15 best episodes of The Office to watch before it leaves Netflix

15 best episodes of The Office to watch before it leaves Netflix

Despite being over for more than 7 years, The Office is still very much a part of pop culture. Fans still remember every Michael Scott moment, all the sweet moments between Jim and Pam, and every prank Jim pulled on Dwight. We may not see the characters every week, but they still live on social media, in fanfiction, and in gifs under just about any Twitter thread.

There are still Dunder-Mifflin shirts, Funko Pops, mugs, and any other kind of merchandise you can think of. If you were looking for an Office ugly Christmas sweater, chances are it wouldn’t be too hard to find. The show weaved its way into our lives and unlike other shows, it has yet to let go.

This is why the news that the show is leaving Netflix hit fans so hard. The Office is a show people watch for comfort. You put it on and laugh or just have it running in the background as something to listen to. And no matter how many times you watch it, the jokes still hit and the relationships still make you smile…or cringe.

The Office will be moving to Peacock in 2021 so it will still available but with the number of people with Netflix versus Peacock accounts, it won’t be as accessible. In a way, it feels like another goodbye. So before it leaves, let’s look at the 15 best episodes from the series.

1. Initiation (season 3 episode 5)

Full disclosure: I had no idea this episode was named “Initiation” because I have and will continue to call it “Pretzel Day.” It’s one of the more memorable episodes and one of the best because it’s the one time we see Michael and Stanley actually get along and have something in common. Who among us has not bonded over the love of free food? And when you work at a place that can be as boring and frustrating as Dunder-Mifflin, you take any small joy you can get.

It’s also one of the episodes where we see that despite Michael’s bizarre antics and sugar and carb-fueled speech, he actually is a good salesman who, shockingly, knows how to do his job well.

Okay, he might not know how to be a good boss, but he can definitely sell some paper. We find this out because Jan tells Pam to take notes on everything he does that day and she has to report that he actually made a pretty big sale.

But the Michael and Stanley (short-lived) friendship isn’t the only weird pair in this episode. Dwight and Ryan also pair up for a sales call that goes both horribly wrong and very well. Dwight takes Ryan to his beet farm (which is possibly the funniest thing ever) where he tries to teach him about sales and also haze him. Dwight eventually even tries to get him to fight his cousin, but Ryan has had enough and walks off.

It’s only then that Dwight actually starts to give him good advice, but, of course, when they don’t make a sale, Ryan throws eggs at the company building (the maturity levels are really high here) and then they both go to a bar and their bond is formed.

This is also the episode after Pam and Jim’s kiss and the first time they speak to each other since that moment. To say it’s awkward and heartbreaking is an understatement.

This episode is so great because it effortlessly gives us storylines for so many characters without it feeling jumbled or too much.