After completing a sales call together Jim rushes home when his daughter gets sick, leaving Michael stranded at the gas station. Holly, Dwight, and Erin go to pick him up but Michael has already left and is wandering around Scranton, so they search all over town for him. Meanwhile people put captions on one of Pam’s drawings so she draws another one for a caption contest. Gabe ruins the fun with oppressive rules so the employees find another way to share their ideas.
Tropes
- Acceptable Breaks from Reality: This episode really stretches the Mockumentary conceit quite thin. At no point during the search for Michael does anyone think of having the camera crew at Dunder Mifflin contact the camera crew following Michael. Not only that, whoever was directing the documentary that day knew about Michael going missing, but rather than offer to help, they sent a third camera crew out to follow Dwight, Erin and Holly.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Gabe high-handedly orders the employees not to submit any captions to the contest that insult Sabre or its products. Not only do some of the entries end up doing that anyway, but they quickly devolve into insulting Gabe personally.
- Control Freak: Before Pam's caption contest starts, Gabe begins to enforce rules like no making fun of the Sabre printer scandal (which admittedly makes sense, since they all work for Sabre), but then starts saying that they can't make pop culture references since some people may not get them and that they have to use Sticky Quips instead of the whiteboard.
- "Far Side" Island: Pam's specially-drawn cartoon for the contest is one dog talking to another on a desert island.
- From Bad to Worse: Michael leaves his keys and wallet in Jim's car, so he when attempts to get food for himself without money, it goes badly:
- First, Michael tries to give a taco guy his $45 watch, only for the taco guy to refuse since he doesn't run a pawn shop.
- Later, he manages to eat at a nice Chinese restaurant, intending to dine and dash afterwards, only to have a change of heart, returning to the restaurant and explaining his situation to the staff. However, the maitre'd is upset and hurt that Michael even tried to stiff the restaurant and has Michael take a picture with a sign that reads "THIEF!" as punishment.
- Hidden Depths: The winning caption for the contest ("Is that a palm tree or did Gabe get skinnier? Either way, let's pee on it!") turns out to have been written by Angela.Angela: Please. It was easy once I decided I wanted the dog to piss on Gabe.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Offended when the employees use their captions of Pam's drawings to mock Sabre, Gabe bans them from attacking the company in the formal caption contest. So instead they just come up with captions insulting Gabe.
- They also stick Sabre's Post-It note ripoffs that he tried to shill on his back with insulting messages.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Gabe isn't wholly wrong that employees of a corporation probably shouldn't be insulting the business or its products in the workplace during working hours. Of course, he's a humorless corporate Yes-Man and broaches the subject in the most pompous and officious way possible, and then adds a whole bunch of other rules which are clearly just petty and unreasonable.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Gabe acts like a massive killjoy over the caption contest and forbids any entries mocking or insulting Sabre or its products. So everyone just ends up writing captions that mock and insult Gabe instead.
- Loophole Abuse: The office employees don't want to abide by Gabe's rules for the contest, so instead of writing captions on the drawing, they just instant message the captions to each other.
- Not So Above It All: Even Angela gets in on the caption contest and the others like her entry about the dogs peeing on Gabe.
- "Not So Different" Remark: In another sign of their compatibility, the search team eventually finds Michael by letting Holly take the lead, reasoning that the similarities between them would allow them to follow the same path Michael took.
- Opinion Override: As Kelly tries to convince Ryan they should get remarried, Ryan declares he won't get married to show solidarity with all the gay people who can't. Oscar tells Ryan that he and the rest of the gay community don't care if straight people get married with the current laws but Ryan won't budge.
- Product Placement: One of Gabe's stipulations for the caption contest is that they have to use a new Dunder Mifflin Sabre product called Sticky Quips—literally just Post-It notes shaped like speech balloons. Then he endorses them on Confession Cam.Gabe: Sticky Quips are fun. They are safe. They are handy. I like to use Sticky Quips as regular Post-It notes when I am in a fun mood...(mild laughter)...not every day.
- Reptiles Are Abhorrent: While at a pet store, Michael plays with and gives love advice to the kittens, the puppies, and the birds, but insults a snake in a tank.Michael: You are disgusting. You'll never find love. Yekkk!
- Strange Minds Think Alike: The entire point of the episode. Dwight and Erin gradually realize that Holly thinks and behaves the exact same way as Michael in any given situation, so they can use her to track him down.
- Take a Third Option: Gabe insists that the caption contest must be held using "Sticky Quips" instead of the whiteboard and must not include entries that belittle Sabre or its products. To get around both rules, the employees use neither Sticky Quips nor the whiteboard, but move it to the internal IAM network instead. Furthermore, rather than writing insulting captions about Sabre and its products they eventually just hit on writing insulting captions about Gabe personally.
- Wedding Ring Removal: In the cold open, Kelly and Ryan announce they're getting a divorce, and she takes off her ring and throws it on the floor. Everyone else in the office is utterly confused.Andy: Sorry, when did you get married?Kelly: Ummm, like a week ago, we got really wasted and it just felt right.Andy: And you didn’t invite any of us?Ryan: We are getting divorced, Andy! This is such a raw time!
- Wham Shot: After Holly finds Michael on the rooftop, sealing them as a permanent couple once and for all.Michael: Can I kiss you?Holly: Yeah.Michael: Okay. (they kiss)
- Your Mom: One of the anti-Gabe captions (implied to have been written by Phyllis, of all people)."Gabe’s mom… hmm… Gabe’s mom? Wait. Tall woman? Looks like Gabe? Yeah, I banged her."
