When someone soils the carpet in Michael's office, Michael sees it as a form of hatred towards him and realizes for the first time that not everyone may like him. Due to the odor of his office, Michael temporarily switches workspaces with Jim, and while there, Michael reminisces of his pre-management days, reliving pranks with Dwight that he and Todd Packer played on the staff. Meanwhile, Jim realizes why Kelly sits alone in the back of the office as he plays messenger for a childish flirtation between Kelly and Ryan, and Pam tries to cope with the day without Jim to make her laugh.
WAR
9.3
Wins Above Replacement
“The Carpet” ranks #174 of 183 The Office episodes on the Humor Index, scoring 66.9 — Mixed. The episode packs 55 scored jokes at 2.5 per minute, averaging 6.3 on craft and 6.0 on impact, with Michael landing the most laughs. Every joke is ranked below with its individual craft and impact scores.
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Top Jokes
Creed: Hey, guys. Somebody making soup?
Creed Absurdist Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Michael · Stanley: I am a victim of a hate crime. Stanley knows what I'm talking about. That's not what a hate crime is. Well, I hated it a lot, okay.
Michael: It takes an advanced sense of humor. I don't expect everybody to understand.
Michael Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm Pam: Sudoku. Level, moderate. Time, 18 minutes. Suck on that, Halpert.
Pam Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Michael: 'Oh, Ed Truck is walking toward us, so stop having fun. Start pretending to do work.'
Michael Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm ★ Rewatch All Jokes — 55 analyzed
Show all ↓ Hide ↑ Jim Reaction Beat Awkward Silence ★ Rewatch Jim: June. Summer. So, that'll be nice.
Jim Cringe/Discomfort Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Pam: I would be creeped out by it, but it's nothing compared to the way Michael looks at me.
Pam Observational Character Comedy Michael Wordplay/Pun Character Comedy Michael: Pam, plus Spam, plus... Hamster. Right.
Michael Character Comedy Cringe/Discomfort Michael: Did you get lucky? Boink.
Michael Cringe/Discomfort Character Comedy Pam: And this year I got to the third week in January.
Pam Observational Deadpan/Understatement Michael: 'I am Pam.' Spicoli guy.
Michael Character Comedy Cringe/Discomfort Michael: Whoa! God! Yuck! Yuck! Yuck!
Michael Physical/Slapstick Reaction Beat Michael · Jim: Is that a bird? No, I don't think it's a bird.
Jim · Michael: Don't be a wuss. Just get... No, I'm not holding your coffee.
Creed: Hey, guys. Somebody making soup?
Creed Absurdist Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Dwight: She probably scrubbed it into the fibers of the carpet. Total permeation.
Dwight Character Comedy Observational Kevin: So this is sort of like my audition tape.
Kevin Character Comedy Observational Stanley: I did not do that. It wasn't me. It wasn't me. It was not me.
Jim · Michael: Which I guess I'll be taking. No, no, no. Seriously, I don't mind sharing. No, no, no. Seriously, I'll be in the back.
Jim: Allergy to... the desk?
Jim Observational Deadpan/Understatement Michael Character Comedy Wordplay/Pun Michael: 'Oh, Ed Truck is walking toward us, so stop having fun. Start pretending to do work.'
Michael Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm ★ Rewatch Michael: if I ever got to walk around the room as manager, people would laugh when they saw me coming and would applaud as I walked away
Michael Irony/Sarcasm Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Kelly: My closet doors will not shut. I mean, it only takes so long to measure to make sure that clothes will hang up. 'Cause aren't all hangers, like, that big? So I don't understand why the closet engineer didn't think of that.
Kelly Character Comedy Absurdist Kelly: So now I'm doing this new thing where I just leave piles of clothes on the floor and I walk around the piles to get an outfit...
Kelly Character Comedy Absurdist Michael: Packer and I once spent a whole day with our pants off.
Michael Cringe/Discomfort Character Comedy Michael: And when people noticed, we convinced them that they were crazy.
Michael Dark/Subversive Character Comedy Michael: Another time, Packer held this guy's head in the toilet for like, a minute. The guy had no sense of humor about it. Probably why he wasn't hired.
Michael Dark/Subversive Character Comedy Michael: Once, as a joke, Packer banged every chick in the office. It was hysterical.
Michael Dark/Subversive Character Comedy Kelly: Beyonce, pink the color, Pink the person, hot dogs, basically anything that is awesome. Snow cones...
Kelly Character Comedy Absurdist Kelly: Oh, my God, he is so cute. Would you talk to him for me and see if he likes me?
Kelly Character Comedy Cringe/Discomfort Kelly: Please, Jim. Please, please, please.
Kelly Escalation Cringe/Discomfort Michael: Old-fashioned raid. Sales on Accounting.
Michael · Dwight: Sales rules! Yes! Yeah! Yeah!
Dwight · Michael: Should we help them pick up their stuff? No, no, no, no. We don't do that. We don't do that.
Jim: It could be done out of hate. It could be done out of love. It could be completely neutral.
Jim Observational Deadpan/Understatement Michael: I am beginning to think that what happened to my carpet was an act of terrorism against the office.
Jim · Michael: I'm totally gonna win us that box set. Stop. Jethro Tull... Stop it. Stop it. Don't.
Michael: Right here I'm gonna put a crisp $100 bill. Seventy, eighty, one, two, three. $83.
Michael Character Comedy Misdirection Jim: Michael is gonna wipe the floor with us.
Jim Irony/Sarcasm Deadpan/Understatement Phyllis · Michael · Stanley: What's that? What are you doing? Nothing. I think he's dancing. No, just... That was definitely not dancing.
Jim: Maybe that's all we need to know.
Jim Deadpan/Understatement Observational Michael: This was no act of God. A person did this. A person who works in this office. Maybe all of them.
Michael · Stanley: I am a victim of a hate crime. Stanley knows what I'm talking about. That's not what a hate crime is. Well, I hated it a lot, okay.
Phyllis · Michael: What's our punishment? You're all on a time out. Just sit there quietly.
Ryan: I don't know. It depends if you like a little junk in...
Ryan Setup/Punchline Character Comedy Kelly: Oh, long-term, definitely. Fall in love, have babies, spend every second together. But don't tell him that, okay? Just tell him I'm, like, up for anything.
Kelly Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm Michael · Creed: My biggest fear is turning into him. Michael, you should have much bigger fears than that. I wasn't talking literally, Creed. Yeah, being buried alive would be worse.
Michael · Ed: You can love a boss like you do a father. I'm not sure that ever happens. Well, okay. Different management styles.
Michael: I would've reached right into my stomach and pulled it out for them.
Michael: 'No. I only give my organs to my real friends. Go get yourself a monkey kidney.'
Jim: And I got your number from the corporate directory, and well, I was assuming that you probably gave it to them because you wanted me to ask you out, right?
Jim Cringe/Discomfort Character Comedy Todd Packer · Michael: Hello, yes, I'm looking for a gay nerd named Michael Scott. Who is this? How did you get this number? Your mom, you gay nerd.
Michael: Are you kidding me?
Michael Reaction Beat Setup/Punchline Michael: It takes an advanced sense of humor. I don't expect everybody to understand.
Michael Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm Pam: Sudoku. Level, moderate. Time, 18 minutes. Suck on that, Halpert.
Pam Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Pam: Hey, what's that word we made up for when you have a thing stuck in your shoe?
Pam Observational Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Pam: I have a theory that involves an inter-departmental conspiracy. Everybody in the office.
Pam Escalation Character Comedy Callback ⏩ The part you fast-forward
Our scorer flagged 10:00-12:00 range with repetitive radio contest interruptions as the stretch with the fewest or weakest comedic moments. Everything else lands harder.
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