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Episode Recap: Night Out
The Office is a terrific show because most of its comedy is rooted in real human behavior (no matter how exaggerated), and this episode demonstrates another essential truth about humanity: when you’re drunk, people you normally can’t stand are suddenly your best friends. As soon as you’re buzzed on a few nine dollar martinis and dancing at a (semi-)exclusive club on a Friday night, even your annoying former boss is worthy of a hug. So I wasn’t surprised in the slightest that Ryan was thrilled to see Michael and Dwight when they decided to crash his night out in New York City.
Of course, it’s not just alcohol that’s impairing Ryan’s judgment; it turns out this wunderkind has a drug problem, and by the end of the episode he’s become so desperate that he’s actually asking Michael and Dwight for help on what to do. Michael doesn’t see through the flimsiest of cover stories and starts babbling about The Wire and explaining what you need to do in order to bring down a drug cartel. Frankly, I saw this coming pretty early on: no amount of alcohol alone can make someone interested in asking about Dwight’s beet farm.
I never would have thought I’d feel sorry for Ryan, with his pretentious half-beard and constant need to prove to everyone how awesome his life is. Even when talking to the Scranton crew he has to punctuate his speech with hand gestures like an air punch, and after Jim makes a suggestion for the online store he shoots it down by reminding Jim that another Dunder Mifflin bigwig heard the idea and rejected it. But Ryan is clearly lonely in NYC – while it might feel great to be a corporate honcho who parties in nightclubs, sooner or later you’re going to wake up hung over in your apartment, and then who are you? He may have gotten the job, but he desperately needs someone in his life to keep him grounded the way Pam does for Jim.
In fact, we see new dimensions of a number of characters tonight. Dwight is able to surprise me from time to time with rare flashes of intelligence (like his stroke of genius to get into a more exclusive club), only to follow it up by returning to his usual moronic self (insisting he’ll never call the beautiful woman he hooked up with). And we learned that Toby can get serious air after he clears that gate in one try. Granted, he’s being propelled not only by a heretofore unannounced athletic prowess but also by his humiliation after accidentally putting his hand on Pam’s knee and leaving it there for an uncomfortably long time. I’m assuming that the writers (which include Paul Lieberstein, the actor who plays Toby) aren’t going to have him follow through on his fantasy to flee to Costa Rica, so I guess we have many extremely awkward moments between Toby and Pam to look forward to in the future.
Another shock in this episode: Jim doesn’t exactly come off as the greatest guy ever. After forgetting to remind the security guard that they were planning on working late, it’s revealed that he never tipped the guard a Christmas bonus like he was supposed to, and he even forgets to tell him when the cleaning crew let them all out (although he probably assumed the guard wasn’t coming in the first place). Jim has never exactly spent a lot of time worrying about his job, but you can tell that for the first time he’s genuinely disappointed with himself for letting his co-workers down. Or maybe he’s just scared that Stanley was serious about killing him.
And now, tonight’s Dundies:
Most Unnecessary Over-explanation: Michael explains that he’s going to NYC to get laid, and Dwight helpfully adds, “with sex!”
Best/Worst Ryan is a Tool Quote: “Stay real Scranton, alright?”
Best Disconnected from Reality Dwight Moment: See above regarding his decision to blow off the girl in the club.
Best Clueless Michael Moment: Somehow he declares his trip to visit Ryan as “Best. Night. Ever.”
Best Overall Moment: Either Toby jumping over the gate or the fact that Dunder Mifflin Infinity was hijacked by sexual predators.
So what do you think? Will Toby head for the sandy beaches of Costa Rica? Will Ryan’s drug problem cause trouble at corporate? Will Dwight and/or Michael ever find a woman to meet their exacting standards? (my best guesses: no, yes, frak no)
Check out full length episodes of The Office and more at our online video guide.
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Apr 24, 2008 11:45 PM
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Pam's "Phyllis!" when she raised her hand agreeing that Andy and Angela were a better couple than Pam and Jim was priceless. Oh how I love this show!
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Apr 24, 2008 11:59 PM
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One thing baffled me: They were all outside and Pam said she had locked the door, then Jim called the guard at home, and they all waited for him inside.
So many clueless Dwight moments - "Do you live in a normal sized house?" Dwight having both the spare and master key.
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Apr 25, 2008 12:01 AM
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i think pam meant that she had locked the door to the dunder mifflin office, not the building itself. meaning that they probably still had access to the lobby. that's just a guess, i didn't notice during the show but it seems reasonable
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Apr 25, 2008 12:22 AM
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It was hilarious when Michael was chatting on the cell w/ his mom about dating when he was in the nightclub. I LOVE LOVE The Office!!!
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Apr 25, 2008 5:59 AM
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Toby may be leaving. The season finale episode title is "Goodbye, Toby".
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Apr 25, 2008 7:31 AM
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I was a little thrown by the Ryan/drug problem thing....not sure where the writers are going with this. Seems a bit too serious for this type of show.
It was good to show that Jim isn't always perfect. Adorable, yes, but not Mr. Perfect. You could tell he felt bad. Loved the moment with Toby. For someone who isn't an actor, Paul L. plays that role so well!
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Apr 25, 2008 8:09 AM
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Great recap Jack
I totally agree about the Ryan storyline. It was interesting to see that he's really struggling in NYC. He's kinda like a lost little boy in the big apple.
This was a great, well-written episode. Jim is not perfect - but it only makes him more human and loveable.
My favs:
Creed could possibly be the sexual predator on DM infinity.
Meredith getting hit in face by football.
Stanley and his bubble bath and red wine.
Ryan's TBA" and "Dunder Mifflin Infinity 2.0" (loved the hand gestures)
Nobody knew the security guard's name (same thing in my office)
Toby's hand on Pam's knee - so, so awkward!
Love it! 
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Apr 25, 2008 8:16 AM
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I loved that Creed didknow that the guard's name was Hank.
Overall I think my favorite moments were the description of the website, its problems, and Ryan's beautifully idiotic explanation of why they needed social networking on their corporate site. Dear heaven, I thought I was at work.
Toby's hand on the knee was terrifically uncomfortable. He could even have gotten away with that had he not actually stroked his finger across her knee in that fashion. I was ready to run out and jump over the fence to escape. I LOVE Toby, and while I'm glad he's going to go to Costa Rica, he'd better bloody well be back soon.
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Apr 25, 2008 9:14 AM
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>>Toby may be leaving. The season finale episode title is "Goodbye, Toby".<<
If Toby actually leaves, I will be HEARTBROKEN!!!
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Apr 25, 2008 9:37 AM
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Back when we first saw Ryan in charge and acting like a jerk, I thought that eventually he's going down. His attitude that he's better then everyone in the office moved from the fact that he seemed the normal person there to him just being arrogant.
It sounds like his big website plan for the future of the company is failing. He's cracking under the pressure and using drugs to deal with the stress. Remember during the website launch party at least one other branch told him off, too. Having our heroes enter their sales into the website seems like a desperate attempt to make the site a success. And, as I tend to overanalyze these things, I wonder if anyone else in the company even knew he was doing it. Why else personally show up in Scranton?
I like this little story arc of Jim trying to be in charge, but finding out it's harder than he thought. Remember the group birthday party debacle? He actually had a good idea to get the work done that night instead of Saturday, but he just doesn't yet know how to cover all his bases.
Oh, and Toby's scene was just awesome. I especially love how not even Jim or Pam said anything. And he then runs for it. Awesome. I love how this show has these small little running gags.
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Apr 25, 2008 9:49 AM
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Another Michael is clueless moment is when he says TDB referencing Ryan's TBD. I had to laugh too when Dwight asked that guy if he had magical powers. This was a great episode.
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Apr 25, 2008 11:03 AM
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Heather - The actor who plays Ryan, BJ Novak, actually wrote this episode so I have a feeling he has plans for Ryan. 
My favorite thing about this episode was Dwight and his overly self-confident attitude. It was hysterical to me that his usually clueless/vane attitude would translate into him not realizing how amazingly rare it is that someone as hot as that basketball player would be into a beet farmer like him. LOL So brilliant!
I also loved that Jim was made of Fail this evening. It's nice to see him knocked off his pedestal from time to time.
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Apr 25, 2008 11:22 AM
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Lucinda - Actually Mindy Kaling wrote this episode. Funny when she yelled at Ryan, How dare you! Or weezel - that's a funny word.
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Apr 25, 2008 11:31 AM
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I totally loved coked-out Ryan. It only took 4 years for him to chill-lax. Who knew this is what it would take to make him tolerable!! BJ Novak did a great job playing this out. I say keep it up for a bit. And Meredith, way to take one to the face! No stunt doubles for you!!
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Apr 25, 2008 11:44 AM
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