Michael Scott on The Office has a wide range of romantic relationships, and most of them are major disasters. His relationship with Jan Levinson was horrible, and most of the other women he tried to date clearly weren’t right for him. So, when he found Holly Flax, this was a relationship that many fans could root for.
They were a good couple in many ways, and she was definitely better for Michael than any of his other relationships. However, there were also some things about their relationship and dynamic that were troubling. Here are the 5 ways Holly and Michael had a good relationship and 5 reasons why it was toxic.
GOOD: THEY HAD A SIMILAR SENSE OF HUMOR
Michael Scott is definitely an eccentric character and one of the ways he shows this is through his humor. While his humor can sometimes be inappropriate, there are other times where it’s just weird or dorky.
While the other women he dated didn’t really get how important humor was to him, Holly was on the same level. She had a similarly dorky sense of humor, and these two were always joking around. Holly also liked to make pop culture references, and this dynamic worked well.
TOXIC: MICHAEL DIDN’T ALWAYS RESPECT HOLLY’S BOUNDARIES
It’s no secret that Michael is a character who does a lot of cringy things. He desperately wants to be liked, but he isn’t good at making friends. This is partially because he often does inappropriate things or crosses lines, and sometimes he does this in his relationship with Holly.
This is especially the case after Holly comes back to Dunder Mifflin while she’s dating AJ. Michael doesn’t necessarily listen to her and what she wants, and keeps pushing for a relationship.
GOOD: MICHAEL WAS WILLING TO HELP HOLLY OUT SO THEY COULD BE TOGETHER
One good thing about this relationship is how it inspires Michael to grow and push outside his comfort zone. While he always loved Dunder Mifflin, there wasn’t really any upward movement for him left in the company, and Holly and their relationship offered new outlooks on life.
So, when Holly had to move to take care of her parents in their old age, Michael was willing to help her do that. This is a really romantic gesture on his part, and it shows how committed he was to her.
TOXIC: HOLLY WASN’T ALWAYS SUPPORTIVE OF MICHAEL’S CREATIVE ENDEAVORS
While in some ways Holly could be supportive of Michael and his creativity, she wasn’t always. This is especially the case with Michael’s movie, Threat Level Midnight.
While it obviously wasn’t that great of a movie, it could have been worn, and it’s clearly something that meant a lot to him. Her bad attitude about it and rather condescending comments definitely weren't that nice. This is definitely a case where she could have been more supportive.
GOOD: THEY HAD A LOT OF FUN AND MADE EACH OTHER LAUGH
One of the best things about a good relationship is that it allows two people to have a lot of joy and happiness together. When Holly and Michael were together, they got along well most of the time.
They had a lot of fun joking around and making each other laugh, and they just seemed to make each other happy. This is a great thing to have in any kind of relationship, and it bodes well for the type of relationship they could have in the future.
TOXIC: THEIR RELATIONSHIP DIDN’T LAST LONG THE FIRST TIME AROUND
When Michael and Holly first started dating on The Office, it’s not long at all before Holly gets transferred to Nashua because corporate is wary of Michael dating another employee. Despite the fact that these two seem great together, Holly ends their relationship on the drive to Nashua to move her stuff.
The fact that she wasn’t willing to even try to make long-distance work isn’t really a good sign. It shows that the relationship wasn’t that strong and that maybe Holly’s heart wasn’t all the way in it.
GOOD: THEIR RELATIONSHIP ALLOWED THEM BOTH TO GROW
In many ways, the relationship between Holly and Michael was a good one for both of them. It’s rather obvious the ways in which Holly inspired Michael, but he also did the same for her.
Holly helped Michael be a bit more grounded and realistic and helped round out some of his worst habits. On the other hand, Michael also inspired Holly to follow her heart and go after the relationship and life she really wanted.
TOXIC: MICHAEL WAS RUDE TO AJ
While seeing someone you love with a new person in a new relationship can hurt, this doesn’t mean you can treat them poorly. Micahel definitely isn't very mature, and the way he reacts to AJ dating Holly isn't cute.
While he doesn’t have to like him, acting jealous and petty isn’t romantic. It would be better if he just kept those feelings to himself instead of letting AJ know he didn’t like him.
GOOD: THEY MADE EACH OTHER HAPPY
Overall, even though Holly and Michael have their moments when they aren’t so great together, they also have a lot of moments when they are. They’re mostly a couple that understand each other, and they seem to make each other happy.
They both have similar goals such as marriage and family life, and it’s rather sweet that they are able to achieve these goals together.
TOXIC: MICHAEL STOLE A PRIVATE LETTER OFF OF HOLLY’S COMPUTER
This is one of the most egregious moments of Michael not respecting Holly. When he goes on a lecture circuit of other branches, he and Pam make a detour to Nashua. While there, he gets onto Holly’s computer and copies a file of a letter to him onto a USB drive.
While the letter might have been addressed to him, it wasn’t his to take as she clearly hadn’t meant for him to read it. While he didn’t read it, Pam did, and it’s still a breach of trust.