The Office: China

"China"

Season 7, Episode 10

Original Airdate: December 2, 2010

..........Okay, occasionally Michael is correct about something. For every time he thinks that yelling "Bankruptcy" is declaring it, he'll have a comptent argument over the concern of China's possibility of becoming a superpower. Initially, I thought this was a stupid idea for Michael to worry his man-child intelligence over, but it eventually worked in his favor as in one brief moment, the Dunder-Mifflin office saw Michael being smarter than know-it-all Oscar. And that's where the episode truly shines. Instead of standing on a soapbox and screaming about China, the writers explored the irritation Oscar expressed since he is usually seen as the smart one in the office. So then the scene is set: Oscar has invited to Michael to coffee to drill him over an intellectual conversation, effectively humiliating him and reasserting himself as #1 smart guy. Then the writers went back to talking about China, having Michael give a speech about how America is number one; seriously, guys, you could've picked a different topic and the point still could've got across. Oh well.

The subplot dealt with Dwight trying to shortcut supplies in the office building to save money, so Pam has to try to reason with Dwight. Sometimes I wonder if Dwight is getting too bizarre, a tad too cartoon villain-y. Still, the cold opening was brilliant.

Rating: * * * of 5