You know, after watching this episode, I realized I am becoming less and less a fan of Michael Scott. Could there be a bigger dick move by a boss than making the guy who worships you take the fall and then take AWAY the glory for an idea that was yours? I mean, that is a total douche move.
Although, the "knock, Knock" and Ding, dong" were pretty funny.
"Marriage is like that show ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’, but it’s not funny. All the problems are the same, but you know instead of all the funny, pithy dialogue, everybody is really pissed off and tense. Marriage is like a tense, unfunny version of 'Everybody Loves Raymond', only it doesn't last 22 minutes. It lasts forever."
Yeah, 20 minutes in, I was pretty much in shock with how the episode had turned out. Michael Scott has always had a childlike innocence to him (other than his hatred of Toby). When he did bad things, you knew that he was still a good person at heart. There's nothing good about getting one of your employees fired to take the fall for your mistake.
But I don't know. Dwight didn't seem that mad at him. Maybe that's another example of characters acting different than I expect them to, though. It's jarring to see characters that you've been watching for five years react differently than you'd expect with no reason given.
The best I can hope for is that this is a one-off that gets forgotten about by next week.
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Or maybe that it was only written to set up something later on. Next week's episode is called "New Boss", and it features Idris Elba (Stringer Bell from "The Wire") as the new Vice President. If this leads to something good, maybe it'll be worth it. But I still feel like there was a better way to get to this point.
The only good development is Kevin's continuing relationship.
Or, if you look at it another way, Michael WAS acting childlike in this episode. First there's the "He did it!" mentality when his boss/parent comes calling. Then there's the jealousy and longing for approval when it turns out his boss/parent and all his co-workers/siblings are heaping praise on someone else.
It was all pretty dastardly of him and super awkward to watch, but for at least a second I felt bad for him. Especially once Pam hugged Dwight and thanked him for saving the company - haha, that was just mean.
Some great points by many of the supporting cast: Andy was right in pointing out that not everyone has the picture perfect storybook dating thing that Jim and Pam did...though it was interesting to see that Kevin's "friend" smiled when he said BOOBS. Maybe the world needs more straight shooters.
Originally posted by StaggerLeePam, Jim and Andy arguing at the interview segment was gold.
I hope Stringer Bell can straighten things out! I also wonder if he'll use his native brit accent.
I'm a huge fan of The Wire, but I didn't know Idris Elba was British-born. After reading your post though I looked up an interview of his (YouTube) to hear what he sounds like.
Originally posted by StingArmy I'm a huge fan of The Wire, but I didn't know Idris Elba was British-born. After reading your post though I looked up an interview of his (YouTube) to hear what he sounds like.
My world is now shattered.
WELL HURRY IT ALONG, ARSEHOL-- *gunshot* *gunshot*
Yeah, Michael really pissed me off in this one. His selfish bratty child act was possibly worse than in Phyllis' Wedding. It seemed out of character to be so willing to see Dwight fired, with his "this office is a family" philosophy. Trying to get Toby fired at least made a bit more sense.
If Dwight didn't get fired for torching the office and destroying a CPR dummy, then he's untouchable at this point.
Well, he didn't really try to get Dwight fired. He convinced Dwight to take the blame, and possibly get fired because of the Golden Ticket. It's a small difference, but it's important. Michael didn't go behind his back. He told him what was going on, and Dwight agreed to the arrangement. And going from there, I thought it was very much in character for Michael to be unable to let go of the credit once he found out things had changed. Michael craves attention and acceptance, so the chance to have the marketing department listen to his ideas was just too much for him to pass up.
Michael should have been fired for this last stunt. Also if Dwight got fired what then? Isn't most of Michael's sucesses from his branchs good sales? Isn't Dwight the friggin man when it comes to sales? Remember he was salesman of the month 13 out of the last 12 months. You can't replace that.
Marge I am just trying to get into heaven not run for Jesus.
I just finally got around to watching this, and I wholeheartedly agree with those who hated this version of Michael Scott. The last four episodes or so Michael has just been boring, but this one was just plain over the line annoying. Be the clueless putz, not an over the top asshole.
I didn't even find the B story interesting until the very end. And the opening bit was bad enough without the unfunny ending bit.
Needless to say, I thought this was the worst episode in the history of the show.
"Put on your helmets, we'll be reaching speeds of 3!" "It was nice of you to give that dead woman another chance." "All right, look alive everybody...oh sorry Susan."- MST3K: Space Mutiny Click Here (myspace.com)
I don't really get the hatred. Sure, Michael was a jerk, but it was very much Michael. And to be honest, I expected Dwight to take the fall for him because he always follow Michael like a puppy.
So I actually enjoyed the scene where Michael tried to tell Dwight why losing his job was not a bad thing and Dwight said how he loved the job (then winking at the cam)
The swerve was well played with everyone basically showing their Dwight love just to spite Michael. And you just KNEW he couldn't not screw up because he wanted credit.
Was it dick-ish of Michael Scott to behave like this? Yes. But it isn't that much out of character, as he is just a big child.
I actually watched Conan last night for the first time in a long time. It was like a reunion show but the final episode didn't air yet so they couldn't talk about it. They also brought back the picture that Conan showed when Louis CK was on...
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