There are three established roles for Jim Halpert to play in The Office. The first, and most consistent in this series and the BBC version, is that he is the ongoing office rival of the Assistant To The Regional Manager. Over the years, the laughs derived from their interactions have been on a regular basis.
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 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.
For the first time, Jim was able to look like the saner of the two co-managers. It didn't take much on Jim's part, as he was only being himself. This is easy, when Michael was entwined in perceived authority, sexism, and jealousy. His own personal insecurities and entitlement have led to him believing that he has the right to not only be Santa Claus, but to also take it away from Phyllis.
Whenever the combination of tension, and Michael Scott are present, there is almost always a disaster waiting to happen. At the beginning of Double Date, it looked as if it was going to be one of those rare times where Michael was going to prove everybody else wrong.
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