Anna Daniels
Michael is, of course, incredibly excited and proud to share his film with his co-workers. Unfortunately, they all think it’s ridiculous, because it is. Though Michael is initially angry at everybody, including his girlfriend Holly Flax (Amy Ryan), for making fun of him, he eventually realizes his film is a total mess and sits down to enjoy it with all of his friends.
Novak remembers, “This was Paul [Lieberstein]’s idea, that Michael has a very active fantasy life and as his reality becomes more fulfilling, he has to let go of it.” Now that Michael is finally reunited with Holly, the love of his life, he’s almost at his own personal finish line, and his masterpiece just doesn’t really matter to him anymore, providing a perfect button to his character arc.
Ultimately, the show handled Michael’s movie in the perfect way, giving an amazing sendoff to both Michael and Carell himself. As Kate Flannery, who played Meredith Palmer, said, “That whole episode was odd and could have been so mishandled, but it wasn’t. B.J. is just such an amazing writer and I feel like he’s so wise beyond his years. I never ever questioned any of his writing choices, ever.”
If you want to revisit the highs and lows of “Threat Level Midnight,” you can stream it on Netflix now, but soon, that episode — along with the entire series — will move to NBC’s new streaming service, Peacock.
Written by: Looper
