Ryan Howard (The Office)
Encyclopedia
Ryan Bailey Howard played by B. J. Novak
, is a fictional character
on the US television sitcom
The Office. He is based upon Ricky Howard from the original version of The Office
(and Neil Godwin
during season 4), but his role is significantly expanded and he is a main character.
" that Ryan grew up in Scranton. At the beginning of the series, Ryan Howard is a temporary employee at the Scranton
branch of the fictitious paper distributor Dunder Mifflin who joined the staff in the first episode, earning him the nickname "The Temp".
In early episodes, he is shown to be uncomfortable with his professional relationship with his boss, Michael Scott
. Michael often forces Ryan to carry out menial tasks for him while at the same time, becoming obsessed with Ryan's personal life as well as gaining Ryan's friendship, to the point of buying him an iPod for Christmas, even though the price cap was only 20 dollars.
As the series progresses, Ryan begins to display a great deal of contempt and disdain for both his coworkers and his job. This becomes more apparent when Ryan is promoted in "The Job" to work at Dunder Mifflin's corporate office in New York.
This leads to Ryan becoming an egotistical braggart despite lackluster sales skills. At various times during season 4 coworkers of Ryan's mention their disdain for him. In the season 4 finale "Goodbye, Toby
", Ryan is arrested for committing fraud. He is eventually released and required to work community service.
In the season 5 premiere, Ryan returns to the Scranton branch after Michael arranges for him to work Pam's job during her time at art school. However, his malevolent aspirations to climb back to the top of the corporate ladder are revealed in a talking head, when he adds Jim and Kevin to a list of people who "will be sorry" when he returns to the top. He was also called out (implicitly) when Holly Flax
said that his fraudulent behavior was the reason the Scranton office needed to undergo ethics counseling.
Ryan was a member of a fraternity in college and holds an MBA
from the University of Scranton
's Kania School of Management, which he earned during the second and third seasons. His dream is to one day own his own business, which Michael quickly derided as "a terrible idea."
Throughout the series, Ryan changes his persona about every year beginning with the 3rd season. After the first year he's with Dunder Mifflin, he figures out all the ways the company works. When offered job for Corporate in the Season 3 finale, Ryan decides to become more of a high-end person. He grows a beard and gets $200 hair cuts. He seems to be a proficient man, but ends up getting into trouble with becoming a drug addict, drunk, and a person who parties too often. He inevitably commits fraud and is fired from his job.
In Season 5, he returns with blonde highlights and a "work hard, play hard" attitude. He works for Michael at the Michael Scott Paper Company (which is later bought out) and still tries to keep his work ethic and strives to do good.
By Seasons 6-8, he just throws out all his morals and ambitions as he becomes a hipster. He doesn't really care to work, reads poetry and initiates various creative projects. He switches clothing, from wearing fanciful scarves, fake glasses, suspenders, bow ties, trench coats, etc. and tries to create an "unsolvable attitude". He somehow manages to stay at Dunder Mifflin, but his job, now, is unspecified. Many of the staff, most notably Jim and Pam, note Ryan's ineptitude as an employee and that he sponges off his parents by living with them and driving his mom's car. They usually bring this up to him whenever he feels the need to gloat and Ryan dismisses their remarks.
, allowing other characters to introduce themselves to him, and by extension, the viewer.
Over the first two seasons, Ryan's character is a secondary one and he is primarily defined by his dissatisfaction with his job, and his relationships with Michael
and Kelly
. Underscoring his lack of enthusiasm for working at Dunder Mifflin, Ryan mentions that he could clean out his desk in five seconds and everyone would forget that he ever worked there (including himself). His dissatisfaction manifests itself in his use of sarcasm and general disinterest towards his co-workers, as he remains dissatisfied and unproven with his position. Ryan does not wish to stay at Dunder Mifflin long or even be remembered when he leaves, citing that his ultimate fear is that he will gain a nickname around the office (being "the something guy"). This fear came to pass in the same episode (penned by Novak), when Ryan activated a smoke alarm by accidentally overcooking a cheese pita in the break room, earning him the nickname "The Fire Guy." During Ryan's term as a temporary employee (and even for a few months after his promotion to full-time status), various characters (mainly Dwight) frequently addresses him as "Temp" instead of by his real name; Michael also called him "Temp" occasionally. In later seasons, several characters sarcastically use this term long after Ryan has risen to a more prominent position in the company.
Ryan is often the victim of Michael's antics and bizarre man-crush
on him, usually resigning to requests without complaint (such as helping Michael clean out his car or making a long car trip to buy yams). Also, by the end of Season 2, Jim facilitates a relationship between Kelly and Ryan, which is very rocky from the start.
", Ryan becomes a full-time employee and inherits the job (and desk) vacated by Jim Halpert
, who transferred to Dunder Mifflin's Stamford
branch. Despite the promotion, Michael still treats Ryan as his personal assistant, assigning him menial tasks such as taking inventory of Michael's possessions for his trip to the convention in Philadelphia or organizing paperwork in his office. Upon Jim's return to Scranton after the branch merger, there is a moment of awkwardness when Jim casually sets up at his former desk, only to learn that it now belongs to Ryan—who refuses to give the desk back to Jim, the first hint at a rivalry between the two.
Ryan goes to his first sales call in "Initiation", where he is subjected to a series of tests by Dwight, including being stranded on Dwight's beet farm and sitting in a barn answering questions regarding the company. Dwight later admits to an angry Ryan that he wants to get along with him and be a team, since he and Jim were always at odds. He also points out Ryan's problem, which is that he will not accept that other people can teach him things. Despite his superior education, Ryan is not a good salesman—his first client tells him flat out that he does not like him. A sales call with Stanley in "Traveling Salesmen
" is also disastrous, and Stanley laughs uproariously at Ryan's stammering ineptitude.
In the last scene of "The Job
", Ryan receives a call from the New York headquarters, offering him the job previously held by Jan Levenson and making him Michael's immediate superior. After he hangs up, he immediately dumps Kelly.
. In "Dunder Mifflin Infinity
", Ryan presents his concept of Dunder Mifflin Infinity (a new website) to the Scranton branch, and gives a BlackBerry
to all of the main employees. He is eager to show off his newfound wealth, such as when he tells the camera that his haircut "costs more than these guys would ever guess," before immediately revealing that it cost $200. His occasional brushes with Kelly remain tense.
Later in the season, Ryan's new website is plagued by problems, including child predators and slow sales. The salesmen resist the new site as well, though Ryan addresses their concerns with his idea for Dunder Mifflin Infinity 2.0 (which is still TBA). The later episodes show him becoming more excited and on edge, clearly under the influence of cocaine (in a deleted scene from Night Out, it is revealed that his coworkers supply him with drugs, much to their pleasure). Feeling threatened by Jim Halpert's good relationship with David Wallace, Ryan sets out to get Jim fired.
In "Goodbye, Toby
", Ryan is - now typically - curt with Jim, ordering him by telephone to input his sales into the website before abruptly hanging up. However, it is discovered later that Ryan was misleading the company's shareholders by labeling those sales as ones made by both employees and the site, constituting fraud. He even goes so far as to make the staff work through a weekend because of the website. In a YouTube
video entitled "Whoaa! Check it out!", the Scranton branch watches as Ryan is seen being arrested and escorted out of Dunder Mifflin's New York office by police, much to Michael's dismay and Jim and Kelly's pleasure.
However, Ryan still exhibits the ego issues he developed in the fourth season, including bragging during a meeting about a girl he "hooked up" with while in New York who looked like a Survivor contestant. He also constantly mentions the fact that he was the "youngest V.P. in company history". In a talking head interview, Ryan reveals that he is compiling a list of people that will be sorry when he is back "on top"; Jim and Kevin (who called Ryan "fire-d guy") are immediately added. In a deleted scene, Ryan confesses that he ran his BMW into Kevin's car and damaged a side mirror, but refuses to pay Kevin for the expensive repairs by claiming that "Ryan 1.0" was responsible; Kevin later puts Ryan's pricey sunglasses in the toaster oven and melts them, sarcastically blaming it on "Kevin 1.0".
Ryan moves back to the annex with Kelly soon before Pam is scheduled to return. He starts showing off in front of Kelly by doing push ups, with Kelly seemingly uninterested, until he tried doing a one handed push up and the two start kissing passionately. Ryan tells Kelly to break up with Darryl via text message, fully aware that Darryl might react angrily. However, Darryl responds quickly saying "it's cool", with Kelly overjoyed and Ryan shocked and disappointed, suggesting he was only interested in making Darryl angry and jealous.
In "Frame Toby
", Ryan breaks up with Kelly again, saying he is going with friends "from high school...well, from 'a' high school" to Thailand, but convinces her to have sex with him one last time and give him some traveling money first.
Ryan is not seen again (due to Novak filming Inglourious Basterds) until the episode "Dream Team
" in which he was seen working at a bowling alley until being hired by Michael Scott to work at the Michael Scott Paper Company. His appearance has changed drastically with having a tan from his trip to Thailand (later revealed to be Ft. Lauderdale) and his hair is dyed blonde (but in his words became naturally blonde due to sunlight exposure). Apparently, he has moved back in with, or at least in proximity to, his parents.
Initially, Ryan acted with disinterest and irresponsibility with the new company, choosing rather to spend his time talking on his telephone and surfing the web, which, along with lack of space, caused tension with Pam. However, as time passed, relations between the employees of The Michael Scott Paper Company became more amicable as Ryan's behavior matured. Bonding with Pam and Michael over the company's relative success and through the close quarters, Ryan became more active and involved, such as by making sales and helping plan the company's fiscal future (albeit unsuccessfully). Additionally, his sobriety became apparent, such as when he turned down even a sip of celebratory champagne from Pam.
After the buyout of The Michael Scott Paper Company from Dunder-Mifflin, much to David Wallace's vocal opposition, Ryan is initially rehired as a salesperson, though, as a result of budget problems, is reduced back unto the position of a temporary employee.
He tells Michael that he no longer eats a lunch but five small meals throughout the day. In an interview, he says now that he is a temp again the only thing he can control is his food, implying a sense of resignation from having ended up in the very same boring low-level job he tried so hard to break out of.
", Ryan's appearance has changed back to his more traditional look – black hair and no longer with a noticeable tan. Ryan's only line (outside of a deleted scene in which he is prominently featured) is his shouted advice to Pam and Jim – "Don't vaccinate it" – when they reveal that Pam is pregnant. Also, Ryan seemingly has no rumors spread about him.
In "The Promotion
" Ryan scams Pam out of a wedding gift; instead of giving her $100 in cash upfront he tricks her into giving him $50 in exchange for letting her in on his college basketball scam, which he says will earn her back $5,000 in a year. As of the beginning of season 6, he is dating Kelly again. The two dance down the aisle together at Jim and Pam's wedding.
In "Double Date
", Ryan is shown to have begun photography as a hobby, and gets Kelly to pose topless for a piece on "exposure in the workplace" He tries, but fails, to get Erin to do the same. (See Ryan's photography blog, "Thousand and One Words").
In "The Lover
", Ryan is seen around the office wearing a trilby
. When asked where he got it, he refuses to say. In the episode "Murder
", he is wearing a gray cardigan, a casual shirt, and glasses. In "Manager and Salesman
" he can be seen in a long turquoise scarf.
In "Shareholder Meeting
", he deflects Jim's instructions and refuses to do any work. He also spreads the rumor that Jim is not as powerful as Michael. Jim then makes an example of him by putting him in the closet behind the kitchen with no windows or internet access. As a result, in "Scott's Tots
", he tells Dwight he will help him get Jim fired. At the end of "Manager and Salesman
" he and Dwight go out and celebrate a job well done in getting Jim demoted to salesman, even though it was Jim who willingly stepped down from his manager position. In "Whistleblower
" Ryan announces a website he's launching called "WUPHF".
", Ryan advertises his website WUPHF in the Lip Dub the Scranton Branch was making. In "Counseling
", he helps Dwight avenge the shopkeeper who snubbed him at the mall by declaring, "America is one big mall!" In "Andy's Play
", he shows off his iPad
to Kelly, when Kelly becomes bored in the play. In "The Sting
", he helps Jim and Dwight spy on Danny. When they try to hatch a plan, Jim tells Ryan he is a "hot new executive" and Ryan tells them he wants to work at Google.
In "Costume Contest
" he dresses as Justin Bieber
in hopes to win the Scranton book of savings worth $15,000 in savings. At the end, when Oscar wins Ryan reveals he voted for him, and Ryan says he is a fan of Ralph Nader.
In "Christening
" he makes fun of the Youth Group pastor, only for Michael to tell him to shut up.
In "WUPHF.com
", he tries to get people to invest in his company. When he reveals he will be broke in 9 days, Kelly comes in and tries to invest telling everyone she came up with the name WUPHF, when she wanted to receive a message and then shouting Woof, Woof to Ryan. Then Ryan tells them that he has an offer from the Washington University Public Health Fund, only for Darryl to realize that they are only interested because of the domain name. Ryan tries to weasel more money from Michael, but is caught by surprise when Michael tells all the other investors that while he won't agree to divest their WUPHF holdings (they need Michael's assent because he holds more than 50% of the shares) he does think Ryan is shallow and a bad friend, and Ryan looks horrified when Michael says he has those 9 days and no more time to make things right. At the end of the episode, Ryan tells everybody he has sold WUPHF.com.
Ryan shows more immoral traits in "Garage Sale
", when he sells jars of his mother's homemade Pesto sauce, and tells the camera that his mother has never wanted to sell her sauce, as she intended it to just be for family. Ryan, however, tricked her into making about a hundred bottles worth (by lying about needing them for a "pesto-party" he was throwing for all his friends), and is now selling the jars for his own profits, as well as plastering pictures of Phyllis and Oscar on the jars without their permission (since Phyllis had that "mom look" he wanted, and he used Oscar's picture on his Mother's homemade jars of Salsa
). Dwight then cons Ryan into giving him a box worth of the Pesto by trading him Stanley's old photo album (by commenting that only people like James Franco
would want something like that sitting on their bookshelf). However, Ryan is also in the group that helps Michael think of a good way to propose to Holly. When Michael does propose to Holly, he has some employees jokingly ask Holly to marry them. He states that Ryan was the only one he was concerned about.
In "Training Day
", Ryan thinks that new manager Deangelo Vickers having a barber come to the office to shave him is "badass" and "hardcore". In "Michael's Last Dundies
", he is shown to be hurt that Danny Cordray broke his streak of winning the "Hottest in the Office" award, although he tries to hide it. Ryan's contribution to the office workers' version of Seasons of Love
is that Michael helped him get off drugs.
In "Goodbye, Michael
", Michael gives Ryan his St. Pauli Girl beer sign, but only after making sure he isn't prone to seizures. Ryan seems to genuinely appreciate the gift, and he thanks Michael, only for the regional manager to tell him to thank the St. Pauli Girl. In producer's cut of the episode, Ryan has a talking head interview where he claims that Michael has an interesting way of saying words.
In "The Inner Circle
", Ryan lies to Deangelo about his job at the Scranton Branch by strongly implying he's the Customer Service supervisor (Kelly's boss). While Kelly is angry, she goes along with it in exchange for Ryan being a dutiful boyfriend around the clock. However, Kelly soon exposes Ryan as a fraud after reprimanding her severely about her paycheck and making her out as a money grubber in front of Deangelo. However, because Deangelo prefers Ryan over Kelly, he appoints him as her official supervisor (until his accident hours later).
In "Dwight K. Schrute, (Acting) Manager
", after Dwight accidentally misfires a gun in the office and Toby is filling out the gun violence accident form, the HR rep asks the staff if they felt like this was a terrorist incident. Ryan, who is clearly enjoying Dwight's situation, openly says that he felt terrorized.
In "Search Committee
", Ryan reveals to the camera that he, like Oscar and Pam, also believes Angela's boyfriend Robert (the State Senator) is gay, because he "liked" Ryan's Facebook photos at 3:00 AM. Later, when Stanley harshly berates Jim for not taking the search for a new manager seriously and informs him that the new boss will probably be his last, Ryan comments in mock seriousness that he believes Stanley will live forever. After Stanley leaves the kitchen, Ryan gives Jim the advice to take a day off from the whole "Jim schtick" and to try caring about something for once. He even addresses him as "James", before closing the door to his office/closet. During a staff debate over who should be hired for the manager position, Ryan states he wants an outsider. While Jim thinks he is referring to the applicants outside of the office, Ryan says he meant an "outsider" as someone who is on the margins of society, and suggests a homeless person. When Pam challenges him to say he truly wants a homeless person as his boss, he asks who her ideal candidate would be, snidely suggesting Rachael Ray
or "the ladies of The View
". In a talking-head interview, Ryan laments that he got away with everything while Michael was his boss and it was not good for him. He says he wants guidance and leadership, but does not want the new manager to boss him around. He states he wants the new hire to lead him, but only when he's in the mood "to be led". Ryan also tells Gabe to "take care" when Gabe announces to the office that he's been reassigned to Sabre headquarters in Florida.
", Ryan is on the "Losers" of new CEO Robert California's list.
In "Garden Party
", Ryan makes a toast to "the troops... all the troops... both sides".
. The relationship has been troubled from the outset, for Ryan desires a very casual relationship, whereas the overbearing Kelly wants to get married and have children as soon as possible. The two "hooked up" on the eve of Valentine's Day
, although Ryan was brusque with her the following day. Things seemed to be starting up between the two again during the office "Casino Night
". Ryan and Kelly are later seen dating in "The Convention
". Ryan met Kelly's parents during Diwali, but they were not impressed by his low income, desire to travel and saving up money to buy an Xbox
, rather than start a family. Ryan has more than once tried unsuccessfully to break up with Kelly, with one of the more notable occurrences after "The Merger" episode, when the Scranton branch absorbs the Stamford branch instead of the other way around, once again putting the two of them back together.
Even though Ryan and Kelly continue to bicker, he is sweet to her in the episode "Safety Training" after he kisses her on the forehead while winning a bet. B.J. Novak has stated that Ryan and Kelly are going strong, well into the third season: "I think Ryan and Kelly is a relationship that everyone has been in. It's a puzzle as to why they're still together, but I think Ryan loves being loved-- even though he won't admit it. He lost Michael's love so he has to take in more love from Kelly."
After accepting a promotion to Corporate by telephone in "The Job", an elated Ryan immediately breaks up with Kelly, telling her "You and I are done," with a smile.
In "Dunder Mifflin Infinity
", Kelly tries to rekindle their relationship by feigning pregnancy, a lie which she later reveals.
This only upsets Ryan more and leads to him attempting to have her job outsourced
to India. Ryan is visibly upset in later episodes when Kelly later flirts with and kisses Darryl in front of him. When Ryan is arrested in the Season 4 finale, Kelly says she looks forward to rubbing in his downfall by visiting him in prison.
Ryan and Kelly make amends in "Weight Loss
", and Ryan indicates a renewed interest in her. He witnesses Kelly and Darryl kiss, as Kelly looks up to make sure Ryan sees it. In the episode "Employee Transfer
" Ryan shows interest in Kelly by helping her walk in her heels. In "Business Trip", Ryan and Kelly get back together when he moves back to the annex, though Ryan is uncomfortable again as he only made her breakup with Darryl with the expectation he would react violently, which he did not. In "Frame Toby", Ryan breaks up with her again and leaves the office altogether. Upon his return, the two do not rekindle their relationship, however, they constantly flirt and bicker with each other on Twitter
. In a deleted scene in "Koi Pond
", though, it's implied by Ryan that he and Kelly are once more in a relationship of some sort. Ryan implies that he is still not certain of his relationship with Kelly in the episode "Shareholder Meeting", when he asks Creed if he is "in love with her, or in love with the idea of her", when Creed asks him for relationship advice.
In an interview with Yahoo! TV, that was released before the episode "Business School", B.J. Novak describes Ryan and Kelly as "the worst relationship that all of us have been in." He adds, "The bad news is that that's what a lot of people have actually experienced, something that just doesn't work on any level, and they just keep going for some weird reason." Mindy Kaling (Kelly) adds, "It seems like Ryan has just adjusted to the fact that he is the boyfriend of this crazy girl."
In the season Seven episode "The Search
" during the cold open Ryan and Kelly announced to the office that they were getting a divorce apparently having married over a week earlier on the spur of the moment neglecting to tell anyone. Originally they asked for no one to take sides claiming it was an amicable break up but realizing that no one cared and getting little reaction to their news Ryan declared that the split was not amicable and demanded that people take sides and also raise their hands to show whose side they were on; no one in the office raised a hand to support either one of them. Shortly after, in the episode PDA, evidence is shown that they may be dating again. Due to him sitting next to her in the meeting and spending the entire episode in the annex where Kelly works and their communication in a deleted scene. However, in more recent episodes, Ryan and Kelly have not been seen sitting together in meetings which might mean they are not dating.
In the the episode "Spooked
", Ryan and Kelly are seen standing next to each other and talking. At the end of the episode, he kisses her on the forehead.
to gather items for Bob Vance's bachelor party, much to his disgust.
In "The Dundies
", Michael gives Ryan the "Hottest in the Office" award, describing him as "someone who really lights up the office" and "someone we all can't keep from checkin' out". After congratulating Ryan for his award, he slaps Ryan's buttocks. Also, in "The Fire" episode, when the office is playing the game "Who would you do" Michael chooses Ryan, making him very uncomfortable, even though it's meant to be a joke.
In the third season, Ryan begins correcting Michael for embarrassing him as evident by "The Convict", when one of Michael's latest seminars involving prison life has Michael referring to Ryan as "da belle of da ball" if he were in prison. In a deleted scene from "Diwali
", it is suggest that Michael has begun stalking Ryan, when Carol lists a good amount of information about him (such as the street he lives on). He has a list of excuses he programmed into his cellphone to use if Michael summons him into any of his antics. Along with Stanley Hudson
and Phyllis Lapin
, Ryan counsels the new employees from the Stamford
branch on how Michael operates as manager of their branch. In "Business School", while upset with Ryan, Michael tells his entire class that everyone thinks that he is a tease. In "The Job
", Michael comes back from his interview in New York and asks Ryan to get him a cup of coffee
, but Ryan firmly says "I don't do that stuff anymore." Michael says it's not for Ryan and later says he's still waiting for his coffee, unaware that Ryan has just become his direct supervisor. In retaliation, Ryan pointedly makes Michael get bottled water for him when Ryan returns to Scranton during "Dunder Mifflin Infinity
".
Michael seems to be aware that Ryan isn't very fond of him, though possibly in denial; when Dwight and Michael show up in New York to join Ryan for a night of partying in Night Out
, Michael is taken aback when Ryan loudly says how happy he is to see them, and points out to Ryan that it's "Michael and Dwight". Later in the episode, Ryan tries to indirectly confide to Michael that he has a drug problem (using his friend's name as the individual in question), but Michael ends up giving Ryan useless advice he learned from watching The Wire
. Michael later is devastated when he learns of Ryan's arrest.
Michael arranges for Ryan's return to the Scranton branch, and temporarily grows a goatee because Ryan was wearing one after he got dismissed and moved into a new place, which Michael apparently helped him do. Disturbed by Michael's mimicry, Ryan shaves it off. When Michael starts his own company in "Dream Team
", he convinces him to leave his job at the bowling alley and join his newly formed paper company. After the buyout of the Michael Scott Paper Co. by Dunder Mifflin, Michael rehires Ryan as a salesman before demoting him back to a temp.
Their relationship soon turns into one of bitter rivalry as Ryan learns that Jim had been discussing with David Wallace, CFO of the company, the downsides to Ryan's new company website. Once Ryan begins feeling overly stressed with the failure of the website, he turns to drugs and drinking and decides to find a way to fire Jim, fearing that Jim is undermining his authority and making him look bad in front of Wallace. He first puts a shocked Jim on "warning" for all of his pranks on Dwight, flirting with Pam, and inadequate sales figures, then pressures Jim to record a huge in-person sale as one made through Dunder Mifflin Infinity. As Ryan tries to fire Jim under false pretenses, Jim begins to develop raw hatred for him, even stating in an interview that all Ryan managed to do in three years was start a fire and grow a beard "and it's not even a good beard". Jim is also shown to be delighted when Ryan was arrested for sales fraud, along with being relieved that his job is now safe from Ryan. After Ryan was released from prison, he returns and immediately apologizes to Jim who accepts his apology, but the two still held each other in relative contempt.
Once Ryan is rehired as a salesmen before being demoted back to a temp at the company, he forms a bond with Pam, slightly softening his bitter relationship with Jim. Things finally improve a little between the two for most of season five, but they deteriorate anew in season six when Ryan does not take Jim's new position as co-manager seriously. Ryan is eventually put in a closet, his new office, by Jim for slacking off and undermining his authority as manager. Ryan then teams up with Dwight to get rid of Jim and the pair celebrate after Jim's demotion back to sales representative, although they do not know Jim accepted the demotion as he could gain more in pay through commission as a salesman rather than a manager. During season 7 the two seem to be having no conflict and are actually seen getting along in a few scenes possibly meaning they have gained each others friendship back.
A subtle running gag in the early seasons of the show, and another hint and the rivalry to come between them, is that Ryan often shows interest in girls Jim is actively dating. During season 2, he asks Jim if he can call his then on/off girlfriend Katy; in season 3 he asks Karen Fillipelli out via e-mail behind Jim's back (which Karen, who politely lied to Ryan about not dating co-workers, promptly tells Jim about); and in season 4, he asks out Pam in front of the entire office, only to be shot down when she reveals to him she is dating Jim, although he handles the rejection with outward maturity.
From there, the two would get into arguments, with Dwight yelling at Ryan during "Beach Games" in which Ryan responds by refusing to continue playing the game with Dwight yelling at him and gives up all together. In season four, Dwight seems to respect Ryan much more after he was promoted to vice president of sales, with Ryan also seeming to tolerate Dwight much more than previous seasons.
Ryan is even happy to see Dwight during "Night Out", although it is revealed he was under the influence of drugs, and they club along with Michael and Ryan's friend, Troy, whom Dwight thinks is a hobbit due to his small stature. The two were rarely seen talking to each other in season five, but decide to team up in season six to get Jim fired from his newly appointed co-manager position. They often argued with each other, but celebrated after Jim got demoted, not realizing Jim gave up his management post because being a salesman under the Sabre policies would hugely benefit Jim financially. The two were last seen agreeing to go out for drinks to celebrate, but then end up arguing over where to go for drinks.
B. J. Novak
Benjamin Joseph Manaly “B. J.” Novak is an American actor, stand-up comedian, screenwriter, and director. He is best known for being a writer and co-executive producer for and playing the role of Ryan Howard on the US version of The Office, as well as appearing in Inglourious Basterds...
, is a fictional character
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
on the US television sitcom
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
The Office. He is based upon Ricky Howard from the original version of The Office
The Office (UK TV series)
The Office is a British sitcom television series that was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the programme is about the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough branch of the fictitious...
(and Neil Godwin
Neil Godwin
Neil Godwin is a fictional character in the BBC sitcom, The Office, played by Patrick Baladi. Neil first appeared in the second series of the show as the UK Manager of Wernham Hogg, newly promoted from manager of the Swindon branch, thus making him David Brent's new boss...
during season 4), but his role is significantly expanded and he is a main character.
Character profile
Little is known about Ryan's early life, but it is revealed in a deleted scene from "Diversity DayDiversity Day
"Diversity Day" is the second episode of the first season of the American version of The Office. Written by B. J. Novak and directed by Ken Kwapis, it first aired in the United States on March 29, 2005, on NBC. The episode guest stars Office consulting producer Larry Wilmore as Mr...
" that Ryan grew up in Scranton. At the beginning of the series, Ryan Howard is a temporary employee at the Scranton
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, United States. It is the county seat of Lackawanna County and the largest principal city in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Scranton had a population of 76,089 in 2010, according to the U.S...
branch of the fictitious paper distributor Dunder Mifflin who joined the staff in the first episode, earning him the nickname "The Temp".
In early episodes, he is shown to be uncomfortable with his professional relationship with his boss, Michael Scott
Michael Scott (The Office)
Michael Gary Scott is a fictional character on NBC's The Office, portrayed by Steve Carell, and based on David Brent from the original British version. Michael, the central character of the series, was the manager of the Scranton branch of paper and printer distribution company Dunder Mifflin Inc...
. Michael often forces Ryan to carry out menial tasks for him while at the same time, becoming obsessed with Ryan's personal life as well as gaining Ryan's friendship, to the point of buying him an iPod for Christmas, even though the price cap was only 20 dollars.
As the series progresses, Ryan begins to display a great deal of contempt and disdain for both his coworkers and his job. This becomes more apparent when Ryan is promoted in "The Job" to work at Dunder Mifflin's corporate office in New York.
This leads to Ryan becoming an egotistical braggart despite lackluster sales skills. At various times during season 4 coworkers of Ryan's mention their disdain for him. In the season 4 finale "Goodbye, Toby
Goodbye, Toby
"Goodbye, Toby" is the fourth season hour-long finale of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's seventy-first episode overall...
", Ryan is arrested for committing fraud. He is eventually released and required to work community service.
In the season 5 premiere, Ryan returns to the Scranton branch after Michael arranges for him to work Pam's job during her time at art school. However, his malevolent aspirations to climb back to the top of the corporate ladder are revealed in a talking head, when he adds Jim and Kevin to a list of people who "will be sorry" when he returns to the top. He was also called out (implicitly) when Holly Flax
Holly Flax
Hollis "Holly" Partridge Flax is a fictional character from the US television series The Office played by Amy Ryan. She was an original character, and not based on a character from the British version of the show...
said that his fraudulent behavior was the reason the Scranton office needed to undergo ethics counseling.
Ryan was a member of a fraternity in college and holds an MBA
Master of Business Administration
The Master of Business Administration is a :master's degree in business administration, which attracts people from a wide range of academic disciplines. The MBA designation originated in the United States, emerging from the late 19th century as the country industrialized and companies sought out...
from the University of Scranton
University of Scranton
The University of Scranton is a private, co-educational Catholic and Jesuit university, located in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in the northeast region of the state. The school was founded in 1888 by Most Rev. William O'Hara, the first Bishop of Scranton, as St. Thomas College. It was elevated to a...
's Kania School of Management, which he earned during the second and third seasons. His dream is to one day own his own business, which Michael quickly derided as "a terrible idea."
Throughout the series, Ryan changes his persona about every year beginning with the 3rd season. After the first year he's with Dunder Mifflin, he figures out all the ways the company works. When offered job for Corporate in the Season 3 finale, Ryan decides to become more of a high-end person. He grows a beard and gets $200 hair cuts. He seems to be a proficient man, but ends up getting into trouble with becoming a drug addict, drunk, and a person who parties too often. He inevitably commits fraud and is fired from his job.
In Season 5, he returns with blonde highlights and a "work hard, play hard" attitude. He works for Michael at the Michael Scott Paper Company (which is later bought out) and still tries to keep his work ethic and strives to do good.
By Seasons 6-8, he just throws out all his morals and ambitions as he becomes a hipster. He doesn't really care to work, reads poetry and initiates various creative projects. He switches clothing, from wearing fanciful scarves, fake glasses, suspenders, bow ties, trench coats, etc. and tries to create an "unsolvable attitude". He somehow manages to stay at Dunder Mifflin, but his job, now, is unspecified. Many of the staff, most notably Jim and Pam, note Ryan's ineptitude as an employee and that he sponges off his parents by living with them and driving his mom's car. They usually bring this up to him whenever he feels the need to gloat and Ryan dismisses their remarks.
Seasons 1–2
For the first episode, and for much of season 1, Ryan's purpose in the show mirrors that of his British equivalent, Ricky Howard. He is the audience surrogateAudience surrogate
In the study of literature, an audience surrogate is a fictional character with whom the audience can identify, or who expresses the questions and confusion of the audience...
, allowing other characters to introduce themselves to him, and by extension, the viewer.
Over the first two seasons, Ryan's character is a secondary one and he is primarily defined by his dissatisfaction with his job, and his relationships with Michael
Michael Scott (The Office)
Michael Gary Scott is a fictional character on NBC's The Office, portrayed by Steve Carell, and based on David Brent from the original British version. Michael, the central character of the series, was the manager of the Scranton branch of paper and printer distribution company Dunder Mifflin Inc...
and Kelly
Kelly Kapoor
Kelly Rajnigandha Kapoor , is a fictional character from the US television series, The Office. She is played by Mindy Kaling, who is also a writer and producer for the show....
. Underscoring his lack of enthusiasm for working at Dunder Mifflin, Ryan mentions that he could clean out his desk in five seconds and everyone would forget that he ever worked there (including himself). His dissatisfaction manifests itself in his use of sarcasm and general disinterest towards his co-workers, as he remains dissatisfied and unproven with his position. Ryan does not wish to stay at Dunder Mifflin long or even be remembered when he leaves, citing that his ultimate fear is that he will gain a nickname around the office (being "the something guy"). This fear came to pass in the same episode (penned by Novak), when Ryan activated a smoke alarm by accidentally overcooking a cheese pita in the break room, earning him the nickname "The Fire Guy." During Ryan's term as a temporary employee (and even for a few months after his promotion to full-time status), various characters (mainly Dwight) frequently addresses him as "Temp" instead of by his real name; Michael also called him "Temp" occasionally. In later seasons, several characters sarcastically use this term long after Ryan has risen to a more prominent position in the company.
Ryan is often the victim of Michael's antics and bizarre man-crush
Bromance
A bromance is a close but non-sexual relationship between two men, a form of homosocial intimacy.-Etymology:Bromance is a portmanteau of the words bro or brother and romance...
on him, usually resigning to requests without complaint (such as helping Michael clean out his car or making a long car trip to buy yams). Also, by the end of Season 2, Jim facilitates a relationship between Kelly and Ryan, which is very rocky from the start.
Season 3
By the third season opener "Gay Witch HuntGay Witch Hunt
"Gay Witch Hunt" is the third season premiere of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's twenty-ninth episode overall. Written by executive producer and show runner Greg Daniels and directed by Ken Kwapis, the episode first aired in the United States on September 21, 2006...
", Ryan becomes a full-time employee and inherits the job (and desk) vacated by Jim Halpert
Jim Halpert
James Duncan "Jim" Halpert is a fictional character in the United States version of the television sitcom The Office, played by John Krasinski. The character is based on Tim Canterbury from the original version of The Office...
, who transferred to Dunder Mifflin's Stamford
Stamford, Connecticut
Stamford is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the city is 122,643, making it the fourth largest city in the state and the eighth largest city in New England...
branch. Despite the promotion, Michael still treats Ryan as his personal assistant, assigning him menial tasks such as taking inventory of Michael's possessions for his trip to the convention in Philadelphia or organizing paperwork in his office. Upon Jim's return to Scranton after the branch merger, there is a moment of awkwardness when Jim casually sets up at his former desk, only to learn that it now belongs to Ryan—who refuses to give the desk back to Jim, the first hint at a rivalry between the two.
Ryan goes to his first sales call in "Initiation", where he is subjected to a series of tests by Dwight, including being stranded on Dwight's beet farm and sitting in a barn answering questions regarding the company. Dwight later admits to an angry Ryan that he wants to get along with him and be a team, since he and Jim were always at odds. He also points out Ryan's problem, which is that he will not accept that other people can teach him things. Despite his superior education, Ryan is not a good salesman—his first client tells him flat out that he does not like him. A sales call with Stanley in "Traveling Salesmen
Traveling Salesmen (The Office)
"Traveling Salesmen" is the thirteenth episode of the third season of the US version of The Office. It aired January 11, 2007. It was written by Michael Schur, Lee Eisenberg, and Gene Stupnitsky and directed by Greg Daniels. This is the first episode to use an abbreviated title sequence, presumably...
" is also disastrous, and Stanley laughs uproariously at Ryan's stammering ineptitude.
In the last scene of "The Job
The Job (The Office)
"The Job" is the third season finale of the U.S. version of The Office, and the show's 52nd and 53rd episode overall. It aired in the United States on April 19, 2007 on NBC. It is the season's second hour-long episode...
", Ryan receives a call from the New York headquarters, offering him the job previously held by Jan Levenson and making him Michael's immediate superior. After he hangs up, he immediately dumps Kelly.
Season 4
Novak, who also writes for the show, in commenting on the fourth season, said, "we wanted him to dress as obnoxious as possible. As much black as possible.". He also said that it was originally planned for Ryan to have a new goatee, but Greg Daniels vetoed that idea because it would have made Ryan look like "a flat-out chump." This season also, for the first time, includes episodes that exhibit Ryan's social life outside the workplace, such as showing his studio apartment in Manhattan. Over the season, he also becomes increasingly arrogant, condescending and ambitious, speaking almost exclusively in business buzzwordsBuzzword
A buzzword is a term of art, salesmanship, politics, or technical jargon that is used in the media and wider society outside of its originally narrow technical context....
. In "Dunder Mifflin Infinity
Dunder Mifflin Infinity
"Dunder Mifflin Infinity" is the third episode of the fourth season of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's fifty-sixth episode overall. The episode was written by Michael Schur, who also acts in the show, and directed by Craig Zisk...
", Ryan presents his concept of Dunder Mifflin Infinity (a new website) to the Scranton branch, and gives a BlackBerry
BlackBerry
BlackBerry is a line of mobile email and smartphone devices developed and designed by Canadian company Research In Motion since 1999.BlackBerry devices are smartphones, designed to function as personal digital assistants, portable media players, internet browsers, gaming devices, and much more...
to all of the main employees. He is eager to show off his newfound wealth, such as when he tells the camera that his haircut "costs more than these guys would ever guess," before immediately revealing that it cost $200. His occasional brushes with Kelly remain tense.
Later in the season, Ryan's new website is plagued by problems, including child predators and slow sales. The salesmen resist the new site as well, though Ryan addresses their concerns with his idea for Dunder Mifflin Infinity 2.0 (which is still TBA). The later episodes show him becoming more excited and on edge, clearly under the influence of cocaine (in a deleted scene from Night Out, it is revealed that his coworkers supply him with drugs, much to their pleasure). Feeling threatened by Jim Halpert's good relationship with David Wallace, Ryan sets out to get Jim fired.
In "Goodbye, Toby
Goodbye, Toby
"Goodbye, Toby" is the fourth season hour-long finale of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's seventy-first episode overall...
", Ryan is - now typically - curt with Jim, ordering him by telephone to input his sales into the website before abruptly hanging up. However, it is discovered later that Ryan was misleading the company's shareholders by labeling those sales as ones made by both employees and the site, constituting fraud. He even goes so far as to make the staff work through a weekend because of the website. In a YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
video entitled "Whoaa! Check it out!", the Scranton branch watches as Ryan is seen being arrested and escorted out of Dunder Mifflin's New York office by police, much to Michael's dismay and Jim and Kelly's pleasure.
Season 5
In the first episode of Season 5, it is revealed that Ryan has been released with a sentence of community service, and has gotten sober. Michael hires Ryan through the temp agency as the fill-in receptionist while Pam attends art school. He apologizes to Jim for their conflict earlier in the year, and while Jim accepts his apology, he teases him about his community service. Ryan also states that he regretted his misconduct while in New York. In a deleted scene, he receives a call from David Wallace for Michael. Infuriated that Ryan is back at Dunder Mifflin, Wallace abuses Ryan by telephone in front of the staff. This prompts Michael to defend Ryan and save his job, which he does successfully. Ryan later appears in an interview with red eyes; he has presumably been crying.However, Ryan still exhibits the ego issues he developed in the fourth season, including bragging during a meeting about a girl he "hooked up" with while in New York who looked like a Survivor contestant. He also constantly mentions the fact that he was the "youngest V.P. in company history". In a talking head interview, Ryan reveals that he is compiling a list of people that will be sorry when he is back "on top"; Jim and Kevin (who called Ryan "fire-d guy") are immediately added. In a deleted scene, Ryan confesses that he ran his BMW into Kevin's car and damaged a side mirror, but refuses to pay Kevin for the expensive repairs by claiming that "Ryan 1.0" was responsible; Kevin later puts Ryan's pricey sunglasses in the toaster oven and melts them, sarcastically blaming it on "Kevin 1.0".
Ryan moves back to the annex with Kelly soon before Pam is scheduled to return. He starts showing off in front of Kelly by doing push ups, with Kelly seemingly uninterested, until he tried doing a one handed push up and the two start kissing passionately. Ryan tells Kelly to break up with Darryl via text message, fully aware that Darryl might react angrily. However, Darryl responds quickly saying "it's cool", with Kelly overjoyed and Ryan shocked and disappointed, suggesting he was only interested in making Darryl angry and jealous.
In "Frame Toby
Frame Toby
"Frame Toby" is the ninth episode of the fifth season of the television series The Office, and the show's eighty-first episode overall. The episode aired in the United States on November 20, 2008 on NBC....
", Ryan breaks up with Kelly again, saying he is going with friends "from high school...well, from 'a' high school" to Thailand, but convinces her to have sex with him one last time and give him some traveling money first.
Ryan is not seen again (due to Novak filming Inglourious Basterds) until the episode "Dream Team
Dream Team (The Office)
"Dream Team" is the twenty-second episode of the fifth season of the television series The Office, and the 94th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on April 9, 2009. In the episode, Pam and Michael try to keep each other motivated as the two form their new...
" in which he was seen working at a bowling alley until being hired by Michael Scott to work at the Michael Scott Paper Company. His appearance has changed drastically with having a tan from his trip to Thailand (later revealed to be Ft. Lauderdale) and his hair is dyed blonde (but in his words became naturally blonde due to sunlight exposure). Apparently, he has moved back in with, or at least in proximity to, his parents.
Initially, Ryan acted with disinterest and irresponsibility with the new company, choosing rather to spend his time talking on his telephone and surfing the web, which, along with lack of space, caused tension with Pam. However, as time passed, relations between the employees of The Michael Scott Paper Company became more amicable as Ryan's behavior matured. Bonding with Pam and Michael over the company's relative success and through the close quarters, Ryan became more active and involved, such as by making sales and helping plan the company's fiscal future (albeit unsuccessfully). Additionally, his sobriety became apparent, such as when he turned down even a sip of celebratory champagne from Pam.
After the buyout of The Michael Scott Paper Company from Dunder-Mifflin, much to David Wallace's vocal opposition, Ryan is initially rehired as a salesperson, though, as a result of budget problems, is reduced back unto the position of a temporary employee.
He tells Michael that he no longer eats a lunch but five small meals throughout the day. In an interview, he says now that he is a temp again the only thing he can control is his food, implying a sense of resignation from having ended up in the very same boring low-level job he tried so hard to break out of.
Season 6
Ryan's appearance dramatically changes in every episode in Season 6. In the sixth season premiere, "GossipGossip (The Office)
"Gossip" is the sixth season premiere of the American comedy television series The Office, and the 101st overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on September 17, 2009....
", Ryan's appearance has changed back to his more traditional look – black hair and no longer with a noticeable tan. Ryan's only line (outside of a deleted scene in which he is prominently featured) is his shouted advice to Pam and Jim – "Don't vaccinate it" – when they reveal that Pam is pregnant. Also, Ryan seemingly has no rumors spread about him.
In "The Promotion
The Promotion (The Office)
"The Promotion" is the 3rd episode of the sixth season of the U.S. comedy series The Office and the show's 103rd episode overall. It was written and directed by Jennifer Celotta and originally aired in the United States on NBC on October 1, 2009....
" Ryan scams Pam out of a wedding gift; instead of giving her $100 in cash upfront he tricks her into giving him $50 in exchange for letting her in on his college basketball scam, which he says will earn her back $5,000 in a year. As of the beginning of season 6, he is dating Kelly again. The two dance down the aisle together at Jim and Pam's wedding.
In "Double Date
Double Date (The Office)
"Double Date" is the 9th episode of the sixth season of the U.S. comedy series The Office and the show's 109th episode overall. It was written by Charlie Grandy and directed by Seth Gordon...
", Ryan is shown to have begun photography as a hobby, and gets Kelly to pose topless for a piece on "exposure in the workplace" He tries, but fails, to get Erin to do the same. (See Ryan's photography blog, "Thousand and One Words").
In "The Lover
The Lover (The Office)
"The Lover" is the 7th episode of the sixth season of the U.S. comedy series The Office and the show's 107th episode overall. It was written by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky and directed by Lee Eisenberg. It originally aired on October 22, 2009 on NBC....
", Ryan is seen around the office wearing a trilby
Trilby
A trilby hat is a type of fedora. The trilby is viewed as the rich man's favored hat; it is commonly called the "brown trilby" in England and is much seen at the horse races. It is described as a "crumpled" fedora...
. When asked where he got it, he refuses to say. In the episode "Murder
Murder (The Office)
"Murder" is the 10th episode of the sixth season of the U.S. comedy series The Office and the show's 110th episode overall. It was written by Daniel Chun and directed by Greg Daniels...
", he is wearing a gray cardigan, a casual shirt, and glasses. In "Manager and Salesman
Manager and Salesman
"The Manager and the Salesman" is the 16th episode of the sixth season of the U.S. comedy series The Office and the show's 116th episode overall. It was written by Mindy Kaling and directed by Marc Webb...
" he can be seen in a long turquoise scarf.
In "Shareholder Meeting
Shareholder Meeting
"Shareholder Meeting" is the 11th episode of the sixth season of the U.S. comedy series The Office and the show's 111th episode overall. It was written by Justin Spitzer and directed by Charles McDougall, and originally aired in the United States on NBC on November 19, 2009.In this episode, Michael...
", he deflects Jim's instructions and refuses to do any work. He also spreads the rumor that Jim is not as powerful as Michael. Jim then makes an example of him by putting him in the closet behind the kitchen with no windows or internet access. As a result, in "Scott's Tots
Scott's Tots
"Scott's Tots" is the 12th episode of the sixth season of the U.S. comedy series The Office and the show's 112th episode overall. It was written by Gene Stupnitsky & Lee Eisenberg and directed by B. J. Novak, which marks his directorial debut on the network series...
", he tells Dwight he will help him get Jim fired. At the end of "Manager and Salesman
Manager and Salesman
"The Manager and the Salesman" is the 16th episode of the sixth season of the U.S. comedy series The Office and the show's 116th episode overall. It was written by Mindy Kaling and directed by Marc Webb...
" he and Dwight go out and celebrate a job well done in getting Jim demoted to salesman, even though it was Jim who willingly stepped down from his manager position. In "Whistleblower
Whistleblower (The Office)
"Whistleblower" is the 26th episode and season finale of the sixth season of the U.S. comedy series The Office and the show's 126th episode overall...
" Ryan announces a website he's launching called "WUPHF".
Season 7
In "NepotismNepotism (The Office)
"Nepotism" is the seventh season premiere of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's 127th episode overall. Written by Daniel Chun and directed by Jeffrey Blitz, the episode aired on NBC in the United States on September 23, 2010...
", Ryan advertises his website WUPHF in the Lip Dub the Scranton Branch was making. In "Counseling
Counseling (The Office)
"Counseling" is the second episode of the seventh season of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's 128th episode overall. Written by B. J...
", he helps Dwight avenge the shopkeeper who snubbed him at the mall by declaring, "America is one big mall!" In "Andy's Play
Andy's Play
"Andy's Play" is the third episode of the seventh season of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's 129th episode overall. Written by Charlie Grandy and directed by John Stuart Scott, the episode aired on NBC in the United States on October 7, 2010...
", he shows off his iPad
IPad
The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs. Its size and...
to Kelly, when Kelly becomes bored in the play. In "The Sting
The Sting (The Office)
"The Sting" is the fifth episode of the seventh season of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's 131st episode overall. Written by Mindy Kaling and directed by Randall Einhorn, the episode aired on NBC in the United States on October 21, 2010...
", he helps Jim and Dwight spy on Danny. When they try to hatch a plan, Jim tells Ryan he is a "hot new executive" and Ryan tells them he wants to work at Google.
In "Costume Contest
Costume Contest
"Costume Contest" is the sixth episode of the seventh season of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's 132nd episode overall. Written by Justin Spitzer and directed by Dean Holland, the episode aired on NBC in the United States on October 28, 2010...
" he dresses as Justin Bieber
Justin Bieber
Justin Drew Bieber is a Canadian pop/R&B singer, songwriter and actor. Bieber was discovered in 2008 by Scooter Braun, who came across Bieber's videos on YouTube and later became his manager...
in hopes to win the Scranton book of savings worth $15,000 in savings. At the end, when Oscar wins Ryan reveals he voted for him, and Ryan says he is a fan of Ralph Nader.
In "Christening
Christening (The Office)
"Christening" is the seventh episode of the seventh season of the American version of the comedy television series The Office and the show's 133rd episode overall...
" he makes fun of the Youth Group pastor, only for Michael to tell him to shut up.
In "WUPHF.com
WUPHF.com
"WUPHF.com" is the ninth episode of seventh season of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's 135th episode overall. Written by Aaron Shure and directed by Danny Leiner, the episode aired on NBC in the United States on November 18, 2010...
", he tries to get people to invest in his company. When he reveals he will be broke in 9 days, Kelly comes in and tries to invest telling everyone she came up with the name WUPHF, when she wanted to receive a message and then shouting Woof, Woof to Ryan. Then Ryan tells them that he has an offer from the Washington University Public Health Fund, only for Darryl to realize that they are only interested because of the domain name. Ryan tries to weasel more money from Michael, but is caught by surprise when Michael tells all the other investors that while he won't agree to divest their WUPHF holdings (they need Michael's assent because he holds more than 50% of the shares) he does think Ryan is shallow and a bad friend, and Ryan looks horrified when Michael says he has those 9 days and no more time to make things right. At the end of the episode, Ryan tells everybody he has sold WUPHF.com.
Ryan shows more immoral traits in "Garage Sale
Garage Sale (The Office)
"Garage Sale" is the nineteenth episode of the seventh season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's 145th episode overall. The episode was written by Jon Vitti and was directed by series star Steve Carell...
", when he sells jars of his mother's homemade Pesto sauce, and tells the camera that his mother has never wanted to sell her sauce, as she intended it to just be for family. Ryan, however, tricked her into making about a hundred bottles worth (by lying about needing them for a "pesto-party" he was throwing for all his friends), and is now selling the jars for his own profits, as well as plastering pictures of Phyllis and Oscar on the jars without their permission (since Phyllis had that "mom look" he wanted, and he used Oscar's picture on his Mother's homemade jars of Salsa
Salsa (sauce)
Salsa may refer to any type of sauce. In American English, it usually refers to the spicy, often tomato based, hot sauces typical of Mexican and Central American cuisine, particularly those used as dips. In British English, the word typically refers to salsa cruda, which is common in Mexican ,...
). Dwight then cons Ryan into giving him a box worth of the Pesto by trading him Stanley's old photo album (by commenting that only people like James Franco
James Franco
James Edward Franco is an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, author, painter, performance artist and instructor at New York University. He left college in order to pursue acting and started off his career by making guest appearances on television series in the 1990s...
would want something like that sitting on their bookshelf). However, Ryan is also in the group that helps Michael think of a good way to propose to Holly. When Michael does propose to Holly, he has some employees jokingly ask Holly to marry them. He states that Ryan was the only one he was concerned about.
In "Training Day
Training Day (The Office)
"Training Day" is the twentieth episode of the seventh season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's 146th episode overall. Written by Daniel Chun and directed by Paul Lieberstein, the episode aired on April 14, 2011, on NBC...
", Ryan thinks that new manager Deangelo Vickers having a barber come to the office to shave him is "badass" and "hardcore". In "Michael's Last Dundies
Michael's Last Dundies
"Michael's Last Dundies" is the twenty-first episode of the seventh season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's 147th episode overall. Written and directed by Mindy Kaling, the episode aired on April 21, 2011, on NBC. The episode revolves around Michael training his...
", he is shown to be hurt that Danny Cordray broke his streak of winning the "Hottest in the Office" award, although he tries to hide it. Ryan's contribution to the office workers' version of Seasons of Love
Seasons of Love
"Seasons of Love" is a song from the Broadway musical Rent, written and composed by Jonathan Larson. The song starts with an ostinato piano motif, which provides the harmonic framework for the cast to sing "Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes"...
is that Michael helped him get off drugs.
In "Goodbye, Michael
Goodbye, Michael
"Goodbye, Michael" is the twenty-second episode of the seventh season of the American comedy series The Office and the show's 148th episode overall. The episode was written by series developer and executive producer Greg Daniels and was directed by Paul Feig. The episode originally aired on April...
", Michael gives Ryan his St. Pauli Girl beer sign, but only after making sure he isn't prone to seizures. Ryan seems to genuinely appreciate the gift, and he thanks Michael, only for the regional manager to tell him to thank the St. Pauli Girl. In producer's cut of the episode, Ryan has a talking head interview where he claims that Michael has an interesting way of saying words.
In "The Inner Circle
The Inner Circle (The Office)
"The Inner Circle" is the twenty-third episode of the seventh season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's 149th episode overall. The episode originally aired on May 5, 2011, on NBC...
", Ryan lies to Deangelo about his job at the Scranton Branch by strongly implying he's the Customer Service supervisor (Kelly's boss). While Kelly is angry, she goes along with it in exchange for Ryan being a dutiful boyfriend around the clock. However, Kelly soon exposes Ryan as a fraud after reprimanding her severely about her paycheck and making her out as a money grubber in front of Deangelo. However, because Deangelo prefers Ryan over Kelly, he appoints him as her official supervisor (until his accident hours later).
In "Dwight K. Schrute, (Acting) Manager
Dwight K. Schrute, (Acting) Manager
"Dwight K. Schrute, Manager" is the 24th episode of the seventh season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's 150th episode overall. The episode was written by Justin Spitzer and directed by Troy Miller. It originally aired in the United States on May 12, 2011...
", after Dwight accidentally misfires a gun in the office and Toby is filling out the gun violence accident form, the HR rep asks the staff if they felt like this was a terrorist incident. Ryan, who is clearly enjoying Dwight's situation, openly says that he felt terrorized.
In "Search Committee
Search Committee
"Search Committee" is the hour-long finale of the seventh season of the American television comedy series The Office. It is the 151st and 152nd episodes of the series overall and the 25th and 26th episodes of the seventh season. It was written by show runner and executive producer Paul Lieberstein...
", Ryan reveals to the camera that he, like Oscar and Pam, also believes Angela's boyfriend Robert (the State Senator) is gay, because he "liked" Ryan's Facebook photos at 3:00 AM. Later, when Stanley harshly berates Jim for not taking the search for a new manager seriously and informs him that the new boss will probably be his last, Ryan comments in mock seriousness that he believes Stanley will live forever. After Stanley leaves the kitchen, Ryan gives Jim the advice to take a day off from the whole "Jim schtick" and to try caring about something for once. He even addresses him as "James", before closing the door to his office/closet. During a staff debate over who should be hired for the manager position, Ryan states he wants an outsider. While Jim thinks he is referring to the applicants outside of the office, Ryan says he meant an "outsider" as someone who is on the margins of society, and suggests a homeless person. When Pam challenges him to say he truly wants a homeless person as his boss, he asks who her ideal candidate would be, snidely suggesting Rachael Ray
Rachael Ray
Rachael Domenica Ray is an American television personality, businesswoman, celebrity chef and author. She hosts the syndicated talk and lifestyle program Rachael Ray and three Food Network series, 30 Minute Meals, Rachael Ray's Tasty Travels and $40 a Day...
or "the ladies of The View
The View
The View is an American talk show broadcast on the ABC as part of ABC Daytime. Created by Barbara Walters and Bill Geddie, who both also serve as the show's executive producers, the program features a panel of women as co-hosts...
". In a talking-head interview, Ryan laments that he got away with everything while Michael was his boss and it was not good for him. He says he wants guidance and leadership, but does not want the new manager to boss him around. He states he wants the new hire to lead him, but only when he's in the mood "to be led". Ryan also tells Gabe to "take care" when Gabe announces to the office that he's been reassigned to Sabre headquarters in Florida.
Season 8
In "The ListThe List (The Office)
"The List" is the eighth season premiere of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's 153rd episode overall. The episode original aired on NBC in the United States on September 22, 2011. It was written and directed by executive producer B. J. Novak...
", Ryan is on the "Losers" of new CEO Robert California's list.
In "Garden Party
Garden Party (The Office)
"Garden Party" is the fourth episode of the eighth season of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's 156th episode overall. The episode originally aired on NBC in the United States on October 13, 2011. It was written by co-executive producer Justin Spitzer and was directed...
", Ryan makes a toast to "the troops... all the troops... both sides".
Kelly
Ryan has an on-again, off-again relationship with office chatterbox KellyKelly Kapoor
Kelly Rajnigandha Kapoor , is a fictional character from the US television series, The Office. She is played by Mindy Kaling, who is also a writer and producer for the show....
. The relationship has been troubled from the outset, for Ryan desires a very casual relationship, whereas the overbearing Kelly wants to get married and have children as soon as possible. The two "hooked up" on the eve of Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day
Saint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496...
, although Ryan was brusque with her the following day. Things seemed to be starting up between the two again during the office "Casino Night
Casino Night (The Office episode)
"Casino Night" is the second season finale of the American comedy television series The Office, and the twenty-eighth episode overall. Written by Steve Carell, who also acts in the show as Michael Scott, and directed by Ken Kwapis, the episode originally aired in the United States on May 11, 2006...
". Ryan and Kelly are later seen dating in "The Convention
The Convention (The Office episode)
"The Convention" is the second episode of the third season of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's thirtieth episode overall...
". Ryan met Kelly's parents during Diwali, but they were not impressed by his low income, desire to travel and saving up money to buy an Xbox
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, rather than start a family. Ryan has more than once tried unsuccessfully to break up with Kelly, with one of the more notable occurrences after "The Merger" episode, when the Scranton branch absorbs the Stamford branch instead of the other way around, once again putting the two of them back together.
Even though Ryan and Kelly continue to bicker, he is sweet to her in the episode "Safety Training" after he kisses her on the forehead while winning a bet. B.J. Novak has stated that Ryan and Kelly are going strong, well into the third season: "I think Ryan and Kelly is a relationship that everyone has been in. It's a puzzle as to why they're still together, but I think Ryan loves being loved-- even though he won't admit it. He lost Michael's love so he has to take in more love from Kelly."
After accepting a promotion to Corporate by telephone in "The Job", an elated Ryan immediately breaks up with Kelly, telling her "You and I are done," with a smile.
In "Dunder Mifflin Infinity
Dunder Mifflin Infinity
"Dunder Mifflin Infinity" is the third episode of the fourth season of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's fifty-sixth episode overall. The episode was written by Michael Schur, who also acts in the show, and directed by Craig Zisk...
", Kelly tries to rekindle their relationship by feigning pregnancy, a lie which she later reveals.
This only upsets Ryan more and leads to him attempting to have her job outsourced
Outsourcing
Outsourcing is the process of contracting a business function to someone else.-Overview:The term outsourcing is used inconsistently but usually involves the contracting out of a business function - commonly one previously performed in-house - to an external provider...
to India. Ryan is visibly upset in later episodes when Kelly later flirts with and kisses Darryl in front of him. When Ryan is arrested in the Season 4 finale, Kelly says she looks forward to rubbing in his downfall by visiting him in prison.
Ryan and Kelly make amends in "Weight Loss
Weight Loss (The Office)
"Weight Loss" is the fifth season premiere of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's seventy-third episode overall. Written by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, and directed by Paul Feig, the episode first aired as a single 60 minute show in the United States on...
", and Ryan indicates a renewed interest in her. He witnesses Kelly and Darryl kiss, as Kelly looks up to make sure Ryan sees it. In the episode "Employee Transfer
Employee Transfer
"Employee Transfer" is the sixth episode of the fifth season of the television series The Office, and the show's seventy-eighth episode overall...
" Ryan shows interest in Kelly by helping her walk in her heels. In "Business Trip", Ryan and Kelly get back together when he moves back to the annex, though Ryan is uncomfortable again as he only made her breakup with Darryl with the expectation he would react violently, which he did not. In "Frame Toby", Ryan breaks up with her again and leaves the office altogether. Upon his return, the two do not rekindle their relationship, however, they constantly flirt and bicker with each other on Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
. In a deleted scene in "Koi Pond
Koi Pond (The Office)
"Koi Pond" is the 8th episode of the sixth season of the U.S. comedy series The Office and the show's 108th episode overall. It was written by Warren Lieberstein and Halsted Sullivan and directed by Reggie Hudlin. It originally aired on NBC on October 29, 2009.In this episode, Michael and Jim head...
", though, it's implied by Ryan that he and Kelly are once more in a relationship of some sort. Ryan implies that he is still not certain of his relationship with Kelly in the episode "Shareholder Meeting", when he asks Creed if he is "in love with her, or in love with the idea of her", when Creed asks him for relationship advice.
In an interview with Yahoo! TV, that was released before the episode "Business School", B.J. Novak describes Ryan and Kelly as "the worst relationship that all of us have been in." He adds, "The bad news is that that's what a lot of people have actually experienced, something that just doesn't work on any level, and they just keep going for some weird reason." Mindy Kaling (Kelly) adds, "It seems like Ryan has just adjusted to the fact that he is the boyfriend of this crazy girl."
In the season Seven episode "The Search
The Search (The Office)
"The Search" is the fifteenth episode of seventh season of the American comedytelevision series The Office, and the show's 141st episode overall...
" during the cold open Ryan and Kelly announced to the office that they were getting a divorce apparently having married over a week earlier on the spur of the moment neglecting to tell anyone. Originally they asked for no one to take sides claiming it was an amicable break up but realizing that no one cared and getting little reaction to their news Ryan declared that the split was not amicable and demanded that people take sides and also raise their hands to show whose side they were on; no one in the office raised a hand to support either one of them. Shortly after, in the episode PDA, evidence is shown that they may be dating again. Due to him sitting next to her in the meeting and spending the entire episode in the annex where Kelly works and their communication in a deleted scene. However, in more recent episodes, Ryan and Kelly have not been seen sitting together in meetings which might mean they are not dating.
In the the episode "Spooked
Spooked (The Office)
"Spooked" is the fifth episode of the eighth season of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's 157th episode overall. The episode originally aired on NBC in the United States on October 27, 2011. It was written by Carrie Kemper and directed by Randall Einhorn...
", Ryan and Kelly are seen standing next to each other and talking. At the end of the episode, he kisses her on the forehead.
Michael
Michael has a one-sided mancrush on Ryan, which frightens him at times. Ryan was also inconveniently stuck in the position of being personal assistant to Michael, who immediately summons him to all menial tasks, such as picking up a video for Michael at his mother's house and helping him clean out his car, although in the end of the episode "The Job", Ryan becomes Michael's boss. He has on several occasions summoned him to inappropriate tasks, such as in "Ben Franklin", he brings Ryan along to a Sex shopSex shop
A sex shop, erotic shop is a shop that sells products related to adult sexual or erotic entertainment, such as sex toys, lingerie, clothing, pornography, and other related products...
to gather items for Bob Vance's bachelor party, much to his disgust.
In "The Dundies
The Dundies
"The Dundies" is the second season premiere of the American comedy television series The Office—the show's seventh episode overall. Written by Mindy Kaling and directed by Greg Daniels, who is also a producer for the show, the episode originally aired in the United States on September 20, 2005 on...
", Michael gives Ryan the "Hottest in the Office" award, describing him as "someone who really lights up the office" and "someone we all can't keep from checkin' out". After congratulating Ryan for his award, he slaps Ryan's buttocks. Also, in "The Fire" episode, when the office is playing the game "Who would you do" Michael chooses Ryan, making him very uncomfortable, even though it's meant to be a joke.
In the third season, Ryan begins correcting Michael for embarrassing him as evident by "The Convict", when one of Michael's latest seminars involving prison life has Michael referring to Ryan as "da belle of da ball" if he were in prison. In a deleted scene from "Diwali
Diwali (The Office)
"Diwali" is the sixth episode of the third season of the American comedy television series The Office—the show's 34th overall. Written by Mindy Kaling, who also acts in the show as Kelly Kapoor, and directed by Miguel Arteta, the episode first aired on November 2, 2006 on NBC, twelve days after the...
", it is suggest that Michael has begun stalking Ryan, when Carol lists a good amount of information about him (such as the street he lives on). He has a list of excuses he programmed into his cellphone to use if Michael summons him into any of his antics. Along with Stanley Hudson
Stanley Hudson
Stanley James Hudson is a fictional character from the US television series The Office. He is played by Leslie David Baker. Stanley's counterpart in the UK series is Malcolm.-Overview:...
and Phyllis Lapin
Phyllis Lapin
Phyllis Margaret Vance is a fictional character from the US television series The Office. She is played by Phyllis Smith.-Biography:...
, Ryan counsels the new employees from the Stamford
Stamford, Connecticut
Stamford is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the city is 122,643, making it the fourth largest city in the state and the eighth largest city in New England...
branch on how Michael operates as manager of their branch. In "Business School", while upset with Ryan, Michael tells his entire class that everyone thinks that he is a tease. In "The Job
The Job (The Office)
"The Job" is the third season finale of the U.S. version of The Office, and the show's 52nd and 53rd episode overall. It aired in the United States on April 19, 2007 on NBC. It is the season's second hour-long episode...
", Michael comes back from his interview in New York and asks Ryan to get him a cup of coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
, but Ryan firmly says "I don't do that stuff anymore." Michael says it's not for Ryan and later says he's still waiting for his coffee, unaware that Ryan has just become his direct supervisor. In retaliation, Ryan pointedly makes Michael get bottled water for him when Ryan returns to Scranton during "Dunder Mifflin Infinity
Dunder Mifflin Infinity
"Dunder Mifflin Infinity" is the third episode of the fourth season of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's fifty-sixth episode overall. The episode was written by Michael Schur, who also acts in the show, and directed by Craig Zisk...
".
Michael seems to be aware that Ryan isn't very fond of him, though possibly in denial; when Dwight and Michael show up in New York to join Ryan for a night of partying in Night Out
Night Out
"Night Out" is the fifteenth episode of the fourth season of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's sixty-eighth episode overall. The episode was written by Mindy Kaling and directed by Ken Whittingham. It first aired in the United States on April 24, 2008 on NBC...
, Michael is taken aback when Ryan loudly says how happy he is to see them, and points out to Ryan that it's "Michael and Dwight". Later in the episode, Ryan tries to indirectly confide to Michael that he has a drug problem (using his friend's name as the individual in question), but Michael ends up giving Ryan useless advice he learned from watching The Wire
The WIRE
the WIRE is the student-run College radio station at the University of Oklahoma, broadcasting in a freeform format. The WIRE serves the University of Oklahoma and surrounding communities, and is staffed by student DJs. The WIRE broadcasts at 1710 kHz AM in Norman, Oklahoma...
. Michael later is devastated when he learns of Ryan's arrest.
Michael arranges for Ryan's return to the Scranton branch, and temporarily grows a goatee because Ryan was wearing one after he got dismissed and moved into a new place, which Michael apparently helped him do. Disturbed by Michael's mimicry, Ryan shaves it off. When Michael starts his own company in "Dream Team
Dream Team (The Office)
"Dream Team" is the twenty-second episode of the fifth season of the television series The Office, and the 94th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on April 9, 2009. In the episode, Pam and Michael try to keep each other motivated as the two form their new...
", he convinces him to leave his job at the bowling alley and join his newly formed paper company. After the buyout of the Michael Scott Paper Co. by Dunder Mifflin, Michael rehires Ryan as a salesman before demoting him back to a temp.
Jim
Initially, Ryan and Jim got along well in the first three seasons and both seemed to respect each other. However, hints of a future rivalry were shown in "The Merger", where it is revealed to Jim that Ryan took his old job after he transferred to Stamford. Despite this, the two still got along fairly well with little to no annoyance from each other. However, after Ryan was promoted to his Corporate post as a Vice President of Sales for the company, he began behaving self-absorbed and egotistical, causing Jim to lose much respect for him.Their relationship soon turns into one of bitter rivalry as Ryan learns that Jim had been discussing with David Wallace, CFO of the company, the downsides to Ryan's new company website. Once Ryan begins feeling overly stressed with the failure of the website, he turns to drugs and drinking and decides to find a way to fire Jim, fearing that Jim is undermining his authority and making him look bad in front of Wallace. He first puts a shocked Jim on "warning" for all of his pranks on Dwight, flirting with Pam, and inadequate sales figures, then pressures Jim to record a huge in-person sale as one made through Dunder Mifflin Infinity. As Ryan tries to fire Jim under false pretenses, Jim begins to develop raw hatred for him, even stating in an interview that all Ryan managed to do in three years was start a fire and grow a beard "and it's not even a good beard". Jim is also shown to be delighted when Ryan was arrested for sales fraud, along with being relieved that his job is now safe from Ryan. After Ryan was released from prison, he returns and immediately apologizes to Jim who accepts his apology, but the two still held each other in relative contempt.
Once Ryan is rehired as a salesmen before being demoted back to a temp at the company, he forms a bond with Pam, slightly softening his bitter relationship with Jim. Things finally improve a little between the two for most of season five, but they deteriorate anew in season six when Ryan does not take Jim's new position as co-manager seriously. Ryan is eventually put in a closet, his new office, by Jim for slacking off and undermining his authority as manager. Ryan then teams up with Dwight to get rid of Jim and the pair celebrate after Jim's demotion back to sales representative, although they do not know Jim accepted the demotion as he could gain more in pay through commission as a salesman rather than a manager. During season 7 the two seem to be having no conflict and are actually seen getting along in a few scenes possibly meaning they have gained each others friendship back.
A subtle running gag in the early seasons of the show, and another hint and the rivalry to come between them, is that Ryan often shows interest in girls Jim is actively dating. During season 2, he asks Jim if he can call his then on/off girlfriend Katy; in season 3 he asks Karen Fillipelli out via e-mail behind Jim's back (which Karen, who politely lied to Ryan about not dating co-workers, promptly tells Jim about); and in season 4, he asks out Pam in front of the entire office, only to be shot down when she reveals to him she is dating Jim, although he handles the rejection with outward maturity.
Dwight
Much like Jim, Ryan saw Dwight as an extremely odd and annoying person, stating in "The Return" that he will not miss Dwight after Dwight quit temporarily. During "The Initiation", Dwight takes Ryan on a series of bizarre tests to prove himself a worthy salesmen before Ryan embarks on his first sales call, scheduled that same day. This does nothing except infuriate Ryan, who does not understand how the top salesman of the company could act in such a ridiculous manner. Regardless, Dwight tells Ryan he only wants to get along with him, unlike the way he and Jim worked together, and the two bond by throwing eggs at the potential buyer's company building, who refused to accept their offer because they "didn't like Ryan."From there, the two would get into arguments, with Dwight yelling at Ryan during "Beach Games" in which Ryan responds by refusing to continue playing the game with Dwight yelling at him and gives up all together. In season four, Dwight seems to respect Ryan much more after he was promoted to vice president of sales, with Ryan also seeming to tolerate Dwight much more than previous seasons.
Ryan is even happy to see Dwight during "Night Out", although it is revealed he was under the influence of drugs, and they club along with Michael and Ryan's friend, Troy, whom Dwight thinks is a hobbit due to his small stature. The two were rarely seen talking to each other in season five, but decide to team up in season six to get Jim fired from his newly appointed co-manager position. They often argued with each other, but celebrated after Jim got demoted, not realizing Jim gave up his management post because being a salesman under the Sabre policies would hugely benefit Jim financially. The two were last seen agreeing to go out for drinks to celebrate, but then end up arguing over where to go for drinks.