The Office: Grief Counseling

Is Michael Scott feeling a bit of his own mortality? He was really devastated by the news of his old boss' death, and he could not comprehend why his staff and his manager (Jan) did not feel the same way he did.

I thought Pam was especially good in this episode, especially when making Michael get coffee from the warehouse during his walking down the stairs bit and during the funeral pyre scene where she broke out in song. I guess the fact that she feels liberated from Roy (and Jim, to some extent) is allowing her personality and sense of humor to come out even more.

To me, the best line of the night was when Michael was describing the 5 steps of grief--denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance--and he said that if "I can get everyone depressed, that'll be good enough for me." I'm paraphrasing, but you get the gist of the idea. Although he's trying to be sincere, the buffoon in him is still there, and I sure wouldn't have it any other way.

Up in Stamford, it looks like Jim and Karen may be headed toward getting together. I'm sure eventually word will filter down to the Scranton office, and most likely Michael will blurt something out in Pam's presence. How will she deal with it, especially with Roy trying to win her back?

The staff grief counseling meeting was good, but when Kevin started with his Weekend at Bernie's story, I nearly lost it. (I've always thought Weekend at Bernie's remains one of the more unsung funny movies of the 80s.)

Anyway, another solid episode with Steve Carell at his best.