Top 10 Episodes of the Office (4, 3, 2)

# 4 Happy Hour (Season 6, Episode 21)

 Favorite Quote:

 “You know, it got to the point where keeping it a secret was just too much drama, and I hate drama, so there you go” – Andy

“You love drama” – Erin

 

“I know I do, right? I’m a total drama queen” - Andy

Michael chatting up Donna

Here’s another example of why I love getting the characters out of the office. Lets get them out to a bar and see what happens. The Dunder Mifflin crew goes out for Happy Hour. Pam decides to set Michael up with a friend of theirs and turns it into a double date. The date goes pretty well right up until Michael actually realizes he’s on a date. In true Michael fashion, he sabotages himself by creating another dumb character and acting crazy. He almost gets kicked out of the bar, but somehow ends up hitting it off with the owner, Donna. This is what’s interesting about Michael. He can succeed and do really well at things as long as he doesn’t try so hard. In both sales and dating, Michael has shown to be very competent, providing he stays out of his own way.

 

Like Michael, Andy also gets into his own way in this episode. He’s beginning a relationship with Erin, but is insisting on hiding it due to drama. He does eventually get over himself and they have a good time, which is nice because I really like Andy and Erin as a couple. They’re so weird and quirky, but in a way that compliments each over very well. Aside from the couples, the rest of the crew is also fun to watch in this episode. We have Dwight hitting on Isabel while being followed around by Angela, Oscar trying to be athletic as he tries to impress Matt from the warehouse, and Creed being surprisingly great at Dance Dance Revolution. It’s an episode you can watch with little to know context and just sit back and enjoy.

 

 

#3 Dunder Mifflin Infinity (Season 4, Episodes 3 & 4)

 

Favorite Quote

“Ryan wants everything in our company to be about emails and IMs, but I think he is forgetting about the original instant message, letters attached to baskets of food.” - Michael

Ryan tells Michael to prepare for changes

A lot of things are changing at the Dunder Mifflin Scranton branch. Jim and Pam go public with their relationship. Angela decides to end things with Dwight. Most prominently it’s Ryan’s first time back at the Scranton Branch since being promoted to his corporate Vice President position. Right away, he snaps at Michael, demanding respect as the new boss. That, along with Ryan’s initiatives to update Dunder Mifflin with BlackBerries and the new website scares Michael. Keeping up with new technology was never something Michael had to deal with. He had always been free to do things his own way and that is being threatened. We start to see what can happen when Michael’s insecurity spirals out of control.

 

Michael and Dwight return after crashing in the lake

He starts off small with another pointless conference room meeting, but that doesn’t convince Ryan. Michael tries to prove that the old ways are better by winning back former clients without technology. Once again things don’t go his way. With his back against the wall, the only thing Michael can think to do is to take his car’s GPS instructions too literally and drive directly into a lake, so he can blame technology for something. A lot of people see this as evidence of Michael’s stupidity, but I see it as evidence of Michael’s insecurity. Not only is Ryan suddenly his boss, but he’s changing everything too fast and Michael can’t handle it, which lead to this moment of extreme desperation. I like this episode, because it gives insight into who Michael really is behind all of the “That’s what she said” jokes.

 

 

# 2 Viewing Party (Season 7, Episode 8)

Favorite Quote

“I wanted to eat a pig in a blanket….in a blanket” - Kevin

 

Gabe, Michael, and Erin discuss snacks

It’s interesting to see how your opinions on someone can change when you see them in a new setting. Previously, Gabe was just seen as the creepy, skinny guy who made things awkward at work. The Dunder Mifflin staff is invited to Gabe’s house to watch the latest episode of Glee. When they arrive, it seems like Gabe has his life together. His house is nicely decorated, he can cook, he seems very cultured. All of this intimidates both Michael and Andy, making them very jealous. While Andy is jealous because Gabe and Erin are dating, Michael is jelaous, because people are seeing Gabe as the boss. Michael does everything he can to sabotage the party. He insults Gabe, shuts the cable off, and just acts like a jerk in general. His behavior probably would have gotten worse if Erin hadn’t confronted him. She tells Michael it’s important to her that he and Gabe get along. Michael starts to realize that Erin sees him as a father figure. It’s a sweet moment between Erin and Michael. They’ve always had a special relationship and it’s nice when that can come out.

 

Jim begrudgingly feeds Dwight beer

In addition to having sweet moments, this is also one of the absolute funniest episodes. Andy decides to deal with his jealousy by eating a powdered sea horse, which proves to be a terrible idea. Meanwhile Pam and Jim can’t get Cece to sleep, but guess who can….Dwight. He offers to help, but only if Jim becomes his Pizza slave and feeds him on command. This really goes to show that any amount of power in Dwight’s hands is a dangerous thing. There is a lot going on in this episode, but in a good way. We have three main stories that are all hilarious, along with great little moments from the rest of the crew, all while putting our characters in a new setting.

 

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