The Office Review: See You On The Flippity Flip

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You could have asked for a few more laughs, and you might have said that the Deangelo story line was unnecessary, but if you were ever a fan of The Office, "Goodbye Michael," and especially that scene between Michael and Jim near the end, had all the emotion you could ask for from Steve Carell's final episode.

There are very few sitcoms on television right now that can evoke that type of emotion from both its actors and its audience. It's a special kind of series, and a special kind of man in Carell, that can give you simultaneous tears of sadness and joy.

Goodbye Michael Picture

After 148 episodes of bad improv, inappropriate jokes, and selling paper, Carell, and subsequently Michael Scott, has left The Office. How the show will go on without him is a question for another day. For now, let's take a look at how his final day built up to a point where we wanted anything but to see Michael fly away from Scranton.

Michael's long line of goodbyes was once again both funny and sweet, as The Office always is when it's at its best. Whether it was his compliments to Phyllis, oohing and ahhhing as Angela showed him pictures of her boyfriend, giving a few gifts to the likes of Darryl, Ryan, and Andy, or simply holding back the insults of Toby, Michael really made sure his departure from the building would be noticed.

The amount of restraint on Michael's face as he refrained from saying anything mean to Toby during their final conversation was just fantastic.

As was his heartfelt conversations with both Erin and Dwight. The father/daughter relationship that grew between Michael and Erin over the past couple of years has been one of the most heartfelt parts of the show, so giving him a forum to truly help her out in his final episode was nice to see.  And that reccommendation for Dwight?  It doesn't get much better than that.  The way the writing staff built Dwight up to really dislike Michael over the past few weeks truly made the beat farmer's inability to read the rec without getting misty that much more rewarding for the viewer.

But like I said earlier, it was that scene between Michael and Jim, in which James Halpert realizes that Michael is ditching out early, that it got extremely dusty in the Forcella household.  Can you be a fan of this show and not get emotional during that moment?  It's hard to imagine.

Jim: Tomorrow I can tell you what a great boss you turned out to be. Best boss I ever had. | permalink

The fact that Pam ended up reaching him at the airport was certainly a necessity, but it definitely didn't pack the punch that Jim and Michael had a few minutes earlier.

Hiding amongst the tears were a bunch of laughs, including Carrell coughing up a lung as Michael couldn't get over the fact that the scarecrow he gave Oscar looked like something a two year old monkey made.  There also was Creed using the women's room like a regular and telling Gabe "not cool man," and Michael bringing back his bball skills as he attempted to see the warehouse guys on the "flippity flip."

And while the Deangelo story line was a bit unnecessary this week, Will Ferrell still worked on his own.  He got amped up at the "anny anny shelto," completely downgraded Andy's skills at the sale, and went back and forth on whether or not to eat Michael's cake with his bare hands.  Again, it didn't fit with much of the rest of "Goodbye, Michael," but with an extra 15 minutes of footage, who am I to complain?

So that is it for Steve Carrell on The Office.  I am extremely sad that he is gone, and upset that it kind of snuck up on me there at the end.  The question now becomes who will lead this rag tag group of employees?

As we ask you what you thought of "Goodbye, Michael," here are some of our favorite quotes from the episode. Don't forget to check out The Office quotes page for all the best one-liners.

Jim: You guys are filming people when they go to the bathroom now? | permalink
Michael: I can't do this. All the channels are going to be different there. I'm not going to be able to find my shows. I am not going to start improv at level one. I don't think my credits are going to transfer. | permalink
Deangelo: Andy do you know how to high five? Cause if you do, now's the time...not while I'm driving. | permalink
Michael (to Erin): You don't need a mom, because you have my number and you can call me anytime. | permalink
Michael (to Gabe): A little cover up on your adam's apple will make it appear smaller, which will make you look less like a transvestite. | permalink
Michael: Am I doing the wrong thing?
Jim: Absolutely not. It's just that sometimes, goodbyes are a bitch. | permalink
Michael: Hey will you guys let me know if this ever airs? | permalink

Goodbye Michael Review

Editor Rating: 5.0 / 5.0
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User Rating:

Rating: 4.8 / 5.0 (79 Votes)

Dan Forcella is a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow him on Twitter.

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The Office Season 7 Episode 21 Quotes

You guys are filming people when they go to the bathroom now?

Jim

Michael: I am told there are bears in the Rockies.
Dwight: Where'd you here that? Obvious XM Radio?