Broke (The Office)

This routine, in addition to their duties at the Michael Scott Paper Company, takes such a toll on the group that they look into hiring a delivery person.

Jim has learned the company's financial situation from Pam but feigns uncertainty when asked whether Michael is likely to be interested in a buyout.

Michael rebuts him and claims that Dunder Mifflin's best branch is "bleeding" and David could be replaced during an upcoming stockholder meeting.

David is reluctant to hire three people with full benefits, especially given Ryan's disastrous history with the company, and likens it to "a multimillion-dollar buyout".

[6] In the second one-minute clip, Andy is angry that he cannot find his personalized coffee mug with his face on it, and he and the others around the office complain about losing their clients to Michael's new company.

[7] In the final 80-second clip, stress drives Ryan to the breaking point and he begins trashing the Michael Scott Paper Company Office, for which he quickly recovers and apologizes.

Leitch said the negotiations during the latter half of the episode had genuine tension, and that all the storylines of the Michael Scott Paper Company arc were wrapped up perfectly.

[11] Eric Rezsnyak of the City Newspaper said the episode was a strong finale to the Michael Scott Paper Company arc, which was "probably the best thing to happen to the show in the last two seasons".

[12] Margaret Lyons of Entertainment Weekly said, "'Broke' was an incredibly brisk episode that covered a lot of ground, so it worked as a good capstone on the whole Michael-leaving-the-company plot."

She also said although the plot arc was a good one, she looked forward to future episodes focusing more on the Dunder Mifflin supporting cast.

Rabin also said the moment when Charles fails to listen when Dwight learns Michael's company is broke "rang a little false", but praised the episode as a whole.

[19] Steve Carell submitted this episode when he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, which he lost to Alec Baldwin.