The Scranton Business Park holds their charity Casino Night in the Dunder Mifflin warehouse. Michael invites both Jan and Carol to the party. Pam and Roy start finalizing their wedding plans, while Jim contemplates a transfer to another branch.
Air Date: May 11, 2006
Tropes
- Aborted Arc: Toby mentions that he got a great thrill out of taking money from Michael and says he may chase that feeling. This was to hint that he would develop a gambling addiction, which is what Kevin would develop next season.
- Anguished Declaration of Love: After bouncing between Cannot Spit It Out and Aborted Declaration of Love for two seasons, Jim, on the verge of accepting a transfer to Stamford, finally comes clean with Pam.Jim: Hey, can I talk to you about something?Pam: (thinking he's still talking about Casino Night) About when you want to give me more of your money?Jim: No, I…Pam: Did you wanna do that now? We can go inside. I’m feeling kind of good tonight.Jim: I was just… I’m in love with you.Pam: What?Jim: I’m really sorry if that’s weird for you to hear, but I needed you to hear it. Probably not good timing, I know that. I just…Pam: What are you doing? What do you expect me to say to that?Jim: I just needed you to know. Once.Pam: Well, I um… I… I can’t.Jim: Yeah.Pam: (very conflicted as she starts to give a tactful rejection) You have no idea…Jim: (heartbroken) Don’t do that.Pam: …what your friendship means to me.Jim: Come on. I don’t wanna do that. I wanna be more than that.Pam: I can’t. I’m really sorry if you misinterpreted things. It’s probably my fault.Jim: Not your fault. I’m sorry I misinterpreted our friendship.
- Big Damn Kiss: The final scene is probably the biggest one of the series.
- Cliffhanger: Season 2 ends with the unresolved questions of: Will Jim accept the transfer to Stamford? And will Pam break off her engagement to Roy?
- Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: Pam appears to be curbing Michael's hamminess by waiting for him to get one practice run out of the way before he actually answers the phone..
- Continuity Nod:
- We get to see Dwight interacting with the bobble head he received for Valentine's Day.
- Kevin had briefly told Pam he was in a band in "Conflict Resolution". Here we learn more about it.
- The Dog Bites Back: When Michael goes all in on the first hand at poker, Toby calls him and wins. He then mentions how good it felt to take money from Michael.
- Dramedy: Jim and Pam's final scenes here are quite poignant and affecting.
- Dude, Not Funny!: According to Michael, there are some subjects that are off-limits.Michael: I hope to someday live in a world where a person can tell a hilarious AIDS joke.
- A Good Name for a Rock Band: Pam has to watch audition tapes for wedding bands. Some of these include Scrantonicity and Til Death Do Us Rock.
- Fridge Horror: In-universe, as well as out of universe. Dwight is wearing the tuxedo of a deceased family member...who was buried in it. After he tells the story of his "family heirloom," Jim and Pam stop and think about this factoid.
- Has a Type: When Carol and Jan are standing side by side, you see that Michael has a type: sleek, blonde, well put-together, etc. They even have almost identical hair styles and outfits.
- Hidden Depths: We learn that Kevin is the leader of a Police cover band called Scrantonicity and he's good at poker. Phyllis still beats him, though.
- Large Ham: Michael's introductory announcement for Casino Night.Michael: WILLKOMMEN, BIENVENUE AND WELCOME TO MONTE CARLO! Dwight? (Dwight turns off the lights) I AM NO LONGER YOUR BOSS. (he pulls out a pair of glowsticks and starts waving them around) LADY FORTUNE IS YOUR BOSS!Stanley: Will Lady Fortune give me a raise?Michael: Shut it, shut it, shut it. WILL LADY FORTUNE BE YOUR MISTRESS? ONLY TIME WILL TELL, MY FRIENDS! LEAVE ALL YOUR PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS ABOUT CASINOS AT THE THE DOOR! OLD FRIENDS! NEW LOVERS! AND THE DISABLED! (cut to wheelchair-bound business park manager Billy Merchant, looking annoyed) WELCOME ALL!
- The Magic Poker Equation: Phyllis wins, despite only playing for fun.
- Malaproper: In discussing how he's donating the money from Casino Night to charity, Michael says "I consider myself a great philanderer." Given that his subplot here involves juggling the affections of two women, not to mention that he most likely views himself as a ladies' man anyway, he's really not wrong.
- Manly Tears: Jim sheds a few. John Krasinski is a great crier.
- Newhart Phonecall: Pam on the phone with her mom in the final scene.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Michael to Toby.Michael: I hate so much about the way that you choose to be.
- The Stinger: In a rare example of an important post-credits scene in a sitcom, Jim finds Pam in the office at the end of the night and kisses her.
- "Stop Having Fun" Guys: In-Universe. Michael sees Toby as this when he says that they will not be having a Boy Scout troop at the event, even though Toby points out that having children at a casino-themed event with gambling and alcohol in their warehouse on a school night is not a good idea.
- Sweet Tooth: Kelly's drink order.Kelly: One seven and seven, eight maraschino cherries, sugar on the rim, blended if you can.
- Tempting Fate: Kevin says he's pretty good at poker because he once won a tournament. He's then beaten by Phyllis.
- Token Black Friend: Subverted. Michael has asked Darryl to help him understand Black culture. Darryl can't help messing with him, by teaching him ridiculous phrases and handshakes.
- Two-Timer Date: After Jan rejects his invitation to be his date for Casino Night, Michael asks Carol Stills, but before she can say yes, Jan calls backs and says she's changed her mind. However, the episode ends up subverting the usual presentation of the trope, since even though Michael plans on bouncing back-and-forth between Carol and Jan, with Dwight running interference to keep Jan away from Carol, Jan sees Michael and Carol together right away when she first walks in.
- Wham Episode: Particularly in the Jim and Pam story arc.
- Wham Line: Jim to Pam.Jim: I'm in love with you...I just needed you to know. Once.
- Who's on First?: Afghanistanis with AIDS.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: Dwight thinks he's found Jim's tell by saying that he coughs every time he has good cards. As it turns out, Jim really is just coughing, and he has no idea why Dwight folds every time he coughs.
