The Boat

"The Boat" is the sixth episode of the ninth season of The Office and is the show's 182nd overall. It was written by Dan Sterling and directed by John Krasinski. It aired on November 8, 2012, and was viewed by 4.83 million people.

In the episode, Andy must man up when his Dad blows all the family money. When Dwight is interviewed on local radio, Jim and the office torture him with bizarre call-ins. Meanwhile, Kevin discovers a secret about Oscar and struggles to keep it, while Oscar's fate hangs in the balance.

Synopsis
Oscar admits to the cameras that he is indeed having an affair with the Senator. He asks that the cameras promise not to tell anyone and that he is trying to work things out. Suddenly Kevin steps out from behind the dumpster, having heard the whole thing. His shock causes him to drop his ice cream.

Andy's family has gone bankrupt. Andy's father, Walter Bernard Sr., blew through all the family's money and ran away to Argentina with a younger woman. Walter Bernard Jr., Andy's younger brother, locked himself in the wine cellar and is now going to rehab in New Mexico. Jim and Pam express their amazement at how calm and competent Andy's handling of the situation is.

Pam receives a call informing her that local radio talk show "Biz Whiz" is looking for any interested Dunder Mifflin Scranton employees that would like to be interviewed. Dwight immediately volunteers as he believes that it could make him famous and deliver more sales.

Andy recruits Darryl, Erin, and Oscar to help him figure out the family's budget. They determine the only way to regain most of their money is to sell the family boat. Andy is reluctant to do this as the boat has become a symbol in the family that represents their pride.

Meanwhile, Oscar realizes that Kevin can barely keep the secret to himself and nearly reveals it to Angela several times. Oscar eventually gets angry with Kevin and turns in false information to Toby that indicates that Kevin is using company money to gamble.

Pam reveals that the radio show called and canceled the interview, but Jim decides to use this for a prank.

Andy is sad about the idea of the boat being sold. He explains to Erin that he has always wanted to steer the boat, but his father would always knock him aside. Erin tells him that now that he is the man of the family, the boat could be his to steer. Andy decides to go with Erin and take the boat on a sunset cruise before it is sold.

Jim, Pam, Nellie, and Darryl all simulate the radio talk show in the conference room while Dwight is in the break room. Nellie plays the radio show host in an American accent while Darryl does theme music. Nellie successfully convinces Dwight to take his shirt and pants off and tricks him into blaming company CEO David Wallace for the "stock failures" that Jim brings up.

Andy arrives at the boat and tries to sail it one more time, but men from the insurance company stop him. Andy convinces them that he will sail the boat down to the buyer himself. While showing Erin around the boat, he discovers a drunk Walter Jr. in the liquor cabinet and asks him if he would like to join his crew.

Oscar feels bad about what he did to Kevin and decides to confess to Toby that the numbers he turned in were false. Toby then confides in Oscar that he was pressured to determine the Scranton Strangler guilty back when he was on trial.

Jim plays a detective on the radio show and convinces Dwight that due to the stock failures facing Dunder Mifflin, David has gone insane and kidnapped a mailman and is holding him hostage inside his house. The plan backfires when Dwight decides to call David and convince him to let the mailman go.

Jim, Pam, Nellie, and Darryl listen as Dwight calls David Wallace and talks to him as though he is insane and tells him to "let the mailman go...". David dismisses his call as nonsense and hangs up much to the relief of the staff. They congratulate Dwight when he comes out of the conference room. Dwight claims the call went exactly as expected.

The Senator comes in and puts a hand on Oscar's shoulder, causing him to get nervous and worry that Kevin will reveal that Oscar and the Senator are having an affair. Instead, Kevin changes the subject to the Senator's upcoming election and Oscar admits he is impressed with Kevin. In a talking head shortly after Kevin reveals that he completely forgot about the affair when the Senator was present and starts laughing hysterically.

Andy and Walter Jr. set sail and leave Erin on the dock. Erin appears disappointed as she really wanted to go along.

With Andy gone, Pete asks if Erin would like to go to Poor Richard's and meet his friends. Erin, disappointed that Andy left her behind, agrees.

Dwight's interview

 * See Biz Whiz: Transcript.

Connections to previous episodes

 * When Oscar admits that he lied to Toby, Toby goes on a tangential rant about the Scranton Strangler, a reference to a minor plot development that had occurred during the show's sixth and seventh seasons.

Amusing details

 * During Dwight's radio interview Kevin is also seen in the break room with no shirt and trousers.
 * When Kevin drops his ice cream after hearing about Oscar and the Senator's affair, he kneels afterward as though he might pick it up.
 * Kevin is eating an ice cream cone in the morning before work while hiding behind a bunch of pallets. Is this something he does regularly? He's still holding his briefcase in his left hand!
 * When Kevin drops his ice cream, there is a refrigerated truck in the background. Is that an ice cream truck? Does it make a special delivery for Kevin every morning? Or maybe that's where the ice cream truck owner parks the truck overnight, and he sells Kevin a morning scoop as a courtesy.
 * The name of Andy's boat is Aspire II, and can be seen as the boat is pulling out of the dock and Andy is saying goodbye to Erin.
 * The man that is supposed to sail the boat to the Bahamas smacks Andy's hand away just as Andy said his dad would.

Trivia

 * The Stanley Hudson "Get Glue" sticker was released alongside the episode.
 * The boat subplot with Andy was to cover actor Ed Helms' filming a movie.

Goofs

 * If you watch closely, you can see Brian Baumgartner push the ice cream off the cone with his thumb.

Cultural references

 * Dwight imitates selling paper as actor Brad Pitt.
 * Dwight claims that the radio is using Gotcha journalism, but they will not be able to "gotch" [sic] him.
 * Kevin starts chanting "", a reference to a popular Olympic chant.

Main cast

 * Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute
 * John Krasinski as Jim Halpert
 * Jenna Fischer as Pam Halpert
 * Ed Helms as Andy Bernard

Supporting cast

 * Catherine Tate as Nellie Bertram
 * Leslie David Baker as Stanley Hudson
 * Brian Baumgartner as Kevin Malone
 * Creed Bratton as Creed Bratton
 * Kate Flannery as Meredith Palmer
 * Ellie Kemper as Erin Hannon
 * Angela Kinsey as Angela Lipton
 * Jake Lacy as Pete Miller
 * Paul Lieberstein as Toby Flenderson
 * Oscar Nunez as Oscar Martinez
 * Craig Robinson as Darryl Philbin
 * Phyllis Smith as Phyllis Vance

Recurring cast

 * Josh Groban as Walter Bernard Jr.
 * Jack Coleman as Robert Lipton
 * Andy Buckley as David Wallace (voice only)