Conflict Resolution

Season 2, Episode 21, Aired

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When Michael takes over conflict resolution duties from HR, chaos ensues at Dunder Mifflin.
  • Almost Pointless

    6.0
    "Fair"
    I was so let down with this episode. The only good thing about this episode was the realization that Jim tried to get Pam in trouble. The rest of the storyline was completely dull and depressing. There was almost no humor in this episode and I feel that it is a half hour of my life that I will never get back.
  • conflict resolution

    9.5
    "Superb"
    Like someone else said on here, definitely a turning point for Jim. A really eventful episode of The Office tonight, and led us straight in to the season two finale. The whole office arguing is genius in my opinion. We've got the whole office against each other, just in time for the group picture.

    Michael going through all the conflicts was absolutely hysterical, the show does well with continuity based on many things on this episode. Then after all the hilarity ensues between Dwight and Jim, and whether or not Jim or Dwight will be leaving Scranton. Jim reveals that he made a complaint about Pam about her wedding, which he blamed on Angela.

    Jim admitting it right when they took the picture was another great scene, really captured how unhappy everyone was. Then the final scene was amazing, Jim actually going to New York to apply for another branch. Just an amazing ending which probably left Office fans at the edge of their seats. Great episode.moreless
  • Conflict Resolution in the Office...all I'm going to say...

    9.4
    "Superb"
    This episode is the best of the Second Season, hands down! I mean seriously, we learn many pranks that had happened to Dwight from the mischievous and relatable character Jim, we learn more character developement many storylines and sub-plots that had happened before the Pilot. Funniest episode in the second season, and those who don't agree should watch this episode again and again.
  • "With win-win-win, we all win. Me too."

    9.5
    "Superb"
    Michael does Toby's job in this episode and listens to people complain. He reads complaints aloud and a lot of hidden resentments come out.

    This episode was hilarious. There were many funny moments such as Dwight's "can you imagine if I was deranged?", Dwight's ID photo, Dwight's greivances against Jim, and the group photo at the end.

    There is lots of character development, and by the end, Jim's animosity toward's Pam wedding comes out into the open. Pretty much everything Angela says in this episode is funny too. I don't understand the Michael/Toby relationship, why does he hate him so much? Because he does his work? Because Toby takes away his credit card sometimes?

    HUGE improvement over last week's episode. This is probably one of my favorites - probably tied with "Christmas Party" and "Valentine's Day."moreless
  • Turning point for Jim.

    10
    "Perfect"
    I know that lots of people have called this episode the one that leads up to Casino Night, but it's a good episode in its own right, for a number of reasons. First of all, the Dwight/Jim conflict finally comes to a head, with Jim beginning to realize the foolishness (hilarious as it is) of spending so much of his energy tormenting Dwight. Why does Jim dislike Dwight so much? It seems to be because Dwight is happy with his life, and Jim isn't, and Jim despises the fact that anyone could be satisified working in a paper company for their entire life. We saw in the first season that Jim didn't want to admit that that Dunder-Mifflin would be his career, when he told the camera, "If I advance any higher, this becomes my career. And this is my career, I'm going to have to kill myself."

    Then there's Jim finally admitting to Pam that her upcoming marriage to Roy upsets him. Notice, too, how he only admits that he's the one who made the complaint when Pam is on the verge of un-inviting Angela to her wedding. He doesn't want to see someone wrongfully blamed for something they didn't do. Casino Night was the pinnacle of Season Two, but this episode was the beginning of the turning point for Jim. We saw him making preparations for life in Stamford if and when Pam broke his heart. Without tormenting Dwight and having fun with Pam, Dunder-Mifflin Scranton just wouldn't be bearable for Jim.moreless
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  • TRIVIA (8)

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    • The closeup of Pam's security badge has her name misspelled on it ("Beesley" instead of "Beesly"), both in the printed space and the handwritten signature.

    • Near the end of the episode, Dwight's ID badge seems to finally have been fixed. It is of normal size, and correctly reads Dwight K. Schrute, but you'll notice that nobody bothered to change the box reading "Security Threat" when they re-made the badge.

    • Michael awkwardly refers to the photographer's camera as a "computer camera," needing to be corrected that it's called "digital," even though in "Christmas Party" he made a big deal of using his own digital camera.

    • When Michael goes to help with the Angela/Oscar there is an award on the wall that says MarcChristie, with no spaces, when it should clearly be Marc Christie.

    • Michael comments on the difficulty of getting a good group photograph of 15 people, but the photograph only has 14 people in it.

    • Michael brags about the Adult Cut Plus he got at Fantastic Sam's, though their closet location to Scranton is over 50 miles away in Bethlehem.

    • These are Jim's pranks on Dwight listed in this episode:

      • Replaced all of Dwight's pens and pencils with crayons.
      • Paid everyone in the office $5 to call Dwight "Dwayne" all day.
      • Placed a bloody glove in Dwight's desk drawer and tried to convince him that he committed murder. (Dwight suspected that Jim was the real murderer.)
      • Told Dwight that there was an abandoned child in the women's bathroom. When Dwight went in to save the child he saw Meredith "on the can".
      • Slowly placed a bunch of nickles in Dwight's phone headset over a period of time so that Dwight would get used to increased weight. Today he took them all out so when Dwight lifted the receiver using more force the required, expecting it to be heavier, he hit himself in the head with it.
      • Placed a computer macro on Dwight's computer to type "diapers" instead whenever Dwight tried to type his name.
      • Moved Dwight's desk an inch every time he went to the bathroom, so that at the end of the day it was two feet closer to the door.

    • Oscar complained to Toby in H.R. about Angela's babies-dressed-as-jazz-musicians poster because he found it to be offensive and in bad taste. Toby gave her that poster in episode 210 (Christmas Party). Before he gave it to her, Toby stated that he thinks the poster is creepy.

  • QUOTES (28)

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    • Jim: Dwight tried to kiss me. Michael: What? Jim: And I didn't tell anyone because I'm not really sure how I feel about it. Dwight: That is not true. Redact it. Redact it! Jim: Well, I'm not actually making a formal complaint. I just really think we should talk about it.

    • Michael: Cage matches? Yeah, they work. How could they not work? If they didn't work, everybody would still be in the cage.

    • Michael: Wow! I never thought Dwight would go postal. It's always the person you least expect, and I always thought Dwight would go postal.

    • Michael: (Reading past complaints that Dwight had made about Jim) Every time I typed my name it said "diapers".

    • Michael: (reading one of Dwight's complaints) "By the end of the day, my desk was two feet closer to the photocopier." Jim: (to camera) I moved his desk like, an inch, every time he went to the bathroom. And that's how I spent my entire day.

    • (referring to all the pranks he's pulled on Dwight) Jim: (to camera) These don't sound that funny, one after the other... but he totally deserves it. Honestly.

    • Michael: (reading Dwight's complaint out loud to Jim and Dwight) Everyone has called me Dwayne all day. I think Jim Halpert paid them to... Jim: (to the camera) Ha, ha, yes! Five bucks each and it was totally worth it!

    • Michael: (reading Dwight's complaint out loud for Jim and Dwight) This morning I found a bloody glove in my desk drawer and Jim Halpert tried to convince me I'd committed murder. I think maybe he's the real murderer…

    • Dwight: I never smile if I can help it.... Showing one's teeth is a submission signal in primates. When someone smiles at me, all I see is a chimpanzee begging for its life.

    • Oscar: I'd say if Jesus saw that, he'd freak out! He'd freak out, Toby!

    • Toby: Every Friday at 4, I have a standing appointment with Dwight for him to file a grievance against Jim. I tell him that I'm sending them to a special file in New York. That box is the special file in New York.

    • Michael: And also, Phyllis, Stanley says that you cry too much and that bugs him. Phyllis: Stanley and I are close, too. Stanley: We sit close.

    • Pam: Hey, thanks for ratting me out. Angela: I didn't do it! Pam: I find that hard to believe considering you have problems with every single person in this entire office except Bobblehead Joe.

    • Michael: How about the Phyllis/Angela dispute. Angela: You already did me. Michael: (with Jim mouthing the words to the camera) That's what she said.

    • Creed:(to camera crew) I know exactly what he's talking about. I sprout mung beans on a damp paper towel in my desk drawer, very nutritious but they smell like death.

    • Dwight: I am not a security threat, and my middle name is Kurt, not Fart.

    • Michael: Kevin, you are accused of making sexually suggestive remarks to Angela that make her uncomfortable. Solution: Angela, you are to make sexually suggestive remarks to Kevin that make him uncomfortable. Kevin: I accept your decision.

    • Michael: Hey! Wait. How about a group picture while you're here? Photographer: I can't. I only get reimbursed for the ID photos. Michael: Well, it's a computer camera, right? Photographer: You mean "digital"?

    • Michael: Someone complained that the men's room is whites only. Stanley, you know that's not true. Stanley: I didn't say that. Creed: Then why is there a picture of a white man on the door?

    • Michael: Here is a Kelly complaint. "Ryan never returns my calls." Well, join the club.

    • Pam: I have this kind of big secret about Angela. And I've been really nice to her and I haven't told anyone and...what the hell?

    • Michael: Let's see if we can't just brainstorm and find some creative alternatives that are win-win. Pam: Win. Michael: Yes. Thank you, Pam. How about Angela makes the poster into a t-shirt which Oscar wears. That way he can never see it, and whenever she looks at Oscar she can see it. Win-win-win.

    • Michael: (to Toby) What do you know about conflict resolution? Your answer to everything is get divorced.

    • Michael: This is from Kevin. He says Stanley uses his Miracle Whip without asking. Meredith complains that everyone talks too loud in the morning and the lights are too bright. Creed...Creed is sick of looking at the redhead all day and wants a seat facing the receptionist. Pam: Nice.

    • Oscar: I don't like looking at it. It's creepy and in bad taste and it's just offensive to me. It makes me think of the horrible frigid stage mothers who forced the babies into it. It's kitsch. It's the opposite of art. It destroys art. It destroys souls. This is so much more offensive to me than hardcore porno.

    • Michael: That's a nice tie. Ryan: Thank you. Michael: That is...who makes that? Ryan: Um...I don't... Michael: Do you mind if I wear that for the photo? Ryan: Um...let's um...let's keep our own clothes.

    • Dwight: ID badges are long overdue. Security in this office park is a joke. Last year, I came to work with my spud gun in a duffel bag. I sat at my desk all day with a rifle that shoots potatoes at sixty pounds per square inch. Can you imagine if I was deranged?

    • Jim: (about Pam and Angela's conflict) What does Roy think about everything? Pam: I don't know. I try not to bother him about this kind of stuff. Jim: You mean, like, your thoughts and feelings? Pam: Yeah.

  • NOTES (2)

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    • The French episode title is "La Résolution des Conflits", an exact translation. The Italian title is "Lamentele", meaning "Complaint". The Spanish title is "Conflict Resolution".

    • When Michael goes to get the HR files from Toby, we see a large black and white photo of Toby's daughter Sasha on his desk (who we met in "Take your daughter to work"). In an earlier show, "The Hot Girl," that photo was a brunette girl of the same age, but they've replaced the photo now that we've met a blonde Sasha.

  • ALLUSIONS (1)

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    • In the final shot, Toby puts the box full of Dwight's complaints into a pallet full of boxes and the camera pulls back showing a warehouse full of identical boxes. This scene stylistically mirrors the closing scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark where the Ark of Covenant is put into storage in a warehouse.

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