If you haven’t heard already… Netflix is removing The Office from their streaming service in 2021. On January 1st it will be arriving to Peacock TV owned by NBC, they stream primarily NBC owned original content. If you aren’t looking to get a Peacock subscription, you can also buy the complete series on Amazon and Target.
I don’t know about you, but I was heartbroken when I heard this. I absolutely love The Office and it’s my comfort show: I’m constantly rewatching it. So I decided to compile a list of the best episodes (in my opinion) to watch in honor of this era coming to an end. Originally, I was only going to pick 10, but there’s just so many good ones I had to expand a bit. So, without further ado, let’s jump into it!
- Diversity Day: S1E2
- Michael’s controversial imitation of a Chris Rock routine forces the staff to undergo a racial diversity seminar. A consultant arrives to teach the staff about tolerance and diversity, but Michael insists on imparting his own knowledge—aggravating both the consultant and the entire office staff—and creates his own diversity seminar. He eventually assigns each staff member an index card with a different race on it, causing tempers to slowly simmer until they finally snap.
- The Dundies: S2E1
- Michael Scott hosts “The Dundies”, the annual awards show in which he presents awards to various members of the office. But the night does not turn out as he plans, and Michael ends up angering or humiliating the majority of the office staff. Meanwhile, after Pam Beesly argues with her fiancé, she becomes obviously intoxicated and kisses Jim Halpert.
- The Injury: S2E12
- Michael Scott accidentally burns his foot on his George Foreman Grill, but insists on coming to work anyway. When none of his employees, except for Dwight Schrute, help him, Michael feels under-appreciated. Meanwhile, Dwight starts acting strangely nice to everyone, especially Pam Beesly.
- Casino Night: S2E22
- Dunder-Mifflin holds a casino night in the warehouse to benefit charity. While Michael faces the task of juggling two dates, Jim is forced to ponder the reality of transferring to the Stamford branch and what that means for his relationship with Pam.
- Initiation: S3E5
- Ryan Howard is taken by Dwight Schrute on what he believes is a sales call, but instead is brought to Dwight’s beet farm for an “initiation.” Pam Beesly is supposed to keep track of Michael Scott’s productivity, but Michael spends his day waiting in line for a pretzel. Jim Halpert steals Karen Filippelli’s chair and foils her attempts to get it back.
- Beach Games: S3E23
- The office goes to a nearby lake for some “beach games”. It is revealed that Michael is being interviewed for a position at Corporate and that the winner of the beach games will become regional manager. Meanwhile, Dwight and Angela sabotage Andy, and Pam spends her day taking notes of the office workers’ activities.
- The Job: S3E24
- Michael prepares for his interview for the corporate job and names Dwight as his successor, whose managing methods are unpopular. Jan arrives at the office to see Michael and everyone is shocked when it appears she has undergone breast augmentation. Jim and Karen also interview for the corporate position, and Pam deals with the consequences of her earlier outburst.
- Stress Relief: S5E14/15
- Dwight stages a fire in the office to test the office’s fire safety skills, but things go from bad to worse when Stanley suffers a heart attack, causing Michael to come up with ways to relieve stress in the office, including a comedic roast of himself.
- Niagara: S6E4/5
- The episode revolves around the wedding of Jim and Pam at Niagara Falls. Not all goes smoothly when Jim accidentally reveals Pam’s pregnancy to all the guests, including Pam’s very old-fashioned grandmother, and Andy injures his scrotum while dancing. Meanwhile, Michael and Dwight both try to hook up with women, with mixed results.
- Threat Level Midnight: S7E17
- Michael Scott screens his action film Threat Level Midnight to the office after ten years of writing, shooting, re-shooting, and editing. This film features Michael as Agent Michael Scarn, Dwight Schrute as Scarn’s robot butler, and Jim Halpert as Scarn’s archnemesis “Goldenface”.
- Garage Sale: S7E19
- Michael decides to propose to Holly, and runs into trouble thinking of how to do it well with his expensive diamond ring. He consults several coworkers on advice and for ideas on how to propose. Meanwhile, Dunder Mifflin Scranton’s warehouse and crew hosts a public garage sale.
- Michael’s Last Dundies: S7E21
- Michael Scott trains his office replacement, Deangelo Vickers on how to properly host the branch’s annual Dundie Awards. Michael soon learns that Deangelo has a terrible problem with speaking in front of others. Meanwhile, Erin Hannon grows to dislike her boyfriend, Gabe Lewis.
- Goodbye Michael: S7E22
- Michael prepares to leave for Colorado with Holly and spends his last day in the office saying goodbye to everyone individually, wanting no drama to ensue. Meanwhile, new manager Deangelo and Andy try to keep Michael’s biggest clients.
- A.A.R.M.: S9E22/23
- Jim Halpert convinces Dwight Schrute that he needs to choose someone to act as an Assistant to the Assistant to the Regional Manager (A.A.R.M.); the two subsequently hold tryouts for the position. Angela Lipton is forced to bring her son, Phillip, to work, and Dwight thinks that he may be his son. Pam Halpert’s final fears about her husband’s love are settled. Finally, all the members of the office gather at Poor Richard’s Pub and watch the airing of the official in-series documentary.
- Finale: S9E24/25
- In the episode, which takes place a year after the previous episode “A.A.R.M.”, present and past employees of Dunder Mifflin gather for the wedding of Dwight Schrute and Angela Martin, during which Michael Scott returns to serve as Dwight’s best man. In addition, Pam Halpert and Jim Halpert finally decide to pursue Jim’s dream of working in sports marketing. Finally, everyone comes together for a final round of interviews and goodbyes.
*Summaries provided by Wikipedia*
That’s it! I hope you enjoyed my take on the best episodes and use this to bask in the last few moments of the show while it’s on Netflix. What are your favorites? Let me know if you would have added or taken any away!
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The Variety Files 