The two most painful episodes of The Office — season 4, episode 13, “Dinner Party,” and season 6, episode 12, “Scott’s Tots” — also happen to be two of the show’s best and funniest installments. “Dinner Party” sees Michael and Jan hosting Jim, Pam, Andy, and Angela (and later Dwight and his old babysitter) for an excruciatingly uncomfortable dinner party at Michael’s condo. The cringe masterpiece “Scott’s Tots” reveals that Michael promised college tuition to a class of third-graders, and now, they’re all on the verge of graduation and he has to confess that he can’t afford to keep his promise.
There are plenty of moments in The Office that make viewers convulse with cringe, from Michael kissing Oscar to Holly mistakenly calling Kevin intellectually disabled. But the cringe is so strong in “Dinner Party” and “Scott’s Tots” that some fans can’t hack it and even go as far as skipping those episodes on rewatches. It might not be easy to get through “Dinner Party” and “Scott’s Tots,” but it’s worth biting the bullet and making it to the end credits, because they’re two of The Office’s most hilarious episodes — not in spite of the cringe, but because of it.
“Dinner Party” And “Scott’s Tots” Are So Difficult To Sit Through
It’s Like Watching A Horror Movie
“Dinner Party” and “Scott’s Tots” are two of the most difficult Office episodes to sit through, because they create a deep feeling of anxiety in the audience. “Dinner Party” is 100% accurate to the discomfort of being at a party hosted by a toxic, horribly mismatched couple constantly sniping at each other in front of their guests. While the other couples are just trying to have a good time, Jan is constantly undermining everything Michael says and putting him down, pushing him closer and closer to his own breaking point. It’s really realistic, and that’s what makes it so painful.
“Scott’s Tots” is structured like a classic horror movie: from the moment Michael’s college tuition promise is revealed, the episode masterfully builds the dread up to the moment when he has to face the kids and tell the truth. This is similar to the way a movie like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre introduces a threat, then builds to a climax. When Michael sits down in the classroom and gets praise heaped on him by bright-eyed children he’s about to let down, it’s like the climactic dinner with the Leatherface family — all the dread is paid off with unsettling terror.
The Office’s Cringiest Episodes Have One Important Difference
One Is About What Michael Did, The Other Is About What’s Happening To Hi
While “Dinner Party” and “Scott’s Tots” are just as cringeworthy as each other, there’s one key difference in the way they make the audience cringe. In “Scott’s Tots,” the cringe comes from what Michael did; he promised to pay for these kids to go to college, but all he can afford to give them is laptop batteries. In “Dinner Party,” on the other hand, the cringe comes from what’s happening to Michael. He made a huge mistake getting back together with Jan and letting her move in, and the consequences of that mistake are on full display throughout the party.
Perhaps the only thing that makes “Scott’s Tots” bearable is Michael’s intentions. The genius of the premise is that he wanted to do the right thing; it’s just that the way he went about it was so much worse than just doing nothing.
Perhaps the only thing that makes “Scott’s Tots” bearable is Michael’s intentions. The genius of the premise is that he wanted to do the right thing; it’s just that the way he went about it was so much worse than just doing nothing. This is a little more complicated than “Dinner Party,” in which Michael simply wants to throw a great party for his friends and his absurdly toxic live-in girlfriend gets in the way of the fun every step of the way. They’re both agonizingly cringeworthy, but for totally different reasons.
The Office’s Cringe Humor Gave The US Remake Its Own Identity
The American Office’s Cringe Humor Is Totally Different Than The UK Original’s Cringe Humor
The original UK version of The Office had even more cringe comedy than its American remake. From David Brent’s impromptu dance for Comic Relief to Gareth propositioning Tim’s girlfriend in front of him, the British version of The Office is jam-packed with painfully cringeworthy moments. But it had its own brand of cringe humor, and the American remake developed a cringe style of its own.
The episodes of the UK original were usually built on a mundane premise like a pub quiz or a staff training day, and the cringe was layered on top of that. It never based an entire episode around a horrifyingly cringeworthy setup like David promising university tuition he couldn’t afford to a group of ambitious children. Episodes like “Dinner Party” and “Scott’s Tots” gave the U.S. remake of The Office its own cringe comedy voice.
