I finished watching The Office all the way through for the fourth time recently, so like any fan of the series, I decided to start it all over again. This time as I go through each season, I am putting together a ranked list of each episode in that season in order from my least favorite to my favorite. Keep in mind that these are MY opinions, which means they are 100% correct. Just kidding. Sort of. I’ve already ranked the episodes from seasons 1-8, now let’s get to the final season.

23. Customer Loyalty: Episode 12

I hate this episode. The Office is at its best when it makes you laugh, which it does 95% of the time. But this one is on the dramatic side, showing the very difficult time Jim and Pam are having with Jim working in Philadelphia while Pam is in Scranton. The two have a big disagreement at the end of the episode and it really leaves a bad taste in your mouth because they have always been the perfect couple. For the first time throughout the entire series, we see the camera crew, as Brian (the sound guy) consoles Pam at the end. Seeing the camera crew is a really weird feeling because for nine seasons you knew they were there, but were never really acknowledged and NEVER shown. Dwight also tries to convince Darryl to stay loyal to Dunder-Mifflin in this episode, instead leaving the company for Athlead. Nothing about this one was entertaining and you begin to really wonder about the future of Jim and Pam. Is it going to work between them? Will the unthinkable happen and they divorce?

22. Vandalism: Episode 14

In my opinion, the middle episodes of Season 9 are a weak spot and this is one of them. Pam’s warehouse mural gets defaced by one of the warehouse guys, which incites a vengeful Pam. When she and Dwight extract revenge on him, the warehouse guy prepares to attack Pam in the parking lot, where Brian comes to her defense. Not very exciting or interesting, but it does make you wonder where the show is taking Pam and Brian’s relationship after featuring him in several episodes at this point, either consoling her or coming to her defense. Also, Jim and Darryl, two very likeable characters, are at odds when they share an apartment in Philly and have two totally different living styles. While it’s not interesting either, you mainly don’t want to see these two characters at odds with one another. Season 9 really focuses on some hardships, which is a totally different angle for The Office, and one that I don’t care for.

21. Couple’s Discount: Episode 15

In this one, Andy finally comes back after his 3-month boat trip to the Caribbean. I missed his absence from the show, but now that he’s back in the office he’s all of a sudden insufferable. He has one of the biggest character arcs in any tv show, because when he first comes on the show in Season 3 he’s pretty insufferable. Then he becomes extremely likeable, and now towards the end he’s insufferable again. The Jim/Pam relationship is still very rocky in this episode and that’s just something fans don’t want to see. It just gives the whole episode an overall bad vibe. Those were the two main storylines in this one, along with Erin breaking up with Andy for Pete at the end. And that’s another thing…I felt like Andy and Erin should have finished the series being together, until Season 9-Andy happened. This is classic Season 9, focusing on hardships.

20. Lice: Episode 10

Overall, this is just a dull episode. Pam brings lice into the office, but let’s Meredith take the fall for it once everyone assumes it was her. Most of the 21 minutes are centered around the lice issue and the several folks around the office who have it. It did give us Meredith completely shaving her head, which was a pretty funny sight. And the best part was Dwight accidentally bug bombing himself twice. He had a few slightly humorous parts, taking the matter very seriously in typical Dwight fashion. It was cool that Jim got to meet Dr. J in Philadelphia, but it wasn’t all that interesting. There wasn’t really anything to take away from this episode and is one of the more forgettable ones in my opinion. It just has the feeling of a filler episode.

19. The Target: Episode 8

This one’s a little too dramatic for me, with Angela finding out about Oscar and the Senator, and hiring a hit man to knee cap Oscar. Too much of the episode revolves around this, which holds importance to the show, but isn’t very entertaining. The hit man, Trevor, was sort of funny though. And the rest of the episode is pretty bland with Jim taking Phyllis and Stanley out to lunch to try to get them to cover for him when he is out of the office and in Philadelphia; also the customer complaint card tower building wasn’t all that great either. Lastly, it’s the first of a string of episodes that doesn’t feature Andy, since he’s out on the boat trip. So, if we’re counting, we don’t have Michael Scott, Ryan, Kelly, or Andy in this one, which greatly impedes it from the start.

18. Junior Salesman: Episode 13

It’s mildly entertaining when Dwight brings in his cast of friends (or freaks) to interview for the part-time junior salesman job to fill in for Jim when he’s out of town. His friends, featuring Rolf and Trevor, are just so weird that they provide some decent scenes. But the rest of the episode is pretty forgettable. Not much else really happens and the secondary characters are hardly featured. And for me, at this point I’m really missing Kelly, Ryan, and Andy. Shoot, I even miss Gabe. This, along with the previous few episodes, have lacked much entertainment, and these characters always provided it.

17. The Farm: Episode 17

This is a Dwight-centered episode and was close to starting a spin-off series called “The Farm” which featured Dwight and the farm he inherited after his aunt Shirley’s death. The funeral was very interesting, to say the least, as some insights were provided into Schrute family customs. We found out Dwight had a brother and sister, and got to see them, and also discover Dwight is courting another interested farm girl. There’s not many funny scenes in this one, but it is overall interesting because it gives us a glimpse into the Schrute farm life. Back at the office, Packer comes back to “make amends” by giving everyone laced-cupcakes. It was like one last harrah for Packer in the show.

16. Moving On: Episode 16

There’s a lot to break down in this 41-minute episode. While it’s far from the most entertaining episode, it sets up the last stretch of episodes from the series. After Pam interviews for a job in Philadelphia, she realizes that she doesn’t want to begin a new life in Philly and surprises Jim when she tells him this. With the ongoing rockiness in their relationship, this puts things at a crossroads where they have to make a decision soon about either Pam giving up her Scranton life or Jim giving up his Philly life. It creates vast intrigue to viewers. A lot of this episode revolved around a frustrated/sad/immature Andy who cannot deal with Erin breaking up with him. Some of his antics in this one even reminded me of Michael Scott, which was kind of cool, but also annoying coming from Andy. When he brought in Pete’s ex-girlfriend, along with Gabe (Erin’s ex-boyfriend), to get back at them, it resulted in some pretty funny moments. It gave us the best scene in the entire episode as well, when the five of them met in the conference room to hash things out. Gabe was hilariously weird, as always, and I’m glad he made a Season 9 appearance, even if it was just for one episode. Then, there was a Dwight-Angela thing that put on the table the possibility of the two getting back together. Even when Angela turned it down, you feel like the possibility is still there, leaving more intrigue going forward. Lastly, before the episode ended, we find out from a pop-up on Oscars computer that the documentary crew will be releasing their sit-com of the office in May, which signifies more than anything that The Office is soon coming to an end. The main thing this episode gives us in intrigue as to how things will shake out in the final episodes.

15. New Guys: Episode 1

Like most season openers, this episode is more informative than anything. First, we welcome Clark and Pete to the office, or as everyone else calls them, “the new Jim” and “Dwight Jr.” New characters to a show like this are always tough to accept, and they definitely have to knock it out of the park for fans to accept them. From this episode alone, you can’t really get much of a feel for if you’ll like them or not, but you see potential in Dwight Jr. We learn that Ryan and Kelly have moved to Ohio (Kelly first and Ryan next), which I absolutely do not like because those are longtime characters and brought so many classic moments to the show. You can tell the show is beginning to wind down. Next, we learn Jim’s friend started a sports marketing business and Jim agrees to join (since it was originally his idea in college). This creates major intrigue as to what is next because the entire episode hinted at Jim moving on from Dunder-Mifflin. Like all season openers, it was like the camera crew took the summer off and now we’re catching back up on everyone’s lives. Dwight provided the humor in this episode though, when he let jealousy get the best of him after Dwight Jr. walked the slack line and he couldn’t. It set up a pretty funny moment near the end with his bicycle stunt from the roof of the building.

14. Roy’s Wedding: Episode 2

Ol’ Roy Anderson is back on the screen in this one, finally getting married and Jim and Pam attended the wedding. There wasn’t much to take away from the wedding from a viewer standpoint, but Pam took away the idea that her and Jim had no more exciting things to share with each other. And the focus point quickly became Jim hiding his secret of joining the sports marketing company without Pam’s knowledge. Up to this point, their relationship has been so perfect (almost too perfect), so you can see a rift between the two beginning here, and that’s a little hard to accept. Clark and Pete get more screen-time as Clarke tries to lure a vulnerable Erin to his apartment to “audition as a newscaster.” Nellie and Dwight share several scenes where Nellie tries to outwit Dwight to get him to pick a new charity other than the Taliban. The best part though, is at the beginning with the chore wheel. It was hilarious how the office just couldn’t handle it being a wheel for chores and had to turn it into prizes. Kevin’s spin of the wheel was hilarious, “c’mon big money, big money…mug duty…this sucks.”

13. Andy’s Ancestry: Episode 3

After being tricked by Nellie, Andy thinks he is related to Michelle Obama and as you can imagine he let’s that get to his head and causes a stir around the office. But this episode is more than that. For one, after Nellie’s horrendous season 8 where it’s easy to hate her, the show is now flipping her around to make her likeable. And it’s weird because I still want to hate her from her season 8 actions, but sort of want to like her now at the same time. Her learning to drive and her antics tricking Andy are kind of enjoyable. Then, we get Jim proposing the idea to a frustrated Darryl that they move on from Dunder-Mifflin to the new sports marketing job in Philadelphia, which Darryl is of course on board with. Jim finally even reveals his intentions with the job to Pam at the end, which she seemed skeptical, but accepting. It really makes you wonder what big changes are coming and how soon. This is more of an episode to set up future episodes, but does mix in small entertaining scenes as well. The best scene was the opener with “Asian Jim.” That was one of the more memorable pranks Jim pulled on Dwight throughout the whole series.

12. Paper Airplane: Episode 20

The company-wide paper airplane contest was pretty amusing and had a few parts that made me laugh. Toby getting hit in the eye was hilarious, Erin’s competitiveness was pretty funny, as was Creed throwing the cantaloupe, and Kevin had some funny parts. But the rest of the episode wasn’t the greatest. Andy’s scenes where he was in the lab filming for his “talent agency” wasn’t all that great, and it’s still a little painful seeing Andy go down that lost road. At this point the Jim/Pam disconnect is getting annoying because The Office isn’t supposed to have Jim and Pam on the brink of divorce. You know the series is coming to an end and you’re just really hoping they don’t break the two up by the end. But the final seconds of this episode did finally shed a little hope going forward on that.

11. Here Comes Treble: Episode 5

This is the last Office Halloween episode and Andy invites the Cornell a cappella group to the office to perform. This causes all sorts of drama between Andy, the group, and Broccoli Rob, some of which is mildly entertaining. Jim and Pam have their first real disagreement that I can think of on the show when Jim invests more money than planned in the sports marketing company. It continues to make you wonder how rocky things will get between the two, as several episodes have already hinted at it. The best part in this one is the opening where Dwight gets the pumpkin stuck on his head for a prank. That gets me every time. But there’s several small, one or two line parts that make this a solid late-series episode, like Creed and his claim of not knowing it was Halloween and it being “really good timing” showing up to work with a blood-stained shirt.

10. Dwight Christmas: Episode 9

The last Christmas episode from The Office. But it doesn’t even feel like Christmas. In fact, the office totally forgot about their Christmas party that was planned for that day. So, Dwight steps in and throws a Pennsylvania Dutch Christmas, featuring him as Belsnickel. I think this is the worst of the seven Christmas episodes throughout the series, and it really hurts not having crucial characters like Michael, Andy, Kelly, and Ryan. Dwight’s Belsnickel character was ok and had some parts that made you chuckle a little, but it felt so far off from Christmas. The “Black Pete” scene was hilarious though. My main takeaway from this episode is the caring feelings that Jim and Dwight have for each other. Jim supports Dwight in this episode and when he surprisingly came back from his trip to Philadelphia to re-join the party, Dwight rushed to hug him. After years and years of rivalry between the two, it seems like they are beginning to be more on the same team, which definitely makes it feel like the series is soon ending.

9. The Boat: Episode 6

This episode is where Andy starts his infamous season nine downfall into a really unlikeable character. He’s not so much unlikeable in this episode, except at the end you really wished he would’ve included Erin, who had been so supportive of him, on the sailboat excursion to the Bahamas. Back at the office, Jim, Pam, and Nellie all team up to pull a prank on Dwight, making him think he was on the radio and responsible for causing Dunder-Mifflin stock to drastically fall by some of his answers. That was a really good prank and very funny to watch. And Kevin was really good in this episode, with his immaturity and knowledge of the secret between the senator and Oscar. I love the part where it flashes back, showing Kevin running to the bathroom at various points in the past, especially when he’s pulling out of the parking lot and slams on the brakes, gets out, and runs back to the office holding the back of his pants. That was hilarious!

8. Stairmageddon: Episode 19

This is not a bad episode for Season 9, and it’s highlighted by Stairmageddon. When the elevator is under repair, Stanley hilariously can barely climb the stairs, and when he finally makes it to the top, Dwight tells him he must go back down for a sales meeting. It was absolutely hilarious when Dwight shot Stanley with a bull tranquilizer and then began the process of getting him down the stairs. If it wasn’t for those scenes, this episode would be really dull. But they were so good it brought the episode up many rankings. The rest of the 21 minutes is pretty “ehh.” Jim and Pam continue relationship struggles and are set to begin marriage counseling, which is something you just don’t want to see. You almost feel like they will eventually get divorced after watching this episode. And then seeing Andy desperately seeking to get signed by a no-name talent agency is kind of sad because you just KNOW he is throwing his life away and will never make it.

7. Promos: Episode 18

When promos begin airing for “The Office: An American Workplace,” you know the series is coming to an end. But it’s also an exciting time for everyone. It creates all sorts of excitement around the office, until they realize the camera crew captured “pretty much everything”…even times when employees thought were private. There were a lot of little funny moments in this one that added up to make it a solid episode. Stanley’s line of, “yeah but neither one of them know about Lydia,” was hilarious, as was Dwight smacking Angela on the butt in the promos. I also enjoyed Clarke’s scenes in this episode when he was on the tractor with the farm girls. Clarke is actually a pretty funny character and this is one of the episodes that showcased that. This is one of the better episodes in Season 9.

6. The Whale: Episode 7

At this point in season nine is where you start to realize that the final season will be a better one than season 8. This is a pretty solid episode that has multiple funny moments, of which my favorite is probably when Erin runs across the office and opens up the bathroom door to shout, “Eat it Stanley!” after Dwight tells her to. Things like that are what make Erin such a likeable character. Toby is also really good in this episode by just being so strange when he gets some of the guys around the office to grow mustaches for ‘Movember.’ His line to the random lady on the sidewalk of, “smile if you like men’s prostates,” was hilarious, along with him repeating, “this is fun, this is fun,” when the guys are tossing around a ball in the annex. Dwight has a few funny parts as well, as the main focus of this episode is on him when the women of the office attempt to teach him how to sell to women. And then when he goes on the big sales call to get the Scranton White Pages and has to sell to Jan. Solid episode.

5. Work Bus: Episode 4

This is my 5th time watching The Office all the way through and I didn’t realize until this time that this episode was directed by Bryan Cranston (the only time he directed an Office episode)…interesting. And it’s a pretty solid episode. To escape the radon-filled office, Dwight arranges for a work bus while the building gets fixed. The interactions that take place on the bus are pretty memorable, especially the Shabooya Roll Call. “My name is Kevin, yeah, that is my name, yeah, they call me Kevin, yeah, cause that’s my name!” And who could forget the bus picking up a hitchhiker who claims he’s playing hooky from work and it turns out to be Creed? I also like how Jim and Dwight, and Andy and Nellie each work out their differences with each other by the end of this episode. It just gives it an overall good feeling. Not a bad episode, considering it’s in one of the two seasons without Michael Scott.

4. Suit Warehouse: Episode 11

This one had a lot of funny and enjoyable moments in it. Dwight and Clarke going on a sales call posing as a “father/son” duo had a lot of really funny moments, especially once the two pretended to be a father and son who didn’t get along. When the office gets a new expresso machine, everyone in the office decides to taste test every flavor, so of course they all start bouncing off the walls with energy. Those were funny scenes as they tear up the carpet, Erin freaks out about the pen shipment, and everyone is sweating profusely. Lastly, Darryl interviews for the Athlead job in Philadelphia and things get really funny when he shoots the basketball, misses, and it crashes into the fish tank, killing the fish. This is a good episode, even though it’s missing some key characters of the series, like most of the season nine episodes.

3. Livin’ the Dream: Episode 21

This is the first of the final three episodes that close out the series, and starting with this one, a mood shift has definitely taken place. You can just feel how it’s all coming to an end like all three episodes are one big finale. This is a great episode that really makes you feel good after watching it. It was cool to see Dwight finally receive his black belt after all those years of training and it was a nice nod to a Season 2 episode that made a big deal over him being a purple belt. His black belt presentation in the office was hilarious also. To further extend his big day, he was finally named the new branch manager of Dunder-Mifflin Scranton, ending the long-running ambition of his throughout most of the series. It was a very nice moment to see and you feel like Dwight is finally mature enough for the job. Then, after many Season 9 episodes that made you wonder if Jim and Pam were going to get a divorce, it’s awesome to see they finally figured things out and Jim taking a leave of absence from his Philly job. They are once again the couple that they should be. And Jim and Dwight finally become friends in this episode, putting aside years and years of their rivalry. Dwight names Jim the Assistant to the Regional Manager, which is very cool (and pays homage to the earlier seasons’ joke). While their rivalry was very, very fun to watch throughout the series, it is really awesome seeing the two team up for the last few episodes. Lastly, for me the most memorable part of this episode is Andy’s goodbye. After he comedically burns the bridge with the company to pursue his career in entertainment, he gives a heartfelt rendition of Sarah McLachlan’s “I Will Remember You” on the guitar. That scene gets me every time because the entire office is touched by his really good and heartfelt performance, just as the viewers are. Like I said, this felt like part one of the series finale, with even bigger things coming in the next two episodes.

2. A.A.R.M.: Episode 22

It’s tough to rate extremely sentimental episodes like this because it’s not classic The Office, but it’s a great episode that makes you feel really good after watching. This one feels like a series finale in every way possible, and honestly if this was the last episode, everyone would be happy. It feels like everything is wrapped up, especially when everyone is together at Poor Richards at the end watching the premier episode of “The Office: An American Workplace” in the closing scenes. The scene with Jim showing Pam exactly how he feels by playing the DVD from the camera crew, while he’s giving Dwight the advice to chase after love is everything in this episode. It was the perfect way to wrap up all loose ties created from a rocky relationship between Jim and Pam throughout Season 9. Then Dwight getting engaged to Angela was very special as well. And you can’t forget Darryl getting his proper goodbye from everyone in the office by choosing to dance. That was cool because it showed just how much everyone in the office really cares for each other, whether they ever showed it or not. The scenes toward the end of this episode were really sentimental and emotional, and a great ode to the fans of this series who always felt like they were in the office themselves as co-workers.

1. Finale: Episode 23

Oh, where to begin…I love this series finale episode. It’s a great way to wrap of a great tv series. More of a reunion episode, it takes place a year after the previous episode, the same weekend that Dwight is getting married to Angela and the PBS documentary panel featuring all the main characters from the office. It’s interesting to see where everybody ended up and how they were doing and felt like you were actually catching up with real friends after a long absence. There were several big moments in this episode including Erin meeting her parents for the first time, Dwight and Angela getting married, Ryan and Kelly running off into the sunset together, Jim and Pam moving to Austin to pursue Athleap, and perhaps the biggest anticipated question of all leading up to the finale of Michael Scott making one last appearance. There were several other big moments as well. And the last scenes that took place in the office were the perfect way to end it. Everyone hanging out, reminiscing, and making profound statements into the camera that showed what an impact the office made on their lives. I will always remember Andy’s line of “I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good ol’ days before you’ve actually left them,” and Pam’s final line of “there’s a lot of beauty in ordinary things, isn’t that kind of the point.” Pam’s line perfectly captures the essence of what The Office is all about.

Garett

The Office: Season Nine Episodes (Ranked)