Michael, believing he has herpes, contacts all his ex-girlfriends, including Jan and Holly. Andy tries to play on Erin’s compassionate side by holding a sex education meeting for the office.
WAR
73.7
Wins Above Replacement
“Sex Ed” ranks #122 of 183 The Office episodes on the Humor Index, scoring 86.2 — Elite. The episode packs 63 scored jokes at 2.7 per minute, averaging 7.2 on craft and 7.1 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
Holly · Michael: Holly: 'Michael, you cried at that tag line for a movie you made up. "He had no arms or legs. He couldn't see, hear or speak. This is how he led a nation."'
Michael · Dwight · Oscar: The escalating list of locations where Oscar supposedly had sex: 'Flower shops, fireworks celebrations... Fence with a hole in it. Moonlit gondola. Carriage ride through Central Park. The woods behind the liquor store. Electric car dealership. The Democratic Primary.'
Dwight: Dwight's confessional: reveals he has Mose impersonate an INS agent to kidnap day laborers, dump them in Harrisburg and tell them it's Canada
Dwight Dark/Subversive Absurdist ★ Rewatch Jan · Michael · Astrid: Jan is singing an improvised song to her daughter Astrid (Assie); mid-song, Michael announces 'I have herpes.'
Meredith: Meredith casually announces she has herpes — 'I have it myself. That's what it is. I've never seen herpes on you. 'Cause it's on my genitals, genius.'
Meredith Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Standout Moments
Dwight: Dwight's confessional: reveals he has Mose impersonate an INS agent to kidnap day laborers, dump them in Harrisburg and tell them it's Canada
Dwight Dark/Subversive Absurdist ★ Rewatch Holly · Michael: Holly: 'Michael, you cried at that tag line for a movie you made up. "He had no arms or legs. He couldn't see, hear or speak. This is how he led a nation."'
Michael · Dwight · Oscar: The escalating list of locations where Oscar supposedly had sex: 'Flower shops, fireworks celebrations... Fence with a hole in it. Moonlit gondola. Carriage ride through Central Park. The woods behind the liquor store. Electric car dealership. The Democratic Primary.'
All Jokes — 63 analyzed
Show all ↓ Hide ↑ Dwight: Dwight approaches day laborers speaking broken Spanish, recruiting them for work
Dwight Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm Day Laborers: Day laborers warn each other about Dwight: 'We don't go with that man. I've seen several men go with that man and none come back.'
Dwight · Nate: New hire reveals he's from 'la Philadelphia' — he's a fluent English speaker from Pennsylvania, not an immigrant
Nate · Pam · Andy · Kelly · Dwight: Nate attempts to deal with a hornet's nest using a blowtorch, then a bat — chaos ensues with people fleeing and screaming 'They're stinging him!'
Dwight: Dwight's confessional about Nate choosing between tools: 'This is do or die. If he chooses correctly, he'll conquer the hornets. And if he doesn't? He'll die.'
Dwight Deadpan/Understatement Character Comedy Michael: Michael enters asking Erin for 'any mustaches, I mean messages' while wearing a fake mustache
Michael: Michael's confessional explaining why a man would wear a fake mustache: 'He is a fan of the outrageous. He loves to surprise! He loves other things as well.'
Michael Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Michael: Michael: 'It's a pimple, Phyllis. Avril Lavigne gets them all the time, and she rocks harder than anyone alive.'
Michael Character Comedy Absurdist ★ Rewatch Michael: After Phyllis hints it might be something serious, Michael leaps to: 'You mean cancer?'
Michael Character Comedy Misdirection Jim: Talking head: 'It's just good to catch a Michael train of thought early before it derails and destroys the entire town.'
Jim Deadpan/Understatement Observational Meredith: Meredith casually announces she has herpes — 'I have it myself. That's what it is. I've never seen herpes on you. 'Cause it's on my genitals, genius.'
Meredith Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Michael: Michael asks 'You have a penis?' after Meredith says herpes is on her genitals
Michael · Oscar · Jim: The office debates Michael's age: 'That was, like, 10 years ago.' / 'No, it was, like, four years ago.' / 'Michael, you're at least 46.' / 'Why "at least"? If you're guessing 46, just say 46.'
Angela: Talking head: 'Can we please talk about how gross Meredith is?'
Angela Reaction Beat Character Comedy Dwight: Dwight confessional: 'This is what you get when you treat your body like an outhouse.'
Dwight Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Andy: Andy: 'The number one sexually transmitted disease is ignorance.'
Andy Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm Unknown: 'I guess maybe she could marry a meth dealer with crabs...'
Unknown Dark/Subversive Deadpan/Understatement Michael: Michael's confessional: 'You know what? I feel like one of those old-timey sailors with VD. (in gruff voice) Eh, it's me own darn fault. Girl in every port! What port? The Jan port? The Holly port?'
Michael Character Comedy Absurdist ★ Rewatch Michael · Donna: Michael calls Donna to notify her of potential herpes exposure, spelling out 'H-I' — Donna panics thinking it's HIV — then completes: 'R-P-E-E-S'
Michael: Michael to Donna: 'I am calling to see if you gave me herpes, because if you did, I would be able to avoid a lot of sucky conversations.'
Michael Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Michael · Andy · Stanley · Oscar: Andy's attention-request debate: Michael points out Andy has asked for everyone's attention 'like a year ago' and Andy protests, triggering everyone to cite specific occasions (new phone, World Cup scores)
Michael: Michael calls Holly — gets a man, says 'This is Holly.' Man corrects him. Michael says again 'This is Holly.' Man corrects again. Finally: 'No... This is Michael Scott.'
Michael Setup/Punchline Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Michael · Holly: Michael on the phone with Holly: 'Any nuns?' / 'Three nuns.' / 'Missionaries from South Africa.' / 'Were they in the missionary position?' — Holly laughs
Andy: Andy sings an improvised pizza jingle to lure colleagues into his sex-ed session: 'Hot pizza, check it and see / I got a whole bunch of pepperoni'
Andy Character Comedy Absurdist Michael · Holly: Michael and Holly phone conversation: 'We would have twins.' / 'I don't think we'd have kids. We dated for a few weeks.' / 'We would be married.'
Dwight · Michael: Dwight whispering to camera after Michael's Holly call: 'He forgot to mention the herpes.' Michael: 'It didn't come up organically.'
Jan · Michael: Jan has released an album of Doris Day covers on her own label. Michael doesn't get the reference when she sings the 'Enjoli' commercial jingle.
Dwight: Dwight asks if there's an operating theater open to visitors, then wanders off to find one
Dwight Character Comedy Absurdist Jan: Jan: 'Michael Scott, you are here for a post-mortem. You wanna dig into our relationship, go over it, see what killed it.'
Jan Irony/Sarcasm Character Comedy Andy · Jim: Andy's sex-ed class: shows photos of genitalia to the office. 'What, 'cause he's black?' / 'Nope. It's 'cause it's genitalia.'
Andy Jim Setup/Punchline Cringe/Discomfort ★ Rewatch Andy: Andy shows second STD-afflicted genital photo: 'Yeah, sure, it's got some herpes on it. But you know what? It's just as normal as anyone else's.'
Andy Cringe/Discomfort Irony/Sarcasm Jan: Jan's analysis of her relationship with Michael: 'Well, there was a bit of a learning curve in the conversation department, but between the sheets, we were like Jordan and Pippen.'
Jan Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm Jan · Michael: Jan's 'princess' allegory: Michael asks 'Am I the princess?' Jan: 'No, I'm the princess. And the queen.' Michael: 'So I'm the guy at the station.'
Jan · Michael · Astrid: Jan is singing an improvised song to her daughter Astrid (Assie); mid-song, Michael announces 'I have herpes.'
Andy · Kevin: Andy's sex-ed pros/cons list: Kevin contributes 'It feels unbelievable.' Andy asks if that's different from 'feels amazing.' Kevin: 'Yes.' Andy writes it down.
Andy Kevin Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Creed · Andy: Creed: 'The feeling of pure risk.' — submitted as a pro of sex. Andy had it in the cons column; Creed says 'It's thrilling' and Andy moves it.
Creed Andy Character Comedy Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch Andy · Jim · Pam: Jim and Pam's baby called an 'unplanned pregnancy' — 'Just admit that your baby was a mistake.' / 'She was a surprise.' / 'I'm sure they don't regret having that child. Let's move it to the pros.'
Dwight · Michael: Michael and Dwight in the car: 'To have the ability to point out if a man is making a bigger deal out of something than is really there.' 'Wait, what Holly said?' 'Yes!' 'I don't... Forget it, Michael. Today is about herpes.'
Dwight: Dwight: 'And who is going to pay.' — added as a third objective after Michael lists who gave him herpes and who has it
Dwight Character Comedy Dark/Subversive Dwight: Dwight yelling navigation: 'Left! Willow, now!' as Michael apparently misses the turn, with car horn blaring.
Dwight Character Comedy Physical/Slapstick Michael · Dwight: Michael and Dwight arrive at an elderly care facility; Michael mistakes the wrong woman for Helene and tells Dwight to 'take my grandmother for a walk' — Dwight leads the confused old lady away
Andy: Andy's sex-ed lesson: 'What's the safest way to go skiing? Don't ski.' (office laughs) Andy: 'I just thought I'd bring it up in case someone here was practicing abstinence.'
Andy Setup/Punchline Irony/Sarcasm Andy · Oscar: Andy demonstrates condom use on a pencil. Oscar: 'Why would you choose a pencil, Andy?' Andy: 'Well, I'm not gonna use my penis, Oscar. It's not exactly hard right now, anyway.'
Andy Oscar Cringe/Discomfort Setup/Punchline ★ Rewatch Meredith · Andy: Meredith has a reaction (presumably the condom demonstration goes wrong) — 'It'll go away in time. Just don't touch it.' — implying the condom broke or something went wrong
Helene · Michael: Helene to Michael: 'I think that for you to have come here even expecting that we could have a conversation like this shows how self-deluded you are. Michael, your memory has failed you greatly.' Michael's response: 'Jerk.'
Michael · Carole: Michael arrives at a house for sale, finding Carole — his realtor ex — showing it. He pretends he 'pulled in' randomly when she clearly had him tracked down through her office.
Andy: Andy-Erin confrontation: Andy quotes his own proposal to Erin verbatim: 'My good sir, nothing would make me happier than to hand you the hand of the hand once in my hand.'
Andy Character Comedy Absurdist ★ Rewatch Andy: 'The only reason I said that is 'cause you asked me so politely, and it was very difficult for me to say no.'
Andy Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm Callback Carole · Michael: Carole showing the house: 'You put the TV there. You put your family here.' — Michael's response to seeing a family room
Michael: Michael: 'I'm between specialists right now.' — responding to Carole asking if a doctor has checked his cold sore
Michael Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Carole: Carole: 'Yes. Actually, you do make a bigger deal out of things than you need to. You proposed to me on our fourth date.'
Carole Character Comedy Observational Dwight · Carole: Dwight in Carole's house: 'Excuse me. Someone died in the upstairs bathroom, didn't they?' Carole: 'No.'
Unknown Man · Michael: Crying-but-not-crying stranger gives Michael life advice: 'I'm sweating... Man up, all right? Son, you will win this in the end. It's all about heart and character.' Talking head: 'I have no idea what his problem is. It's just my standard advice.'
Michael · Stranger: An old man (stranger) finds Michael crying/sweating outside. 'Are you crying?' / 'No, I'm just sweating.' / 'I don't know what's got you upset, but my advice is stop crying.'
Stranger: Stranger's talking-head: 'I have no idea what his problem is. It's just my standard advice. It's good advice, right?'
Stranger Character Comedy Meta/Self-Referential Callback Michael: Michael's voicemail to Holly: '...it was mostly a freak show. And you and me, that must have been a real train wreck... Holly, you're wrong. You are wrong.'
Michael Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm Michael: Michael's voicemail to Holly: 'Today, I ended up seeing a lot of the women that I used to date, and in my mind, they were all great. And then when I actually saw them, it was mostly a freak show.'
Michael Observational Character Comedy Michael: End of heartfelt Holly voicemail: 'Oh, and you might, you should talk to a doctor because you might have herpes. Bye.'
Michael Callback Setup/Punchline ★ Rewatch Callback Michael · Oscar: Michael tells Oscar he needs to inform him that they may have exchanged an STD from their public kiss — 'Herpes duplex. It's probably just an ingrown mustache hair, but we have to be exhaustive.'
Michael · Oscar: Oscar: 'We were never lovers.' Michael: 'I'm gonna need a list of every man you've ever had sex with. I'm talking train stations, men's rooms...'
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