10 Crazy Foreshadowing In The Office You Totally Missed
Hidden in plain sight.
The Office may have been off the air for many years by now, but it continues to reveal itself as one of the most dense and impressively layered sitcoms in TV history.
To this very day, fans are still uncovering secret subplots and insanely subtle gags which will simply pass most viewers by. Better still, this also extends to the show's frankly insane approach to foreshadowing major plot developments.
Across its nine seasons, The Office hinted at a number of memorable moments in advance, be it just a few episodes prior or perhaps several seasons before they actually came to fruition.
The fact that this has happened so much throughout the show's run suggests it was never a mere coincidence, but a concerted effort on the part of the writing staff to hide nods to the future in plain sight.
These masterful feats of foreshadowing may have seemed totally innocuous at the time, but to anyone revisiting the show for the second, third, or twentieth time, they may well have stoked the light-bulb of recognition in their brain.
Whether a sly setup for a future payoff or a simple cause-and-effect reward for attentive viewers, these 10 foreshadowing scenes are completely ridiculous in their forward-planning...
10. Michael Has A Life-Changing Day (But Not Why He Thinks)
The season four finale "Goodbye, Toby," revolves of course around the departure of Michael Scott's (Steve Carell) long-time office nemesis, Toby Flenderson (Paul Lieberstein).
Michael kicks the episode off in a chipper mood about Toby's leaving, saying, "Today is Toby Flenderson's last day. I couldn't sleep last night. I came extra-early. So much energy... There are certain days you know you know you will remember for the rest of your life, and I just have a feeling that today is one of those days."
And Michael was absolutely right about his lofty prediction - just not in the way he expected.
As it turns out, Toby's last day coincides with the arrival of HR rep Holly Flax (Amy Ryan) to the office, who would of course eventually marry Michael and give birth to four of his children.
Though it's possible this was a cuter-than-cute coincidence, it's completely brilliant as a piece of foreshadowing of the family life awaiting Michael, and one sure to leave unsuspecting repeat viewers slack-jawed.