Michael goes on a double date with Helene, Jim, and Pam, which ends disastrously when he asks to break up.
- All for Nothing: The events of the B-Plot, "Dwight trying to get favors owed from everyone in order to incite a rebellion and get Jim fired" fail completely. Then the events of the A-Plot lead to Dwight owing ''Michael'' a favor, which he promptly tries to use to get Jim fired. This does not work.
- Beef Bandage: Dwight does this to Michael with a raw chicken (which is a risk of salmonella). Dwight still intends to eat it later.
- Bitch Slap: Pam delivers this to Michael.
- Digging Yourself Deeper: It looks like Pam is about to show mercy to Michael by just letting him off with a threat to never date a member of her family again. Just as she's walking off, Michael blurts out that Helene came on to him first, which provokes Pam to turn around and finally give him a hard slap.
- Didn't Think This Through:
- Michael started a relationship with Pam's mother, an older woman, without figuring out her age or talking about where she's at in her life in regards to kids or wanting to travel.
- Dwight when realizing Andy doesn't take debts lying around for any reason.
- The Dog Bites Back: Toby helps Pam by ensuring the hit is off company property and tells her how to effectively throw a punch.
- It's Not Porn, It's Art: Ryan attempts to pass himself off as an "artist" so he can take black-and-white erotic photographs of women he finds attractive. It has already successfully worked on Kelly.Ryan: "It's part of a series I'm doing on exposure in the workplace."
- Jerkass Has a Point: Breaking up with her at her birthday dinner is very impulsive, but Michael isn't wrong when he says his and Helene's interests don't match up at all and that their age difference makes them incompatible with Helene accepting a retired lifestyle while Michael still wants to accomplish a lot.
- Kick the Dog: Michael basically does this to Helene once he breaks up with her on her birthday.
- My Fist Forgives You: Pam punches Michael for breaking up with her mom.
- Oh, Crap!: Michael gets this when he realizes Helene had under-stated her age, meaning he won't be able to have kids with her and do things he wanted to.
- He also gets this when he sees Toby coaching Pam how to punch him good.
- Pass the Popcorn: Kelly does this when Pam is about to punch Michael.
- Pyrrhic Victory: Pam gets what she wanted, finally hitting Michael for dating her mother, but it became a slap, she doesn't feel any satisfaction from it, and Michael is back to normal by the end of the episode.
- "Shaggy Dog" Story: Dwight's attempt to get a favor from everyone "to be redeemed at a later date" succeeds, but then everyone just pools together and gets him a gift card.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome:
- Michael realizes that dating Helene means he won’t be able to experience all the things he wants to, like having kids and traveling.
- Just because someone says "I owe you one" doesn't mean you can give them a command that they will unconditionally follow against their better interests and common sense. It definitely doesn't give someone grounds to fire someone else.
- Tempting Fate: Pam finally accepts Michael and her mother dating, which is the moment Michael decides to break up with her.
- Michael seemed to have gotten off the hook, when he reveals it was Helene who wanted to date him, causing Pam to turn back and slap him.
- Vengeance Feels Empty: Pam realizes this as she doesn't feel happy slapping Michael.
