The beloved American workplace sitcom stars Steve Carell as Michael Scott, a bumbling branch manager for the paper supply company Dunder Mifflin. While most of the show's run is dominated by Michael's self-serving plots and desperate attempts to win over his resentful workers, The Office has no shortage of equally weird and iconic side characters.
Angela Martin (Angela Kinsey) stands out as one of the strangest, and sometimes the saddest. From her warehouse trysts with the near-sociopathic Dwight to her contempt for practically everyone else she knows, there are many things about Angela that, despite her off putting attitude, manage to inspire a little bit of sympathy.
Her Cats Are Her Only Friends
Angela's one redeeming quality might be how much she loves her many cats. Less flattering is the fact that she appears to have no non-feline friends aside from a little-mentioned sister. She is known to keep an eye on her pets with a nanny cam hooked up to her work computer, attracting the mockery of her coworkers.
When her cats are tragically taken away by the county, she admits that without them she is "utterly and completely alone."
Her Flirting Skills
Angela's rigid and ultra-conservative nature isn't particularly conducive to flirting, and a few times across the series viewers see her skills - or lack thereof - on display. Although her version of flirting usually involves disapproving comments (and suppressed smiles), fans see her more assertive side when Michael's new boss, the handsome Charles Miner (Idris Elba), takes control of the office in season 5.
Angela competes with Kelly for his attention, slipping him an invitation to an accounting seminar and stealing his scarf so she can heroically return it (or at least try to). She wouldn't admit it but Angela just wants to be loved like everyone else.
She Fails To Fix Andy and Erin's Relationship
Angela typically shows disdain for her coworkers, but in the sixth-season episode "Secretary's Day," she appears genuinely interested in salvaging her ex Andy's relationship with his new girlfriend Erin.
After a clueless Michael reveals to Erin that Angela and Andy were once engaged, Erin is furious at the shocking news and confronts Andy in front of the entire office. After the blow-up, Angela attempts to talk some sense into Erin, but the irate Erin is absolutely unwilling to hear it. For once, the fans were on Angela's side.
Insecurities About Her Height
In an office where no inappropriate joke is out of bounds, Angela is not immune to mockery. One of Angela's qualities that draws the most taunting, particularly from her boss Michael Scott, is her small stature. (She admits to the cameras that the Gap Kids catalog is too flashy, so she sometimes opts for doll garments instead)
In "Stress Relief," when Michael retaliates at his employees after they participate in his comedic roast, he jokes that he can't see Angela behind a grain of rice. In "Launch Party," he gives her the cruel nickname "Booster Seat" after the device she must use to eat in restaurants. On many occasions, she has stated that this is one of her deepest.
Oscar's Betrayal
Angela's desk mate Oscar is her one time nemesis in the office, but as the series progresses, the bickering duo forms an unlikely friendship. It's all the more devastating, then, for Angela to find out Oscar and Robert Lipton are having an affair.
After she tells Oscar she's worried Robert is cheating with someone named Blake, an equally concerned Oscar helps her stake out Robert's gym. It turns out that Blake is a woman, but Oscar receives a call from Robert in front of Angela. Considering how much she confided in him, one couldn't help but sympathize with Angela. How humiliating must this have felt for her?
She Keeps Her Guard Up
Dunder Mifflin's calculated head accountant is notorious for her chilly demeanor. However, she does demonstrate genuine care for her colleagues in times of need, like when Kevin thinks he has skin cancer or when Stanley collapses from a heart attack.
Nonetheless, Angela mysteriously stonewalls most of her coworkers and rarely shows any vulnerability, possibly due to a judgment-filled childhood spent competing in beauty pageants. Just as much as Angela disapproves of others, she appears to censor her own emotions and, with few exceptions, shuns coworkers' attempts to get close to her.
Her Relationship With 'The Senator'
Angela's much bragged-about engagement and later marriage to 'the Senator' Robert Lipton (actually a state senator) is one of her major storylines in the show's later seasons. Angela seems to like the senator mostly for the superiority complex his position gives her, stepping out on him countless times with Dwight.
Even after finding out that Lipton is gay, she's still invested in their relationship, and the moment he comes out during a press conference proves humiliating for her. She's forced to stand frozen by his side - on live TV - as he credits her "charmless body" for helping him realize he's not interested in women. To make matters worse, the press expects Angela, dubbed "the beard," to answer for this development. He could have given her a warning before he did the conference
She Mistakes Dwight's Pity For Love
In the ninth-season episode "Paper Airplane," the office hosts a contest with a grand prize of $2,000 going to the employee with the best aim. Angela, still reeling from her divorce, is despondent when Dwight's girlfriend Esther arrives to watch.
Dwight cheers for her when she progresses in the tourney and plans to deliberately lose against her. Angela is genuinely touched by his support until a clueless Esther reveals he's letting her win out of pity. It's a blow to Angela's ego that comes at an already low point.
The Senator Abandons Her and Philip
After the bombshell press conference in which Angela's husband Robert Lipton announces he's gay, the troubled couple divorces. In "Livin' the Dream," Angela shows up to work looking more frazzled than ever. It is revealed that the now-single mother to baby son Philip faces eviction from her small apartment and has had her cats taken away by animal control.
Having used Angela for his public image, Robert appears to provide no assistance in terms of housing or financial support to his struggling ex-wife. Even if Philip wasn't his, one didn't think he would leave them in the cold like this.
She Still Loves Dwight After He Kills Her Cat
At the beginning of Season 4, Dwight and Angela's secret relationship is going well, and in the two-part opener "Fun Run," Angela asks Dwight to help feed her sickly cat Sprinkles.
The ruthless Dwight attempts to euthanize the cat and then sticks her in the freezer. Angela is devastated and shares an emotional dinner with him where she admits she's too haunted by the loss to continue the relationship. Even when she's ostensibly moved on to dating Andy, it is revealed that she calls him "D" (her former love's nickname) in the bedroom.