That was a great Michael storyline. For the first time he acted like an adult - still a fun loving adult, but he actually got his filter working - he even managed to stop himself from saying “That’s what she said.” Brutal finish with Jan coming back - “If I was 22, and could have lots of kids, sure, one could be Michael’s. But at my age… I’ve got to make this one count.”
They did it on My Name is Earl, too, although Randy really is sort of “special.” He was chagrined, though, when he heard himself described that way.
I have never understood why everyone thinks Jim is a jerk. See how he was trying to help Michael with the new HR lady?
Bravo! Good writing, not over the top with nonsensical plots, cliffhangers, love angles, good tension, some awkwardness, good editing. About the best ep in two seasons, IMO.
Excellent episode. I love the almost throwaway scenes best. I mean I loved when they showed Phyllis on the phone trying to find an anti-gravity machine and the woman comes back with anti-depressants and then asks if Phyllis wants that. Phyllis says, “Sure”. I thought Phyllis was really good throughout this episode.
When Michael turned down HR Lady for dessert, I thought he was finally taking control of his impulses, and playing hard-to-get with her. Then I realized he is still just a complete ass when he called Jan to go to Lamaze with her. You IDIOT!
So are Paul Lieberstein (Toby) and BJ Novak (Ryan) sticking around as writers, or are they leaving the series altogether?
Excellent episode with some great lines that have already been mentioned. The line from Jan is absolutely brutal.
I can’t think of another character on TV who oscillates between my hatred and my pity as much as Michael.
“Hazing is a fun way to let the new employee know that she is not welcome or liked.”
Yeesh.
I didn’t like this episode at all. I thought it was surprisingly boring for a season finale and didn’t laugh out loud once.
I think that might be it for me and the series.
Jim should propose to Pam within the next couple of days. Take her out to a nice dinner, or even a romantic weekend getaway. He should not let her disappointment grow, and after he could let her know that he had planned to propose before Andy ruined it. Pam will still appreciate the first gesture and be relieved that they are engaged. But Jim likes big romantic scenes, and that wouldn’t make good comedy, so it won’t happen.
Michael needs to stay the hell away from crazy Jan. She made Michael go thru 3 vasectomies, while going to a sperm bank. Unforgivable. I can see why Michael missed the hint from the HR lady about dessert being an excuse to maybe start something. He had just been kicked in the guts and romance may not have been top of mind.
Andy’s proposal was surprising. He has barely had a chance to kiss Angela, let alone spend any real time together. Obviously she was holding back. What did Kelly ask her after the proposal to which she said “no”?
oops, double post, where we getting a faster server soon?
I don’t think he missed the hint at all, he outright turned her down for the chance to be a daddy…sort of.
Kelly asked “Can I be your bridesmaid?”
Loved it. It was almost prefect.
The Kevin storyline had me rolling on the floor. Basically now I can’t look back at anything he’s done without him looking special.
This was my take on it as well (haven’t rewatched the scene or anything); I recall him being slightly distracted and suggesting, almost unthinkingly, that she (“you” instead of “we”) can go to such and such place.
Brilliant episode.
They kept the Kevin thing perfectly understated.
Michael’s battle with his instincts was great.
They kept both of those storylines believable. The exit interview scene was painful. Great season finale.
It was the first Earl episode I’ve liked all year, too.
BJ Novak is a producer, so I suspect he’ll be sticking around, at least as a writer. They might be able to slip in some bizarre story arc about his trial/prison/prison escape experience.
There’s supposed to be a spin-off in the works sometime, but details have not been forthcoming. I wonder if it’s going to be based around Toby in Costa Rica. That doesn’t sound very interesting to me, though. A mock, MSNBC style, reality prison show about Ryan in a federal joint? That would be awesome.
I heard a radio interview with B.J. Novak yesterday, and he was talking about the one-hour episodes. He’s opinion was basically “The first one or two were funny, because we had all this stuff stored up from the offseason. The next couple, we were kind of scrambling to fill that much time, so some of the stuff fell flat. For the finale, we wanted to make sure that it was all good stuff. So throughout the season, we kept setting good jokes aside and saving them for the finale, rather than put them in right away”.
Makes sense, since the opening bit (Jim routing Dwight’s cell to his headset) was previously shown on nbc.com as a deleted scene.