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(S06E07) "You know, I really would have appreciated a heads up that you were into dating mothers. I would have introduced you to mine." - Dwight

Ahh, that's more like it. After last week's garbage episode, "Mafia," The Office seems to be back on track by exploring two of the best plots the show has had in quite some time. Jim and Pam's wedding is obviously still the high-water mark, and it will probably continue to be that way for quite some time, but "The Lover" was certainly a step in the right direction.

Ever since the wedding, we've all been wondering about it -- could Michael actually be sleeping with Pam's mom? Well... yes. Just as Joel predicted in his review of "Niagara," the newly wedded Pam Halpert didn't take it too well either. The set-up here is really quite brilliant, too, because we've never truly seen Michael and Pam at odds like this before.

Sure, they've fought before but it's generally because Michael did something foolish like spill coffee on the copier or sneak into the women's room. He's banging Pam's mom and while Pam was quick to point out to Jim that this should bother him because she's his mom now too, I don't think he's even considered the fact that this means Michael could somehow become his step-father-in-law.

What's so great about this is how Michael actually rallied a large portion of the office to root for him when you'd think the majority would be disgusted by the boundary he's crossed. However, he made a pretty good point -- what's so bad about him? Why shouldn't he be happy? We know Pam "doesn't give a sh*t" about Michael's happiness, but most everyone else seems fine with the "there's a seat for every ass" mentality. Where this goes from here, I don't know for sure, but it's definitely a comedy gold mine. Just wait until that fancy dinner for four at Boticelli's really happens.

As for the second major plot, it was a bit of a holdover from before the wedding, but it's nice to see that Dwight's jealousy over Jim's promotion hasn't faded. Dwight has such a single-mindedness about his schemes that make them so futile yet funny at the same time. He has no plan to take down Jim. He just wants to spy on him. Through a hidden device. Hidden... in a duck, er, I mean, mallard.

Even better is how Jim thinks he has Dwight figured out, so much so that he accused Dwight of not being equipped for espionage once he finds the device. Of course, Dwight has the last laugh when he whips out the pen he also rigged... to listen to Jim with. I was really hoping for a hidden camera. I was also hoping Jim would follow through on his plan to send Dwight on a quest that mirrored the plot of National Treasure, but that didn't pan out either.

Regardless of what got left out, both of these conflicts have a lot of potential and even though we know it's likely that Jim and Pam will come out on top, it'll still be fun to watch Michael feel guilty and see Dwight continue to be a semi-inept spy.

Funny stuff:

• "Con-quack-ulations!"
• Creed cried while listening to the opera music. This guy is the most complicated character on television.
• If I ever take an improv class, I am totally ripping off Blind Guy McSqueezy.
• How long before that stuffed parrot from Michael's bottle of Puerto Rican rum is on his shoulder?
• What's with Erin being such a brown-noser with Michael? Has she always been like that? Or was she simply trying to mark her territory to Pam, who used to be the receptionist? It was just candy...
• Ryan hasn't done anything since last season when Michael got him his job back after Dunder Mifflin bought The Michael Scott Paper Company -- until now. He bought a fedora but he'd rather not tell you where.
• I think a mural of prominent Chicano leaders would be a great way to help the community.
• The Dwight/Michael relationship reached a new level of creepiness when Dwight offered to give his boss "the chills."
• Michael called Pam's mom "boo."

[You can see clips and free episodes of The Office over at SlashControl.]