B.J. Novak’s character in The Office evolved from a mild-mannered temp to the series most memorable douche bag. Despite all of his many wrongdoings, we can’t help but notice that he was actually pretty relatable.
Jim’s too charming, Dwight’s too extreme and Michael’s too… Michael to be you. But do you know which character did have some understandable moments in-between all the bad things he was constantly a part of?
Hint, hint, hint: It’s Ryan.
Whether you love him or hate him, we’re here to show you all the times you definitely related to him.
Just don't turn around and tell us you were arrested for fraud at a paper company: that incident didn't make the list, but here's what did:
When Ryan Becomes Known As “The Something Guy”
Ryan is dubbed “The Fire Guy” by Michael and Dwight after leaving a cheese pita in the toaster oven, thereby setting off the fire alarms in “The Fire” (S2E4). Poor Ryan was literally just trying to eat lunch, and now, until the end of time (or at least a long while) he has that pretty title to wear around.
Kevin refers to him as “The Fired Guy” after he loses his job in Season 5. Before the pita incident, he was always referred to as "The New Guy" and "The Temp." Does he ever get a break?
When Ryan Doesn't Know What He's Doing With His Life
Remember when Ryan got arrested for fraud at Dunder Mifflin? Then Michael brought him back as a temp, and Ryan promises to climb the ladder — but soon, he instead decides to take a break and head to Thailand (it was actually Fort Lauderdale).
The next time we see him, he’s bleached his hair and is working at a bowling alley. Then on a whim, he joins Michael and Pam to start the Michael Scott Paper Company.
Does that count as a quarter-life crisis or what? We are here for it.
When Ryan Wants To Do The World “A Favor”
Ryan starts a blog for Creed that’s actually just a Word document in “The Job” (S3E24). Ryan starts “Creed Thoughts” to keep the confessions of Creed’s brain as far away from the internet as possible. But more realistically, he made it so he could read Creed’s musings himself.
We get it. Really, we do.
Creed will do anything to keep a job, has been in multiple religious cults, and has been known to steal from his coworkers on multiple occasions. That is some content right there.
When Ryan Has A Little Bit Of Success And Thinks People Will Treat Him Differently
“Dunder Mifflin Infinity” (S4E3/4) sees Ryan returning to the Scranton office for his first time since being promoted to corporate. While Ryan expects people to look at him differently now that he’s a VP, does that happen? Of course not.
He also asks Pam to design a new logo for the company and then asks her out on a date, believing she’ll have to say yes. News flash: she doesn’t. She’s dating Jim.
Ryan walks away embarrassed, and even though he’s a total douchebag, we’ve all had a moment we thought we would get some royal treatment, right?
When Ryan Messes With His Boss Because He Can
“Grief Counseling” (S3E4) has Michael gathering the team together to discuss the losses of their loved ones. They all tell Michael false stories based on death scenes in movies, and Ryan chooses to pretend he lost his cousin Mufasa to wildebeests in Africa. Thank you, The Lion King.
When your boss is that oblivious, it’s okay, right?
Let's all be honest: Joining in on that movie death bandwagon would have been too hard to resist.
When Ryan Pretends To Be Oblivious And Doesn't Care
In “Christmas Party” (S2E10), Bob Vance introduces himself to Kevin, Stanley, and Ryan at the office’s holiday gathering by shaking each one of their hands and announcing his name and company: “Bob Vance, Vance Refrigeration.” That happened three times.
Ryan then looks at him with a straight face and follows up the introduction with, “What line of work you in, Bob?”
We feel you, Ryan.
When Ryan Decides The Extra Credit Is Worth The Risk
Ryan takes Michael Scott to his “Business School” in the Season 3 episode of the same name because who doesn’t love getting their score bumped up?
Unfortunately for Ryan, he has to sit back and watch it all play out in front of him as Michael enters class with his own intro music and tears pages out of his classmate’s textbook.
Sure, it sucks. Michael even relocates Ryan’s desk to the annex where Kelly works. But he got an A, or at the very least, we hope so. It. Is. Worth. It.
When Ryan Tries To Start A Trend
Ryan wanted to light the internet on fire by starting a trend called owling. He perches on top of the fridge and crouches down like he’s an owl in this deleted scene from “The Incentive” (S8E2), and tells the camera, “You’ll read about it in like eight months.”
Internet fame may be coveted, but few make it the top.
Ah, Ryan. So much potential, so little success.
When Ryan Keeps A Literal List Of Wrongs
When Ryan returns to Dunder Mifflin as the receptionist, he keeps a list of people who wrong him so they’ll be sorry when he’s back on top.
We see him add Kevin to the list for the previously discussed “Fired Guy” joke. Jim's name is also jotted down after he teases Ryan about his court-mandated community service. In Jim's defense, Ryan framed his volunteer work as being out of his own good will.
While most people don’t write down who has wronged them, trust us, it’s in their heads. C’mon, you know you have that list ready to pull out at a moment’s notice.
When Ryan Thinks He’s Broken His Own Cycle… But Hasn’t
It’s no secret that Ryan isn’t great at love, but when he and Kelly run into the sunset during the season finale, he announces he’s learned his lesson.
“I’ve finally mastered commitment!” exclaims Ryan as he leaves his baby behind at Dwight and Angela’s wedding.
Sigh. Please tell us you’ve told yourself lies like this. Also, please don’t abandon your children at receptions.