Erik Adams of "The A.V. Club" awarded the episode a "B", writing that along with "Gay Witch Hunt", this episode is evident that Jim's transfer to Stamford "disrupts 'some of the show's best character pairings. He argues that, while this episode exists little more than a way for Michael and Jim to repair their friendship, the interaction between Carell and Krasinski at the episode's conclusion is worthy of applause. Adams also suggests that the episode's main theme is one of isolation, pointing out that both Dwight and Michael feel alone and cut-off from others even in the midst of a massive convention, and that Pam feels "marooned" back in Scranton. These feelings feed into the main themes of season three, which, according to Adams, are "distance, separation, and reunion".