"Heavy Competition" is the twenty-fourth episode of the fifth season of the television series The Office and the 96th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on April 16, 2009. In the episode, Michael enlists the help of Dwight in getting Michael's new paper company off the ground, but the two eventually end up engaging in a war for each other's clients. Meanwhile, Jim pretends to be afraid of his future with Pam to play a prank on Andy, who is still reeling over his recent break up with Angela.
The episode was written by Ryan Koh and directed by Ken Whittingham. It included a guest appearance by Idris Elba, who played new Dunder Mifflin vice president Charles Miner. The episode received generally positive reviews, and was voted the fourth best episode of the season in a poll at the fan site OfficeTally. According to Nielsen ratings, it was watched by 8.24 million viewers, and was the most watched program among viewers aged between 18 and 49.
Synopsis
Michael Scott (Steve Carell) and Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) have been having secret meetings in the parking lot, where Dwight provides information about Dunder Mifflin so Michael can undercut the company. However, Dwight's loyalty is put to the test as Charles Miner (Idris Elba) seems to show more respect for Dwight than Michael ever did. Dwight brings Charles to the parking lot during one of the secret meetings, where Charles orders Michael to stop pestering Dwight. This begins a rivalry between Michael and Dwight, and Michael begins to steal Dwight's clients. Dwight asks for a truce and offers to take Michael and his employees out to lunch; Dwight does not go to the restaurant and instead sneaks into the empty Michael Scott Paper Company office and steals everything on Michael's desk, including his Rolodex contact list, and places a dead fish in the air conditioning vent.
Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) and Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer) are attempting to get bargain deals on wedding plans from Andy Bernard (Ed Helms). When Pam turns down his ideas, Andy suspects that Pam might be acting controlling and cruelly to Jim, in the same way Angela Martin (Angela Kinsey) treated Andy. Andy warns Jim, who tries to convince Andy that he and Pam are really happy. Andy remains convinced that Pam will betray him, so Jim asks Andy to provide for his emotional needs (as a prank). After Jim feigns crying on Andy's shoulder, Andy blames the office for Jim's emotional troubles and asks them to apologize. Phyllis Vance (Phyllis Smith) tells Andy that Jim is just messing with him. Andy does not believe her until he sees Jim grinning through the kitchen window. When Andy confronts Jim, Jim assures him that he and Pam are really happy and that Andy will find someone else one day.
Michael, Pam, and Ryan Howard (B. J. Novak) return to their office and believe they have been robbed. Dwight calls and reveals his treachery. Michael calls Dwight on the phone and tells Dwight he is going to steal his biggest client while he listens. Dwight races to the HarperCollins office, where Michael and Dwight start fighting over the client, Daniel Schofield (Bob Gebert). Mr. Schofield asks for both of their offers via email, and they agree to do so. Before leaving, Dwight then looks at Daniel's personal information from Michael's Rolodex card and asks him about his "gay son", which seemingly perturbs Daniel. Michael reveals his unusual system where he color codes personal information about his contacts so he knows what not to talk about. Michael is seen laughing with Daniel in the parking lot as Dwight returns to his car alone.
Production
"Heavy Competition" was written by Ryan Koh and directed by Ken Whittingham. It was the fifth of six episodes guest starring Idris Elba, best known as Stringer Bell from The Wire. Elba said he did not watch the episode after it aired because "I'm hypercritical about my work, so I try not to torture myself." Rainn Wilson said he liked the episode because it demonstrated growth for his character and the relationship between Michael and Dwight; he said "I like the way they let characters grow and change on the show," and said of his character, "It's not the same acolyte ass kissing as season 2". Wilson said the moment Dwight spun around the HarperCollins secretary saying "Spin move", which was included in the script, was one of the most popular moments of the episode among the writers. Wilson said of filming the move, "We did like five spin moves and once I did a somersault. I thought I was being all nimble and quick, but no. I watch it and it looks like a manatee doing ballet at SeaWorld."