Why Dwight Was Snubbed in the Last Opening Credits of The Office

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Posted 1 days ago by inuno.ai

Dwight Schrute is an integral character of The Office. He brought humor, eccentricity and some of the best plots on the show. So why, when he became manager, didn’t he get his moment in the opening credits like others did? One of the running jokes regarding Dwight was his desperation to impress Michael or any other authoritative figure in the workplace. He treated them like royalty, always with the goal of making his way up the ladder.

There’s no question that he was also a difficult person to deal with. Jim shared a desk with him for the most part, which could become irritating, although Jim knew how to pull a prank on Dwight. Usually, whatever weird plan Dwight had, Dunder Mifflin’s best interests were at the center. He loved the job and knew everything there was to know about paper. Making it as manager was a momentous point in his career, and yet, fans didn’t get to see him take pride of place in the opening credits.

There Was More Than One Reason for Dwight Not Being In the Opening Credits as Manager

Dwight eats an M&M in The Office. — Image via NBC.

The opening credits are a very recognizable part of The Office, which may be an obvious thing to say, but a fan only has to hear the introductory beat or catch a glimpse of the home video footage, and they’ll know what’s on. Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey were focusing on the episode A.A.R.M, and turned to audience response to answer a few questions. One of which was about the opening credits. An ongoing subplot in the show was about Dwight’s career progression and his commitment to the job.

When he finally became manager in the last series, it was expected that he’d get the final shot in the opening credits like the managers before him. Yet, he was nowhere to be seen. There was no pushing a bobblehead of some sort across the desk. Instead, Pam and Jim stole the last part, as the camera focuses on them kissing. Considering that he had worked so hard to get to the higher position, it was strange not to witness him in the manager’s chair during the opening credits, like Andy or Michael.

…they were really pressed for time, and they literally didn’t have time to shoot a new little manager title with Dwight.

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The podcast reached out to Dave Rogers, who was an editor on the show, to give further insight. Rogers said they actually had discussed adding Dwight into the sequence, but it never came about for a few reasons: “The main reason was they wanted to use Pam and Jim kissing as the final image in the main title for several episodes because they felt that at this point the idea of who is manager had been eclipsed by the characters’ personal lives, and they felt like the focus here of these final episodes was more about summing up Jim and Pam. He said also they were really pressed for time, and they literally didn’t have time to shoot a new little manager title with Dwight. And also, there was so much in this episode that they had to make the main titles really short anyway.

So there were kind of three reasons.” At this point in the series, Jim and Pam’s relationship had been put to the test, and they went through periods that left their future a little uncertain. They had been the core love story from the very first episode, so the credits shot did solidify their relationship a little further. There were a lot of plots that needed to be neatly tied up, so perhaps a number of others could’ve taken place. Kinsey mentioned that a whole storyline about Nellie and Toby had to be cut because of time constraints. The advantage that Jim and Pam had was that their kissing scene had already been filmed and came from earlier on in the show. Therefore, they didn’t need to do anything else to add it in. Clearly, Dwight’s moment would’ve just been too time-consuming for the end of the series.

Jenna Fischer Didn’t Like Jim and Pam as the Final Shot

Jim and Pam look at each other and laugh in The Office season 4 — Image via NBC

It wasn’t just fans who felt Dwight had missed out, but Fischer, who actually made it into the final part of the opening credits, wasn’t very pleased with the outcome either. She would’ve preferred to have seen Dwight in the credits instead of Jim and Pam, stating that they were “on my last nerve right now.” Further into the podcast episode, both Kinsey and Fischer agreed that the couple needed to grow up. Kinsey particularly wasn’t impressed with Pam being pleased that “goofy Jim.” She’d been feeling guilty that he had given up working with Athlead for her, but he seemed okay and was goofing around a lot. Kinsey clarified her strong stance with, “You have family. You have a home. Goofy Jim was in his 20s. They’re older now, and the two of them need to evolve as a couple at the workplace and with their goals and… Goofy Jim. It just p***** me off.”

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Fischer had her own thoughts, which centered around the lack of communication between Jim and Pam. She identified that Jim wasn’t close to losing Pam because of his change in career. It was more to do with the fact that he had gone behind Pam’s back and made decisions without her. As a result, they ended up going in the opposite direction, but still with no communication. She believed that they would’ve found a middle ground if they spoke to each other: “Jim is allowed to start a business. And Pam is allowed to feel overwhelmed and lonely. And there is a way that they could do this all if they would just talk to each other more.” The pair still had a lot of growing to do, so maybe having them as the final shot was really warranted. Unfortunately, it left Dwight without his shining moment, although being boss was probably enough to keep him happy.

By the End of the Series, Dwight Proved he Could be a Good Boss

Dwight, played by Rainn Wilson, giving his last interview in the Finale of The Office — Image via NBC

When it came to the last season, Dwight had proved that he could be the boss that Dunder Mifflin needed. It just took some time for that to become obvious. From early on, it was made apparent that Dwight was the most eccentric character in the show. He took his job far too seriously, which led to some of the most bizarre episodes. In “Stress Relief,” he thought it would be a good idea to make his colleagues believe there was a real fire in the building. Everyone was in a state of panic before Dwight told them it was a false alarm, and that he had been testing their ability to get out safely.

Scenes like that came between his usual bluntness, working on his beet farm, and practicing martial arts, which he demonstrated inside the office. There certainly were times that would leave anyone questioning how on earth he could make it as manager. The key part of his personality that was constant throughout was Dwight’s determination to be the best at his job and eventually make it as boss. A few glimmers of an emotional person came out along the way, mostly when it came to his feelings for Angela, as well as supporting Pam when she was crying.

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Part of the show’s ending highlighted Dwight as a great boss. Jim and Pam had decided that they would be moving to Austin after all, allowing Jim to continue working for Athleap. Together, they told Dwight, who interrupted to tell them they were both fired. It looked as if he’d become irrationally annoyed at their leaving, but it was the complete opposite. He told them this way, they would get the severance pay, which came out as one month for every year they worked at Dunder Mifflin. It was one of the most fitting and relieving ends to the series. Pam and Jim had always had a strange friendship with Dwight, and it wasn’t always clear whether he truly valued them as friends or not. His final act of kindness displayed how he really felt.

It’s a shame that Dwight didn’t make it into the final opening credits as boss. He’d wanted the position for such a long time and, in fairness, had worked hard to get there despite his unnecessary behavior. However, it’s not a negative reflection on the creators. So much had to be squeezed into the final season, and there was a lot riding on how the employees at Dunder Mifflin would bow out. A lot of memorable moments came from the finale, and Dwight’s snub wasn’t a dampener on the overall production.