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The Officehad perfected the art of cringeworthy moments that made us want to claw our eyes out at some point or the other. However, if there’s one episode that takes the cake in this department, it has to be Season 06, Episode 12,Scott’s Tots.Shudders. Directed by B.J. Novak, aka Michael Scott’s favorite employee, the episode is really, really difficult to finish and in the best way possible.
Ten years ago, Michael Scott being Michael Scott, had promised the entire third grade that he would pay their entire college tuition if they completed high school. A decade later, he returned to the school to reveal that he was in no position to pay such a large amount. The episode’s director had something to say about it all.
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“Hey, Mr. Scott, whatcha going to do? Make our dreams come true.”Well, the kids sure were in for a ride.Steve Carell’s Michael walked into the high school only to find a reading room dedicated to his name.
When he entered a classroom full of kids wearing “Scott’s Tots” T-shirts and welcoming him with a song, Michael looked absolutely horrified and so were we. It was an uncomfortable episode, to say the least.
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B.J. Novak, who plays the role of Ryan Howard inThe Office,sat down on theOffice Ladiespodcast where they discussed the episode that made us want to bite our nails off. Right off the bat, Novak joked,“Just so we get clear, did you bring me on to answer for ‘Scott’s Tots’? To apologize?”
He revealed that when he was assigned the script, he absolutely loved the story but did not realize just how far from real life it was.
You know, I was assigned the script, loved it, and it was only much later…I think it’s a sign of how deep into the show I was, or we all were, that we did not have a foot in the real world.
Clearly not. But hey, that’s what makesThe Office, The Office.The sitcom shows some seriously unrealistic scenarios that most probably won’t happen in real life and that’s why we absolutely adore it. What’s a few cringeworthy moments, right?
The episode was on-brand with Michael Scott’s character
In Michael’s words,“I’ve made some empty promises in my life, but hands down, that was the most generous.”Now, Michael doesn’t have an evil bone in his body. However, he is sometimes so ignorant and so aloof that he ends up doing things he shouldn’t have done. His heart, at least, was in the right place. Right? Right…?
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No matter how uncomfortableScott’s Totsmay have been, we cannot deny the fact that it perfectly described Michael as a person.
Novak said,
Not that that was an unrealistic episode…that’s exactly what Michael would do. That’s exactly what Michael would feel. I also think that we can talk about it creatively. It makes a lot of sense to me. I don’t know if people are responding to — it seems like no one’s responding to it saying, ‘It’s a bad episode’ or ‘Michael wouldn’t do that.’ It’s more just like, ‘It’s so hard to watch.’ So it is consistent, I think, with the show.
Novak continued that the British version of the show usually had darker themes andScott’s Totswas an episode that followed the OG show’s pattern. However, he admits that the US iteration wasn’t usually that intense.
The British [version] had ended dark every time, more or less, and we had been ending dark every time, more or less. And so I guess ‘Scott’s Tots’ was definitely one of those [ones for us]. That is sort of this incredible distillation of why we love Michael so much and why he’s made everyone’s life so impossibly difficult, which is sort of the heart and the comedy of the series. But it’s not usually that intense, you know?
And there you have it –Scott’s Tots,the episode that will forever haunt our dreams in the best way possible. Michael may have made a grave error in judgment but hey, at least it resulted in an absolutely unforgettable episode!
The Officeis available to watch on Peacock Premium.
Mishkaat Khan
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2257
A connoisseur of all things horror, fantasy, and the occasional chick flick, Mishkaat has been penning pieces for FandomWire since 2022. She started off as an intern and has worked her way up to a Senior Writer with over 2000 articles to her name.Outside of entertainment, she has also written well-researched medical content as a freelance writer and has experience in social media management.When not writing, you can find her relaxing with a romance novel and a tall glass of iced coffee in her hand or watching re-runs of ‘Supernatural’ and ‘The Office.’
