The Office Fans Still Can't Believe Ryan Wasn't Fired After Committing Fraud

When a show goes on for a long time, like the nine-season run of "The Office," it's bound to make a few decisions that don't quite add up. It may be a beloved sitcom that still gets regular rotations on people's television sets thanks to every episode being up on Peacock, but there are bound to be some storylines that don't add up for fans.

That was the topic of discussion in one Reddit thread kicked off by u/nazaria75, who asked, "What thing in the show irked you? Mine was David making it personal by transferring Holly." No doubt that was one of the worst things that could've happened to Michael Scott (Steve Carell) personally, but there was another plot point that made a lot of sense. 

Redditor u/StPatrick174 brought up an excellent point: "Ryan being able to work at Dunder Mifflin again after committing fraud. Even as a temp agency receptionist that would never happen." Ryan (B.J. Novak) had an intriguing arc on the show, starting as a temp before working his way into upper management at Dunder Mifflin before it all came crashing down, and he found himself pretty much where he started. A lot of other people agreed that someone in his position wouldn't have gotten a second chance like that, even if he got a do-nothing job at Dunder Mifflin after being found guilty of fraud.

Ryan Howard was lucky he didn't go to prison for defrauding shareholders. Instead, he just had to do community service, but it didn't take long for Michael to hire him back through a temp agency as a fill-in receptionist. A lot of fans seem to take umbrage with this fact that Ryan got off pretty easy, despite doing something highly illegal. 

Redditor u/Lady_Ghandi even points out how Ryan gets some comeuppance in a deleted scene, writing, "In one of the extended episodes when Ryan is in the front desk and David Wallace rips him a new one. Wallace ain't happy about the whole situation." It must've been pretty satisfying for fans dismayed to see Ryan's lack of punishment to see him cry after getting a new one torn open. Some viewers even wonder how the government didn't get involved with Ryan's new employment, with u/CommentsOnOccasion saying, "It's entirely likely that as a part of a plea deal for committing fraud you would swear upon the stipulation that you would never work at the place you stole from again."

However, others could see a situation where no one would really mind about Ryan back at Dunder Mifflin because at least he has no power this time around. This is precisely what u/CrabWoodsman points out, "I seriously doubt that the shareholders would care that a former exec took a minor functionary role at a branch after being disgraced. He has authority over no one and works in a closet – they might even think it was funny." Clearly, B.J. Novak doesn't mind being affiliated with a criminal, as he told Insider, "I hope people see me as Ryan for the rest of my life." More than likely, fans will be happy to oblige.