User blog:The Ultimate Waterbender/Thoughts on Season 8

Well, as all Office fans learned this year, Steve Carell, the beloved manager of Dunder Mifflin, has decided to resign from the show, leaving someone else to fill his void, that eventually being Andy. I was initially disappointed to hear this and I have to say, I have mixed feelings about the Season 8 episodes with the usual Michael Scott absent now entirely.

First off, while I'm still saddened at Steve Carell having left the show, I have to say, he left off in a great way. I was more than happy to see Michael propose to Holly in the end, seeing how they're both humorous and somewhat dorky in a way, too. They understand each other well and I'm glad they found their way back to each other again after quite a bit of turmoil. My mom is convinced that there will be an episode in the future where Michael and Holly get married and the whole office attends the wedding. It'd be nice to see that, but I guess we'll just have to wait and find out what is to come.

Still, it's not quite the same without Michael around to provide humor, even if his jokes can get very inappropriate sometimes, and be the comical, often times idiotic boss who shouldn't really be regional manager in the first place. But Andy isn't so bad either and while he doesn't possess the same idiotic humor as Michael, the way he often gets himself caught up in situations is funny and he brings a certain charm to the office.

The Season 8 episodes I find to be a little less funny than episodes from previous seasons, although every so often, there'll be a funny scene or act that will have me laughing out loud. The characters haven't changed too much, although Andy has grown more responsible in light of having taken up position as manager. I felt sorry for him in the "Garden Party" episode when his parents were doting on his younger brother. And of course there's always humor in seeing Jim pranking Dwight. Robert California is quite a character as well, playing a serious, hard-to-read, sometimes creepy person. I found the story he told in the episode, "Spooked", very funny.

So, in essence, Season 8, although not the best of seasons and very different without Michael Scott, is satisfying and enjoyable to watch. I look forward to watching more episodes and maybe one with Michael and Holly getting married, too. ;)