sales representative. Since then, Ryan and Jim seem to have resumed their former business relationship with the two no longer butting heads and even associating with each other in a friendly manner on a regular basis. Dwight Schrute Much like Jim, Ryan saw Dwight as an extremely odd and annoying person, stating in "The Return" that he will not miss Dwight after Dwight quit temporarily. During "The Initiation", Dwight takes Ryan on a series of bizarre tests to prove himself a worthy salesman. This does nothing except infuriate Ryan, who cannot believe that the best salesman within the company can act in such a ridiculous fashion. Regardless, Dwight tells Ryan he only wants to get along with him, unlike the way he and Jim worked together, and the two bond by throwing eggs at the potential buyer's company building when they refused their offer because they did not like Ryan. In season four, Dwight seems to respect Ryan much more after he was promoted to vice president of Northeast sales, with Ryan also seeming to tolerate Dwight much more than previous seasons. The two were rarely seen talking to each other in season five, but decide to team up in season six to get Jim fired from his newly appointed co-manager position. They often argued with each other, but celebrated after Jim got demoted. The two were last seen agreeing to go out for drinks to celebrate, but then end up arguing over where to drink. Inclusion in opening sequence and promotional images B. J. Novak's continued inclusion in the opening credits was sometimes questioned in the later years of the series, as the role of Ryan Howard had been significantly downplayed since season 5, and was considered to be no more significant than other characters whose actors were not given an opening credit. Novak officially left the opening credits in the Season 9 premiere and was credited as a guest star. Appearances Ryan appears in most episodes of the series, with the exception of the season 4 episodes ("Branch Wars", "Survivor Man", "Dinner Party", and "Chair Model" as well as “Job Fair”), 12 episodes during season 5 (beginning with "The Surplus" through "Two Weeks", making his return in "Dream Team"—during this absence, actor B. J. Novak was filming Inglourious Basterds with Quentin Tarantino), and a majority of the season 9 episodes (he appears in only "New Guys" and "Finale").