Entertainment

The Best Episodes Of 'The Office' To Get You Ready For Your Next Marathon

by Chrissy Bobic

Thanks to Netflix, The Office has become more than just another memorable NBC comedy. It has become a way of life and has created an active online community of millions of fans who share inside jokes and regularly create memes related to The Office thanks to catching something new on their 78th re-watch. I have a feeling that a good amount of Netflix subscribers have kept their accounts because of unlimited access to episodes of The Office and I *might* be one of them. So to help you on your own next re-watch, I have ranked the 22 best episodes of The Office from Garbage to Sprinkles. In other words, from the cat you kind of like but don’t love to the OG you will never grow tired of.

It’s hard to say which episodes of The Office have the best re-watch value. Obviously both parts of Stress Relief are golden and have gone down in history as two of the best Office episodes of all time. But I don't know how high I would rank Michael’s last episode before he leaves Scranton for good. It’s monumental in the sense that it was a game-changer for the show, but it might be too heartbreaking to consider it the best of the best. The same goes for Scott’s Tots, but I think we can all understand why that cringy mess might still be one of the best Office episodes ever.

Among the uncomfortable and sappy episodes of the office are some legit masterpieces that helped shape what the show became. Even if I’m not wild about the more emotional episodes, some of them had just the right amount of heartfelt moments and the right Dwight one-liners. So let’s take a trip down memory lane and countdown to the best of the best, even though I’m sure you just finished your 43rd re-watch.

1

The Duel (Season 5)

In this Season 5 episode, Andy finally finds out about Angela’s affair with Dwight and the two men go at it in the only way Dwight apparently knows how — a legitimate duel. But what starts out as a fight in the parking lot turns to both men realizing that Angela fooled them both and the end result is that neither stays with her and she loses them both. It’s honestly a fitting end for that dysfunctional three-way relationship.

2

Benihana Christmas (Season 3)

The Office Christmas episodes are always memorable, but Season 3’s might be one of the best holiday episodes overall. Michael and Dwight bring back Benihana waitresses to the office Christmas party, where Michael literally marks the arm of his date so he remembers who she is. But the best part of the episode is seeing Karen and Pam get along and bond over the party they plan together.

3

Pool Party (Season 8)

Robert California (also known as Bob Kazamakis and the Lizard King) was always a mystery. It isn’t until everyone from the office joins him for a house party the night before he sells his house that we get another peek at his private life. Spoiler alert: it includes a rumpus room he had hoped to have orgies in and a world class kitchen he had pictured himself sloppily eating in after said orgies.

4

Scott’s Tots (Season 6)

It doesn't get much more uncomfortable than "Scott's Tots." The Season 6 episode puts Michael on the spot for wrongly promising a classroom full of kids 10 years ago that he would pay all of their college tuitions. I’m sure he thought that 10 years later he would be making enough money to at least partially do that, but all Michael can afford to do is give these poor kids laptop batteries. But no laptops. And definitely no tuition. The episode is sort of a standalone in Season 6, but it is easily one of the most memorable.

5

The Delivery (Season 6)

Pam gives birth to her first child in this two-part Season 6 episode and she and Jim go through a few of the common parenting mishaps right off the bat. Like struggling to get their daughter to latch during breastfeeding and dealing with a nurse who is openly annoyed with their questions of her learned practices. Part of the episode is super heartfelt because this is Jim and Pam’s baby, and part of it is just hilarious because with Michael involved in the birth of your baby, it’s always going to be ridiculous.

6

Sexual Harassment (Season 2)

There’s nothing funny about sexual harassment, but when Michael’s office BFF Todd Packer makes his debut, he brings out an even more immature side of Michael. If that was even possible.

7

Dunder Mifflin Infinity (Season 4)

This is another two-part episode that is still laugh out loud funny every time I watch it. Ryan comes to the office to introduce new more modern practices to the employees, which Michael immediately rejects. Instead, he delivers gift baskets to former clients in the hopes of winning them back the old fashioned way. When he takes his GPS too literally and drives his car into a lake, however, things go south pretty fast.

8

Garage Sale (Season 7)

In one of Michael’s last episodes of the series, the office holds a garage sale in the warehouse to get rid of some of their unwanted stuff. Jim tricks Dwight into trading him a telescope for fake magic beans in true Jim and Dwight fashion, but the real kicker is when Michael proposes to Holly at the end.

9

Finale (Season 9)

The final Office episode is equal parts sad and hilarious. Dwight recognizes each of the employees in the office for their strengths and even calls Pam his best friend. Almost everyone gets their own idea of a happy ending and there is even a cameo from Michael Scott himself, complete with a final "That’s what she said" joke.

10

The Client (Season 2)

Michael is most well-known for making jokes and making light of every situation he’s in, but when he and Jan go out to lunch with a client, he proves himself to be more than just the ditz she sees him as. They also share their first drunken kiss, so there’s that.

11

Company Picnic (Season 5)

As much as I love Idris Elba, I absolutely hate Charles Miner. So when Jim is finally in a position to not have to suck up to him in Company Picnic, it felt good. This is also the episode where Pam finds out she’s pregnant, so even if Scranton doesn't win their final volleyball match against corporate, Jim and Pam still win.

12

The Deposition (Season 4)

Jan never really treated Michael fairly and in "The Deposition," he starts to see her true colors. She secretly brings his diary to argue her case that Dunder Mifflin wrongly fired her and as much of a bumbling fool as Michael can be, you can't help but feel bad for him in the moment. So when he essentially bombs her case against the company, it feels like a huge win for Michael.

13

The Convict (Season 3)

Michael’s employees band together to tease him about thinking they are worse off in the office than in prison. Obviously his only course of action is to create a new character, Prison Mike, to teach them a lesson.

14

The Injury (Season 2)

"The Injury" isn't a monumental episode by any means, but it is still one of the funniest of the series. Michael comes to work with a foot injury after he burns it on a George Foreman grill that he keeps in his bed so he can wake up to the smell of bacon. He plays up his injury the entire episode, even when Dwight gets a concussion and is more seriously injured.

15

Christmas Party (Season 2)

It becomes increasingly hard to watch Jim fail at telling Pam how he feels and in Season 2’s Christmas episode, he doesn't quite get there either. He does, however, give her a thoughtful gift filled with inside jokes that helps her start to see how he truly feels about her.

16

The Job (Season 3)

I don't love Jim and Karen’s adventure in New York the night before their interviews for a corporate job, but the aftermath is what matters. At the end of the episode, Jim interrupts Pam’s talking head interview to finally ask her out on a date. It's a moment that was three seasons in the making.

17

Broke (Season 5)

The Michael Scott Paper Company is going out of business, but Michael shines in his final moment as the head of his tiny company when he negotiates jobs and salaries for himself, Pam, and Ryan. It’s a seriously victorious moment.

18

Money (Season 4)

Michael struggled to work two jobs in this two-part episode, showing the continued downfall of his relationship with Jan. But the best part is probably Jim and Pam’s overnight visit to Schrute Farms wherein they learn about beet wine making, table making, and the fun of bedtime stories with Mose two feet away.

19

The Target (Season 9)

When Angela finds out that the person her husband had been having an affair with is Oscar, she hires one of Dwight’s strange friends to attack him at the kneecaps. In the end, Dwight protects Oscar and Angela confronts Oscar about what he did to her marriage, but Dwight’s friend Trevor, the would-be hitman, is easily the highlight of the episode.

20

Stress Relief (Season 5)

As any fans of The Office will tell you, the two-part Season 5 episode "Stress Relief" is easily one of the funniest of the series. Dwight creates a fake fire drill, prompting Oscar to climb through the ceiling for help, Angela to throw her cat Bandit through the ceiling to go with him, and Michael to run out of his office creaming for everyone to calm down, complete with hilariously bleeped out expletives. Later in the episode, Dwight also cuts off the face of a CPR dummy and puts it on, much to the horror of his co-workers. It's pretty epic.

21

Dinner Party (Season 4)

For some hardcore Office fans, "Dinner Party" is the best episode of the entire series and I don't totally disagree. Michael and Jan’s relationship finally ends after the most disastrous dinner party that leaves all of their guests feeling uncomfortable. If you have watched it as many times as I have. The next best thing it to check out the bloopers from the episode, because there are so many that I don't know how the actors got through filming it.

22

Threat Level Midnight (Season 7)

In this Season 7 episode, Michael premieres the independent action film he made with the rest of the office years before. The only problem is how awesomely bad the script is, but it’s so bad that it’s funny. Michael doesn't realize this though, which only makes it funnier. I would legitimately watch a full-length version of Threat Level Midnight.

With nine seasons in the bag, it’s hard to narrow down The Office episodes to the best of the best, but there are some that have a greater re-watch capability than others. As any die-hard Office fan can attest, though, I will probably watch the entire series from the beginning yet again rather than sift through them all for the best episodes.