Who is the Scranton Strangler?

Posted Monday, May 10, 2010

There’s been something very fishy going on at Dunder Mifflin paper company… For the past few weeks, the writers of The Office have been cleverly weaving in a sinister subplot: The Scranton Strangler. *cue dramatic music*

He (or she) was first mentioned in The Delivery, when Andy buys a copy of the the daily newspaper to commemorate the birth of Jim and Pam’s baby girl, Cecilia Halpert.  It’s unfortunate headline: “SCRANTON STRANGLER STRIKES AGAIN.”

I of course laughed and didn’t think much of it at the time, but The Scranton Strangler has been mentioned several times in subsequent episodes.  Is this just a running gag or the early workings of a much bigger plot reveal?

Regardless, the question remains—who is the Scranton Strangler? I give you my Top 3 Suspects:

1. Gabe Louis—Sabre’s mulish but mild-mannered corporate drone is, aside from being a complete tool,  a newcomer to The Office and to Scranton, which instantly raises my hinky-meter.  Is it just a coincidence that The Scranton Strangler’s reign of terror seems to coincide with his arrival to Dunder Mifflin?
2. Ryan Howard—From lowly temp to Vice President to unemployed to lowly temp again (with an arrest and attempt to flee the country along the way), it’s no secret that Ryan’s past is a shady one.  In a recent episode he teams up with Dwight to wreak havoc against Jim, but Ryan seems to take it all a bit too seriously, going so far as to imply that he would kill Jim, Saw-style–could this be an indicator that he’s finally snapped?
3. Toby Flenderson—Poor Toby; nothing ever goes right for him.  Dunder Mifflin’s milquetoast HR rep and Michael’s favorite punching bag doesn’t seem to have much going for him.  But have you noticed that he hasn’t been around much lately?  Could Michael’s constant badgering (and perhaps Toby’s unrequited love for Pam) have pushed him off the deep end? You know what they say; it’s always the quiet ones…

Or could The Scranton Strangler be a new character yet to be introduced?  It’s a mystery to me, my dear Watson.