Season 3 episode 7. Jan delivers bad news to Michael that the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin is slated for closure. This leads Michael on a quest to keep up the staff’s spirits up. Meanwhile, everyone tries to imagine what their lives will be like in the wake of the close.
Show Recap ▼
Before we get into the main plot, the cold open involves another Jim prank…and it’s an awesome one. He tricks Dwight into thinking a fax is coming from his future self (maybe Dwight teams up with Hiro from Heroes in the future). Future Dwight tells Present Dwight that the coffee is poisoned. Guess what happens? Look at the above picture. I love the look on Stanley’s face…the “I’d smack you if I wasn’t just about to start my crossword puzzle” look.
As stated above, Jan tells Michael that the Scranton branch will be shutting down. The news spreads quickly throughout the Stamford branch as well. The Stamford-ites seem to take it quite well, with the exception of Jim. And, of course, Andy takes extreme pride in the Scranton-ites’ misfortune. “In your face. Suckaaaas!”
“I have a plan, and I am going to save our jobs.” Michael goes to New York try to convince the CFO to keep the Scranton branch. It’s too bad that it wouldn’t have worked if the CFO was there.
Michael and Dwight’s waiting activities include practicing what to say (“AH!”), sharing a one liter bottle of Gatorade, looking through the trash, reclining in a car filled with Funyons, and just walking/sitting around doing nothing.
And then…the twist! It turns out Josh, regional manager of Dunder Mifflin Stamford, has accepted a senior management position at Staples! Jan goes into overdrive and suddenly Stamford is to be absorbed by Scranton instead of the other way around. IN YOUR FACE, ANDY. Hopefully Andy and Karen will bring Call of Duty with them. I think Creed would be good at FPS’s. Jan offers Jim the second highest position at the new Dunder Mifflin Northeast. But I thought Dwight had that spot. I guess Dwight will be pushed to number three. I’d like to see his reaction to that!
Let’s take a look at character reactions to the news of the branch closing and then “re-opening”:
- Kevin, Angela, Phyllis, Roy, Michael, Dwight: Worried. Joy.
- Pam: Acceptance. Acceptance.
- Ryan: Pleased. WHY?!
- Stanley: HAPPY! Ugh.
- Jim: Wow. Wow.
- Andy: HAPPY! ARGHHHHHHH!!!!
- Karen: Ok. Ok.
- Josh: Staples! Too bad, suckas!
One of the funniest parts of the episode is the ending with Michael and Dwight hearing of the good news. They think that they were the reason why Scranton was saved. Take a look at their celebration in front of the CFO’s empty house in the picture above. “Yeah, baby! We did it! How did we do it?” “I don’t know.”
Next episode: Dwight vs. Andy! Sounds like Hobbit trouble to me. “Right now, the title of Michael’s book is, Something Weird is Going On. Colon, What Did Jan Say? The Michael Scott Story. By Michael Scott…With Dwight Schrute.”
