Why Oscar Left The Office (& Why He Returned)

As a long-running show that fans still miss 11 years later, The Office had a lot of characters that came and went. The main focus of the series fell on core characters, which included Michael, Jim, Pam, Angela, Dwight, Kevin and Oscar. As a group, they made up part of the workforce at Dunder Mifflin and were individually distinctive characters that were crucial to the whole series. From the accounting team, Oscar Martinez (Oscar Nuñez) was important to both the plot and the running of the Scranton branch. He was intelligent and often became a sounding board for Michael.

Oscar saw the absurdity in Michael’s management and was well-informed when the entire company hit rocky patches. Working closely with Angela and Kevin wasn’t always the easiest. Although friendly, Kevin wasn’t very capable in his job, and Angela was the opposite. She wasn’t pleasant to be around but was good at her job. Further into the series, Oscar’s storylines became bigger and more central to the overarching plot, particularly when it came to having an affair with Angela’s husband, Senator Lipton. As emotional as the plot was, it brought Angela and Oscar closer together by the end of the series. In between, Oscar left The Office for a short period. He left after Season 3, Episode 1, “Gay Witch Hunt,” and came back in the same season in Episode 14, entitled “The Return.” His departure came as the result of Michael speaking without thinking, but the reason for the character being written out for a while was actually due to Nuñez’s own work schedule.

Michael Gave Out Information That He Should’ve Kept to Himself

Michael became notorious for regularly saying the wrong thing in both his professional and personal life. The episode “Gay Witch Hunt” depicted one of the worst things he ever did. The third season begins with Toby having a one-on-one meeting with Michael after he uses a homophobic term. As per Michael’s usual line of defense, he tried to justify using the word by telling Toby that he uses it around everyone in the office. Toby elaborated on the context by telling Michael that he called Oscar a derogatory term when Oscar said he preferred the film Shakespeare in Love to an action movie. Not seeming to make much progress with telling Michael he couldn’t use such words, Toby then revealed to Michael that Oscar really was gay. It took a few moments for him to actually understand what Toby was saying, but once it sunk in, Michael was taken aback. Toby went on to say that Oscar was hoping to count on Michael’s discretion, which, of course, he couldn’t.

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Michael should have left it there, as he’d already done enough damage by using offensive language. However, he decided he wanted to apologize to Oscar, which he could’ve done in private. It probably came as no surprise that Michael apologized to Oscar within earshot of the whole office, thus revealing Oscar’s sexuality to everyone. Speaking to Dwight in his office, the two discuss who else might be gay among their colleagues. Dwight remembers that Jim told him that ‘gaydar’ could be purchased online, which Michael tells him to look for. Oscar was made to feel even more uncomfortable when Angela expressed her discriminatory feelings about his sexuality. Jan and Toby talk to Michael to make him understand that it wasn’t his responsibility to tell people about Oscar’s personal life. Yet again, he failed to see their point of view. Michael called a meeting in his office to have another inappropriate conversation. His feeble attempt to undo his wrongdoings, Michael made things so much worse. To prove that he was fine with Oscar being gay, he forced Oscar to kiss him. Oscar managed not to get angry at Michael in the moment, seemingly to prevent anything else from happening. Dwight also then took it upon himself to stand up and kiss Oscar, which Michael intervened. The whole ordeal is completely humiliating for Oscar, who just wants Michael’s respect. Due to his outrageous actions, Jan gave Oscar three months’ paid vacation and the use of a company car in exchange for him not suing the company over what Michael had done. Oscar accepted the deal and then left the office.

Oscar Came Back at the End of His Vacation

Oscar’s return comes after his three months of paid vacation ended. During the 14th episode of the third season, “The Return,” Oscar gets back to work. He is greeted by Kevin, who asks him about his “gay-cation,” a coined phrase that he had been waiting for weeks to use. Angela asks Oscar to join the party planning committee. Initially, he thought she was mocking her because the committee is made up of just women. However, this time, she wasn’t. She was sorry for the way things had previously “transpired” and wanted to make some changes. Once she started crying, Oscar was quick to accept her gesture. Before Oscar barely has a chance to settle back in, Michael is back to his usual ways and offends him once again. Only this time, Michael wants to throw a Mexican-themed party. The party planning committee decks the office with piñatas. Eventually, Oscar’s sexuality becomes less of a talking point, but throughout the series, Michael still manages to say the wrong thing.

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The rest of the episode focuses on Michael’s attempt at getting Dwight to return to Dunder Mifflin after he had mistakenly accused him of disloyalty. When Angela didn’t hand in some work on time, she needed Dwight’s help to rectify the situation. He drove all the way to New York to hand in her forms, which meant her work wasn’t past the due date. As such, he was a few hours late to work the next morning. Andy, jealous of Dwight’s working relationship with Michael and wishing to sabotage his reputation, broke into Dwight’s car and found the toll-booth ticket to New York. The whole debacle came a little while after Dwight had tried to take Michael’s job, so Michael felt he could no longer trust his colleague. Neither Dwight nor Angela tells Michael the real reason that he was late for work so that they can protect their secret relationship. Dwight resigns, but after Angela tells Michael the truth, Michael convinces Dwight to go back. Upon his arrival, Dwight mistakes Oscar’s party for his own “welcome back” party.

Oscar Nuñez Left to Work on Another Show

The storyline wasn’t just written in for the characters. Oscar Nuñez actually took a break from working on The Office to film for Halfway Home. The show ran for 10 episodes in 2007. Each episode was improvised and centered around five criminals living together in a halfway house. Nuñez played Eulogio, who had been arrested for sex work. He wasn’t the first in his family to be a sex worker, but he was the only one to be arrested. His father was deeply ashamed of him getting caught. Eulogio has a talent for beauty work, sometimes fixing other characters’ hair. Although the series didn’t last long, Nuñez’s career has continued seemingly without any issues. He went on to play Oscar in The Office until the finale, with a big storyline in the last season that involved the affair with Angela’s husband, Robert Lipton. By the end of the show, Oscar was reaching for a new career that would suit him and make the most of his skills.

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In TV, Nuñez has gone on to appear in successful shows like Brooklyn Nine-Nine as Dr. Porp and voiced Cha-Cha and Pepe for Bob’s Burgers. Last year, Nuñez was in six episodes of Lucky Hank as Dean Jacob Rose, which was developed by Paul Lieberstein, who played Toby on The Office. His work in film hasn’t been as extensive as his television resume, but he’s still had a substantial number of roles. He played Ramone in The Proposal, and in The Lost City (another Sandra Bullock movie), he portrayed Óscar. Nuñez was a key part of The Office. His role was integral to the whole series, with the actor making his character a credible and much-loved part of the show. Nuñez always captured the emotion and was a great contrast to the outlandish behavior of Michael or Dwight. He consistently hit his comedic moments with precision and was an asset to the overall show.

A mockumentary on a group of typical office workers, where the workday consists of ego clashes, inappropriate behavior, and tedium.

Release Date

March 24, 2005

Cast

Mindy Kaling , Jenna Fischer , Kate Flannery , Ed Helms , Craig Robinson , Paul Lieberstein , Ellie Kemper , B.J. Novak , Angela Kinsey , Oscar Nunez , Rainn Wilson , Brian Baumgartner , Phyllis Smith , Leslie David Baker , Creed Bratton , Steve Carell , John Krasinski

Rating

Seasons

9

Creator

Production Company

Story By

Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant

Writers

Mindy Kaling , Paul Lieberstein , Michael Schur , ricky gervais , Greg Daniels , B.J. Novak

Franchise(s)

The Office

Directors

Greg Daniels , Paul Lieberstein , Paul Feig , Randall Einhorn , Ken Kwapis

Showrunner

Greg Daniels

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