From goose grease to biking and beyond, the Season 3 episode "A Benihana Christmas" is a one-of-a-kind take on your average holiday special. The story starts when Michael literally photoshops himself into a family photo, replacing his girlfriend Carol's ex-husband with himself. Understandably disturbed, Carol calls off the relationship, leaving Michael a pre-holiday puddle of tears.
The rest of the episode follows two different trajectories. First, we find Michael and his entourage of Andy, Dwight, and Jim heading to a Benihana restaurant, where they eat and drink, Michael and Andy pick up dates, and then they all head back to the office Christmas party.
Then there are the parties themselves. And yes, we're talking about parties, plural. Early on, a rift opens up in the Party Planning Committee, causing Karen and Pam to split off and create their own Margarita-Karaoke Christmas party. This is set against Angela's Nutcracker Christmas party, and the rival events split the office in two. Fortunately, the showdown ends in peace, thanks in large part to some deft diplomacy by Pam and Karen.
While everything starts out on a sour note, over the course of the installment, Michael is comforted by Jim, Angela is soothed by her party planning nemeses, and even Jim and Pam begin to find their way back to a meaningful friendship — through a CIA-inspired prank on Dwight, of course.
