The Meeting

"The Meeting" is the second episode of Season 6 and the show's 102nd episode, overall. It was written by Aaron Shure and directed by Randall Einhorn. It originally aired on September 24, 2009 and was viewed by 7.33 million people.

Cold open
Oscar has been asked by Michael to come into his office, as he is worried about an upcoming routine checkup. Concerned, Oscar moves his chair forward and asks Michael what procedure he is going in for and Michael reveals it's a colonoscopy. Michael then asks Oscar what he will be experiencing in terms of sensation and what he can do to make it more pleasurable for himself and his doctor. Realizing that Michael asked him into his office because he is a homosexual, Oscar leaves the room with a bemused expression.

Synopsis
Jim tries to advance in the company; he talks to David Wallace at the office about making him manager and making Michael director of sales. Michael desperately tries to find out what is happening and is suspicious. First, he asks Pam if she knows anything, however she refuses to tell him. Then he looks to Andy for direction. Andy suggests making a cheese cart with a tablecloth where Michael can hide. Andy brings the cheese cart and Michael into the conference room where David and Jim are meeting.

They finish, and Michael is still left with no information.

Meanwhile, Dwight talks to Toby about Darryl's claim that he fell off a ladder in the warehouse while trying to reach an item and hurt himself. Dwight is suspicious at Darryl's explanation and Toby agrees to help him prove or disprove his theory.

As Dwight and Toby search for information, Pam tries to settle her guest list for her wedding in Niagara Falls. She first asks Kelly who replies she will go if Ryan goes, because without him, "It's kind of a waste." Kelly then rewords her answer and says that she would like Ryan to go so that she can support Jim.

After his meeting with Jim, David Wallace wants to talk with Michael in his office. David Wallace asks Michael what he thinks about Jim, and Michael says that he is a good guy, but not capable of running Dunder Mifflin Scranton. He shows David a negative review in Jim's file and then David reveals Jim's idea to make Michael director of all Northeast sales and to make him branch manager. Then, David leaves and tells Jim to walk him out, and Jim comes back looking angry at Michael.

Dwight and Toby go to Darryl's house and think they see Darryl, without crutches, wearing a football jersey. Toby then calls "him" an asshole and the person turns around, and we see that Toby actually yelled at Darryl's little sister, Gwyneth, who looks very similar to Darryl. In a hurry, Dwight pulls away from the house, and crashes into a garbage can, hurting Toby.

At the office Pam asks Ryan if he is going to their wedding, and tries to get him not to go by saying that it is $75 for the trip. He, however, says he is coming, and a moderately angry Pam checks off Kelly and Ryan as guests that are coming to their wedding.

Jim, realizing that Michael probably worsened his chances, decides to talk to Michael about his conversation, and Michael finally admits that Jim came up. Michael also admits that he showed David his file and decides to call David Wallace, but in doing so, worsens Jim's chances (and his own) and loses Jim's trust. However, David then calls back, saying that the board had a plan to make both Michael and Jim co-managers, and they agree to the plan.

Jim and Michael announce to the office that they are now both co-managers, to Dwight's obvious dismay.

Darryl and his sister come to the office and tell Toby and Dwight that they are making a complaint to corporate. Dwight says that they thought that Darryl's sister was in fact Darryl, and Darryl questions them. Dwight points out the sister's remarkable resemblance to Darryl. Dwight then goes to the warehouse with Toby and realizes that Darryl was lying, that the lift was misused and that Darryl didn't want to tell Toby that. Darryl rebukes that he will tell corporate that Dwight sexually harassed his sister, but Dwight asks, "What judge would ever believe that?"

Both Darryl with his sister and Dwight make complaints to corporate, the paperwork of which is left for Toby to fill out.

In the end, Pam talks to Meredith about coming to the wedding. Meredith says she'll text Pam on the wedding day for directions and that she'll have the fanciest thing, unless there are ribs. Angela and Pam are complaining about Meredith to each other when Pam moves Angela's bag to sit down. This causes Angela to say, "Pam, my bag was there."

Connection to previous episodes

 * David Wallace asks Michael for a rundown of the Buffalo clients. Michael appears to know exactly what he wants. In "Michael Scott Paper Company", Charles Miner asks Jim for a rundown of his clients, and Jim spends the whole day trying to figure out what that is.
 * Michael seems to believe that Jim is attempting to replace him, most likely due to Dwight's previous attempt to do so in "The Coup".
 * The report from Toby about Jim being unprofessional is likely the same report seen in "Did I Stutter?"

Deleted scenes
The Season 6 DVD contains these deleted scenes:
 * Erin brings Michael sticky notes, each with some issue he needs to deal with. Michael complains that he needs a new monitor to hold all of the sticky notes. Ryan comes in with a question about the new accounts.
 * David Wallace asks Michael how he's handling the new responsibilities, and Michael's answers are a little cagey. David tells Michael to let him know if he needs help.
 * In a talking head, Michael says, "If I wanted to be in the business of giving people bad news, I would have become a coroner or an anchorman." He just wants to give them good news.
 * Pam asks Phyllis whether she and Bob are coming to the wedding. Phyllis stalls, and then asks the bullpen who's coming. A few hands are raised, but most are noncommital. She tells Pam, "For now, count me in."
 * Dwight brings Toby to the warehouse. Dwight asks Hide whether he should use a ladder or the lift to get something from the top shelf. Hide says they always use the lift. Toby agrees to continue the investigation.
 * In a talking head interview, Jim says that he doesn't need a yacht, but he does need his kid to eat, "So yes, I definitely need a promotion."
 * Extension of Michael trying to get Pam to tell him what Jim and David are talking about.
 * In a talking head interview, Michael says that he can always tell when someone is lying. All he needs to know is what the person is saying and what the truth is, and from that, he can tell whether they're lying.
 * Extended version of the scene in which Michael watches the meeting between Jim and David from Andy's desk: Michael asks Andy other questions about his clients, but pays no attention to the answer. Angela complains that her work is incomplete because Michael hasn't approved the details of the new Buffalo clients. Michael tells Angela to be quiet because he's trying to figure out what Jim and David are talking about. She says, "They're probably talking about what a terrible job you're doing." Andy suggests using a cheese cart to get Michael into the room, but Michael rejects it as undignified. Michael suggests a caviar cart.
 * Andy uses his experience in France apprenticing for a fromagier to help Michael prepare the cheese cart. Michael is worried what he should say if he is caught. Andy has an idea: "Pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon?"
 * Dwight and Toby stake out Dwight's house.
 * Pam mistakes Darryl's sister for Darryl when trying to get an answer to the RSVP.

Amusing details

 * Michael tells Oscar he's having a colonoscopy. Michael used a colonoscopy as an excuse in "Golden Ticket" to explain why he didn't return David Wallace's earlier phone calls. In that episode, Michael explains what a colonoscopy is by reading a description from the internet. In this episode, Michael believes a colonoscopy is a homosexual act and asks Oscar for advice, including whether he should employ a . At the time this episode aired, the recommended age for one's first colonoscopy was 50 years, assuming no risk factors that would call for earlier testing. Michael is in his mid-40's, so the early test may suggest a family history of colon cancer. (The recommendation was lowered to 45 years of age in 2021.)
 * As Michael describes his cheese cart plan, Andy removes cheese from a sandwich. Presumably, all the cheese on the cart was obtained this way.
 * Stanley and Kevin express visible interest in the cheese cart Michael is hiding in.
 * Andy confesses to Michael that his sales are not optimal, but Michael is too distracted to listen.
 * Michael says he will need to "talk to [his] guy at H&R Block" when offered the promotion. In "Job Fair", he says "H&R Block? Come on. I mean I don't even know what they do."
 * When Jim and David enter the conference room, Michael has his head pressed against his office wall, presumably trying to hear what is happening. He quickly moves away from the wall as he notices the camera pan on him.
 * When Dwight screams in his talking head near the end of the episode, Stanley and Creed are both startled.
 * Michael says that the Scranton branch absorbed all of the Buffalo branch's clients, however several of the other Dunder Mifflin branches are far closer to the Buffalo branch than Scranton. David Wallace may have assigned them to Scranton due to the Dunder Mifflin Scranton's history of being the most profitable branch.
 * Toby and Dwight make the effort to drive to Darryl's house to observe him instead of checking the security tapes first.
 * Michael quietly mutters "That's what she said" after Jim tells Michael he screwed him, to which Jim shakes his head and says, "No." Jim would previously be amused when Michael made his signature joke.

Goofs

 * When Michael interrupts the meeting between Jim and David, the TV is in front of the picture on the conference room wall. Later, when Andy interrupts the same meeting with the cheese cart, the TV is to the far right of the screen (left of the picture on the wall).

Trivia

 * Jim wears his jacket during his interview with David Wallace for the manager position. Throughout his future appearances as co-manager, Jim will likewise wear his jacket while in the office as opposed to just a shirt and tie.

Behind the scenes

 * Darryl's house was filmed at 14152 Emelita St, Van Nuys, CA.

Cultural references

 * Michael refers to himself, Jim, and David Wallace as the , referring to a comedy featuring two of Michael's comic heroes: Steve Martin and Chevy Chase.
 * Dwight refers to "communist Sweden". Sweden is a capitalist country with high taxes to support a wide range of social services (including universal healthcare), which some people consider to be a form of socialism.
 * Darryl calls Toby "T-Man" (a nicknaming pattern consisting of an initial and the suffix Man) and executes a.
 * Dwight mocks Darryl's doctor's note as coming from "Dr. J", the nickname for professional basketball player.
 * Toby adopts the persona of a detective and says "I'll punch you in the mush" (in the mouth), adopting an exaggerated accent.

Main cast

 * Steve Carell as Michael Scott
 * Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute
 * John Krasinski as Jim Halpert
 * Jenna Fischer as Pam Beesly
 * B.J. Novak as Ryan Howard

Supporting cast

 * Ed Helms as Andy Bernard
 * Leslie David Baker as Stanley Hudson
 * Brian Baumgartner as Kevin Malone
 * Creed Bratton as Creed Bratton
 * Kate Flannery as Meredith Palmer
 * Mindy Kaling as Kelly Kapoor
 * Ellie Kemper as Erin Hannon
 * Angela Kinsey as Angela Martin
 * Paul Lieberstein as Toby Flenderson
 * Oscar Nunez as Oscar Martinez
 * Craig Robinson as Darryl Philbin
 * Phyllis Smith as Phyllis Vance

Recurring cast

 * Andy Buckley as David Wallace
 * Hideotoshi Imura as Hidetoshi Hasagawa

Guest cast

 * Jahmilla Jackson as Gwyneth, Darryl's Sister