Top 10 Episodes of the Office (1)

# 1 The Merger (Season 3, Episode 8)

Favorite Quote

“I’ll be the number two guy here in Scranton in six weeks. How? Name repetition, personality mirroring, and never breaking off a hand shake. I’m always thinking one step ahead, like a carpenter that makes stairs.” - Andy

 

Michael welcomes Karen to Scranton

The Merger is one of my favorite go-to episodes if I want a good laugh. The Scranton and Stamford branches of Dunder Mifflin are merging under Michael’s leadership. Until now, we haven’t really gotten a chance to see new people experience Michael for the first time. When The Office started, the characters all knew each other already. Here we get that experience of people who are showing up for their first day of work expecting a normal boss and instead are introduced to Michael Scott. The existing employees play the part of the audience, telling their new coworkers that they’ll get used to Michael.

 

Michael presents "Lazy Scranton"

So how does Michael welcome a batch of new employees? I would sum up Michael’s management style as “Lets make everyone feel awkward and uncomfortable.” He gives thee new employees random gift bags. He shows them a ridiculous rap video called “Lazy Scranton” that he made with Dwight, welcoming them to Scranton. He tries to be funny with a Night at the Roxbury routine. He even has the new employees sit up on a desk, making them stand out from everyone else. This is where things reach their breaking point. Tony Gardner is unable to lift himself up, even when Michael tries to force him and eventually quits. In all of this, Michael meant well. He really was trying to make everyone feel welcome, but it just goes to show how completely oblivious he can be.

 

Andy and Dwight meet

Any time you’re mixing two groups of people, it’s going to be interesting. It’s not just Michael, either. When the branches merge, it adds a lot of tension to the Jim and Pam storyline. Jim comes back, but he brings Karen with him. Now Pam’s the one who watches Jim date someone else, mirroring Jim’s position in the first two seasons. Despite this, Pam and Karen seem to be getting along, but you can just tell that this is the calm before the storm. Then there’s Andy and Dwight, the annoying suck up of both branches meet. This is the beginning of an epic rivalry that starts instantly and will continue on for seasons to come. This episode marks what I believe to be the best era of the show. Michael is still around, Jim and Pam are still a mystery we can root for, Dwight and Andy are at peak hilarity. I’m glad that this episode wasn’t disqualified, because this is my absolute favorite episode of The Office.