The sixth season of The Office has been the weakest of all the seasons thus far. There have been storylines that have been started that did not continue until many episodes later, and other storylines that should have gone for much longer but did not. A lot of the problems lie in the writing, which led to the characterization gone wrong.
Since Andy made his debut on The Office, he had always taken the role of a character with an odd side to him. But with Jim and Pam not awake enough to pay much attention, and Andy remembering quite well what it was like to be cheated on in a relationship, Andy ended up being the voice of reason in this episode.
In the absence of a conflict between Dwight and Jim, another conflict took place, that was very reminiscent of the every man versus the workplace goofball. Unlike Jim, Darryl is much more spontaneous with his pranking, and Andy, unlike Dwight, was not out to cause any trouble. Darryl just happened to remember an incident from two years ago, and he was exacting his revenge on Andy.
It is typical for Michael's poor decision making abilities to have repeatedly affected the office in negative ways. As the years have passed, Michael has slowly learned to question his judgment, and to take the time to listen to his employees. "Body Language" is one of those few episodes where Michael is shown to have grown over the years.
Since Erin made her debut on The Office late last season, not very much has been revealed about her character, except for the surface obvious. A year later, she finally gets an episode that revolves around her. In Secretary's Day, her more vulnerable and weird side is shown. She stated her necessity for trust, and has firm beliefs of what a relationship should be like.
The leadership of Sabre has brought on more changes to the Scranton branch, not just in procedures and policies, but also in workplace attitude. As the sales staff have been given a greater importance in the company, they have also displayed it in their attitude towards everybody else.
Michael has a history of being the polar opposite to every person that has managed him. In the case of Jo, she finds Michael's lackadaisical and unprofessional behaviours to be inappropriate, and counterproductive. As Jo has set the example of working hard and doing overtime, Michael has little reason to not mirror her work ethic.
Much of the appeal of The Office is a result of combining diverse characters in an office environment, with plots that are driven by workplace related themes and the interactions that ensue. The Delivery, is unlike most episodes of The Office. Instead, it relies on slapstick, and the characters acting very much over the top.
Manager and Salesman has got to be the most disappointing episode of The Office in a very long time. There was minimal characterization, a predictable plot, and a love story that's going nowhere. And where there is characterization, there is nothing memorable.
After a near-two month wait, The Office returns with a new full length episode. This episode is deliberately meant to create a different feel, which succeeds, especially when contrasted with the clipshow from 2 weeks ago. The major change which everybody encounters is the acquisition by Sabre.
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