It would be hard to talk about some of the most popular and funniest sitcoms of all time without mentioning the masterpiece that is The Office. Anyone who's seen this show can attest to this fact — after all, it's full to the brim with some of the best writing, funniest humor, and most engrossing storylines, all of which combine to make for a near-perfect viewing experience.
Of course, it would be impossible to talk about the selling points of The Office without mentioning one of its biggest strengths — its rich and diverse cast of characters that light up the screen with their presence. Yes, this statement applies to a character like Gabe Lewis, too — someone who may not be everyone's favorite, but still manages to make scenes all the more hilarious with his presence nevertheless. Gabe is a character notorious for being subject to some of the weaker writing featured across the latter half of The Office, which means that there are bound to be some truly nonsensical things about his character. Here are just a few examples of this.
His Relationship With Erin
It was clear to every viewer that Gabe and Erin started dating simply as a way to further increase the tension between Andy and Erin.
After all, this relationship would've never existed otherwise — regardless of how nice or accepting Erin may be, a person like Gabe can only be tolerated to a certain extent.
He Should've Realized How Disgusted Erin Was With Him After A Point
That being said, Gabe certainly didn't help matters with his sheer obliviousness. He was so self-absorbed and vain that he never even realized that someone could be unhappy in a relationship with him.
So, when Erin told Gabe that they should break up, it should've been clear to him from the get-go as to why she was settling for this course of action, instead of pretending like everything was going perfect.
Erin Should've Reported Him For Harassment
Gabe fails to accept the fact that Erin has fallen out of love with him, and goes out of his way to get her back after this breakup.
It goes without saying that this kind of behavior bordered on harassment, and Erin should've ideally reported Gabe's questionable behavior to Jo or HR. Instead, she remains mum, which just causes more problems for her further down the line.
His Character Does A Complete U-Turn When Erin Breaks Up With Him
Not only does Gabe fail to understand the reasons behind Erin breaking up with him, but the subsequent fallout also changes his character at the drop of a hat.
Sure, Gabe's character was already devolving before the breakup, but it's after this event that he truly becomes pathetic, pretty much groveling and begging for a chance to get back with Erin and turning into a pathetic crybaby, for the most part. This was certainly quite odd, especially since ...
His Character Was Inconsistently Portrayed In A Positive Light At One Point
There was a point when Gabe was actually considered to be a halfway-decent character, who actually had some authority as a manager of sorts, to the point where Michael actually got jealous of him in "Viewing Party."
To see him fall from such lofty heights to basically become the punching bag of the office was quite a downfall to witness indeed, although one can't deny that he was the catalyst of his own demise.
It Was Stupid Of Him To Overestimate His Own Authority
"Secretary's Day" is an episode that shows just how incompetent Gabe really is as a supervising manager. In a bid to punish Jim and Pam, he decides to suspend them without pay - only to realize that he doesn't have the authority to do so.
This move was incredibly stupid on his end and a testament to the fact that he has no idea about his job or how to conduct himself in a professional environment.
It Was Ridiculously Easy For Pam To Fool Him
For a supervising manager, Gabe can be pretty gullible at times. Case in point: Pam managed to convince him that she had some phony designation in order to get a raise.
The fact that Gabe wouldn't even bother to double-check this information is telling of just how incompetent he really is, regardless of how he may try to portray himself.
The Entire Office Can Be A Bit Too Hard On Him At Times
That being said, one has to admit that the Scranton branch does go out of its way to make Gabe feel out of place and like a villain of sorts.
From making fun of him through elaborate sketch competitions to straight-up making disparaging remarks to his face without even batting an eye — Dunder Mifflin Scranton wasn't exactly the most friendly place Gabe could've worked at.
He Should've Sued Dwight For Assault
The lack of respect that Gabe got can be perfectly exemplified in a scene where Gabe is instructed by Robert California to reject Dwight's pitch for a managerial position. After Dwight sees through this scheme, he holds Gabe in a hammerlock and doesn't stop hurting him until he reveals where Robert lives.
There was no reason why Gabe shouldn't have taken this assault seriously and sued Dwight, but instead, this assault is just played off for laughs, which is quite saddening from Gabe's perspective.
Gabe's Job Is Pretty Useless
The title "Supervising Manager" is used a lot when referring to Gabe, and he's had several titles over the course of the series, but one must ask what he actually did in the Scranton branch that made any impact. The answer to this is - not a lot.
While Gabe could've been useful initially, when the Scranton branch was transitioning from Dunder Mifflin to Sabre, his importance became significantly muted over time. It's almost like Jo kept him in Scranton because she either forgot about him or found him too annoying to place somewhere else, which could very well be the truth.