The Office: For Once, Michael Isn't "The Chump"

See?  That's exactly what we needed.  Michael Scott has a dark side, if only in his own idiotic way, but long has Steve Carell needed a new angle to play the hapless Dunder-Mifflin boss beyond a child-like buffoon. 

But Michael could never truly be the bad guy, even if Donna's husband had turned out to be a jerk; he may be desperate for his own slice of happiness after six years, but he's not evil.  Just tired.  He's the only sympathetic character within the halls of The Office to never find any lasting content. 

"The Chump" is Steve Carell's return to Michael Scott form, as he's much less the naïve child everyone else thinks of him and much more the lonely man struggling to be something he isn't.  When we met Michael, he fancied himself the comedian that everyone adored, but Donna's turned him into something else: the other man.  And rather than let go of a good thing and become the sad sack everyone expects, he tries to embrace it and become the brigand everyone else labels him. 

It's really shocking to see Michael act so callous, particularly in the way he painstakingly inspires Ryan to go after a three-headed dream of his own, but of course his heart gets the better of him in the end.  It's a great reminder for Steve (especially if the next is his last season) of what made the character so pathetically adorable in the first place.

That's more than you can say for Dwight, and it's a shame what he and Angela have come to; once their relationship was twisted but heart-warming, and now there's only bitterness, contracts rooted in sci-fi movies and meaningless sex.  In other words, my life exactly.  But what of Isabelle, the woman who actually seemed a suitable mate for the legendary paper salesman?  Have we forgotten her entirely in the wake of "legal ju-jitsu?"

Jim and Pam's (as usual) tag-team story is something any new parent can appreciate, but the two of them remain so smug in their attitude toward their co-workers, it felt like karmic justice they be forced to overhear the ravishing of Dwight and Angela; and we should all be so lucky to have a sleeping arrangement at work.

Speaking of sleep...

And Another Thing...

• I liked that the tension of the season finale and Sabre's printer fires spilled into this episode, it's a great way to make the transition from heartache to Office drama, and a vintage Michael misunderstanding.
• Is it me, or was Andy especially absurd and annoying this week?  He's been far too sweet lately to be so wasted here.
• I will forever think of Stanley as "Morgan Freeman, narrating everything."
• I think Ryan must have been driven deeply, deeply insane from his time at Corporate and fall back into the small-town life.

How about you cubical dwellers out there? Thoughts, feelings?