The Office: 5 Times Michael Was The Bad Guy (& 5 He Was The Good Guy)

Michael Scott, played by the inimitable Steve Carell, was the central character through the first seven seasons of The Office. He was the source of much of the show’s humour through his incredible mixture of genuine care, affection and a desire to be liked, and his accidental and bewilderingly backward racism, sexism, homophobia and just about everything else you can think of.

We’ve listed five of his nicest actions and compared them to the five times we were very displeased with his doings. Considering Michael Scott has had such a long career at Dunder Mifflin, be prepared to strap in for a long ride through a wide-ranging set of situations.

10 Bad Guy: He Tried To Father Jan’s Kid

While Jan’s reasons for getting a sperm donor were really harsh—she didn’t want Michael’s DNA to form her only child—at the end of the day, the fact that he wasn’t involved meant it was not his child.

When she brought him to the office, Michael tried to claim to be the father, told everyone that he was having a kid, and then disowned the child when he felt no connection to it. Being a very recent mother, this must-have made Jan feel pretty weird.

9 Good Guy: He Went To Pam’s Art Show

No one else in the office—except Oscar, whose boyfriend was not a fan—went to see Pam’s art exhibition. When Michael went, he thought her painting of the office was so good that he had to buy it and put it up. He didn’t really even realize what he was doing, but you could tell it meant a huge amount to Pam, who hugged him straight away.

8 Bad Guy: He Was Very Racist In Episode Two

Michael showed his true colors very early on in The Office. In just the second episode, he decided to perform a Chris Rock stand-up routine that included some very specific words that you can’t really say as a white guy…

The whole episode was then full of accidental—but rather reprehensible—racism. This proved that no matter how much he doesn’t see color; he absolutely does see color.

7 Good Guy: Was The Only One Who Cared About Jim And Pam’s Engagement

When Jim and Pam finally got engaged after about five seasons of it being in the pipeline, Jim announced it to everyone in the office. No one gave much of a reaction, and a few of them simply assumed that they already were. Michael, on the other hand, was so excited that he rugby tackled Jim straight to the ground.

6 Bad Guy: Was Unfathomably Mean To Toby

Toby was one of the most quietly hilarious characters in The Office. His strangely mute way of speaking and the contortion of his facial features as Michael berated him were all just perfect.

However, Michael’s unjustifiable hatred of Toby was simply hard to watch at times. He seemed to genuinely wish death upon him and openly bullied him in front of everyone. It probably wouldn’t hold up today.

5 Good Guy: Left Scranton For Holly

Michael might have ended up in a seriously uncomfortable relationship with Jan, who was manipulative, selfish, and mean.

However, when Holly showed up, it was clear Michael had met his soul mate. It was sad to see him go, but the fact that he was able to leave Scranton for her proved that it was true love at last.

4 Bad Guy: Scott’s Tots

In one of his many desperate attempts to get people to like him, Michael made a promise to what he called ‘Scott’s Tots’ that he would pay their full college tuition ten years before the episode of the same name. He then had to explain to them that he didn’t have the money to fulfil his promise, thus letting down a whole class full of eagerly awaiting children.

3 Good Guy: Defended Jan In Her Legal Case

Even though Jan was horrifically awful in her treatment of Michael, he remained as fiercely loyal to her as he would anyone he wanted to like.

This extended to accompanying her to her legal case and attempting to help her win an unfair dismissal suit.

2 Bad Guy: Forced Oscar To Kiss Him

In another move that probably wouldn’t hold up today—and would probably have seen him get fired from his job, actually—Michael forced Oscar to kiss him as part of the proof that he was not homophobic. It was pretty uncomfortable and showed Michael in a pretty arrogant and misinformed light.

1 Good Guy: Sometimes, He Was A Good Boss

Despite all of his many shortcomings and terrible actions, there were moments of brightness for Michael. On occasion, such as on Pretzel Day, Michael was actually a good boss. He improved morale and even made an impressive sale himself. Maybe there is a reason he managed to land the managerial role, after all.