Season: 2

When Michael slips some sly references about Pam in his conversations with Jim, Jim quickly tries to do damage control to make sure that no one else in the office finds about his crush on Pam, all while slamming himself with regret for ever telling Michael in the first place. Jim goes to drastic measures, even bonding with Michael at a Hooters restaurant for lunch. Nonetheless, Jim’s efforts do little to keep Michael from revealing the secret, but Jim smooths the situation over with Pam to make it seem like nothing more than a tiny crush in the past. Meanwhile, Dwight conducts an investigation about Oscar’s mysterious absence from work, and what Dwight finds, though it goes way over his head, is surprising.

Michael meets with all of his underlings to discuss their performance in the office so far. However, Michael focuses more on getting feedback about his relationship with Jan than whether or not the workers are doing their job. Later, a nervous Michael plans to shuffle through the employee suggestion box to steal exciting ideas for his imminent discussion with Jan about his own performance, but that falls apart when Jan asks to sit in on the discussion. Meanwhile, Jim and Pam try to keep Dwight under the wrong impression that the day is Friday instead of Thursday.

When Michael and Jan try to nail down a potential new client, Christian, by taking him out to Chili’s, Michael surprises everyone with what – or who – he does. Meanwhile, back at the office, Jim finds a semi-autobiographical script that Michael has written called Threat Level: Midnight, and he, Pam, Kevin, and the rest of the Dunder-Mifflin workers have a great time acting it out. Later that night, Pam and Jim share their first unofficial date, complete with dinner (a sandwich), candlelight, and Dwight’s pathetic fireworks display.

When Dwight embarrasses Michael by punching him in the stomach at work, Jim organizes a lunchtime rematch at Dwight’s Dojo. Meanwhile, Pam becomes annoyed at Jim when he gets too physical with her, Ryan updates the emergency contact information on a secret mission, and Michael tantalizes Ryan when the boss gets a hold of Ryan’s cell phone number.

While everyone else in the office enjoys the spooky Halloween festivities and talks about the staff’s costumes, Michael ponders who he should fire when the threat of downsizing becomes a reality and his boss orders him to fire one of his staff. Meanwhile, Jim and Pam put Dwight’s resume on job-searching websites, which may make Michael’s job a little easier, and Pam encourages Jim to set his goals higher by applying for a better job, which makes Jim consider his friendship with Pam.

The Office is forced into the parking lot for the day when a fire starts in the kitchen. To ease everyone’s boredom, Jim suggests a game of “Desert Island” and “Who Would You Do?,” where certain staff members reveal a little too much information about themselves. Throughout the day, Michael talks business with Ryan, leaving Dwight feeling left out.

While Michael and Dwight are out of the office for the day trying to close a deal on a new condo for Michael, Jim and Pam arrange for the staff to participate in an “Office Olympics,” where the workers play strange, invented games (among them, Dunderball, Hate Ball…and Pam Pong) that they usually play while the boss is out. At the end of the day, the festivities cheer up everyone – even the oblivious Michael.

In the season finale, Dunder-Mifflin holds a Casino Night in the warehouse to benefit charity. While Michael faces the task of juggling two dates, Jim is forced to ponder the reality of transferring to the Stamford branch and what that means for his relationship with Pam.

When Michael takes over conflict resolution duties from HR, chaos ensues at Dunder Mifflin.