My wife thinks its obvious that he wants them to sleep in, since he does stay there. Anyone agree? I’m not so sure.
Yeah, in retrospect, I can see that interpretation. The reason for mine was, immediately after that, Pam set him up with her landlady. She said that she “couldn’t stand to see Michael that way,” or something. I thought she felt bad for him. I have always suspected that Pam has a soft spot for Michael, that on some level she feels a little bad for him, whereas Jim has much less sympathy.
Oddly, I interpreted Toby’s look differently from this. Michael was saying he wanted to play ball with his kids before he was too old to do it. And in order to do that, he needed to get laid first. Toby’s look, to me, was like, “Fair enough, at least that part’s true.”
I think that that is what this season is missing, the interaction of the minor characters. Now it’s all about Michael & Jan and Jim & Pam. Think about how little we see Dwight anymore and IIRC Stanley, Angela, Kelly, Toby, and Meredith combined for one line total. Other great parts:
Creed needing 3 chairs.
Michael getting Phyllis to admit her friend is fat.
“Hey Oscar Meyer Weiner lover”
Notice something? All involved a minor character.
But actually my favorite part was Michael being typical Michael and ordering from Wendy’s then having Dwight pick up his order. I actually had to think, “Is Michael so clueless that he didn’t realize he didn’t put the order under his name OR does Dwight know what he orders every time?”
See, I think there have been just as many Jim-Michael moments wher Jim puts his metaphoric arm around Michael as there have been Pam-Michael moments. It’s just sometimes Jim crosses the line.
I saw this as the HR guy wondering how he was going to deal with the fact that Michael just potentially sexually harassed the entire office.
I agree, the minor characters are usually what make this show. That Phyllis line had me laughing out loud.
Andy was never all that developed as a Character but I still felt that this was out of character for him: he seems to know he is an @sshole and is not in denial about it - we know he did it because he was upset about the walk the cell phone etc and yet he made the speech about how he did it for the little guy & the dance.
It actually seemed like something they worked out for Michael, it was all more in character for him (and most appropriate for him to handle), but stuck Andy in so it wouldn’t be all Michael all the time - or because they had written it like that but liked the dating angle more and changed at the last minute. I wonder if thats why it felt a little forced - no break between Michale and Jan etc.
Actually, I thought Michael was considering cheating on Jan in the opening scene as there was no indication they had split up. I quickly guessed that they might not be together as a couple but still wondered what happened to Jan. She was broke, desperate, without prospects and estranged from her family. Getting someone like that to leave might not be easy. They may also have been living together long enough to be a common law couple so there could be a divorce proceeding. Any hint by the writers would have been a helpful courtesy. Anyways, moving on.
Did anyone else think that when Dwight told Michael that he needed to say goodbye to his lost love, Dwight was talking about Jan, not the chair model? I did.
Has Andy done anything assholish since he went to anger management?
Not that the average viewer would know, but Pennyslvania abolished common law marriage a few years back. A simple “We’re not living together anymore” would have done wonders with the continuity of the storyline though.
At 3:00, Michael says “I’m ready to start dating again.”
At 3:45, Michael says “I’m completely over Jan.”
Not clear enough?
(The common-law marriage angle is a non-starter apart from PA not allowing them anymore: just living together doesn’t make a common-law marriage, you must also present yourself as married, which I don’t think Jan and Michael ever did)
No, not clear enough. I got the idea that they had broken up, but Michael does not have an exceptional grasp on reality. He thought all he had to do to declare bankruptcy was to loudly proclaim “I am bankrupt.” When he said he was ready to date again I could easily see a situation where he decided he was single, but had not yet told Jan yet. I also think that getting Jan to leave a condo where she was getting free everything would be difficult. I guess so much for moving on 
Just FYI, almost all jurisdictions in the United States have abolished common law marriage.
It’s still legal in Iowa, or it was five or six years ago. I “married” several couples when I worked in a benefits office. They were required to show proof of cohabitation and commingling of assets, like joint bank accounts or a home mortgage, and sign a (notarized) declaration that they considered themselves husband and wife. If they split up after that, they had to go to court and get a divorce.
This was done for couples who’d been together for awhile, and the reason they bothered to do it was because the medical benefits were cheaper for a married couple than for two singles.
Back to the episode, I thought it was evident that Michael thought he and Jan were over, but not so evident that Jan had actually moved out. In the prior episode, we saw Jan trying to glue the Dundie back together and Michael offering to go to jail in place of Jan. So for me, it wasn’t a gimme that they’d be split. Although I’m glad they are. I still want to see Michael in therapy.
Okay, maybe this?:
02:10: Michael: “What I mean was that I’m completely swearing off one woman. Jan.”
02:20: Michael (Talking Head): “What is it like being single? I like it.”
My favourite part of the episode (as already alluded to) was the end, with them singing American Pie and it taking so long that the sun has set while they’re still singing. The song is like seven minutes long!
I also liked Jim faking Pam out, and how a joking conversation between them turned into a very serious discussion of their future as a couple. I didn’t take Pam’s reaction to Jim as negative or positive - she just looked floored.
But can she fit in a normal size rowboat?
Which episode was this? I thought I had seen them all.
I believe it was the Christmas special, after Brent had been fired from Wernham Hogg and was working as a salesman again.
“I’ll give her a 10 for looks and a 3 for her ability to describe herself”.