The Office, season 6, episode 5, "Mafia"

Episode Summary:

In the cold opening, Michael is giving a lesson in the fundamentals of business. He underlines the "mental" in "fundamental," and Toby asks him why he didn't underline "fun." Michael gets angry and kicks Toby out. The presentation goes downhill, and Michael claims, "I could fill a book with the things you people don't know about business." Ryan snaps, "Well, then do it. Write a book." Michael gets a tape recorder and starts his book, "The Fundamentals of Business, by Michael Scott. Over a billion sold… more than the Bible. Not surprising."

Michael has a meeting with an insurance salesman who talks about "how terrible" it would be if there was a fire in the warehouse or a truck driving off the road. The office is afraid that the insurance salesman is actually a member of the mafia.

Kevin admits that he has been farting in Jim's office while he's been gone on his honeymoon, but one day, he decided to move his stuff into Jim's office. He loves Jim's office. Apparently, Jim's office is even better than Kevin's house. Kevin tells the camera, "My house sucks."

Oscar calls Jim on his honeymoon to get help on the Michael/mafia situation, and Jim and Pam quickly hang up on Oscar despite his protests.

Michael agrees to meet the insurance salesman for lunch, and Andy shows up dressed up as a mechanic so that he has an excuse to carry a metal tool for protection. Dwight also comes along for support. Immediately, the insurance salesman gets a better table at the restaurant and orders people around with ease. Michael is understandably nervous.

Capital One calls Jim's office because Jim's card has been used in Puerto Rico where Jim and Pam are on their honeymoon, and Kevin accidentally puts a hold on Jim's credit card. Kevin tells Oscar and begs him not to tell anyone because it might constitute identity fraud, saying, "I wouldn't last in jail. I'm not like you." Oscar, bewildered, asks, "What do you mean by that?" Kevin, not catching on, replies, "Oh, you don't know about jail? You would love jail!"

After a long lunch with the salesman, Michael buys a policy. He panics and calls Jim for help, and Jim does a great imitation of bad phone reception. Dwight and Andy decide that the best way to fix this situation is to convince Michael that the insurance salesman is not a part of the mafia. Once they have Michael convinced, he calls, cancels his policy, and calls the salesman a jerk. After Michael hangs up, Dwight and Andy reveal that they have no idea if the guy is mafia or not. Michael, pumped up, tells the whole office that he stared down the mafia, and he starts ordering people around much like the mafia.



Final Thoughts:

This was a good episode for the season because it did not rely on Jim and Pam and let some of the minor characters have some fun. I love Jim and Pam, but I hope that they stay on their honeymoon for at least one more week so that we can see some more of the minor characters. Angela in particular has been sorely underused this season, and where is Darryl? To quote the "Booze Cruise" episode, Darryl! Darryl! Darryl! Darryl! Writers on "The Office," make better use of the supporting characters. For many of us fans, the ensemble atmosphere is why we fell in love with "The Office." Thank you for the feature on Kevin tonight, though. It was certainly a step in the right direction.