The Office: "The Promotion"

Jim's promotion to co-manager in the previous episode understandably leads to tension between the two heads of the office, as Oscar so astutely pointed out in his oblique TH on the situation ("Name me one country that doesn't have two presidens"). Jim naturally tries to right all the perceived wrongs in Michael's management style, only to discover the best intentions doesn't always go hand-in-hand with good management. Jim can, at times, come across as smug and superior, and it's a little nice watching him floundering in the face of the staff revolt after his announcement that only sales will be getting raises this year. I thought it was also a nice curveball thrown by the writers that Michael didn't actually make the situation better, when I thought this might be one of those brief moments of Michael genius when he would show why he was the boss for so long. Guess one can't really spin "no raises" in any good way. The TH with the staff complaining to the camera crew about the raises, and Dwight trying ventriloquism to throw in a dig at Jim was a laugh-out-loud moment ("It's Creed", and Creed agreeing!). Regarding the use of the beans to rank the staff in terms of merit (and therefore who would get the raise), obviously it wasn't meant for the staff to see, but I would feel insulted too if I were in their shoes. The gaff probably wasn't in the use of the beans, but in leaving the door unlocked for Dwight to bring in the rest of the staff. Affecting scene at the end with Michael and Jim bonding over their "World's Best Boss" cups, a brief moment of levity in the face of what was a long day for both of them. Looks like this storyline of Jim being co-manager is going to stick for a while, so really interested in seeing where this leads. At the moment, I really like what I'm seeing, and like "The Michael Scott Paper Company" arc of last season, throwing off the office dynamic to what the staff (and the audience) is used to, is paying off dividends for the show. The next episode can't come soon enough!