The other day, I was relaxing after dinner and streaming some episodes of The Office. This was one of my favorite shows when it first aired and a lot of the humor still holds up, even now over two decades later. As I watched “Office Olympics” (Season 2, Episode 3), I found myself doing a three-act analysis in my head. (What can I say, I’m a story nerd and even when I’m taking a break I can’t shut off that part of my brain.)
What I realized was that this episode fit the three-act structure to a T, and this surprised me. I’ve done a three-act analysis of a TV show in the past (Murder, She Wrote) but there’s a key difference between that and The Office. Murder, She Wrote is truly episodic. Each installment is a standalone unit, with very few story threads carrying over from one episode to another. Of course, there are recurring characters and details, but if you watched a random episode of the show from the middle or end of the series, you wouldn’t need a lot of explanation to get up to speed.
The Office is different. Most of the episodes do have a main storyline that begins and ends within that twenty-two minute window, but there are also several threads that carry over across multiple episodes. Classic examples of this are the Pam-Jim romance or Jim’s evolving friendship with Dwight. These particular threads span the duration of the entire show, but there are also shorter story arcs that last only a season or a handful of episodes.
This is why it surprised me that even with these larger story arcs in play a single episode can still fit the three-act structure. Today, I’ll share my three-act analysis of “Office Olympics” with you, but first…
Spoiler Alert! This episode aired in October 2005, so I think the statute of limitations for spoilers has long since passed. But just in case, be aware that there will be spoilers. Note also that this episode is from the American version of the show.
Okay, let’s dive into our analysis of The Office (S2E3) “Office Olympics.”
COLD OPEN: The episode kicks off with a short scene before the opening credits. Sometimes these opening gags relate directly to later events in the episode, and sometimes they are completely separate. With this episode, it’s the latter.
In this cold open, regional manager Michael Scott is at the office before dawn and Ryan the temp comes in with a breakfast sandwich. He asks Michael why he needed him to come in early, and it turns out it was just because of the breakfast sandwich. Michael tells Ryan to enjoy having the office all to himself and Ryan replies that he’s going to take a nap in his car. This small interaction underscores how oblivious Michael is to the needs of his employees.
OPENING CREDITS: The credits begin with scenes of Scranton and the Dunder Mifflin building, followed by clips of the main characters at the office set to upbeat music. These clips are interspersed with b-roll footage of various office details like a copy machine, a water cooler, and a calculator. The credits emphasize that while this show might take place in a humdrum office for a paper company, shenanigans will ensue. And, of course, they do.
ACT 1: The employees are stuck filling out expense reports—an activity that’s so boring, Jim keels over and “dies” at his desk. While Dwight is away from his desk, Pam and Jim throw things into his coffee mug. This is the first game that opens the doors to the whole idea of Office Olympics. Meanwhile, Michael needs to leave the office because he’s closing on a condo. While he’s out, the rest of the office needs to finish their expense reports.
The five promises of act 1 play out as follows:
Character: Michael Scott is the protagonist. He is an incompetent boss who thinks far too highly of himself and is clueless about the feelings or wants of his employees. While the show has several key supporting characters and later becomes more of an ensemble cast, in the early seasons, Michael is clearly the main character.
Voice: This show is filmed in a “mockumentary” style, meaning that periodically the characters will break the fourth wall and speak directly to the camera in talking head segments. These interviews often lend context and commentary to whatever happened in the preceding scenes.
World: Dunder Mifflin is a mid-sized paper company. The show takes place mostly in the Scranton branch which includes an office and warehouse.
Problem: In this episode, the problem is that expense reports are boring and no one at the office wants to do them.
Event: Michael has to leave the office in the middle of the day, so everyone else is left to their own devices.
PIVOT POINT 1: Dwight asks Michael whether he can go with him to the condo closing as his representative (external event). After some insistence on Dwight’s part, Michael finally agrees (internal choice). The primary storyline is Michael buying the condo. While there are several scenes that show what’s happening in the office while the boss is away, the important landmark scenes (pivot points, midpoint, climax) all revolve around Michael.
ACT 2: Jim goes to Oscar’s desk to ask a question and sees a scoreboard for a paper football game deskmates Oscar and Kevin like to play. He asks if there are any other games and finds out that Toby (the HR rep) plays a game called Dunderball in the office annex.
Note: The rest of act 2 includes scenes of Jim orchestrating various games interspersed with scenes of Michael at the condo. The scenes are woven together to create the feeling that both storylines are happening at the same time. For this analysis, some of the events from each storyline have been grouped together or rearranged slightly to avoid too many shifts back and forth. Keep in mind that both the condo and office storylines happen simultaneously with quick cuts from one thread to the other. That said, because Michael is the protagonist, the condo storyline is where all the key landmarks occur.
When Michael and Dwight arrive at the condo, Michael talks about what he envisions for his future. He wants this condo to be a home for a family. They meet the real estate broker and the head of the condo association. After Michael puts Dwight down for not understanding property ownership, we learn that Dwight owns a 60-acre beet farm.
It appears Dwight doesn’t think very highly of Michael’s condo purchase choice. When the broker asks Michael if he’s ready to sign, Dwight interrupts with various questions. When Michael shows off the bedroom with cathedral ceilings and cable readiness, Dwight warns him that the neighbors are loud and the walls are thin.
Meanwhile, back at the office, Jim tries to get his office mates to play games. Eventually, he and Pam come up with the idea for the Office Olympics. They have an opening ceremony using a scented candle as the torch and gold, silver, and blue yogurt lids as medals. Some of the members of the office want nothing to do with these shenanigans, while others are all too happy to participate.
SUPPORTING CAST: The Office is all about the supporting cast. While Michael Scott is clearly the protagonist, the humor comes from seeing the supporting characters react to his ridiculous antics. There are several supporting characters, each with their own unique quirks and personalities, but for the purposes of this analysis, here are a few key players:
Dwight: The top salesman in the office with a harsh attitude and a penchant for going overboard when enforcing the rules. He believes he’s second in command, but he has little true authority. He also frequently falls for Jim’s pranks.
Jim: A salesman who is a bit of a slacker, though he can be efficient when he wants to be. He is secretly in love with Pam and enjoys playing pranks on Dwight.
Pam: The receptionist who’s been engaged for three years. She has dreams of doing something artistic with her life. She sees Jim as a close friend and often contributes to the pranks on Dwight.
Angela: An accountant who is very conservative in her dress and opinions. She is also very judgemental and a stickler for following the rules. She does not seem to like Jim or Pam, but she is having a secret affair with Dwight.
Ryan: A temp who has not been working at Dunder Mifflin very long. We learn later that he is in business school and thinks he’s smarter than everybody else. Despite his studies, he’s a terrible salesman and knows very little about the practicalities of business.
MIDPOINT: Michael misunderstands the terms of his mortgage and begins to panic. Dwight continues to find things wrong with the condo. Michael starts to have complaints, like the condo ceilings are too low and there aren’t enough “hot people” in the housing development. He demands a price reduction or he walks. The broker says if he walks away he will lose $7,000.
ACT 2 (CONT’D): Back at the office, Jim and Pam orchestrate more games for the Office Olympics, like Flonkerton or “box of paper snowshoe racing”. Pam tells the camera that when Jim is really into something, he gets very motivated and does a great job. Unfortunately he works at this office so he rarely has reason to get that motivated. The officemates continue with their Office Olympics shenanigans, like competing to see who can hold the most M&Ms in their mouth. (Kevin wins.)
Back at the condo, Michael is sitting with Dwight on the floor of the bedroom, eating fast food. He says he’s glad he signed but it sounds like he’s trying to convince himself that he did the right thing. He tells Dwight that as a reward, he can move into the condo’s third bedroom and pay Michael rent. Right away, we can tell Dwight does not like this idea.
Back at the office, Pam asks Angela if she has a game they could play. Angela replies to say she often plays “Pam Pong” to see how many times Jim gets up from his desk to talk to Pam at reception. Pam is self-conscious about her friendship with Jim being misconstrued so she immediately backs off.
WORST: We can use the WORST acronym to better understand Michael’s motivations, not just in this episode, but across the entire series.
Want: What Michael wants more than anything else is for others to like him. On the surface, it seems like what he really wants is a romantic relationship and eventually a family, but when we look closer, we find that his deep desire to be well-liked, especially by his employees.
Obstacle: Michaels’ primary obstacle to being liked is his own personality. He is narcissistic, inappropriate, and completely oblivious to the feelings, wants, or opinions of others.
Risk: He is willing to do just about anything to be well-liked. In fact, he is so desperate to gain the good opinion of others that he often does things that make people less inclined to like him.
Stakes: He doesn’t have much of a life outside of work, so if his employees don’t like him, he will be all alone.
Transformation: In the course of this episode (and the first two or three seasons) Michael doesn’t change much. As the series evolves, we start to see him evolve from wanting the good opinion of his employees to becoming a better boss, falling in love, and eventually growing into a more confident and happy person. It takes about eight seasons (and Michael leaving the office) for this full transformation to take place.
PIVOT POINT 2: At the condo, Dwight gets on Michael’s nerves (external event) by acting like he will be a terrible tenant. They get into an argument and Michael rescinds his offer (internal choice).
ACT 3: Pam makes a surprise for the Office Olympics closing ceremony: a series of origami paper birds. On the drive back to the office, Dwight continues to bother Michael, who eventually loses his temper. Michael tells Dwight that beets are terrible and he should “grow candy” on his farm instead. Once they arrive back at Dunder Mifflin, Michael goes straight into his office.
CRISIS: The Office Olympics disband and everyone goes back to work. Jim reveals in a talking head interview that he closed two sales at lunch and finished his expense report in five minutes, making this day as productive as any other. Ryan throws away his Office Olympic medal and Pam looks hurt. Jim comes up with one final idea and asks Pam to play along.
CLIMAX: Jim goes to Michael’s office to congratulate him on the condo and invites him out to the main office. He awards Michael a gold medal in the Office Olympics for closing on the condo. Michael is moved. Dwight gets the silver medal and Jim takes bronze.
Ending Type: This is a happy ending. Michael wants nothing else except to have his employees like him and in the end they award him the gold medal (even though he has no idea what that medal even means).
DENOUEMENT: As Michael, Dwight, and Jim stand on paper boxes that serve as a podium, the national anthem plays and Pam’s paper birds “fly” out on a string behind them. Michael asks Jim why they’re playing the national anthem and Jim says because the condo is in America. Michael then asks about the origami birds and Jim deadpans that those are the doves. The scene cuts to the closing credits.
CONCLUSION: Series like The Office can have both individual episodes and longer arcs spanning entire seasons or even the whole series. This means there are multiple layers of the three-act structure in play. There can be a three-act structure for a single episode, but there can also be a three-act structure for an overarching story thread.
Take, for example, the Jim-Pam relationship. Act 1 of their relationship shows them as friends at the office while Pam is engaged to someone else. The first pivot point is when Jim tells Pam about his feelings for her and she turns him down (external event). He then chooses to transfer to the Stamford branch of the company (internal choice).
Act 2 of their story arc begins with them apart in separate branches, but then the Stamford branch closes and Jim (along with a few of his new officemates, including his new girlfriend) move to Scranton. Pam has now ended her engagement and it’s clear she has feelings for Jim. By the end of that season, Jim breaks up with his girlfriend and he and Pam go on a real date. The rest of act 2 is the story of their romance. They get engaged, buy a house, find out they’re having a baby, get married (the midpoint), and then start their family.
The second pivot point occurs fairly late in the series, when Jim begins to feel unhappy with his career and finds out one of his college friends has founded a startup (external event) based on an idea Jim had in college. Even though he and Pam conclude it would not make sense for him to join this startup, he decides to do so anyway without telling Pam (internal choice). What follows is a series of events that put strain on their relationship. Jim has to spend time in Philadelphia and their marriage begins to break down.
Eventually Jim chooses to come back to Dunder Mifflin fulltime to preserve his marriage, but Pam worries that he may resent her because she’s the reason he left the startup. Jim gets the documentary crew to put together a compilation of clips that shows how he feels about her and he gives her a card he had written for her all the way back in act 1 but didn’t have the guts to give her at that time (climax). Eventually, in the series finale, Pam decides to put their house secretly on the market so Jim can take his job back at the startup and their family can move to Austin—where the startup is now located—and start a new life together (denouement).
We see this framework often in book series as well, where each book has an individual arc and then there are longer series arcs across multiple books. Sometimes the landmarks for the individual episodes (or books) might coincide with a series arc landmark. Sometimes the arcs are completely separate. The key is to recognize that there are multiple layers to the story and to consider how the three-act structure applies at each layer. A show like The Office is a great study in how this type of story arc layering can work.
Until next time, keep writing and keep being awesome!
P.S. For more info on Gabriela Pereira, the founder and instigator of DIY MFA, check out her profile page.
