In deposition-land, Michael dimly weathered the swearing-in but misunderstood what ''the plaintiff'' was. (''I have seen The Firm.'') When he answered the question ''You were directly under her the entire time?'' with (what else?) ''That's what she said,'' the confusion derailed both sides in a well-played nod to Abbott and Costello's classic ''Who's on first?'' bit. (Michael said, ''Come again? That's what she said?'' like a dizzy boy stuck on a merry-go-round.) The monotone court reporter was a perfect touch.

Michael was inadvertently honest while trying to pinpoint when his relationship with Jan began (in fact, a straightforward answer was impossible) and when he called for ''line,'' Jan's case was doomed. Wouldn't you die inside if your personal journal became evidence in a lawsuit, even if you didn't sign your entries ''XOXO''? The decision to make 10 (don't skip Toby — 11!) copies of Michael's diary was excruciating comedy, topped only by seeing everyone studying his or her own copy in the cafeteria. That's where Jan admitted to Michael that she stole his diary, but since he'd e-mailed a topless photo of her to everyone at the company, they agreed they were even and exchanged ''I love you''s. That is some cuckoo kind of love, people.

After lunch, the torture of Michael Scott continued with a diary passage about Ryan: ''Just as hot as Jan, but in a different way.'' Suddenly, Michael came through for Jan, admitting to the court (and himself) that she never considered him her boyfriend during the time in question. The DM counsel went in for the kill by asking Michael why he'd nobly defend the woman who gave him a scathing performance review a month after their romance was supposedly official. Reading Jan's assessment (''unmanageable...poor branch manager'') devastated Michael. When he pointed out to Jan that he'd turned down the big corporate job for her, she asked for a David Wallace deposition to be read. The head honcho was on record reluctantly admitting that Michael (''He's a nice guy — what do you want me to say?'') wasn't seriously considered for the job. The lack of malice was probably what caused Michael to go with his gut and flush Jan's whole case down the toilet by (contrary to Jan's talking points) disagreeing that DM treated employees with disrespect. I hope we see more David Wallace — he came off as 100 percent decent to the core. Michael, for once, made sense when he said, ''You expect to get screwed by your company, but you never expect to get screwed by your girlfriend.''

What did you think? Were you surprised Michael drove home with Jan after the deposition, instead of dumping her? Does Michael want Ryan, or just want to be Ryan? And will Kelly and Darryl last?

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