After an episode break from the Michael and Pam drama, Michael has planned a birthday dinner for Pam’s mom Helene. Unfortunately for Pam and Jim, they both have to attend. Pam tries to back out at the last minute by saying there is a shipping emergency, but Jim knows exactly what she is doing and quickly defuses the situation.
This is very reminiscent of the “Dinner Party” episode where Jim tried to get out of a couples party at Michael and Jan’s house. Pam knew exactly what Jim was doing and “influenced” him to stay and enjoy the party with her.
Dwight Becomes Uncharacteristically Kind
While Michael, Helene, Jim and Pam are having dinner, Dwight is back at the office being extremely kind to everyone. He explains to the audience that he is doing all of these favors for everybody so he can hopefully have them return favors for him.
His goal is to somehow get the other office workers to repay him by getting Jim fired. We haven’t seen Dwight attempt to get Jim fired since “The Lover” episode. However, it’s obvious that Dwight is serious about this promotion and will stop at nothing to get it.
Dwight’s first act of kindness was buying everybody in the office bagels. Andy had to repay the favor so he polished Dwight’s suitcase. The rest of the episode is dedicated to Andy and Dwight constantly doing favors for one another.
It’s funny to see just how far both of them are willing to go to make sure they do not owe one another any favors. Dwight holds the door open for Andy, but then Andy holds the same door open for Dwight. Dwight buys breakfast for everyone, Andy buys lunch. Both of them will not rest until they no longer owe each other any favors.
Helene is Too Old for Michael
Back at dinner, Pam jokingly asks her mom what birthday she is celebrating this year. Helene responds by saying it is her 49th birthday. Eventually, she explains to Michael that it is just a joke and that she is actually 58 years old.
You can see it on Michael’s face that he is shocked to hear how old she is. So of course, in general Michael fashion, he begins to passive aggressively figure out if Helene is still too old for strenuous activity.
He asks her if she would ever run a marathon or go skydiving. Of course, Helene says she might have done those things when she was younger, but not anymore. Eventually, Michael breaks up with Helene on her birthday in front of Jim and Pam, which makes Pam even more upset than dating her in the first place.
Pam Wants to Punch Michael
Michael tries to bribe Pam with a raise in order to make up for breaking up with her mom. However, Pam wants to punch Michael instead. Of course, the whole office gathers in the parking lot to watch the punch. Toby even offers some advice to Pam on how to execute a proper punch.
When the time comes, Michael keeps flinching as Pam is bout to punch him. He apologizes for dating her mom and for breaking up with her on her birthday. However, Pam still slaps Michael after he informs her that Helene came onto him.
Later, Dwight is putting raw meat on Michael’s face and Michael tells Dwight that he owes him. Dwight wants the favor repaid with the Jim’s termination. Michael says no and it appears Dwight’s plan doesn’t pan out.
Now with Helene out of the picture, it would be a perfect time for Holly to come back. It most likely won’t happen in the very next episode, but don’t be surprised if she makes an appearance in later episodes.
Also, the romance between Andy and Erin was left untouched in this episode. That means that will most likely happen in the next episode. It seems like the plot is always furthered every other week rather than in the next week. It’s a good tactic to keep the audience watching. Let’s hope they come through and deliver.
- Original air date: Thursday, November 5, 2009
- Season #6 Episode #9
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