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Michael, Pam, and Ryan are back at Dunder Mifflin, but things aren't going so smoothly. Michael's showing favoritism to Ryan and Pam, while Dwight, Stanley, Phyllis, and Andy are angry about not getting their old clients back. Things come to a head when Dwight incites a mutiny, and Michael ends up apologizing to everyone. And when that doesn't work, he gives them their clients back. But that means Pam and Ryan can't both go on as sales people. Michael breaks the news to Pam that she didn't get the job…except she totally did, with Ryan being offered his old temp job back. And Michael enjoys fake-firing Pam so much he does it to New Kelly, who takes it pretty well.
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Want more? The full recap starts right below!Kevin is bringing in a giant stock pot full of chili. As we watch him manhandle it into the office with oven mitts on his hands, he excitedly VOs about "Kevin's Famous Chili." He's just gotten to the part about how he spends the whole night before pressing garlic when he loses control of the pot and upends it on the carpet in front of reception. His expression of grief and horror is too abject to laugh at, but when he starts trying to scoop the mess into the pot using everything he can grab off the reception desk and his VO continues, "It's probably the thing I do best," we can just about manage it. Especially when he starts slipping in the puddle. Fortunately we're into the credits before he's into full-on Ann-Margret in Tommy, but it looks like it was going to be a near thing.
People are dressed pretty casually in the bullpen when Pam and Ryan come in carrying a big, homemade paper circle with a question mark on it. From behind it, Michael booms out, "Someone is returninnnng!" He gives himself a long introduction before awkwardly punching his way through and whispering, "It's Michael Scott." Polite applause. "Conference room, five minutes," Michael announces.
In the meeting, Michael starts by welcoming himself and Pam and Ryan back (a slightly smaller amount of even more polite applause), and then giving a shout-out to casual Friday (more sincere applause). Michael wants to do this meeting differently: let the people run it. "What are you doing?" asks Dwight, whose version of "Friday casual" is no tie with his suit and dress shirt. Michael wants people to bring up whatever they might want to say. "People are dressed inappropriately," Angela says. Michael bunts that to Toby. And it becomes clear that Michael's fishing for something else. "Can you give us a hint?" asks Jim, who has almost certainly figured it out by now.
Michael THs about how he's not going to expect everyone to grovel spectacularly. "I just want a tiny, microscopic version of that."
Back in the meeting, Michael's still not getting what he needs, so when New Kelly asks if she still has a job and Michael says it's "not important," people start complaining. And they aren't any happier when they learn that Pam and Ryan will be starting as salesmen, and keeping the clients that they stole from Dunder Mifflin. Obviously the DM faithful object (even Andy!), but Michael holds up the trash can and suggests that if they don't like his rules they can talk to the complaint department. "It's a trash can!" he explains, to anyone who might not get it.