The Case for Dinner Party

There are two episodes in the entire Office series that vie for the top spot of "cringiest" episode ever. Dinner Party (S4 E13) and Scott's Tot's (S6 E12) (I would also like to throw Andy's Play (S7 E3) in the mix, but I'll save it for a different time). While both have made their awkward mark on Office fans, I argue that Dinner Party encapsulates more (and greater) awkwardness and cringe than Scott's Tot's."

In Dinner Party, the cringe starts in the FIRST MINUTE. Right off the bat, Michael tricks Jim via having to "work late" ensuring his night is open to come over for dinner. Once Jim and Pam arrive, Jan in all her conceited glory begins subtle jabs that are more and more awkward as the episode goes on. Look, I can list all the hilarities of Michael and Jan before the opening credits end, but I'd suggest you go back and watch both episodes and you'll see what I mean. Moving on, the tour of the condo is perfectly crafted to be one big roller coaster ride of cringe. From the candles, to the bedroom camera being left out, to Michael's "bed", to the living room gem-the plasma TV.

Once Andy and Angela arrive, the cringe doesn't cease. From Andy repeating the word "tuna" to Angela accepting her rose, to listening to Hunter's music album, to Jan pulling Jim to dance, to the game of charades, it's obvious to see why Jim makes up an excuse to try and leave. 

About 2/3 through the episode, Dwight surprises the party guests with extra wine glasses-and his plus one, his babysitter, which leads into perhaps the second greatest scene in the episode, the actual dinner. Jan and Michael dive into a shouting match preceded by several laughs such as Michael dipping his food into his wine due to "soft teeth", Dwight revealing his "carnal" relationship with said babysitter, Michael putting up his "St. Pauli Girl" neon sign despite Jan asking him to take it down, and Jan putting Hunter's music back on. From there is the crescendo of the episode- the destruction of the $200 plasma screen TV and ensuing intervention from the police and ultimately the dispersement of the party. Almost the entire episode is shot at the condo, with no cut scenes to the office and is purely cringey from the first to last minute. 

Now. On to Scott's Tot's. It takes 5 minutes of a normal Office episode opening before any mention of the tots. In fact, the second story of the episode is the "employee of the month contes" which takes up a good chunk of the episode. Stanley's laugh is great, the story build up definitely tees up the rest of the episode well, but until they arrive at the school, the humor is usually flat, minor, and doesn't add to the Tot's storyline. 

Once they get to school, things start heating up. From the first interaction with a Tot, the dance and song from the Tots, the cringe is nicely played up. The building up of thankfulness from the teachers and students build the dread that is about to come. "I am never going to forget today, not a chance" is the beginning line of Michael's trepidation speech where he jokes how he's not paying for Zion's college tuition and then reveals he can't pay for anyone's tuition. The initial reaction cringe is strong. The Tots frustration, while justified is short and held back until Michael offers laptop.....batteries and then more yells and frustration from the Tots. While I'm being short here, the cringe is really strong if only for a moment. After the classroom scene, the cringe is gone and isn't back- even when Michael writes a redemption check to one of the Tots to pay for his textbooks. On a side note, the scene where David Wallace foils Dwight's plan to demote Jim, is funny. David chews Jim out, but then apologizes and says he's "doing a good job" and confirms dinner plans with him later that week. From there, the office episode is basically over, roll credits. 

Whew. Yes, I totally just watched both episodes while writing this to back up what I'm saying and yes, the word "cringe" was used a ton of times, but how else could you describe it? I hope I swayed you if you were on the fence, but if not, I'd highly suggest you go back and watch both episodes, one after another. 

If you love The Office, be sure to check out my ever growing Office trivia question list here. See how many you can get correct without looking up the answers! Keep checking to see updated questions!