[s5e3] The Plant Apr 2026

The room goes quiet until Meredith, in a moment of brutal honesty, admits she’s been sleeping with the regional representative of a collection company (Bruce Sunrise) for the past six years. Her reasoning? She gets a discount on office supplies for Dunder Mifflin and "Outback Steakhouse gift certificates" for herself.

In the end, Michael sees how upset Holly is. He realizes he cares more about her feelings than he does about being right. He organizes a second ethics meeting—this time, much more somber—where he stands by her side. They don't fix the ethics of the office, but they fix their relationship. [S5E3] The Plant

Michael, desperate to be liked and protective of his "family," refuses to let Holly fire or even discipline Meredith. He even goes so far as to claim that Meredith’s actions are "heroic" because she’s saving the company money. The room goes quiet until Meredith, in a

The tension between Michael and Holly grows. Holly feels like the "ethics" of the office are a joke, and Michael feels like Holly is being a "nark." However, after a tense meeting with Corporate (where they basically tell Holly to sweep it under the rug because the discounts are too good to lose), Holly realizes that the corporate world is just as messy as Michael’s world. In the end, Michael sees how upset Holly is

While Michael finds this hilarious and "part of the job," Holly is horrified. As an HR professional, she sees a massive conflict of interest and a violation of corporate policy. She tries to report it to Corporate, but she hits a wall: Michael.