‘The Office’: The 1 Time Dwight Went Too Far
Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) might have to go in the “most annoying TV characters of all time” bracket, even if there may be an equal half who place him in the cool category. It’s funny how some TV characters can polarize audiences, all depending on the comedic point of view of those who watch. For The Office fans, though, Dwight took things too far more than once.
One of the most egregious acts he ever put into action had original good intentions. Even though many of the things Dwight did in the office would get anyone fired in the real world, the exaggerated events were all done for the sake of TV comedy.
This one outrageous thing he did was recently voted his worst of all. The aftermath made it clear this wasn’t reality.
A few stunts Dwight did should have had him committed
Out of all the stupid stunts that Dwight sometimes did to help him get ahead in his job, a few were done out of a kind heart until things went off the deep end. Nowhere was this seen more acutely than in the classic episode Stress Relief, originally aired in two parts after the 2009 Super Bowl.
Almost every fan cites this one-hour episode as the best The Office episode ever aired, or at least during its creative peak. Dwight was at his most manic at times as well, making everyone watching at home wonder why he didn’t commit to a mental health test.
In the first part of the episode, everyone saw Dwight organize a fire drill so his fellow employees would finally learn how to properly evacuate if a fire occurred. He’d already done this before and the employees never seemed interested in learning proper procedure.
To make it more real this time, Dwight starts a real fire in a trash bucket, leading to chaos and an unintended health mishap with Stanley.
Stanley had a heart attack
Because everyone in the office panicked after Dwight set the fire, stress levels went into the red. Also, he apparently didn’t stop and think of what smoke inhalation would do once it filled the room.
Running around in a panic and breathing smoke ultimately led to overweight Stanley dropping to the floor with a minor heart attack. He could have died right there had it not have been for some quick thinking.
After everything calmed down (and Stanley ultimately survived), Dwight still didn’t lose his job. How many viewers likely pounded on their TV screens begging Michael Scott to can Dwight or get him some therapy?
Because this was The Office, it was more of an example of what Hell looked like in an office setting. No wonder Screen Rant rated this Dwight action his most annoying in series history.
Dwight went even further in going over the edge
Being a two-part episode, the next half of Stress Relief had Dwight doing something even crazier, if warranting being committed to a mental ward. When Michael put together a CPR class, Dwight literally tore the dummy apart to mimic the former being an organ donor. Then Dwight placed the skin of the dummy’s face over his face like a serial killer, freaking out his fellow employees.
Yes, that was super disturbing if also one of the most classic scenes during the show’s run. Even today, memes are used of that shot on social media.
No one in reality would ever get away with doing such a thing without being sent away in a straight jacket, let alone any employee wanting to work around the person again. Somehow, all was forgotten on The Office, making Dwight survive in his job to the end.
At least he did manage to create some close friendships later, giving him some level of humanity. Not enough, however, to land him his own spinoff show…something maybe audiences couldn’t tolerate based on his past behavior.
