The Office {Goodbye Michael}

Warning: This review contains spoilers. Do not read this unless you have seen the episode.

We have come to the end of an era. Michael Scott has officially left Scranton and will no longer be gracing our televisions week after week. It was tough to swallow, but his final episode was a fitting finale for the world’s best boss.

Before I get into Michael’s story, let me get the other stories out of the way. Due to his departure, Michael was giving people gifts and he decided to give Andy his ten biggest clients.

This, of course, got the rest of the salesmen upset. Andy is apparently the worst in the office and Michael thought that this would help him and boost his confidence. But, he had to go on a sales call in order to keep one of them for another year.

He needed help and ended up choosing Deangelo Vickers, Will Farrell’s character. So far, I have enjoyed Will. He hasn’t been the best, but he has had good moments. However, he was rather strange in this episode.

We found out that he likes to go to the animal shelter to get pumped up, he is an awful salesman, and he has had a problem with weight in the past. During the meeting with the client, he basically insulted Andy’s abilities and told the guy he probably wouldn’t be happy with them.

I smirked a little, but his methods are awkward and rather rude. Anyway, after the awful meeting, Andy ran back in and changed the guy’s mind. It’s possible that it was planned that way, but it just showed how terrible Deangelo is.

I also found it bad because when we were first introduced to him, he was a more serious boss who was trying take control and change things up. But then, we get this episode were he is just bad. They are sending us some mixed signals on how we should think about him and his abilities.

Anyway, the other parts where he was having trouble with the candy and cake was kind of funny. This is actually the kind of thing I thought we would get from Ferrell, and we got it in this episode.

The third story of the episode was Gabe acting very creepy. He was devastated about Erin dumping him and he threatened Andy in the bathroom while also trying to get Erin back, which also took place in a bathroom.

The bathroom part with Andy provided a very funny moment with Jim. He brought up the camera crew and asked if there were now filming people in the bathrooms. This was the first time in years that the camera crew has been acknowledged, and it wasn’t the only time either.

Ok, now that that is out of the way, it is time to get back to Michael. Instead of having a really sad day, Michael lied to them and told them that he would be leaving a day after he actually is.

That way, he can skip all the emotional goodbyes. However, he did try to have a moment with everyone. There were a few funny ones, and a few highly emotional ones.

Unfortunately, Pam decided to skip out on work to go see a movie, and almost missed her chance to say goodbye. I will get to her later, though.

His moments with Oscar, Toby, Angela, and Kevin were funny. He was forced to speed things up towards the end and he said goodbye to Meredith, Creed, and Gabe at the same time.

That was also a great moment. Up until his moment with Dwight, I thought this was going to be a disappointing episode with no sentimental moments, but the last third of the episode or so was fantastic.

He gave Dwight a letter of recommendation, Jim figured out he was leaving early and told him he was the best boss he ever had, and even Pam met him at the airport to give him a hug.

It was great because it was one of those things where they film from a distance and you don’t know what was said. That last part with Michael also provided the second mention of the cameras.

He asked them if they could let him know if it ever airs and then takes out his mic. He then made his last, “that’s what she said” joke, said bye to Pam, and then took off to Colorado to live with Holly.

This episode was a fantastic finale for Michael and it provided some great moments with his friends. Yes, after all those years and great moments, it is safe to say that they are more than co-workers and employees.

Anyway, this wasn’t the absolute best episode of the Office, but it was a satisfying conclusion for Steve/Michael. The scene where Dwight thought the recommendation letter was a joke was very good, as well as the discussion between Michael and Jim.

Both of those scenes were very emotional and I was glad that Michael left while Dwight was no longer upset about not being put in charge.

So, just to conclude, Michael Scott was one of the greatest characters in television history and it was sad to see him go. I really hope that Steve gets an Emmy this year. It is long overdue and his acting was superb in this episode.

The finale this year looks to be a huge event, but I have no idea how the show will move on without Michael. He was a great character and he will surely be missed.

College Couch Potato Grade: A