Dwight Initiates Ryan

Episode
Initiation (Season 3, Episode 5)

Pranker
Dwight Schrute

Target
Ryan Howard

Description
Ryan is going on his first sales trip and he has the unfortunate luck of being placed with Dwight on said trip. Before taking him to the sales office, Dwight takes the former temp out to his beet farm and gives him a seed to plant. Ryan carefully places it in the ground and covers it, knowing that Dwight doesn’t play with these things. After some back-and-forth banter about “planting seeds” and “bull crap,” Dwight says he needs something in his car and begins to sprint over to it. Ryan unwittingly says ok as Dwight starts his car and peels out of the field.

Reaction
“Of course.” Ryan had every expectation of something out of the ordinary happening and it did. Ryan talks to himself about Dwight as he walks over to the accompanying barn in the field. Ryan knocks and Dwight springs forth, as Dwight comments of Ryan’s success in his second task.

Originality
3 – I’m not sure where leaving a rookie salesman in a manure-covered beet field ranks as most cruel things you could ever do, but the abandoning of a person anywhere is anything but original.

Length Taken
5 – Usually, in this sort of situation, the person being left would have some sort of place or instructions to turn to. In this situation, Ryan is left to fend for himself and hope everything works out for the best. I would like to think that Dwight wouldn’t let Ryan die, but at the same time he would let the temp sweat it out in the field overnight.

Special Award
Forget Subtlety Award – One of Dwight’s attributes is not secrecy and conniving. When he wants to haze the rookie, he doesn’t think up a dynamite excuse and then quietly leave. When Dwight pulls a prank, he does it like a Soviet in World War II…guns blazing, screaming and fighting all the way.