The Whale (The Office)

"The Whale" is the seventh episode of the ninth season of the American comedy television series The Office and the 183rd episode overall. The episode originally aired on NBC on November 15, 2012. The episode guest stars Jack Coleman as Robert Lipton and marks the return of actress Melora Hardin as Jan Levinson.

The series depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. In this episode, Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) is tasked with selling paper to a woman—who is later revealed to be Jan (Hardin)—from the Scranton White Pages, so Pam Halpert (Jenna Fischer) and the women of the office teach him how to interact with women. Angela Lipton (Angela Kinsey) confides in Oscar Martinez (Oscar Nunez) that her husband, Robert (Jack Coleman)—who is secretly having a relationship with Oscar—is cheating on her. Oscar helps her spy on her husband at his yoga class. Meanwhile, Toby Flenderson (Paul Lieberstein) convinces several of the men in the office to grow mustaches for "Movember".

"The Whale" received mixed reviews from television critics, with many commenting on Hardin's appearance. The episode was also viewed by 4.16 million viewers and received a 2.1/6 percent rating among adults between the ages of 18 and 49, ranking fourth in its timeslot. The episode, however, ultimately ranked as the highest-rated NBC series of the night.