The Office Fans Agree: One Of Kevin And Ryan's Best Moments Was Deleted
Arguments and bickering are a key part of what makes "The Office" so great. Most can relate to having differences with their coworkers, and the NBC sitcom takes those typical workplace annoyances and amplifies them. While the workplace rivalry between Dwight (Rainn Wilson) and Jim (John Krasinski) may take the cake as the favorite in the series, there's something adorable and comical about how Kevin (Brian Baumgartner) and Ryan (B. J. Novak) butt heads.
On the show's fan subreddit, user u/Low-Volume-8358 shared a deleted clip from the series which many viewers think features one of the best Kevin and Ryan interactions. In the clip, Kevin chastises Ryan for damaging his car. The business school graduate says that he's not responsible for the vehicle because it was a mistake committed by "Ryan 1.0." Fans of the series know that Ryan frequently changes his attitude and demeanour as the series goes on. Annoyed by his coworker's lack of responsibility, Kevin toasts Ryan's sunglasses, blaming the "mistake" on his previous iteration, i.e "Kevin 1.0."
"I was really worried Kevin would be too confused by Ryan's logic to retaliate," wrote Reddit user u/ElTrumpo2020, praising the bumbling Scranton worker for trolling the conceited Ryan. "For a guy who was really bad at accounting, he seemed uncharacteristically good at getting back at Ryan when it cost him personally," wrote another fan. With fans in love with the scene, it's surprising that the clip didn't make it into the final show. While it's unclear why "The Office" creatives scrapped the scene, it's possible that it adds too much fuel to a prevailing theory related to Kevin.
Is Kevin playing dumb? Fans think so
This moment is one of the few times when Kevin (Baumgartner) is able to outsmart someone and come across as the winner. Fans of the show think that Kevin just plays dumb, which is why Ryan (Novak) was so blindsided by his sunglasses getting burnt by "Kevin 1.0" "Kevin is secretly smarter than everyone else in the office," shared user u/SpiralDesignn. "He was just playing dumb infront of the camera." This sentiment was echoed by another fan, who said "Kevin just plays dumb to do less work Imo."
Kevin is notorious for being one of the most incompetent characters in "The Office" but his deleted beef with Ryan proves that he's got what it takes to get the job done. Baumgartner has previously suggested that Kevin is actually a genius. "The idea is that once the documentary airs, Kevin Malone becomes the fan favorite," Baumgartner said in a chat with the "Pardon My Take" podcast. He continued by explaining that Kevin plays dumb on camera in the hopes of becoming popular, solely so he can get free drinks, which is something that Baumgartner can relate to in real life. That plot line also never aired, according to Baumgartner. Did "The Office" execs purposefully scrap scenes that imply (or confirm) that Kevin is the smartest out of all them? That will likely remain a mystery.
On the fan side, the bumbling Kevin being not so dumb isn't the most far-fetched fan theory, but it's one that becomes all the more clear when it comes to how "Kevin 2.0" dealt with Ryan.