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Is it too early to declare that The Office is revolutionary? On more than one occasion have I listened to industry professionals declare emphatically that the sitcom is dead. Yet, here’s a show that has reinvented the art form, first in the British series, and now in the (I’m officially willing to say) even better American version.

The last several installments have been consistently excellent (I still laugh when I think of Michael putting an ‘X’ on his date’s arm), and tonight’s episode managed to move several characters and many of the relationships in fantastic new directions. I am in awe.

Tonight’s episode, “Traveling Salesmen,” was yet another triumph of mining fantastic humor and conflict from subtle maneuvers in plot. Probably owing much to its British roots, The Office has constantly generated fabulous humor and plot twists from the tiniest things. Tonight was no exception. Phyllis’s reveal to Karen of Jim’s long-time crush on Pam was sublime. And how about all of the potential storytelling generated by a single (fabulously acted) close-up on Angela at the end?

In the short amount of airtime a sitcom gets nowawdays, this episode offered at once an ensemble storyline and a marvelous progression of primary characters. Seeing the sales team actually work sales was refreshing twist, oddly so considering this is a show about a group primarily comprising salespeople. Watching Dwight and Jim as a magnificently harmonious sales tag team added an unexpected yet compelling dimension of their relationship. I loved watching Stanley laugh at Ryan. Andy botching Michael’s sale was great. But this ensemble fun in no way outshined Steve Carell’s role tonight, as Michael went from his normal dufusy jokester to smooth and actually competent, to irritation as he drove away with Andy, to real anger with Dwight’s seeming betrayal. It was golden to see Michael offended that Dwight might besmirch the sacred “That’s what she said” go-to.

“Don’t you dare!”

But man, the character of Dwight is becoming one of the most original and interesting personae television has ever offered. Naturally, much of this stems from Mackenzie Crook’s origination of the Gareth character, and the fabulous writing on the BBC version. However, they only made fifteen episodes. Now in the middle of a third season, Rainn Wilson’s performance and stellar writing have evolved Dwight. For starters, that this character should have a serious romantic involvement shows a true willingness on the part of the writers to risk moving past typical character archetypes. I laugh every time there’s a cutaway to Angela, turned on my some blustery buffoonery on Dwight’s part. But Dwight has become a misanthrope with a fully human side, glimpsed from time to time through his socially maladroit nature. Giving Jim a big hug as he left? Last week’s episode contained a fabulous scene with Dwight comforting Pam, in which he seemed several times like he might prove to be a nice guy for the first time ever, removing his coat only to tie it around his waist, reaching out a comforting hand only to close with “You must be P.M.S.-ing pretty bad, huh?” I was amazed at how many times he pulled the same joke out, each one hilarious. And then in tonight’s episode that Dwight would sacrifice his career for Angela, even if it means leaving his job, adds a whole new depth. Brilliant.

If the show continues to develop like this, I think it’s more than fair to mention The Office in the same breath as Seinfeld or Arrested Development. Here’s hoping sitcoms everywhere will follow suit.