The Definitive Ranking of Every Episode of The Office, Part IV
Despite the success The Office had during its initial run on cable, the show's popularity has exploded ten-fold in the age of streaming. Becoming the spirit show for millennials all over the globe, The Office became one of the most iconic shows of all-time. We’re here to rank every episode, 1 to 201.
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Here at The Circuit, we loooooove The Office. It’s probably collectively our favorite show. It’s an endless well of content, from ranking the best characters to arguing who the villain of the show is (that article coming soon to The Circuit). But we begin our Office content with perhaps the most ambitious of them all; ranking all 201 episodes of the American workplace sitcom.
Before we begin it’s important to note this is entirely objective. These rankings are final. If you have a different opinion, then we’ll agree that you’re wrong (but seriously, there are 201 of these f*cking things. Our rankings will differ, and that’s okay. As long as we agree that each episode is great, and it’s like choosing a favorite amongst your 201 children. Your poor wife).
For each episode, we’ll provide:
A brief one-line recap of the episode
Reasoning for the ranking
Iconic quote from the episode
Winner of the episode
Every day for the next five days, The Circuit will release episode rankings, leading to the ultimate reveal of the top episodes, plus the characters with the most wins! This fourth post will feature episodes #100-#125, the "middle tier" 26 episodes in the nine-season run of the show.
#100 & 101: Money Parts 1 & 2 (Season 4, episodes 7 & 8)
One-line recap: Michael picks up a telemarketing job to make more money because he realizes that he is going bankrupt.
Reasoning: We get one of the most iconic lines in the history of the show, plus we see an advancement of Kelly and Darryl in their relationship. Plus, we get the most genuine moment between Michael and Jan ever at the train tracks. And Schrute Farms!
Iconic quote: “I. DECLARE. BANKRUPTCYYYYYY.”- Michael Scott
Winner: Dwight Schrute! Yes, he’s heartbroken because of Angela. BUT, Jim and Pam make real efforts to cheer him up and make him feel better.
#102: The Secret (Season 2, episode 13)
One-line recap: Jim let it slip to Michael that he has feelings for Pam, and now he has to do damage control with the office.
Reasoning: This episode is one of the less funny episodes in the series, but it’s fundamental in the Jim-Pam relationship. Plus Michael in a Hooters is fantastic.
Iconic quote: “Mmmm, sounds yummy. I will have a chicken breast, hold the chicken.”- Michael Scott
Winner: Pam Beesly! Really no winners here, but at least Pam finds out how Jim feels about her.
#103: Christening (Season 7, episode 7)
One-line recap: Cece gets christened, and at the reception Jim accuses Angela of stealing her, while Michael and Andy board a bus to Mexico.
Reasoning: Watching Jim panic and accuse Angela of stealing Cece is great, and the Mexico bus sequence provides another great cringe moment in the series.
Iconic quote: “Stop that tiny blonde woman! She stole my baby!”- Jim Halpert
Winner: Random kid who got off the bus! Not a lot of winners here, as the whole office is either starving, loses their child, gets accused of stealing a child, or scared to enter the threshold of a church. But random kid who got off the bus got out of going to Mexico, so he wins.
#104 & #105: Search Committee Parts 1 & 2 (Season 7, episodes 25 & 26)
One-line recap: After a barrage of managers in a short time frame, Jo has tasked Jim, Gabe, Toby and Kelly with finding the new manager.
Reasoning: This episode did a great job of inspiring hope in the darkest days of the series, giving the audience a sense that even with Michael gone, everything will be alright. We get iconic moments from Creed, Gabe, Jacques, Jim Carrey and Robert California in this jam-packed season finale.
Iconic quote: “We need a new manager.”- Pam Beesly
Winner: Creed Bratton! While Creed doesn’t get the job, he does get to be the manager for a little while, and we get a fully unleashed Creed Bratton in charge and that is everything we could have ever wanted.
#106: The Carpet (Season 2, episode 14)
One-line recap: Michael finds a mysterious substance in his office that smells horrid, and he spends the rest of the day trying to figure out who left it.
Reasoning: Haven’t we all fantasized about leaving literal shit in Michael’s office?
Iconic quote: “Jim’s been looking at me kind of a lot all week. I would be creeped out by it, but it’s nothing compared to the way Michael looks at me.”- Ryan Howard
Winner: Jim Halpert! Yes he does have to go sit with Kelly, which is tough, but Pam leaves a ton of messages on his phone and she clearly has feelings for him.
#107: The Alliance (Season 1, episode 4)
One-line recap: Jim proposes an alliance with Dwight in anticipation of downsizing, but the prank goes too far when Roy confronts Jim and Pam.
Reasoning: We get a great Jim and Dwight episode here, and it feels like Jim takes a step forward with Pam.
Iconic quote: “I suggested we flip a coin. But Angela said she doesn’t like to gamble. Of course by saying that she was gambling that I wouldn’t smack her.”- Pam Beesly
Winner: Pam Beesly! Pam gets to join in on the prank on Dwight, she gets to goof around with Jim, and Roy “defends her honor” by confronting Jim, which has to make her feel at least somewhat good about Roy in this episode.
#108: The Chump (Season 6, episode 25)
One-line recap: When the office learns that Michael is continuing to see the married Donna, the office tries to change Michael’s heartless attitude.
Reasoning: Michael is usually the one who cares the most, but this episode flips that and shows him not caring about anything. We get a great opening sequence with the office bracing for his implosion of emotions, a great baseball sequence. Plus we get Kevin’s famous “Boi-oi-oi-ing”, Creed’s “He don’t give an f about nothin!”, and Ryan’s failed attempt to sleep with Erin. Oh, and Michael reveals who he would shoot in his fantasy.
Iconic quote: “Right? And if I had a gun with two bullets and I was in a room with Hitler, Bin Laden, and Toby, I would shoot Toby twice.”- Michael Scott
Winner: Donna’s husband! We briefly meet him at the game, but Michael ends things with her by the end of the episode. Obviously this isn’t a good relationship for him, but at least this affair ended.
#109: The Convention (Season 3, episode 2)
One-line recap: Michael and Dwight meet up with Jim, Josh and Jan at a convention where Michael is threatened by Josh.
Reasoning: It’s always fun to watch Michael insecure, and throw in Dwight wanting to impress him and a remote location and you get a pretty solid episode.
Iconic quote: “Ain’t no party like a Scranton party, cuz a Scranton party don’t stop.”- Michael Scott
Winner: Michael Scott! Michael bonds with Jim and gets closure on why he left, and also impresses Jan by closing a sale.
#110: Stairmageddon (Season 9, episode 19)
One-line recap: As the documentary is close to airing, the elevator stops working so the workers are forced to take the stairs, and Stanley is not having it.
Reasoning: I would watch a 3 hour feature-film on Stanley getting up the stairs, and then watching Dwight and Clark get him up and down the stairs. Priceless.
Iconic quote: “Our office has an unusually large number of… unusually large people.”- Oscar Martinez
Winner: Stanley Hudson! Sure, he struggles to get to work. BUT, the darts that Dwight and Clark use on him puts him in a great mood, and they get him up and down the stairs so he doesn’t have to put the effort in.
#111: Dwight K. Schrute, (Acting) Manager (Season 7, episode 24)
One-line recap: After Deangelo lands in a coma, Dwight is the acting manager but accidentally fires a gun in the office and is stripped of his title.
Reasoning: Dwight finally realizes his goal of being manager, and classically he blows it by trying to show off. The side-plot with Jim and how he exploits Dwight when Jo arrives gives us the iconic jazz hands moment, plus Andy in this episode is involved in two great moments; Gabe screaming at him and him getting “shot”.
Iconic quote: “Why would I put a banana in my holster?”- Dwight Schrute
Winner: Creed Bratton! Very few winners in this episode; Dwight is stripped of his title, Andy goes to the ER, Gabe is having a quarter-life crisis, and Jo has to deal with all of this. But at the end, Creed is promoted to acting manager!
#112: Frame Toby (Season 5, episode 9)
One-line recap: Michael learns that Toby has come back, and spends the episode trying to come up with a plot to get rid of him.
Reasoning: This episode gives us a few classic moments, none more so than Michael discovering Toby has returned by screaming to the heavens. But we also get the drug deal where Michael spends $500 on a salad.
Iconic quote: “NOOOO! GOD! No, God, please no! No! No! NOOO!”- Michael Scott
Winner: Guy who sells the caprese salad! This random dude made $500 on a bag of caprese salad. That’s a huge win.
#113: Chair Model (Season 4, episode 14)
One-line recap: Michael falls in love with a chair model out of a magazine, and after he learns of her death he has everyone in the office set him up with someone.
Reasoning: Michael falling for a magazine model is classic Michael, and watching him get set up with miserable date after miserable date is incredibly satisfying (especially Wendy’s). And the parking spot plot is one of the best B plot’s in the series.
Iconic quote: “I think I’m being very clear what I’m asking. Would an average size rowboat support her without capsizing? [silence] It bothers me that you’re not answering the question.”- Michael Scott
Winner: Kevin Malone! Kevin provides one of the absolute best pranks ever on the show, setting Michael up with a Wendy’s restaurant. Plus he gets their parking spaces back, which is good because he needed a win.
#114: Dwight’s Speech (Season 2, episode 17)
One-line recap: Dwight is recognized for his sales record and needs to give a speech, but gets cold feet in front of the audience.
Reasoning: We spend so much time seeing Dwight be confident in himself, but this episode shows Dwight self-conscious and a shell of himself. And Jim gets a good prank in by giving Dwight advice from speeches by infamous dictators.
Iconic quote: “When I was in the sixth grade, I was a finalist in our school Spelling Bee. It was me against Raj Patel. And I misspelled, in front of the entire school, the word ‘failure’.”- Dwight Schrute
Winner: Dwight Schrute! He finally gets the recognition he deserves for how good of a salesman he is, and he captivates an audience of thousands.
#115: Sexual Harassment (Season 2, episode 2)
One-line recap: Michael struggles with the sexual harassment policies from corporate, and Pam’s mom comes to town.
Reasoning: Admittedly, this episode doesn’t age extremely well. However, it does heavily feature what might be the defining joke from the entire series; that’s what she said.
Iconic quote: “THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID!”- Michael Scott
Winner: Jim Halpert! Jim breaks Michael down and gets him to continue making sexual jokes, plus he overhears Pam’s mom ask about him, confirming to him that she talks about him outside of work.
#116: Halloween (Season 2, episode 5)
One-line recap: Michael needs to fire someone, but struggles to make the final decision on Halloween.
Reasoning: The first of many iconic Halloween episodes in the series, we see some great costumes, pranks, and a few firings.
Iconic quote: “It’s not a popularity contest. Although it does make sense to fire the least popular because it has the least effect on morale.”- Michael Scott
Winner: Creed Bratton! Creed is able to talk his way out of getting fired, so that’s about as big of a win as you can get.
#117: Employee Transfer (Season 5, episode 6)
One-line recap: David Wallace transfers Holly to Nashua and Michael helps her move, but the trip proves to be disastrous.
Reasoning: We see countless classic Halloween costumes, we get Michael, Holly and Darryl on a road trip, and Dwight pranks Andy in Big Red fashion.
Iconic quote: “That’s Big Red Bear! That’s a bobble Big Red Bear!”- Andy Bernard
Winner: Dwight Schrute! Very few winners in this episode, but Dwight is able to get under Andy’s skin in a hilarious way, and when Andy tries to get him back he fails miserably.
#118: St. Patrick’s Day (Season 6, episode 19)
One-line recap: The office is ready to party on the Irish holiday, but Jo Bennett makes them stay late.
Reasoning: Holidays are always special occasions on the show, and St. Patrick’s Day is no different. We get some great Michael-Jo interactions, Jim bests Dwight again, and we get a weird Erin-Andy date that ends in (not?)incestual behavior???
Iconic quote: “Just because Jo has no life, does not mean that the rest of us don’t have lives. Oscar has a life. I think Ryan has a life. This is outrageous.”- Kevin Malone
Winner: Jim Halpert! He gets to leave earlier than most people, he gets the best of Dwight so he has to stay, and he gets to go see his wife and kids.
#119: New Boss (Season 5, episode 20)
One-line recap: While planning his 15th anniversary party at the company, Michael meets the new corporate worker sent by David Wallace to tighten the ship, leading to Michael quitting.
Reasoning: We get a fantastic opening sequence with Jim in a tuxedo pitching his two-way petting zoo idea, and we see Michael finally reach a breaking point with David Wallace, that quite frankly was well-earned.
Iconic quote: “What is a two-way petting zoo? You pet the animals, they pet you back.” -Charles Miner and Jim Halpert
Winner: Dwight Schrute! While he gets made fun of at the beginning, Charles Miner sees Dwight for what he really is; a kick-ass salesman. Dwight finally gets a boss who respects him and treats him as an equal, which is great to see.
#120: Two Weeks (Season 5, episode 21)
One-line recap: Michael has to confront the fact that he quit Dunder Mifflin, so he decides that he is going to start his own paper company.
Reasoning: We thought Michael was iffy at his job when he cared… this episode shows Michael no longer caring. Yikes. But we do get a great hero's journey moment from Pam when she rises up and follows Michael because she has completely outgrown reception.
Iconic quote: “Uh, except I don’t want to be a receptionist anymore… Salesman.”- Pam Beesly
Winner: Pam Beesly! I have very conflicting thoughts about Pam throughout the series, but this is not one of them. Watching Pam finally take initiative of her career and leave reception behind. A fantastic hero’s moment that makes you smile.
#121: The List (Season 8, episode 1)
One-line recap: Andy is the new manager, and Robert California divides the office into two sides of a list that freaks everyone out.
Reasoning: This might have been the most highly-anticipated episode ever on the show. It was crucial that the quality did not crater in the post-Michael era, and this episode reminded everyone that the show is called The Office, not Michael Scott Paper Company. Plus seeing Dwight finally get to put his fancy for lists to good use.
Iconic quote: “Some people doodle at work when they let their mind run. They draw houses, penises. Funny how the houses are always colonials and the penises are always circumcised. Don’t you think? Well, I doodle too, but I’m not an artist. So I draw words and lists.”- Robert California
Winner: Andy Bernard! Firstly, he wins the manager job (was the first choice of the first choice), plus he works up the courage to stand up to Robert California.
#122: Couples Discount (Season 9, episode 15)
One-line recap: With Andy about to return from his boat trip, the office decides to spend the day going to the salon for the Valentine’s Day couples discount.
Reasoning: So often on this show, the punchline of the joke is that someone is gay. This episode actually takes a pretty big step forward when Darryl fully embraces being gay with Oscar for the discount, marking one of the first times that the show embraces being gay and normalizes it.
Iconic quote: “Oh, it works. Him and me, all right, we are crazy in love. More love than your small mind can comprehend. And we have two disposable incomes. And no kids. And we’re taking our business elsewhere.”- Darryl Philbin
Winner: Pete Miller! He finally gets to kiss Erin at the end, and he proves that he’s a pretty great guy, caring more about Erin than himself.
#123: Christmas Wishes (Season 8, episode 10)
One-line recap: Erin struggles to cope with Andy dating someone else, so she gets hammered at the Christmas party, and Dwight and Jim battle to see who will prank whom first.
Reasoning: Usually we see Meredith get plastered at the Christmas party, so it’s a fun change of pace to see Erin fill that role instead. We also get an interesting take on the Jim vs. Dwight rivalry, seeing them try to not-prank the other.
Iconic quote: “I just wanna say, this is not my fault. OK? The weak always bully the strong. Contrary to what you see in the media. I am always acting in self-defense. Occasionally preemptive self-defense.”- Dwight Schrute
Winner: Erin Hannon! Erin has Robert California interested in her, she learns that Andy is still interested in her, and she clearly has the best time at the party because she gets trashed.
#124: Traveling Salesmen (Season 3, episode 13)
One-line recap: Dwight drives to corporate to save Angela, but ends up quitting over fiasco, and the sales department splits up for sales calls.
Reasoning: This episode has some great team-up moments, specifically from Jim and Dwight. From slamming the brakes to slamming his face, Jim gets some good shots in.
Iconic quote: “Oompa-Loompa Doompity-Dawesome, Dwight is now gone which is totally awesome. Why was he gone, he was such a nice guy? No, he was not. He was a total douche. Doompity-doomp.”- Andy Bernard
Winner: Andy Bernard! He has had a very clear goal since joining Scranton; become the office #2. Dwight was always the biggest obstacle in his way, but now he’s driven Dwight out.
#125: Conflict Resolution (Season 2, episode 21)
One-line recap: Michael becomes aware of all the complaints in the office, so he tries to resolve everything while Jim and Dwight come to a breaking point.
Reasoning: This the penultimate episode of the season, we start to set up a lot of dominos for the finale to knock down; Dwight plants the seeds for Jim to leave Scranton, Oscar and Angela have their first of many bouts, and Pam gets one step closer to learning the truth about Jim.
Iconic quote: “You know, these actually don’t sound that funny one after another.”- Jim Halpert
Winner: Dwight Schrute! Tough episode, really no winners here. Even Dwight takes a lot of losses in this episode, BUT he ultimately gives Jim the idea to move to Stamford, ridding himself of his mortal enemy.