The Office took an unexpected but welcome turn back into Plot Towne last night, following up an innocuous but hilarious episode of Michael lies with a monumental step forward, as David Wallace promoted Jim to be Michael’s co-manager. Michael’s reluctance to acknowledge Jim as his peer — “I am also being promoted, to co-manager, we will be co-managers together…” — and Dwight’s unambiguous reaction hinted pretty clearly at the roadblocks we’ll encounter in the weeks to come (at least, unless the show gets into a weird midseason streak of stand-alone episodes that mysteriously don’t mention anything about the plot, which is very likely).
Overall, the episode wasn’t as funny as the Season 6 premiere, but like the Michael Versus Dwight episode from last year, The Office forced us to confront how much we really do care about what happens to these characters, with a dilemma far more engaging than any throwaway crime drama murder. I really did feel bad for Jim when Michael half-understandingly threw him under the bus. And, as awkward as Dwight is, he’s always been the branch’s hardest worker, and now he’s gonna have to answer to his once-equivalent rival?
The episode still did have plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, including maybe the most uncomfortable cold open yet, and the following moment, Michael’s impeccable Michael Winslowey “door opening” routine:
Episode thoughts? Favorite parts / lines? Jim/Dwight reactions? Season predictions? Leave ‘em in the comments!
