Character Analysis: Andy Bernard

Andy Bernard

Played by: Ed Helms

Job: Salesman/ Regional Manager

Character Rating: 7

     Andy Bernard is a character that grows into his role over time. He is a character that is neither featured in the first nor the second season. It is not until Season 3 that we meet Andy, a quirky, easily agitated salesman who loves to express that he went to Cornell every chance that he can. Andy first comes off as an egotistic snob, but then his personality becomes worse when he also becomes a suck-up to Michael. When Dwight was a suck-up, it did not come off as annoying as it did with Andy. It did not take long, however, for Jim and Pam to get under Andy's skin to the point of Andy punching a hole in the wall of the office. He is then sent to anger management rehab, after which he returns to the show a lovable character. You know the drill, it's time to talk about Andy's personal life, professional life, and why he got the character rating. 

     Andy and his personal life is almost the dictionary definition of the word "cringe." Upon moving to the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin, he tries wooing Pam, but Jim sets him up for failure by exposing Andy's quirks that he knows Pam would hate, such as singing at a high pitch and playing the banjo. Andy decides later in Season 4, however, that he will try to seduce Angela, in which he does. The two of them eventually get engaged, but the wedding gets cancelled because of the affair Angela was having with Dwight. From there, Andy stays single until he meets Erin. The two dorky but cute couple beat around the bush for several episodes, but Andy manages to ask her out. Yet again, however, his love is sabotaged. When Michael tells Erin that Andy was once engaged to Angela, she is infuriated that he did not tell her and breaks things off with him. The two then have a strained friendship for a while. Though they do date again in the later seasons, the two do not work out, for they had both grown into different people. Though he had several love interests, Andy leaves the show still an eligible bachelor. 

     In his profession, Andy was not exactly someone who stood out. He was one of the worst salesmen in the office. There were only two times in which Andy showed his skill in sales. The first was when Andy holds the luncheon for the potential clients, in which he secures several clients. The other is when he and DeAngelo, the temporary regional manager played by Will Ferrell, and DeAngelo almost messes up the sale. Andy often ruined his chance at a sale by putting his foot in his mouth, and that is what DeAngelo did during the majority of the sales pitch. Andy then sneaked back into the office of the client by telling DeAngelo he left something in the room, and within minutes, Andy secured the deal. Soon after, Andy is chosen as the new regional manager. He is a relatively good boss for a while, but soon fails at his job by being absent. He leaves abruptly to get Erin back once, giving a girl named Nellie an opportunity to swoop into his job, then when he leaves for three months on a his boat, he almost loses his job again. He eventually quits his job at Dunder Mifflin, and gets fired even, and he eventually takes a job at Cornell.

     Andy was not the best character in my opinion. He had his toxic traits about him, but for the majority of his run on the show, he had a good heart. When Erin dumps him the first time, his last line in that episode is that he is happy that she still had a good receptionist appreciation day, even if it was not with him. It really does not get much more wholesome than that. In truth, this Andy was long gone in the final season, and because of Andy being as annoying, if not more annoying, in the last season as he was in his first, I only give him the rank of 7 for his character rating.

What do you think? I am open to criticism, and if you feel that I am wrong about Andy, please share your thoughts below. Do you have a favorite Andy moment? Quotable line? Comment below!