The Office Season 7- Review

Season 7. 

 

 

Watched. My rating: 9/10. 

 Ricky Gervais, Jim Carrey, Ray Romano, Will Arnett, Kathy Bates and James Spader show up in guest roles in this season. Ricky cameoed twice! Need I say more? It would've been absolutely mental if David Brent (The Office U.K) had replaced Michael as the new boss.

 To watch Michael leave was distressing as hell. I was misty eyed but I didn't break because I was expecting him to return in an episode or two. But now that the season is over, its hitting me now that maybe that was Steve Carell's final episode. Damn... I also liked how they incorporated the "A-Minute-of-Silence" bit from the U.K version when Pam meets Michael at the airport. But, as it goes, the American adaptation of that particular bit was not as brave as the British one because we could still hear the ambience. It works nonetheless.

 Jim is funny, liked by everyone, has a wife and a kid and a great body. Is Jim what Michael aspired to be when he was a young guy? And maybe that's why saying goodbye to Jim was the most difficult thing for Michael to do; he would be saying goodbye to that projection of his as well and accept himself as he is. The whole arch of Michael Scott (David Brent) is that he goes from people laughing-at-him to laughing-with-him, and we see the beginning of that beautiful transition in this season when people actually laugh at his jokes. Its a classic larva to butterfly shebang. 

 Season 1 was terrible but they listened to the criticism and improved themselves tremendously, making us connect to the characters in a strong adhesive of empathy. And because of that connection, even when the comedy isn't at it's best, we carry on watching the show because we enjoy the company of the characters; also it results in some very powerful emotional beats. Shows have the advantage of feedback over movies.