If anyone has asked what The Office was about, the answer is simple: it's about the day to day lives inside a failing paper company in Scranton, Pennsylvania. And while that description sounds pretty boring, The Office is anything but boring.
Over the course of nine seasons, we've seen this crazy group of Dunder Mifflin workers get into some pretty wild scenarios. Some subplots truly gave characters a more fulfilling role on the show, while others seemed completely useless. Then again, after 201 episodes, there were bound to be some pointless moments. From the good to the downright bad, let's take a look at five subplots that wrapped up perfectly and five that needed some work.
PERFECT: SCOTT'S TOTS
Listen, was the outcome of Scott's Tots ideal? Absolutely not. In the words of Pam, what Michael did was "horrible." After promising a class full of children that he would pay for their college tuition if they graduated high school on time, Michael had to withdraw his promise after realizing he wasn't the multi-millionaire he thought he'd be when the time came.
However, the reason why the Scott's Tots subplot ended so well is because Michael faced each child and itted defeat instead of running away (which is typical Michael). He also promised one student, in particular, $1,000 for every year he was in school to help with his books. At least he made a small impact after blowing up their hopes and dreams.
NEEDED WORK: ERIN & ANDY'S RELATIONSHIP
Some fans loved Erin and Andy while others hated them. Erin is such a sincere and naive young woman. After having a tough childhood, she deserved someone who was going to love her unconditionally and be a safe place to land. Andy was that person as a friend, but when the time came for him to be her boyfriend, he failed miserably.
Similar to her biological parents, Andy left her when it came time to sell his family's boat and didn't her for months. He neglected her and made her feel insignificant. Their breakup was inevitable and preferred by many. The only reason why this subplot needed some work was the way Andy reacted to their breakup. He retaliated like a 5-year-old (so Andy) and tried to hurt her for hurting him. And then he just goes crazy and quits to become a star? It was all too much in a short span of time.
PERFECT: OSCAR'S RELATIONSHIP WITH THE SENATOR
Truth be told, Oscar Martinez deserved more screentime on The Office. He was by far the brightest and the most opinionated. One of his shining moments on the show was when he was having an affair with Angela's husband.
They were hot and heavy behind closed doors and then publicly when Angela found out. We all wondered how this weird threesome was going to end, and it ended perfectly. The senator publicly came out as gay and decided to spend his life with someone he worked with instead of his wife and secret lover, Oscar.
NEEDED WORK: PAM'S FIRST INTERVIEW IN PHILADELPHIA
The episode "Moving On" was a sour one. With Jim spending most of his time in Philadelphia with his new job, Pam plays around with the idea of working in Philly too. She ends up getting an interview with an office manager, who was the spitting image of Michael Scott.
He acted exactly like Michael, and his employees acted similarly to those at Dunder Mifflin. She turned down the chance of working there, but she also turned down the chance of moving to Philly. Pam's entire response to 'let's move to Philadelphia' was poor and annoyed viewers. There had to have been a better way to wrap this up than simply not "liking" Philly.
PERFECT: KELLY AND RYAN'S CLASSIC ENDING
As inconsistent as Kelly and Ryan were, it was their inconsistency that made them, well, them. Everyone was happy when Kelly became mature enough to choose Ravi over Ryan but her running away with Ryan into the sunset was so them.
By the end of season nine, viewers missed their crazy love affair. Don't get us wrong, we felt awful that Ravi was left alone with a baby at Dwight and Angela's wedding, but seeing those crazy kids run away together, oddly, made all the sense in the world.
NEEDED WORK: HILARY SWANK - HOT OR NOT?
The "Prince Family Paper" episode was borzeville. Michael and Dwight were visiting a local paper business to try and steal their clients but got caught up in how sweet and friendly the family was. Meanwhile, back at the office, the gang was deciding whether actress Hilary Swank was hot or not.
Spending an entire episode on whether or not Hilary is hot wasn't just a waste of time, but it was dumb. Sure, everyone had comical responses to Hilary's looks, but what was the point? This subplot seemed like a waste of an episode to Office fans.
PERFECT: MICHAEL AND HOLLY'S HAPPILY EVER AFTER
Did fans want to see Michael and Holly's wedding and his life as a father? Absolutely. But it was fulfilling enough to see Michael leave Dunder Mifflin and Scranton for good. Leaving Dunder Mifflin was a massive moment in Michael's life.
He was there for over 15 years and treated his co-workers as his family . But knowing he was finally getting his happily ever after with a woman as wonderful as Holly was satisfying. Michael's character was missed on The Office, but knowing he eventually became a father, and a husband was the perfect ending for his time on the show.
NEEDED WORK: BRIAN X PAM
What in the world was this all about? What was The Office trying to insinuate here? First of all, the fact that Pam was unintentionally running into the arms of another man while Jim spent his time in Philadelphia was abysmal.
Secondly, while it's commendable that Brian attacked the warehouse worker that was going to hit Pam, why would he be fired for "interacting" with the talent if he was saving her life? Is PBS (the network producing the documentary) seriously stating that they would rather the man hit Pam and have a crazy lawsuit on their hands? It just doesn't make any sense.
PERFECT: ERIN'S BIOLOGICAL PARENTS
Sweet Erin was a lost 12-year-old girl in a grown woman's body for most of her time on the show, but we slowly saw her find herself and grow. We soon learned that Erin grew up in foster care and that she never met her biological parents.
Phyllis thought she could have been Erin's mom, but bloodwork proved that was negative. When the documentary aired, we saw Erin's biological parents show up to the where they itted to being related. It was the perfect ending for Erin. But let's hope they got a blood test... they could have just been creepy fans of the documentary.
NEEDED WORK: JAN'S DAUGHTER
Jan becoming pregnant while she was with Michael with a baby that wasn't Michael's was a huge plotline. The nonsensical couple was together for years, and for Jan to randomly be pregnant after they broke up was a huge bombshell.
We saw Michael willing to take on the fatherly role even though he had a crush on Holly, wasn't together with Jan and didn't feel an ounce of empathy for Jan's daughter when she was born. Michael decided not to be apart of Jan or Astrid's life, but we, unfortunately, never saw how that conversation went down. All we know is that he didn't have a connection to the baby, and that was that.