The Americanized version of The Office is not short on iconic TV moments, many of which featured Rainn Wilson's Dwight Schrute. The sometimes-maniacal beat farmer is known for his appreciation of authority, his feud with his frenemy Jim Halpert, and his loyalty to Dunder Mifflin. Yet, despite his strong devotion to his belief system, he has been known to change his stance to get ahead.
In fact, despite his assumed predictability, Dwight can be a bit of a wildcard. Deep down, the audience knows how much he cares about his co-workers, yet he's shown multiple times he will feed them to the wolves if he has the chance. With that in mind, let's explore the duality of Dwight Schrute – here are five times Dwight was a great friend, along with five times he was awful.
Great: Consoling Pam
When Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) moved back to Scranton after a brief stay in Stamford, he returned with a new love interest — Karen Filippelli (Rashida Jones). Initially, Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer) was excited to learn her best friend who she had feelings for was returning, so she was naturally hurt to find out about Jim's new girlfriend.
Still, Pam tries to help Jim as the couple experienced their first fight. While Pam said she was happy to help him, it clearly took a toll on her emotionally, and she was found crying in the stairwell. Thankfully, Dwight found her and tried to console her, giving her a shoulder to cry on. Unaware of the situation between Pam and Jim, Dwight mistakes Pam's emotions for something else, but the fact he was there to help her feel better shows he's a good friend.
Bad: Betraying Michael
Without question, Dwight's best friend in The Office is Michael Scott (Steve Carell). They spend weekends together, hang out in Michael's office, and Dwight even made Michael his best man for his wedding. Yet, when Dwight thought he could steal his best friend's job from right under his nose, he did so.
To do it, Dwight lied to Michael, met with Jan Levinson (Jennifer Taylor-Clarke), and laid out his grievances about his boss. Unfortunately for Dwight, Jan told Michael about her meeting instantly, allowing the Regional Manager of Dunder Mifflin to plan out a scheme to humiliate the insubordinate salesman.
Great: Protecting Jim
Jim and Pam's romantic relationship started out with a kiss that occurred while the latter was still engaged to warehouse worker Roy Anderson (David Denman). When Pam told Roy about her kiss, he lost it and tried to attack Jim in the office.
Thankfully, Dwight sprang into action and sprayed the scorned ex-boyfriend with pepper spray. While he said he was just following through with his civic duty, this was a really great thing for Dwight to do.
Bad: Angela Affair
Dwight and Angela Martin's (Angela Kinsey) relationship was as long as it was complicated. On-again/off-again, the couple loved each other, hated each other, and found each other again. One particularly uncomfortable portion of their relationship, however, came when Angela was engaged to Andy Bernard (Ed Helms).
While not the best of friends, Andy and Dwight did like each other, all the while, Dwight was sleeping with Angela behind Andy's back. While this is also a faux pas on Angela's part, Dwight's relationship to Andy put him in the wrong too.
Great: Risked His Job For Angela
As previously stated, Dwight and Angela's relationship was long and complicated. For a time, it was also a secret. So, when Angela forgot to file some tax forms with corporate, Dwight drove to New York to make sure the files made it in time.
Unfortunately, this caused Michael, who Dwight recently betrayed, to think his employee was making another play for his job. Staying true to his commitment to Angela, however, Dwight willingly let his boss think he had nefarious intentions and got fired as a result.
Bad: Killed Angela's Cat
After Michael hit Meredith with his car, Angela was forced to visit her in the hospital. This caused a problem for Angela, who originally intended on using her lunch break to take care of her sick cat, Sprinkles.
So, Angela asked Dwight if he could help out. Unfortunately, Dwight grew up on a farm and decided the cat was too sick to keep alive, so he killed the cat and put it in a freezer. However, the cat wasn't dead and tried to claw out.
Great: Dwight's Concussion
This may not count because Dwight was legitimately concussed as the time, but the entire episode of "The Injury" was probably the most consistent streak of kindness in Dwight's time in the office.
In this episode, he befriends Pam and spends the whole day acting completely out of character. While this was not a specific moment, concussed Dwight was nice, funny, and charming, something audiences rarely got to see.
Bad: Relentless Snowball Attacks On Jim
As one of Jim's countless pranks on Dwight, he threw a snowball at the latter. Obviously upset at these antics, the beat farmer challenged Jim to a snowball fight outside. When Jim went outside, however, he was completely pulverized by Dwight, who relentlessly attacked Jim throughout the episode.
Finally, by the end of the day, Dwight built dozens of snowmen in the parking lot, leading Jim to believe Dwight could be in one of them. While Jim was terrified, Dwight just watched from the roof. Truly evil.
Great: Firing Pam & Jim
On the surface, this sounds awful, but in reality, it was one of the nicest things Dwight ever did. By the end of the series, Pam and Jim were gearing up to move to Philadelphia and Dwight was the Regional Manager of the Scranton Branch.
As a final thank you to his friends, Dwight fired the couple. Initially, they resisted, not wanting this to be their last memory of their friend. Dwight insisted, and explained by firing them, they can actually get a severance package instead of leaving for a new city with nothing.
Bad: Started A Fire
Dwight clearly takes his role as the head of safety at Dunder Mifflin Scranton very seriously. So, when no one paid attention to his fire safety lesson, he took it upon himself to give the office a practical test. He sealed off the exit ways, warmed a few handles, and started a fire.
The office erupted into chaos. Oscar Martinez (Oscar Nunes) tried climbing through the ceiling, Michael smashed a window to call for help, and Stanley Hudson (Leslie David Baker) suffered a heart attack. While Dwight blames the last incident on Stanley's lifestyle, there is no denying Dwight almost killed a co-worker.