The big day has arrived, in Michael's mind at least. Toby is leaving and he demands the biggest party to celebrate. However, he develops unexpected feelings upon meeting Toby's replacement, Holly.
Tropes
- Birds of a Feather: Our first real clue that Holly might turn out to be a good match for Michael is when, after encountering Michael's hostility towards Toby and HR in general in their first meeting, she not only waves it aside but good-humoredly joins in by sympathetically teasing Toby over what he's "done to" Michael, symbolising that their senses of humor are not a million miles apart (though her treatment of Toby is a lot less cruel than Michael's). Michael, who's been reacting with knee-jerk petulance to the idea of a new HR representative all day, is clearly taken aback and intrigued.
- Brick Joke: Michael sets his watch alarm to go off the moment when Toby leaves. After being talked into giving the watch to Toby, and Toby setting it to Costa Rican time, it still goes off the moment he leaves.
- The Bus Came Back: Jan returns, having impregnated herself at a sperm bank.
- Call-Back: Michael does a random Yoda impression for Holly, just like he did for Ryan (who mistook it for Fozzie Bear) during Ryan's temp days. The difference is Holly enjoys it and returns it.
- The Cover Changes the Meaning: Michael sings at the party Supertramp's "Goodbye Stranger", which is about leaving after a one night stand, simply as a farewell - including a bridge to cheerfuly revel in Toby's departure.
- Didn't Think This Through: As explained by Oscar, Ryan's attempt to pass office sales as website sales to convince upper management the website was working by recording them again also trickled down to the company's financial statements (each sale was being recorded twice, giving the impression that sales were doubled). Since Dunder-Mifflin is a publicly traded company and must share them with the populace, this is viewed as misleading the company's shareholders and counts as fraud.
- The Dog Bites Back: Jim gets two moments like this towards Ryan, who has been kicking him around the last few episodes, in the form of voicemail messages:
- The first is when he calls Ryan and defiantly informs him that, while Ryan might be trying to force him out of Dunder-Mifflin, he's underestimated just how willing to fight for his job Jim is.
- The second, which follows the revelation that Ryan has been arrested for fraud, is a lot more gloating, and revolves around Jim calmly telling Ryan not to worry about the previous message because he clearly has bigger problems on his plate right now.Jim: (smugly) Hey Ryan, it's Jim. You know what? Totally disregard that last voicemail, because you obviously have your hands tied. Good Luck!
- Fourth-Date Marriage: Michael realizes that he has feelings for Holly and immediately tries to jump in with a relationship. Jim, fortunately, encourages him not to do this but to let their friendship slowly cultivate into a relationship.
- Kick the Dog: Subverted. Michael wants to be especially nasty to Toby during his exit interview, but Holly and Pam joining in the meeting makes it very difficult.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Ryan gets arrested for fraud, by trying to pass office sales as website sales.
- Moment Killer: Jim gets ready to propose to Pam, but he is interrupted by Andy proposing to Angela.
- Never Give the Captain a Straight Answer: Kevin insists Michael needs to see something at the grocery store. It's Jan, pregnant.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Michael manages to resist saying "That's what she said" in front of Holly, which Jim notices.
- The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: Creed, ostensibly a quality assurance representative, gives his job title as "Quobbity Ashuance", implying he just memorized the title phonetically and has no idea what it means.
- Put on a Bus: Toby leaves the office and moves to Costa Rica.
- Raging Stiffie: Michael gets a bit too excited when Holly touches his arm- much to their mutual embarrassment. In a talking head immediately after, Michael explains that Jan didn't believe in showing affection, so when a woman touches him he doesn't always know how to react.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Angela quits the party planning committee when Michael starts his impossible demands.
- Shout-Out: Michael says he wants "an anti-gravity machine." He explains he saw a movie where you drink a potion and start flying.
- Tempting Fate: After Phyllis ends up throwing a fantastic party, Angela insists she's never throwing a party again. Then, Phyllis accidentally walks in on her with Dwight...
- Unreliable Expositor: Dwight, hoping for Holly to humiliate herself, tells her that Kevin is mentally disabled and was hired through a special program. Hilarity Ensues as Kevin spends the whole day accidentally supporting this misapprehension.
- Wham Shot: The last scene of the episode is Phyllis walking in on Dwight and Angela having sex in the accounting section of the office.
- What, Exactly, Is His Job?: Creed manages to duck Holly asking this question (by literally running away), because, as he reveals in a talking head, he has forgotten.
- You Are in Command Now: After Angela quits the Party Planning Committee, Phyllis takes her place.
