I agree that one of the problems with this season (and part of last season) is that Michael has crossed over from awkward to inept far too often. I would add, though, that after an episode like this one, I can't even root for Michael and Holly because of how egregiously obnoxious his manner of dumping Pam's mom was. There are lots of ways that he and Pam's mom could have split up (including her dumping him in a couple of episodes), but to have him dump her on her birthday just because he discovered her age? Come on. She seemed very nice and, until then, Michael had actually been very impressive in his handling of the relationship. But after a dumping like that, I find myself not even wanting him and Holly to make it. (And I really liked the way he and Holly clicked in the past.)