Jim Halpert and Pam Beesly receive remarks about their relationship from the rest of the office, who are down due to their own struggling love lives, with Michael threatening them with banishment after they constantly gaze happily on each other.
Hungry and not wanting to be rude by eating before they get back, Jim and Pam check the bathrooms and hear Phyllis and Bob having sex in the disabled stall.
[1] During the episode, the Ed Helms character Andy is described as attending solo honeymoons in Napa Valley, The Bahamas and Walt Disney World Resort, which he previously booked before breaking off his engagement with Angela.
Following the episode, NBC posted fake photos of Ed Helms visiting those locations on the show's official Angela Martin and Andrew Bernard wedding website.
Meredith talks about her husband leaving her for a garbage-woman whom her kids now consider their real mother instead of herself, and Dwight said he believes his soulmate, "probably died 700 years ago in feudal Japan after having impersonated a samurai, or at the very least she lives somewhere outside the Scranton Wilkes-Barre corridor.
[1][7][8][9] The mysterious woman leaves a single pink glove behind after meeting Michael, in a similar fashion to the classic folk tale Cinderella.
[9] Michael says he was hit by "Cupid's sparrow", a mistaken reference to the Roman mythological god who would inspire love by shooting people with arrows.
Brian Howard of The Journal News described it as "classic Office" and praised the camaraderie the staff showed for each other and the "bizarre discomfort" of the double date with Jim, Pam, Phyllis and Bob.
[14] Alan Sepinwall of The Star-Ledger said the episode lacked many laugh-out-loud moments, but was effective because the characters are so well developed: "The Office has, over the years, become as much of a kitchen sink drama as it is a comedy.
The characters are so well-drawn by now, and for the most part so likable, that a sweet, low-key episode about Michael and the staff bonding over their singlehood worked even without a lot of memorable jokes.
"[15] Will Leitch of New York magazine described "Blood Drive" as "mostly a placeholder episode", although he said it was "legitimately touching" when the cast stays late with Michael during the party.
"[9] Entertainment Weekly writer Jeff Labrecque said the episode was "unusually sweet", but said the double date with Pam, Jim, Phyllis and Bob "felt slightly undercooked".
[1] Josh McAuliffe of The Times-Tribune of Scranton, Pennsylvania, said the episode was "a highly amusing, if not fantastic, half-hour" and particularly praised the opening scene involving the phone system salesman.
[9][11][14] Phyllis and Bob Vance's sexual rendezvous in the handicapped restroom during the double date ranked number 8 in phillyBurbs.com's top ten moments from the fifth season of The Office.