When Michael reads an article about China growing as a global power, he decides they must be stopped before they take over the United States. When Oscar contradicts him and is proven wrong, he is taunted by the entire office.
Pam threatens to move Dunder Mifflin to a new building after everyone in the office complains about Dwight's building standards. Meanwhile, Darryl is sick of Andy's annoying text messages.
Tropes
- Badass Boast: Dwight attempts to talk down Pam from moving by claiming that the stress of it will cause her family to break apart, and Cece will turn to stripping. Pam delivers an even more badass retort back:Pam: That’s a sad story. I have another one. We move. The other tenants follow. The bank takes the building, takes your farm, takes your car, and beats the crap out of you. Penniless, you die, and my daughter Cece dances on your grave, fully clothed.
- Break the Haughty: Oscar loves to interject himself into conversations to correct people. However, Michael actually proves him wrong when he tries to do it to him, and this clearly takes a major blow to his ego.
- Butt-Monkey: After Michael proves him wrong on a fact about China's growing population, Oscar becomes this to the office, relishing him finally having his foot put into his mouth and being outsmarted by Michael.
- Dumbass Has a Point: Dwight and Phyllis suggests that America drop a bomb on China to stop their growth; Michael calls them out on what a stupid idea that is despite the fact he brought the subject up in the first place.
- Insane Troll Logic: A lot of Dwight's changes to the building, such as motion-sensor activated lighting to cut down on costs, only supplying half-a-ply toilet paper because of how coddled the modern anus is. When Pam finds out that he's even been watering down the soap, he responds "Why do you even need soap? Are you that bad at going to the bathroom?"
- Sarcasm-Blind: When confronted about how the conditions of the office building affects his work friends, Dwight sarcastically says he would rather see a smile from Kevin than save hundreds on plumbing and electricity. Kevin then smiles at him.
- Smart Ball: Michael actually does some further reading on China to reinforce his lecturing about their growing power, which allows him to correct Oscar when Oscar tries to contradict him on a statement about China's population per land mass. Later, when Oscar invites him to have coffee with him to try to one-up him and reassert intellectual superiority, Michael is able to turn things around by making an inspirational speech that conversation is what keeps people talking and in charge of their own freedoms.
- Throw the Dog a Bone: Dwight initially refuses to budge when Pam tries to stronghold him into giving up his draconian building standards. However, he overhears Pam express her fears to Jim about failing at another goal in her life (being office administrator) and orders his assistant Nate to sneakily hand her a book about building codes, alerting her to the fact that Dwight is breaking the law. He insists that he did it only to let Pam gain the upper hand to take her down later, but as Pam walks to the car beaming away, he can seen grinning at her from in his car.
