The Office: Michael's Last Dundies

Posted by: Lawrence Lee  •  April 21, 2011 @ 9:01pm

Filed under: Recaps & Reviews

Season two opened with The Dundies, in which this episode established that the employee award ceremony of the same name was something that just about everybody hated, making Michael that less likeable of a boss. In the five and a half years since, some things have changed. Pam no longer has to worry about getting the longest engagement award, Deangelo is introduced to the Dundie Awards, and strangely, the employees tended to like Michael's jokes.

This was where the episode ended up emphasizing the irrelevant, over what was actually interesting. A substantial chunk of Michael's Last Dundies was devoted to Michael coaching Deangelo on how to make people laugh. Unfortunately, this plot was not funny on any level, as it was just repeatedly stale. Not only that, it made Deangelo look like a useless contribution to the show, while also sending out the message that The Office needs a Michael Scott. Behind this bad main plot, was Dwight's rebellion, and Erin breaking up with Gabe in public. These two storylines have something to contribute to the show, but were pushed into the background, as Deangelo failed on all his countless punchlines. The main plot was eventually salvaged, as Andy went to accept his award, only to have all the employees, including a harmonizing Deangelo, dedicate a retrospective song to Michael on how he affected their lives.

Tags: The Office, Steve Carell, Will Ferrell, Jenna Fischer, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Michael's Last Dundies, Ellie Kemper, B.J. Novak, Ed Helms

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