THEY'RE ALL COMING BACK
'The Jeff Probst Show' Has Been Canceled
The Office: The Secret
Michael Scott (Steve Carell) was at his obnoxious best (or worst, depending on your point of view) in this episode.
It's Spring Cleaning Day at Dunder Mifflin--although it's January, Michael wants to get it done today. Everybody has
assigned tasks, and we can see that Dwight is a perfect fit in a supervisory role. We also learn that Oscar is out
sick--on a Friday, no less--and Michael and Dwight call him at home to make sure everything's on the up and up. Michael
is convinced that Oscar is suffering from the flu, but Dwight is not so sure, and undertakes an investigation.
At the same time, Pam is discussing her upcoming wedding to Roy. Michael inquires of Jim what the "411" is with his crush on her, but Jim implores him to keep it quiet. Michael, of course, can't keep it to himself and basically follows Jim around the office and makes veiled comments about the situation. Michael is acting like an annoying high-school kid, and Jim is doing everything possible to keep things on the down-low. Finally, Michael asks Jim out to lunch, so Jim reluctantly agrees.
Meanwhile, Dwight continues his investigation into Oscar being sick, and he ends up explaining with lying is, with little effect. Michael and Jim make it to lunch at Hooters, and you can tell Jim is very uncomfortable being around Michael, who makes bad breast jokes and has the Hooter girls sing "Happy Birthday" to him, even though it wasn't his birthday.
Dwight is on the case about Oscar, and Jim and Michael return. During the course of the afternoon, Michael bizarrely musses his hair like Jim, and then blurts out the secret about Jim's crush on Pam. Naturally, it's the talk of the office, so Jim explains to Pam that his crush occurred when she first joined the company four years ago, but it has subsided. Pam accepts his explanation, and they agree not to let it bother them.
Finally, Dwight's surveillance pays off as he catches Oscar coming home with his boyfriend. Dwight has Oscar agree to pay a favor back to him at a time of his choosing to undo Oscar's "malfeasance." We then see Michael admitting to blowing Jim's cover, and then he makes things quite stickier by telling Pam that Jim mentioned his crush on Pam at the Booze Cruise.
I thought this was a terrific episode. Good, taut story lines, and the Jim/Pam scenario has definitely taken a more interesting turn. Might we see some sort of confrontation between Jim and Roy in the coming weeks as office gossip continues to thrive? And will Michael throw gasoline onto the fire? Guess we'll have to keep tuning in, won't we?
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