I tried to delay watching this episode for as long as possible. How else to explain the fact that I watched each of the last 5-6 episodes twice. Goodbye Michael is a really sad episode for a lot of reasons. Obviously we are all sad that the character Michael Scott will no longer be on The Office, but it's also saying goodbye to Steve Carell. When it comes to send-offs, this is clearly one of the greatest episodes ever. Not just for The Office, but for any series. The way it was handled stayed true to what the show was always about...relationships. In a nutshell, Michael is giving up one family (Dunder Mifflin employees) for a new family (Holly). I thought it was brilliant to have everyone think he was leaving the next day, but in actuality was leaving a day earlier, this way the episode wouldn't be watered down with a lot of long tearful goodbyes which would have made the end result so un-Office-like. Doing it this way, it's just another day at the Office for all.

The only one that catches on to the fact that he is leaving early is Jim, which produces the scene of a lifetime. When tells Michael about him being the greatest Boss he has ever had, it was perfect. You can not get choked up watching the scene play out. I also thought it was perfect in how they played out Michael's final scene by having him remove his mic, leaving his scene with Pam in total silence. Because we have watched their relationship blossom over 7 seasons, we don't need to hear what they are saying because if you are a fan of the show and of the characters, you already know what's being said and the emotion that's behind it.

Along with his individual goodbyes, there were a couple of scenes that just rocked for all the right reasons. The first is when Michael starts having doubts about moving and calls Holly. When she answers in her 'character' voice and puts him at ease, he along with the rest of us know that this is the best decision he will ever make the rest of his life and that they belong together. The other cool scene was actually a callback scene from Season 1 when Michael does his best at being a basketball "player". He finally sinks the shot.....after countless ties.

Although the scenes with Deangelo (Will Ferrell) were funny, especially with Andy selling himself as the fall guy, you could see why Steve Carell leaving was just so much harder to stomach, knowing he wouldn't be around anymore after this. All in all, it's a brilliant episode. A+. And yes, I intend to watch this one again.

FYI, funniest scene ever was Michael's reaction to having just given Oscar the scarecrow. I laughed harder than he did. So damn funny it hurt. Priceless.