‘The Office’: The Best Dwight Episodes and Where to Stream Them
Dwight Schrute may be the strangest TV character in the history of the medium. Nevertheless, he managed to create a lot of The Office fans thanks to Rainn Wilson giving him a dose of humanity.
If some episodes with Dwight were more than a little maddening, others showed him having a real heart. Then others also reminded viewers he had the worst competitive streak, with a few downright crazy moments.
Add in his offbeat Amish roots, and things really get interesting. Which episodes of The Office best encapsulate all these oddball traits and situations Dwight had?
Take a look at this Top Four culled over nine years of Dwight evolution.
4. ‘Product Recall’ from Season 3
This was an early episode in the series run, yet the characters were all firmly established by then. Dwight was already noted as being the most hilariously offbeat character on network TV, making the twist of him being impersonated all the funnier.
The outside plot of this episode involves an offensive watermark accidentally printed on official Dunder Mifflin paper. How the staff deals with the repercussions is funny enough. When Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) begins to impersonate Dwight, it becomes a laugh riot.
Out of multiple guffaw-worthy episodes, this one might be the funniest. When Dwight turns around and impersonates Jim, things turn even more uproarious.
Product Recall proves how fast these characters became iconic enough to be impersonated within the same show.
3. ‘Drug Testing’ from Season 2
One season earlier, everyone had a chance to see how Dwight lives on the edge at times. At the same time, he always seemed adamant in making sure the rule of law was always followed.
When Dwight finds out someone in the company smoked a joint, he goes to great lengths to weed them out as “volunteer sheriff deputy”. Unfortunately, Michael Scott (Steve Carell) worries he may be scoped out for once smoking a similar cigarette, hence attempting to deflect during a drug test meeting.
Michael forces Dwight to take a drug test himself, resulting in latter thinking he violated his deputy role. Dwight even steps down as deputy because he thinks he ruined the oath.
Along with some very funny lines, this episode indicates better than any how Dwight obsessively tries to adhere to order. He ends up looking near psychotic at times when doing so.
2. ‘Conflict Resolution’ from Season 2
Airing just one week later after Drug Testing, the example of Dwight going ballistic when pressed too hard is shown here in all comedic glory. It proves that a lot of the best of Dwight seemed to come in Season 2, even if his all-time best did not occur until Season 5.
In Conflict Resolution, Dwight basically blows up from all the complaints sent in about him from Jim. It leads Jim to consider leaving the company after realizing how insane their office culture had turned into.
Of course, Jim and Dwight eventually become more friendly later. Yet, this episode shows office politics taken to the extreme. If everyone thought Dwight acted over the top here, an episode in Season Five is a near classic in demonstrating his orderly OCD.
1. ‘Stress Relief’ in Season 5
According to IMDb, most The Office fans cite Stress Relief as the true peak of the series. Aired in two parts after the Super Bowl on February 1, 2009, it places Dwight in the center of things at a manic level.
In the first half, Dwight is frustrated with the office staff for not following proper fire drill procedures. He sets a deliberate fire in a trash can to make everyone listen, only leading to utter chaos. Even Stanley Hudson (Leslie David Baker) almost dies from a heart attack due to smoke inhalation.
By the second half, Michael Scott sets up CPR classes, leading Dwight to butcher a CPR dummy during the process. The scene of Dwight wearing the face skin of the dummy is one of the most disturbingly hilarious things the series ever attempted.
Nowadays, when seeing memes about Dwight, you can be sure to see that face mask scene more than any other.
