Perfect The Office Theory Explains Why Toby Was Fired in the Finale

Summary:

• The Office ’s HR manager Toby was fired by Dwight in the last episode.
• The Reddit theory implies it was a reasonable decision made not at that particular moment, but as a result of revealing ethical violations in the office.
• Toby’s ending could be considered one of the worst ones in the show.

The finale of The Office was one of the most awaited endings in the history of sitcoms, and the fate of every character was quite important to fans. It concludes with a year having passed since the previous events and the screening of the documentary about the office’s employees and their relationships and features Toby Flenderson (Paul Lieberstein), being fired by the new regional manager, Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson).

There is a fan theory by the Reddit user @Primetime22 that explains that Toby's firing can be a long-time decision which was made not by Dwight, but by David Wallace (Andy Buckley), CEO of Dunder Mifflin Paper Company.

Presumably, following the release of the documentary, workplace ethics violations could be revealed, appearing as "PR nightmare on [Wallace's] hands”, who was forced to restore the company's public image.

Toby, being an office’s HR manager, could be possibly made guilty of those violations, which took place under his management and this didn’t show him as a professional, more than that, he was even the reason for many of these conflicts and misconducts at work, being a troublesome person. Someone was really supposed to take that blame.

"Nearly every act of harassment, racism, violence, and general misconduct that the Dunder-Mifflin Scranton branch ever experienced is neatly documented whether these events were recorded by Toby or not (and we know he probably didn't record all of them <...>," fairly points out Redditor @Primetime22, speaking of reasons for Toby’s dismissal.

Recalling the common impression of Toby’s image, which was built throughout the whole nine Office seasons, he is portrayed like a comically nasty villain, especially through the eyes of the former regional manager, Michael Scott (Steve Carell), who always wanted to get rid of such an HR manager, hating and disturbing him.

It leads us to the conclusion that Toby’s firing could be really quite reasonable and long overdue. This theory is also supplemented by the scene of the finale when Wallace expresses his disappointment and anger of what he saw in the documentary.

Thus, Toby’s ending can be perceived as one of the worst ones in the series, as being the fall guy for all violations (of not only his, but the whole office’s) is a heavy burden.

Source: Reddi