This, I think, underscores what I expect will be the big climax of the season.
The story is obviously building to a point where Ryan will make some sort of definitive move against Michael (he may fire him, or more likely assign him to a “special project” that has him marginalized). Something will then go colossally wrong with Ryan’s approach to sales, a problem directly attributable to Ryan’s personality and one that is solved by Michael’s caring approach. My tentative guess: The website messes up a huge order, a very big customer is irate, Ryan does something to completely aggravate the situation (a he said/she said like “I’m sorry, but the computer says the order was filled.”/“Are you calling me a liar?”), and Michael rushes in to save the day.
There are pitfalls with this approach; as much as the now-smarmy Ryan makes an effective villain, there’s a danger of making him too unlikeable to have his character redeemable, an inportant quality in a comedy (see: Jan and Andy, unless B.J. Novak is planning to write himself out of the series). I think the team can pull it off, but I hope they can still make it somewhat surprising.
