When a fire starts in the office, the gang waits outside. They play "Desert Island" and "Who'd You Do?" Michael attempts to mentor Ryan, who doesn't want to be a "guy" with a "thing" at Dunder Mifflin.
Tropes
- Abhorrent Admirer: Pam looks a little creeped out when Kevin immediately picks her in "Who'd You Do?".
- Book Safe: When Dwight was asked what books he'd choose for "Desert Island", he says he'd bring a hollowed out Physician's Desk Reference with survival gear inside and an unaltered copy of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, in case he gets bored on the island.
- Bottle Episode: The majority of the episode takes place in the Dunder Mifflin parking lot (which is actually the parking lot of the Chandler Valley Center Studios, where the series was shot).
- The Cameo: Amy Adams makes her second appearance as Katy.
- Chick Magnet: The women all pick Jim in "Who'd You Do?", with the sole exception of Pam, whose attraction to Jim is not as superficial as it is for the other women. After some hesitation she picks Oscar, whom most of the other women agree is also a good choice.
- A Day in the Limelight: The first episode to focus on Ryan, establishing his tendency to overestimate his own intelligence. Notable in that Ryan's portrayer B.J. Novak wrote the episode, establishing his tendency to write his own character unflatteringly.
- Derailed for Details: Dwight, during his "Desert Island" book and movie lists. Michael when trying to answer business questions.
- Embarrassing Ringtone: Michael uses Lou Bega's "Mambo No. 5".
- Epic Fail: Ryan, who has been trying to avoid becoming an office gimmick and being called "The X Guy", ends up becoming "The Fire Guy" when it's revealed that he caused the fire due to burning a cheese pita by putting the toaster oven on the wrong setting.
- Dirty Coward: Michael races out of the office and down the stairs the second the fire alarm starts, shoving Jim out of the way in the process.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Dwight becomes extremely jealous of Michael's newfound attention for Ryan, to the point that Jim finds him sulking in his car to "Everybody Hurts" by R.E.M. He even runs into the smokey building to retrieve Michael's phone just to regain his favor, and then proceeds to gloat at Ryan when he finds out Ryan's mistake caused the fire.
- I'm Standing Right Here: When Roy joins the "Who'd You Do?" game.Roy: What’s the name of that tight-ass Christian chick? The blonde?Angela: (disgusted and peeved): My name is Angela.
- If It's You, It's Okay: During "Who'd You Do?" Michael says he would "definitely have sex with Ryan".
- Once Done, Never Forgotten: Ryan starting the fire gets brought up many times throughout the series as well as his nickname: "The Fire Guy".
- Short-Distance Phone Call: After everyone evacuates the building, Michael realizes he left his phone in the office. Dwight quickly volunteers to go get it, so Michael calls his phone from someone else's to make it easier for him to find. Turns out the phone was in Michael’s pocket the whole time.
- Shout-Out: Michael's attempted Yoda impression is mistaken for another Frank Oz character, Fozzie Bear, by Ryan.
- Something Something Leonard Bernstein: When Dwight and Michael are singing "We Didn't Start the Fire", they mumble the lyrics until they get to "Marilyn Monroe". Dwight later sings the whole verse perfectly in a talking head.
- Time to Step Up, Commander: Both Dwight and Jim take charge when Michael panics and runs off; Dwight ensures that everyone has evacuated the office (admittedly, he gets a bit panicky himself but still oversees the evacuation) and Jim keeps everyone calm outside while waiting for the firefighters by distracting everyone with games.
- We Didn't Start the Billy Joel Parodies: "Ryan started the fire!", though it actually zig-zags the trope by just using the original lyrics outside of the title phrase.Ryan started the fire!
It was always burning since world's been turning
