After The Office’s series finale in 2013, the beloved mockumentary-style sitcom has managed to become even more popular since becoming available on streaming services. Amidst all of the memes and inside jokes that fans of the show share, there is some controversy about whether the first season measured up to those that followed and whether the series should have thrown in the towel before it did. Season finales are meant to be cherries on top of series’ seasons and spark excitement for the next season’s premiere. So, what better way to judge The Office’s seasons than by seeing how the various finales rank? This is the ranking of all nine season finales from worst to best.
9. Season 8, “Free Family Portrait Studio”
It’s no secret (nor is it really disputed) that The Office loses a bit of its footing in the later seasons. In spite of the series’ solid attempts at keeping the successful sitcom afloat in a post-Michael Scott (Steve Carell) world, this task often proved too challenging. “Free Family Portrait Studio” checks in amidst all of this. Not only is this definitely the worst season finale; it’s probably the worst episode The Office has to offer. This likely explains what positioned this episode as the last one before the show’s final season.
After Michael Scott’s departure, the series requested that Ed Helms change Andy’s character like a chameleon, drastically and often in an attempt to carry the series. Despite Helms’s commitment, the writing prevented these character changes from making sense or working. This episode is a perfect example of this. It makes an attempt at cringe-humor that falls short of being anywhere near humor and is, instead, very cringe-inducing. And the subplots are almost just as weird and unsatisfying.
8. Season 6, “Whistleblower”
The last season finale with Michael Scott is extremely underwhelming. It has very few memorable jokes, and it feels clear that the writers are beginning to lose sight of the characters’ motives and well-established personalities. Furthermore, there's nothing about this episode that makes it feel important or exciting enough to be a season finale. Still, “Whistleblower” is saved, at least, by still having Michael Scott and not yet delving into actually embarrassing humor territory.
7. Season 7, “Search Committee”
It seems strange that Michael Scott leaves the show (that’s mostly about Michael Scott) mid-season rather than during an emotional season finale. Though, it feels that this was likely to keep fans interested for next season and not left on a cliffhanger that felt like the closure to a series everyone loved. Despite a difficult assignment, “Search Committee” pulls this off fairly well. It has a funny, Creed-centric (Creed Bratton) cold-open and features his enjoyable (albeit short) tenure as regional manager of Dunder Mifflin Scranton. Quick cameos from Ray Romano, Will Arnett, Jim Carrey, and even Warren Buffet help to fill the void that Steve Carell has left behind. It highlights the idea that the show can be headed big places without Michael, and it eases the transition away from him.
6. Season 1, “Hot Girl”
In The Office’s first season, the series has yet to really hit the stride that’s to come. The tone is a bit drier, quieter, and all-around less funny and lovable than is to be expected later on. In that way, this episode feels smaller and less humorous than those to come. Still, Amy Adams’s role as Katy the “hot girl” who comes to the office to sell handbags and thereby distract Michael, Dwight (Rainn Wilson), Kevin (Brian Baumgartner), Pam (Jenna Fischer), and Jim (John Krasinski) from their work is a welcome way to shake up the (so far) mundane office.
5. Season 5, “Company Picnic”
While it doesn’t quite live up to some of the others, there are definite laughs along with some important plot moments in “Company Picnic”. Pam finds out that she and Jim are going to have a baby, there’s a sweet moment that foreshadows bonding between rivals, Dwight and Jim, and Michael makes it clear that his love for Holly (Amy Ryan) isn’t going anywhere.
4. Season 9, “Finale”
This isn’t one of the funnier or more well-put-together episodes of the series. It wouldn’t be a great re-watch episode for laughs, comfort, or anyone looking for classic The Office comedy. Still, The Office series finale was a huge undertaking, and it pulled off an emotional send-off that, for the most part, did the sitcom proud. It tied together the backstory of the documentary crew and the many characters’ love stories and subplots. It’s still the finale to two pretty rough seasons, and in some ways, it echoes that. But, it also feels like the way The Office should end: with a few laughs and a few tears.
3. Season 4, “Goodbye Toby”
“Goodbye Toby” has all of the elements that make for a perfect sitcom season finale. It has extremely funny moments, iconic lines, and bombshells like Jim’s plan to propose and Jan’s pregnancy followed by more bombshells like Andy proposing and Jan’s (Melora Hardin) baby daddy being a sperm donor. It all exists in a bottle-episode-adjacent structure as it's held mostly at Toby’s (Paul Lieberstein) goodbye party. “Goodbye Toby” is a two-parter that still flies by, perfectly teases the season to come, and will leave Michael’s version of “Goodbye Stranger” in your head for just long enough.
2. Season 3, “The Job”
“The Job” is a pivotal moment in The Office’s narrative. It is a moment of truth career-wise for many of the characters as well as romance-related reckonings for a select few. By Season 3, The Office has really hit its stride and made its tone, characters, and dynamics clear. So, it's no wonder that the season finale has comedic and narrative inertia built up from such a successful season that allows it to fly. And, notably, this is the episode that leads one of TV’s most beloved slow burn romances to finally catch fire.
1. Season 2, “Casino Night”
“Casino Night” is the best of all the season finales, and as any good season finale should be, it’s one of The Office’s quintessential episodes. In its second season, The Office was able to get its sea legs and begin its transformation into the classic it became. This finale deftly escorted it into its best era. The subplots shine, and it boasts what is probably The Office’s best season finale cliffhanger with Jim and Pam’s first (real) kiss.