What happened to Ed Truck in The Office? Details from the mockumentary sitcom, explored

One of The Office's most endearing memes is that of young Michael Scott shaking hands with his boss, Ed Truck, seen for the first time in the second season. Ed physically appears on screen for the first and only time in the second season of the show in the fourteenth episode The Carpet. In that episode, Ed advises Michael not to mix his professional life with his personal life.

Ed gives Michael advice after the latter asks the former how to befriend his co-workers. But in the fourth episode of The Office Season 3, Grief Counseling, we learn that Ed Truck passed away off-screen. After Grief Counseling, Michael's former boss is mentioned in passing in the next season's third and fourth episodes, Dunder Mifflin Infinity.

What happened to Ed Truck in The Office Season 2?

As mentioned earlier, Ken Howard's Ed Truck passed away somewhere between The Office Season 3 episodes 3 and 4. In the first act of Grief Counseling, Jan informs Michael about Ed's passing through the phone. After learning this, Michael informs his co-workers (excluding Jim, who is temporarily in Stamford) in the Scranton branch.

Michael is hurt to learn about his old manager's passing and is pulled into a vortex of grief. The episode focuses on Michael's attempts to share his grief with his Scranton co-workers, but they don't. Michael learns from Creed that a drunk Ed passed away in the most painful road accident. This revelation shakes Michael to his core, and he tries to get others to share his feelings in this The Office episode.

He does so by convening a counselling session in the meeting room, where Kevin, Pam, and Ryan, instead of sharing the death of a loved one, share the plot of movies like Weekend at Bernie's, Million Dollar Baby, and The Lion King. Michael soon realizes that his co-workers are not sincere, and is further pushed into grief that his co-workers don't care about his feelings.

While trying to explain to Michael that death is a part of life, Toby cites the example of a dead bird in the office building. Upon learning this, Michael holds a funeral for the dead bird in the closing minutes of the episode.

Ed Truck's death has been one of the longest-running mysteries amongst the fans:

As mentioned earlier, Creed Bratton reveals to Michael that a drunk Ed came under an 18-wheeler on the highway. However, fans questioned the legitimacy of Creed's account ever since the episode aired nineteen years ago on October 12, 2006. It should be noted that "Creed" might not be the character's real name based on the ninth season's revelations.

This is why many questioned if Creed Bratton's description of Ed Truck's passing to Michael was indeed true. That was the case until five years ago, on June 17, 2020, when the Office Ladies podcast about this episode cleared the long-debated topic. Pam Beesly actress Jenna Fischer was the first to talk:

"There is a very very big debate online as to whether Creed the character is making it up that Ed was decapitated or whether it's the truth."

Then, Fischer's co-host and actress Angela Kinsey, who played Angela Martin, added:

"You know, Creed tells some crazy stories both on camera and off camera. So I can see where this sort of like controversy, if you will, around Creed's retelling of this. Is it true? Is it not?"

Then, Kinsey went on to reveal that both she and Fischer decided to contact the episode's writer, Jen Celotta, for clarification about the circumstances surrounding Ed Truck's passing. Then, the hosts played Celotta's audio, which said:

"Sadly for Ed Truck, he did really get decapitated. It sounds like a Creed story, but it actually was a true story in the world of our show. I think it was Greg that came up with the decapitation. I can't quite remember, and Greg can't remember, but I remember spending a lot of time talking about the way Michael's former boss would die, and how it had to be something very sudden and jarring so that it could be a shock to Michael Scott's system. But yeah, the decapitation was real for Ed Truck. Sorry, Ed."

Trending

If you need to refresh your memory regarding this episode, Grief Counseling is available to stream on Peacock.

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback