The Office Season 8

[Houston]

Bring in Jim Carrey.

That is all.

That would be horrible.

[SOS4Prez]

That would be horrible.

You're horrible.

[FirstTimer]

This should have been the series finale.

The moment when Michael acknowledges the camera crew, removes his mic, and walks away in that odd silence was beautifully done.

I must say that I disagree with your take on it, FT.

To me, this entire episode was a meta-story on the difficulty surrounding Steve's departure from the show. There's never really "enough time" to get it right.

And Michael never went back into the conference room because there's no way he could have. The emotional trainwreck that he was, he knew it would be way worse if he walked back in there and started bawling.

I'd recommend reading the AV Club assessment of the episode. Some really good thoughts.

http://www.avclub.com/articles/goodbye-michael,55159/

EDIT: Also, I have to say that Michael's trolling of some of the employees was brilliant. I've met too many people that think of Michael Scott as stupid, but I think this proves that he simply isn't.

Fair enough. I disagree on parts of AV Clubs take and think that the "meta-story" thing is a cop out angle for the writing team.

[BrntO4Life]

Fair enough. I disagree on parts of AV Clubs take and think that the "meta-story" thing is a cop out angle for the writing team.

Maybe so, but think of just how difficult finales are in general. Expectations are immense and I think it's much smarter to do a finale that references the commentary surrounding it.

You'll never do a finale that pleases everyone, but I think the writers of The Office did a good job considering this is not the series finale. It should be, but NBC is run by brainless hack executives.

[BrntO4Life]

That would be horrible.

You're horrible.

Jim Carrey will be guest starring soon.

[FirstTimer]

Maybe so, but think of just how difficult finales are in general. Expectations are immense and I think it's much smarter to do a finale that references the commentary surrounding it.

I understand they are difficult and I'm not expecting some flat out perfect episode but as a fan of the show the episode was just a let down overall. I know that no matter what you aren't going to be able to have a neat little package tied up on everything but I felt like it really didn't tie up much at all and that it started introducing questions per say that it wasn't capable of answering in the time frame they had for the episode. That's poor writing/producing/directing/etc IMO.

You'll never do a finale that pleases everyone, but I think the writers of The Office did a good job considering this is not the series finale. It should be, but NBC is run by brainless hack executives.

Agreed again, however I feel it was a very poor effort on the writers part.

[BrntO4Life]

I understand they are difficult and I'm not expecting some flat out perfect episode but as a fan of the show the episode was just a let down overall. I know that no matter what you aren't going to be able to have a neat little package tied up on everything but I felt like it really didn't tie up much at all and that it started introducing questions per say that it wasn't capable of answering in the time frame they had for the episode. That's poor writing/producing/directing/etc IMO.

What, specifically, did you want answered?

[FirstTimer]

I was extremely disappointed with the episode. I felt like it started off really well and was moving along in a good direction. The Gabe and Andy interaction was really funny and awkward/creepy. Towards the end when Michael told Gabe to hide his adams apple to look less like a transvestite that was a great moment.

His gift to Oscar and the interview scene with Micahel laughing afterwards was amazing too.

The entire Michael leaving early storyline didn't make much sense to me. IMO it wasn't really explained, thought out, or executed. It just seemed uneccessary and pointless. The entire episode just felt rushed. The Pam storyline of her almost missing him leaving really didn't make any sense and felt kind of shoved into the episode just to create suspense....then when he finally sees her there seems to be no real big reveal of why he was so worried about saying bye to her. I assumed maybe something about her being the only one to follow him when he left to star Michael Scott Paper Co. but who knows? It was never explained.

His goodbye to the group as a whole was really bad, and I get that he was using Ping to mask his sadness at leaving and as a coping mechanism but the fact that after Jim talked to him he didn't go back in and just kind of left was really odd. That 5-10 minutes of the episode was just really poorly put together.

The scene with Jim in Michael's office was likely the best scene and they even rushed that and cut it short with the taxi arriving and ruining what was truning into a really great scene between Michael and the guy that was really Michael's right hand man through everything.

Dwight wasn't featured enough. The letter of recommendation was a nice touch but Dwight's bitterness wasn't played very well and it would have been nice to see some resolution to the entire thing with Michael after he got it.

Michael's scene with Erin was a really nice touch and a great moment. That and Jim's scene were the best of the episode but thankfully Erin's wasn't cut short.

All and all I guess it was an OK episode but it just felt like it was rushed and they tried to cram a few too many plot points into an episode. A lot of things just felt unresolved, unexplained, and unfinished. I guess it leaves door open to Micahel coming back and making more appearances but I doubt they will revisit the open ended issues in this episode.

Michael leaving the show was going to leave you with a shitty feeling no matter what but this episode just left me with an empty and disappointed feeling about the way the episode was handled and constructed.

Pam was dressed like she used to be with her hair up all the time and they had Michael moving his trophy like he does in the opening.

Yeah there were a lot of nice little touches and "easter eggs" in there but I wish they would have put the same effort into making a sensible episode overall.

What, specifically, did you want answered?

See above. Maybe "questions" wasn't the correct word to use but there was very little sense of explanation for Michael's actions, either implicitly stated or implied, during the episode and there was very little sense of closure between Michael and his co-workers who he considered to be "family" to, and the office as a whole, which he saw as his home. The episode just felt really disjointed and had the general feeling of having too many writers hand's in the pot so to speak. Kind of like 3 or 4 writers had a few brainstorms on what to do and rather than paring them down they tried to show them all into the episode and there just wasn't enough time. The AV Club review I read kind of helps cement that for me. For example the Pam goodbye. At first she was possibly meant tonot even see Michael and miss him before he leaves, however they decided against it and decided at the end to have her see Michael, so they shoe horned in the airport scene. It felt both rushed, and when it happened rather predictable.

The episode to me just felt like a cluster fuck from the start and seemed like it wanted to be too many things at once. It felt like it couldn't decide whether it wanted to be a "straight" ending for Michael or a "twist" ending. So in the end it seemed like it tried to be both and IMO failed.

[BrntO4Life]

See above. Maybe "questions" wasn't the correct word to use but there was very little sense of explanation for Michael's actions, either implicitly stated or implied, during the episode and there was very little sense of closure between Michael and his co-workers who he considered to be "family" to, and the office as a whole, which he saw as his home. The episode just felt really disjointed and had the general feeling of having too many writers hand's in the pot so to speak. Kind of like 3 or 4 writers had a few brainstorms on what to do and rather than paring them down they tried to show them all into the episode and there just wasn't enough time. The AV Club review I read kind of helps cement that for me. For example the Pam goodbye. At first she was possibly meant tonot even see Michael and miss him before he leaves, however they decided against it and decided at the end to have her see Michael, so they shoe horned in the airport scene. It felt both rushed, and when it happened rather predictable.

The episode to me just felt like a cluster fuck from the start and seemed like it wanted to be too many things at once. It felt like it couldn't decide whether it wanted to be a "straight" ending for Michael or a "twist" ending. So in the end it seemed like it tried to be both and IMO failed.

I don't look at it as "straight vs. twist", but rather "big vs. small". I imagine the biggest debate was between sending Michael off in some absurd, over-the-top manner or just having simple closure.

The "twist" of Pam possibly not seeing Michael leave was, in my opinion, important because her relationship with Michael was the most important one he had. She was his receptionist/personal assistant for five years, in which Michael witnessed her relationship with Roy dissolve as the one with Jim grew, Michael attended her art show/showed genuine support in her interests, and eventually watched as she and Jim got married and had a child. As of late, their relationship had waned as she began her own life, but I think it was important to remind the audience just how special that relationship had to have been for Michael. That's why I enjoyed the fact that she was the last to see him, and in a more interesting manner.

As for his goodbyes to the rest of the crew, they were simple and effective. I disliked how the show had gotten away from general office life as of late and started to stretch for ideas. The fact that it had been pared back in the last few months was really great and it needs to stay that way.

[FirstTimer]

I don't look at it as "straight vs. twist", but rather "big vs. small". I imagine the biggest debate was between sending Michael off in some absurd, over-the-top manner or just having simple closure.

I guess..but a bog or smallending can still work and not have the shitty writing. I would have been fine sending Michael off in any way really, as long as I felt there was continuity to the idea/episode in how it would be done.

The show felt confused and like it couldn't make up it's mind.

The "twist" of Pam possibly not seeing Michael leave was, in my opinion, important because her relationship with Michael was the most important one he had. She was his receptionist/personal assistant for five years, in which Michael witnessed her relationship with Roy dissolve as the one with Jim grew, Michael attended her art show/showed genuine support in her interests, and eventually watched as she and Jim got married and had a child. As of late, their relationship had waned as she began her own life, but I think it was important to remind the audience just how special that relationship had to have been for Michael. That's why I enjoyed the fact that she was the last to see him, and in a more interesting manner.

I agree that I saw Pam and Jim as more of Michael's best friends throughout the show. Even going as far back as Michael being the one Jim confided in about the crush on Pam. I see the idea behind Jim and Pam being the last one's to see Michael, I just felt that the "Will she/won't she" aspect then the running through the airport thing felt unnecessary, took from the moment, and like I mentioned felt show horned in because the writers couldn't make up their minds.

As for his goodbyes to the rest of the crew, they were simple and effective. I disliked how the show had gotten away from general office life as of late and started to stretch for ideas. The fact that it had been pared back in the last few months was really great and it needs to stay that way.

I would agree with getting back to the simple aspect of it but overall I don't think the episode was simple. Felt cluttered and like it didn't know what it was supposed/wanted to be.

[BrntO4Life]

Agree to disagree I guess.

[zack54attack]

I wasn't a big fan of the previous episode. I thought they could have done a way better job than what they did. The whole Michael leaving early thing was confusing and dumb. Maybe we will get a real explinaton on why it happened like that.

I love The Office. Watched it since season 2. But I have to say, the Show went down hill when the whole Pam/Jim dating thing happened. It was much more funnier when Pam was dating Roy, and was single for that brief moment. Although the show has brought some good lulz

[FirstTimer]

Loved tonight's episode.

Dwight: DeAngelo, Tell your whore to get away from me.

DeAngelo's dunk was classic.

Also loved the invisible juggling.

[wingsfan77]

Yeah I definitely didn't see them sending D'Angelo out that way, I was assuming it would be a mental breakdown which they had kind of been hinting towards. Next week's episode is titled "Dwight K. Schrute, (Acting) Manager."

[FirstTimer]

DeAngelo Vickers final walk in was hilarious too with him telling the joke in jibberish.

If you have it DVR'd go back and watch the last 10-15 seconds again. Right as Jim and Gabe are helping DeAngelo out the door you can see DeAngelo and Jim start to break smiles right as it ends.

Pretty funny.

I think the Ferrell would have been a good fit for the show. Too bad his character is gone.

Who do you think will end up as Reg. Manager when it's all said and done?