Jan takes Dunder-Mufflin to court over her termination, and Michael is put in the middle. Meanwhile, Jim tries to train himself at ping-pong in order to beat Darryl.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Michael ultimately sides with the company, even upon learning he was never seriously considered for the job, because David Wallace called him a nice guy. It also helps that Jan both stole his personal diary and had it entered into evidence, humiliating him, and was then revealed to have officially recommended that he be demoted after they had officially begun dating.
- Blatant Lies: Jim convinces Dwight that he needs to get better at ping-pong to impress a client.
- Jan insists to Michael that she entered his diary into evidence to counteract the vacation photo. Michael lampshades in turn that her bringing it all the way to New York makes it evident she was always going to do so regardless.
- Character Catchphrase: The deposition is momentarily derailed when Michael instinctively says "that's what she said" when asked if he was "under Jan the whole time [he worked as a manager]." Interestingly, Michael is confused too, making this border on a Verbal Tic.
- Comically Missing the Point:
- Michael tells a lawyer joke to Jan's attorney, "What do you call a buttload of lawyers driving off a cliff?" The attorney replies "A good start." and corrects the setup to "a busload of lawyers." Michael brushes this off."Yeah, a bunch of rich lawyers took the bus."
- Also, Michael's ill-advised decision to throw in a "That's what she said" in response to something said by one of the lawyers leads to about a minute of the lawyers all getting into the weeds regarding who "she" is, what exactly was "said" and the potentially grave implications for either side this might have before Jan irritably clarifies that he was just making a joke.
- Michael tells a lawyer joke to Jan's attorney, "What do you call a buttload of lawyers driving off a cliff?" The attorney replies "A good start." and corrects the setup to "a busload of lawyers." Michael brushes this off.
- The Dog Bites Back: After almost an entire episode of being demeaned, downtrodden and humiliated by both sides, it quickly becomes apparent that Michael's testimony is the linchpin the whole case hinges on, meaning both parties then have to try and win him over to their side. He eventually picks Dunder-Mifflin, since unlike Jan he never expected loyalty from them.
- Et Tu, Brute?: Michael starts crying upon reading a performance review from Jan after their relationship became official, in which she recommended that he be demoted back to sales."You expect to get screwed by your company. You don't expect to get screwed by your girlfriend."
- Frivolous Lawsuit: Jan's lawsuit claim is so full of holes that it probably would've failed even if Michael did not choose to side with the company.
- Grew a Spine: Having been abused by Jan since the beginning of their relationship, Michael finally acts against her by siding with the company.
- Hidden Depths:
- Dwight is very skilled at ping-pong, to the point that he can return a serve from Jim without even looking up from his phone. In The Stinger, Dwight and Moses are still playing in the warehouse late at night.
- Michael shows some spine in this episode, and also a more realistic self-assessment of how his employers and girlfriend both truly appreciate him (or, rather, do not) than he otherwise does.
- Kick the Dog: When Toby starts trying to bond with Michael, recounting how he was in a similar situation when his parents divorced, Michael responds by knocking his lunch onto the floor.
- Screw the Money, I Have Rules!: Michael and Jan would have gotten $4 million if the court sided in their favor, but Michael ends up siding with the company over Jan. Though to be fair, as noted under Frivolous Lawsuit it was unlikely to succeed even without this.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: At the end of the episode, Pam challenges Kelly to ping-pong, and they are terrible at it. Rather than watching this, Jim and Darryl decide to go upstairs to play on the table in the conference room.
- Serious Business: Ping-pong, and specifically their respective boyfriends' ability to beat the other's, for both Pam and Kelly. However, it's implied to be a lot less serious for Jim and Darryl themselves; while they do get understandably competitive during the game itself, in terms of the tournament they're really just going along with things to mollify their girlfriends, and demonstrate no particular sense that the game itself has any unusual significance to them beyond being a fun way to waste time.
- Too Much Information: During his deposition, Michael makes mention to "the twins," and when asked who they are, he begins to "delicately" explain that he's referring to Jan's breast augmentation."They hang off milady's chest. They make milk."
- Wimp Fight: A non-combat version. After much conflict over their boyfriend's ping-pong skills, Pam and Kelly finally decide to settle things with a ping-pong match themselves. They're both awful, repeatedly failing to even get the ball to the other side of the table , with their respective boyfriends quickly leaving in embarrassment.
