THE OFFICE: Double Date

Last night’s episode of THE OFFICE was kind of like Michael’s relationship with Helene.  It started off with great promise, but came off the hinges fast. While there were some really funny moments, on the whole it wasn’t one of my favorite episodes.

It has to be said – Michael Scott would make for a truly fascinating psychological case study. Can you imagine the layers that could be peeled back when examining the psyche of someone as emotionally stunted as Michael Scott? He is abnormally complex yet at the same time the most simple of men.  His needs in life are basic. He wants to be loved.  Now how he goes about searching for that love is a whole other matter better left for the professionals.

Last night the inevitable happened.  Michael finally got Jim and Pam to acknowledge his relationship with Pam’s mother, Helene, by insisting that the four of them have lunch together to celebrate Helene’s birthday.  Try as she may, Pam couldn’t escape the encounter. Not even a last minute faux emergency shipping issue could keep her away. It was time to face the music.

Despite her protests, Pam seemed to be taken back at just how happy Michael made her mother. Not only did he arrange an extra special birthday lunch (with full on decorations), but he also gave Helene a heartfelt, overly sentimental scrapbook with reminders of their relationship to date.  How very Jim Halpert of him.  How could Pam be against a relationship that made her mother smile? Oh right, because at the end of the day it was still Michael.

Little did Pam know that the relationship was essentially over the minute it was revealed that Helene was in her late 50’s. Before that moment it didn’t occur to Michael that his girlfriend, who has a daughter in her 30’s, might be a bit older than him.  But as the realization set it, the wheels completely went off the rails.  By the end of the lunch, just as Pam was finally coming to terms with Michael dating her mother, he goes ahead and dumps her…for being too old. Oh Michael.

Oddly enough I could see Michael’s point of view on this one.  Michael has always been very open about wanting to be a father (if for no other reason than his kids would have to love him).  Being with Helene would mean he would have to forfeit one of his biggest dreams.  Actually, there would be a lot of things Michael might miss out on if he continued this relationship. I was quite ok with him ending things.  But of course this is Michael Scott we are talking about here, and how he went about ending things was a complete disaster.

Michael started the day with Pam being upset with him, and ended the day with Pam so angry the she resorted to physical violence. I think Pam Halpert needs to go back to Puerto Rico for just a few more days.  All of this anger can not be good for the baby, right? Maybe we can chock it up to pregnancy hormones, but I hope Angry!Pam has left the building.  Jenna Fischer plays the anger well, but I’m kind of over it.  It’s not enjoyable to watch Pam be miserable all the time.  The woman just married Jim Halpert, and she’s having his baby.  She’s a newlywed for goodness sake. She doesn’t have to be taking permanent residence on Cloud 9, but let’s give her a few minutes of happiness, shall we?

To me it seemed the episode really started to come apart after Jim, Michael and Pam returned from lunch.  The second half of the episode was built around this odd premise that Pam was going to hit Michael as a way to make things right between them.  I really didn’t find much humor in Pam acting like a schoolyard bully, preparing for her fight with Michael. Toby teaching her how to punch was worth a quick and hearty laugh, but then I realized how ridiculous it was that the HR rep was not only condoning the fight but encouraging it.  And Jim?  Yeah, not only should he have put an end to this as the co-manager of the branch, but he really shouldn’t be encouraging his pregnant wife to get physically violent.

It’s not that I just didn’t like where the episode went in the second half, but to me the bigger offense was that it just seemed like lazy writing. It felt like the writers spent all their time planning out the first part of the episode and threw something together quickly for the second half.  It just didn’t do it for me.

As for the B-storyline, I have to say I felt the same way. The premise was there and it was strong, but it didn’t go anywhere.  Dwight’s distorted logic that he would do nice things for his co-workers in exchange for their help in ousting Jim was solid.  The back and forth politeness game that he and Andy played was fantastic…at first.  But the joke never went anywhere. It was just the same thing over and over again. And it felt so disjointed from the A-storyline that I never quite settled into the premise.

Maybe it wasn’t my favorite episode, but with THE OFFICE there are always moments of greatness to celebrate.  So here are a few moments that made me smile last night.

• I love a good Shel Silverstein poem, even if Michael is plagiarizing it. And “Sick” (aka I cannot go to school today said little Peggy Ann McKay) is my all time favorite Silverstein poem. So YAY!

• Dwight: “Fish sticks are not an aphrodisiac. You’re thinking of deer penis.”

• Creed: “Something’s up. That paper was never supposed to arrive.” –  I will say this – the writers have struck the perfect balance for using Creed. Hilarious!

• Jim: “Oooh, burn. Burn on you. And a little bit on me, too.”

• Can someone fill me in on the random scene with Ryan and his photos? I know there is a new website featuring his photography (Thousand and One Words) but I guess I’m still waiting on the why?

• Michael: “I am not robbing the cradle. If anything I’m robbing the grave.”

• Michael: “I want kids. And you, unfortunately, have already completed that part of your journey down there.”

• Meredith: “He’s not in the men’s room, although the seat was warm so we may have just missed him.”

What I really love about being a TV blogger is hearing different takes on the same show.  Last night’s episode wasn’t one of my favorites, but I’m sure there are others who absolutely loved it.  It’s all subjective.  There are no rights and wrong when it comes to opinions.  The comments are open.  Tell me what YOU thought about last night’s episode. Share your favorite moments.