Michael sets up a Booze Cruise for the gang on a cold January night on Lake Wallenpaupack, and makes attendance mandatory (with the excuse that it's a leadership training exercise). Jim brings Katy along as his date, but their relationship is starting to show some cracks. Michael meets his Attention Whore match in the boat's obnoxious Captain Jack (Rob Riggle). Roy makes a surprise announcement.
Air date: January 5, 2006
Tropes
- All Guys Want Cheerleaders: Inverted. Katy was a cheerleader in high school. Jim is unimpressed.
- Analogy Backfire: When Michael invokes Titanic to compare Dunder Mifflin to a cruise ship (to justify the Booze Cruise as a training exercise).Michael: I see the sales department down there. They’re in the engine room, and they are shoveling coal into the furnace, right? I mean, who saw the movie Titanic?Phyllis: Michael, everyone in the engine room drowned.
- Artistic License – Geography: Lake Wallenpaupack is an actual reservoir that's about a 45 minute drive east of Scranton, but in Real Life it would most likely be frozen over in early January.
- Artistic License – Military: Captain Jack mentions having commanded "a PC-1 Cyclone costal patrol boat in Desert Storm." The Cyclone-class was commissioned years after Desert Storm had ended.note This could also be a hint that Captain Jack is lying about his military service to impress clueless civilians, however.
- Attention Whore: Like Michael, Captain Jack is obnoxious and tries to dominate every situation he's in (he notably sabotages several of Michael's attempts to deliver his motivational lecture). Unfortunately, unlike Michael, he is better at it, more charismatic and, as the captain of the boat, is the one who is actually allowed to and supposed to dominate that particular situation.
- Brick Joke: After Michael compares the cruise to Titanic, we cut to Jim addressing the camera:Jim: Michael stands in the front of the boat and says that he's king of the world within the first hour, or I give you my next paycheck.
- After everyone gets on board, Michael does just that, prompting the cameraman to focus on Jim, who checks his watch and confirms.
- Butt-Monkey: Subverted in a deleted scene, where it's revealed that Toby was intentionally late to the cruise.
- Despair Event Horizon: Roy finally deciding on a date for the wedding just as Jim was going to confess his feelings to Pam sends him into a misty-eyed stare for the rest of the trip. He even willingly lets his relationship with Katy falter due to his ambivalence.
- Dumbass Has a Point: The advice Michael gives Jim.Michael: Engaged ain't married. Never, ever, ever give up.
- Foregone Conclusion: Invoked by Jim. Since Michael had already referenced Titanic in the meeting at the beginning, Jim points out that it's a matter of when, not if, Michael does "I'm king of the world!" on the boat.
- Green-Eyed Monster: A rare double case. Captain Jack is likely escalating his efforts as the social life of the party because Michael is unusual in attempting to dominate the social function. Michael's bad decisions are motivated by a desire to be as charismatic as Jack
- Horrible Judge of Character: "I would have never put you two together." ~ Michael Scott, on Pam and Jim, after one and a half seasons of them basically being the two closest friends in the office and having plenty of Everyone Can See It.
- Innocent Bigot: Michael, naturally, during his "sales is like the Titanic engine room" riff.Michael: They’re happy down there in the furnace room. And they’re dirty and grimy and sweaty, and they’re singing their ethnic songs, and… actually, that might be warehouse.Darryl: What?
- Noodle Implements: Before Michael told the staff they were going on the titular cruise, he sent a memo telling them to pack; a swimsuit, a toothbrush, rubber-soled shoes, and a ski mask. Jim assumes he's planning a bank robbery that involves escaping through a sewer. As it turns out, none of those items are actually needed at all.
- Privacy by Distraction: Captain Jack uses this when he finds Dwight too annoying and officious during a simple limbo game: he appoints Dwight to man the fake wheel in the bow of the boat, correctly guessing that Dwight will assume it’s the real wheel.
- Shout-Out:
- Several, to Titanic.
- Captain Jack has obviously gained his nickname from either Captain Jack Sparrow or the Billy Joel song.
- Side Bet: "Michael stands in the front of the boat and says that he's king of the world within the first hour, or I give you my next paycheck."
- Too Dumb to Live: Michael tries to start his presentation by claiming the boat is sinking and using this as a metaphor for sales. This causes someone to jump overboard. Needless to say, Michael is then tied up to a railing for the rest of the voyage.
- Took a Level in Kindness: While we've definitely seen a nicer side to Michael throughout Season 2, it's still been balanced by a lot of selfish, self-obsessed and jerkish behavior which more than justifies the "boss from hell" label. But the scene where he commiserates with Jim about his feelings for Pam and urges him not to give up is probably the moment where it's codified that Michael does have a decent, even romantic side to himself and that he does care about the people he works with beyond just trying to big himself up.
- Wham Episode: Jim works up the courage to talk to Pam about how he feels, but then Roy finally decides on a date for the wedding. He does eventually confess his crush to Michael, who in a surprising bout of wisdom encourages him not to give up.
