It's not an exaggeration to say that The Office was not the same after Steve Carell left. Whenever I rewatch the series, I'm always aware of that fact as I get to the later seasons. As sad as it is when Michael Scott departs Dunder Mifflin Scranton, I do admit that I love his final season. So many bits about the character are wrapped up perfectly, allowing for him to make his not-so-grand departure from the office in a satisfying way. Well, it turns out, Michaels' quiet exit the Scranton office was Steve Carell's idea!
While speaking with Amy Poehler on this week's episode of her podcast, Good Hang, Carell talked about wanting there to be a sense of growth for his character, who -- as he reminds us -- starts out very clearly wanting to be loved by the people around him. He's not really that guy at the end of his run on the series, as Carell reveals what he told EP/showrunner Greg Daniels in the year leading up to his final episode:
A year before I knew I was going to leave, I talked to Greg about what potentially the last arc for him would be, and I did want there to be a sense of growth for him that -- I said, one thing I'm going to pitch is that the last day is not the last day. Like, everyone thinks that they're going to have a party for him, but he leaves the day before because he doesn't need it. He wants to say goodbye on his own terms, and he's sort of beyond being celebrated that way. That, I thought would be an interesting way for him to go out.
Interesting is an understatement, I'd say. Michael's whole final episode is pretty perfect, in fact, and what Carell said makes me appreciate it even more. On the surface, it does seem pretty un-Michael-like to convince his coworkers that his last day is tomorrow, so that he can avoid a big to-do and enjoy one last semi-normal day with the people he once considered family.
Article continues belowThis is, after all, the same man who once made a big thing out of his own birthday, insisting that the staff celebrate him by eating bologna and tomato sandwiches and watching him show off at the ice rink. It's also the same man who decorated his own car before setting off for Jim and Pam's wedding, insisted on giving a speech at Phyllis and Bob's wedding, declared himself the godfather to Jim and Pam's firstborn child, and so many other awkward, attention-seeking moments. If there's anyone who wants to make a to-do about himself, even (or especially) when it's not appropriate, it would've been Michael.
Season 7's double-episode "Goodbye Michael" -- one of the Office's best episodes -- doesn't see Carell's character throwing himself a big bash, and it really is a mark of how far he's come and where his priorities are. The party-planning committee is handling the particulars for his farewell, while Michael aims to have a one-on-one moment with each of his staff members and then skip the fuss of his exit entirely. When he does leave at the end of the day, only Jim is aware that Michael's headed straight to the airport.
Michael Scott was a lot of things, including occasionally being good at his job, often being the comic relief, providing some of the funniest quotes in the series, and not always being the problem (though he often was). Steve Carell brought so much to the role, and left a giant void when he departed, but I still love the way he left, and I don't entirely hate that he left before the series ended. In a weird way, it allowed a lot of Season 7 to be focused on Michael so that his story could truly be wrapped up.
The show went on for two more seasons, and we got one more appearance by Michael in the finale, but it was no longer about him. And though I would've loved to have seen more scenes featuring Steve Carell in the series' last episode, I also appreciated that Michael was sort of kept in a bubble, which allowed the memory of his exit and the happily ever after he's sharing with Holly to be preserved.
I'll close this out with one of Michael's final lines in the "Goodbye Michael" episode, which I think really solidifies what Carell was talking about:
Holly's my family now. She's my family. And the babies that I make with her will be my children. The people you work with are just, when you get down to it, your very best friends. They say on your death bed you never wish you spent more time at the office, but I will. Got to be a lot better than a deathbed. I actually don't understand deathbeds. I mean, who would buy that?
Of course, he also said it best with "I declare bankruptcy!" but it's less relevant here.
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