Wasabi was a Japanese restaurant at 1008 Scranton Carbondale Highway in Scranton. It closed in 2018 and is now a dentist's office.
 * PDA stands for public displays of affection.
 * When Angela questions Kevin's claim to have had sex in the office, Kevin claims, "She goes to another school." This is a stereotypical excuse given by teenagers who pretend to have a girlfriend.
 * Michael calls Dunder Mifflin a "division of Taliban enterprises". The is an Islamic fundamentalist political movement known for its strict ideologies.
 * Michael also seems to think that there was a dragon that kept  apart. There were no dragons in this particular play by Shakespeare.
 * Gabe asks Michael and Holly if they're doing  "The street name: Ecstasy." The drug often increases sexual stamina, which relates to Michael and Holly's fervent passion toward each other.
 * Michael has a movie idea: "Boner Bomb: Starring or  or ".

Quotes

 * see PDA Quotes

Main cast

 * Steve Carell as Michael Scott
 * Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute
 * John Krasinski as Jim Halpert
 * Jenna Fischer as Pam Halpert
 * B.J. Novak as Ryan Howard
 * Ed Helms as Andy Bernard

Supporting cast

 * Leslie David Baker as Stanley Hudson
 * Brian Baumgartner as Kevin Malone
 * Creed Bratton as Creed Bratton
 * Kate Flannery as Meredith Palmer
 * Mindy Kaling as Kelly Kapoor
 * Ellie Kemper as Erin Hannon
 * Angela Kinsey as Angela Martin
 * Oscar Nunez as Oscar Martinez
 * Craig Robinson as Darryl Philbin
 * Phyllis Smith as Phyllis Vance
 * Zach Woods as Gabe Lewis
 * Amy Ryan as Holly Flax

Recurring cast

 * Hugh Dane as Hank Tate