What does Michael talk about? His daddy issues. Michael is openly hostile until Toby tricks him into opening up while playing board games. We see this potentially play out in a Season 7 episode in which Michael has to sit through six hours of mandatory counseling from Toby. More than anything in the world, Michael wants to have a family and be happy. Michael is also eternally optimistic to the point of delusion while Toby is depressed.īut Michael's hatred could have much deeper roots. Toby represents Michael's worst nightmare: a lonely, divorced father who rarely gets to see his kid. As the human resources representative at the Scranton branch, Toby is the only person with any real control over him. There are plenty of reasons why Michael (Steve Carell) could possibly despise Toby (Paul Lieberstein).
