The Office Episode You Should Watch Based On Your Favorite Character

NBC's "The Office" is the show that just keeps on giving. Its robust lineup of main characters continue to entertain the masses from the first moments of the pilot episode ("Is this what you're saying, grasshoppah?") to the final seconds of the finale ("There's a lot of beauty in ordinary things.")

For anyone who likes the show as a whole, it's hard to decide where to dive in each time they sit down to binge some Scranton workplace comedy for the hundred millionth time. One way to shake things up is to think less about "The Office" as a whole and more about the individuals who make the Scranton branch so special.

With that in mind, we've gathered up the most popular characters from the show. From there, we selected a single episode per Dunder Mifflin employee that stands out as appointment viewing for any fan who considers that character their favorite. They're presented below in order, starting with the six characters who appear the most often and then going down from there. Enjoy!

Jim's journey through the Scranton branch is long and complex. He starts as a disinterested salesman, tries to switch branches only to end up back in Scranton, becomes a co-manager, goes back to being a salesman, and eventually splits off to follow his dream of starting his own sports marketing company. And that says nothing about his flirty romance with Pam, which turns into an engagement, wedding, and family.

Choosing an episode that sums up Jim's experience is practically impossible. Instead, we've gone with an emotional moment that summarizes Jim's ultimate trajectory throughout the show. We're talking about the Season 3 finale, "The Job," when Jim heads to New York to interview for a job at the corporate office.

In that process, Mr. Halpert realizes that he's opting for a successful life with Karen, but ultimately that's not what he wants. He knows that his future is back in Scranton with the newly confident Pam Beesly. In the episode, he follows his heart, abandons the interview — and Karen, too — and heads back to Scranton. In the words of Andy much later, his heart is his compass, and it leads him back to Pam.

Stanley Hudson is a peripheral character for the bulk of the show. He's also disinterested in pretty much every single thing that happens around him. But that doesn't stop the big-hearted salesman and his crossword puzzle from playing a big role in plenty of the daily office proceedings.

If there's one episode that defines Stanley to a "t" though, it has to be the Season 3 installment "Initiation." While the focus is on Dwight and Ryan's initiation-soaked first sales call, back at the office, a cart arrives giving out free pretzels. Of all the events in the entire show, it's this topping-covered, gluten-filled freebie that gets Mr. Hudson moving at top speed from his desk down to the lobby.

Throughout the episode, we see him smiling in anticipation and booing at anyone who even appears to be getting in his way. There are few moments in the show that better summarize the slow drudgery, interrupted by little pleasures, that Stanley endures throughout his career at Dunder Mifflin.

Angela and Dwight have one of the craziest romances of the entire show. It starts in the second season and lasts all the way through the finale. This makes it tempting to choose a story about Angela and Dwight as a "best episode" option. But we're going in a different direction this time, and it has to do with Angela's other family. No, not her life with the state senator. Her other, other family. That's right, we're talking about her relationship with her fellow accountants.

In the Season 9 episode "A.A.R.M.," we see a homeless Angela — whose life is falling apart — taken in not by Dwight, but by her then-nemesis, Oscar. By this time, the senator has been a dividing issue between the two accountants for a long while, and the episode shows a touching reconciliation between the two colleagues.

The best part of it all? This is one of actress Angela Kinsey's favorite Angela moments, too. If Angela herself likes it, it's got to make the cut, right?

Phyllis is a quiet character, and yet, she makes her presence felt throughout the show. She knows about Michael, thanks to their past high school experiences together, and she ends up marrying into business royalty via Bob Vance, owner of Vance Refrigeration and head of one of the Five Families of the Scranton business park.

When it comes to Phyllis herself, choosing a favorite episode is easy. It has to be "Phyllis' Wedding." Sure, her nuptial day is plagued by the likes of Michael Scott's insecurities and Dwight's overly-secure wedding crasher protection. Nevertheless, for Phyllis, it has to be one of the greatest days of her life. She gets to have things her way — or is it Pam's way? She does steal all of her ideas after all ... Anyway, Phyllis gets to call the shots, marry her man, and even land a whopping six-week honeymoon to boot. You go girl. The event gives us a little snapshot of the powerhouse woman underneath the unassuming surface, a woman that continues to surface more often as the show proceeds onward from this memorable occasion.

Oscar Martinez has his moments. His ethnic background and sexual orientation create multiple run-ins with his boss, one of which even ends in the infamous Scott-kiss from early Season 3. The man also has a reputation as a know-it-all who attends trivia nights with a passion and lets everyone know when they're wrong (actually...)

When picking a favorite episode, though, we had to go with one that sees him team up with Jim to try to butter up Michael into replacing the office copier. The Season 5 episode "The Surplus" follows the office as it struggles with how to spend a surplus before the end of the day. It starts with a classic scene where Oscar tries to explain what a surplus is to Michael. After struggling with that simple task, the accountant takes on the even greater challenge of convincing Michael to spend the extra money on a new copier — rather than new chairs.

The episode gives us a fun sample of Oscar worked up and in action as he fights for something he loves ... or at least kind of really wants. His ability to compromise in the end and opt for the chairs instead of nothing also shows us a practical and diplomatic side that doesn't show up too often.

Next up, we have Ryan Howard. Ryan is one of the biggest conundrums of the office. He's an unwilling favorite of Michael Scott's, he's a reluctant lover for Kelly, and he's a man with high ambitions — at least, at the beginning of the show.

Yet as the series plays out, Ryan finds himself sucked into Michael's plans over and over again. He also becomes enamored with Kelly in spite of the dysfunction of the relationship (which is largely his own fault.) We also see his professional ambitions crash and burn during both his meteoric rise up the corporate ladder and his failed attempt to launch the WUPHF.com empire.

So what episode do Ryan superfans need to wallow in? We suggest one that barely has Ryan in it at all: the Season 8 entry "Test the Store." Sure, Ryan plays a small on-screen part here. He quickly bails on a presentation that he's created to launch the Saber store, caving in on his ambitions once again. However, when Jim steps in to complete the event, we actually see a really well-made production. It's a great sample of just how high Ryan can fly ... if he could just back up his inspiration with solid real-world actions.

Like several others on this list, it feels impossible trying to choose a single episode for fans of Michael Scott. There are just so many options. However, if we have to choose, there's one that does stand out above the rest — quite literally. The Season 7 episode "Goodbye, Michael" isn't just Michael's great swan song for the show. It's also one of the top all-time most popular episodes of "The Office."

When it comes to fans who specifically can't get enough Michael Scott, the episode addresses a couple of key points. First, it serves as a mini-marathon of all of Michael's relationships as he races to say goodbye to each person in his family of coworkers. Second, it's a wonderful display of just how much Michael's character develops over the course of the show. Gone is the jerk-of-a-boss from the pilot, replaced with a caring, compassionate, and even understanding individual who is genuinely sad to be saying goodbye, even though he's moving on to greater things. The episode is the man's magnum opus, and it's a great way to celebrate one of the best characters that the television gods ever gave us.