4. Dwight Saves The Day
At the end of Season 2, Jim kissed Pam while she was still engaged to Roy. By Season 3, Jim had found a new girlfriend in Karen, and had seemingly moved on. Pam, who was still with Roy wanted a fresh start in their relationship and revealed to Roy her kiss with Jim. Roy didn’t take this easily and promised to kill the man. This is how things stood as Season 3’s The Negotiation opens. The cold open sees everyone packing up to leave for home. Jim and Karen are flirting while Pam watches them with upset eyes. Enter Roy, who shows up looking angry. It’s a tense situation and Roy charges at Jim to attack him. Out of nowhere he’s blasted with pepper spray, and we turn around to find that it’s Dwight, who immediately controls the situation.
You can’t help but root for the guy, especially considering how Jim and Dwight are natural enemies. But now Jim is saved by him. Of course this doesn’t significantly change their relationship, but you can’t help but respect Dwight a little bit more. As Dwight says while fighting back tears (from the pepper spray), “Every day, for eight years, I have brought pepper spray into this office to protect myself and my fellow employees, and every day for eight years people have laughed at me. Well, who’s laughing now?” Unlike the others, this isn’t really a funny cold open, it’s just straight up awesome.
3. “Aaaayyyyyy”
When someone from the phone company comes in to see Michael Scott to talk about a new phone system, Pam tries to stop it from happening since the new systems pretty much does almost all of her tasks as a receptionist. When she tells him that Michael isn’t in, he tries to make an appointment. Realizing that she can’t stall him for any longer, Jim comes in and introduces himself as Michael Scott (in a way that would make Michael proud). Just as he’s about to save the day for Pam, the real Michael Scott walks in and Jim calls him “Jimbo,” to stop him from ruining Jim’s plan, which leaves Michael confused.
Not knowing what to say, Jim just goes “Aaaayyyyyy” with his thumbs up, inviting Michael to join along. Michael does the same, and so does Pam, with Dwight coming in to join the fun. Eventually they drive off the phone guy out of the office, and it’s mission accomplished. It’s pure nonsense, but it worked so brilliantly. Seeing the happiness on Michael’s face as he feels like he’s finally part of something with his employees make it all the more wonderful. It’s a great Michael Scott moment, and a great cold open overall from Season 5’s Blood Drive.
2. Toby Returns
In Season 5’s Frame Toby, the group is gathered in the conference room eating free brownies. When Kelly takes two, claiming that one is for Toby, Michael shrugs it off as a joke and thinks she’s a weirdo, not knowing that Toby is in fact back from Costa Rica. When Jim realizes that Michael doesn’t know, he sends Michael to the annex. It seems fine for a second, but then he turns around to find Toby is back after all. Before he can say anything, Michael is filled with fury and just screams “NO,” spawning this wonderful gif in the process. If you’re like me, Michael’s contempt at Toby and their relationship is one of your favorite parts of the show, and this cold open completely defines that relationship.
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