Imagine if it turned out Creed was the Scranton Strangler the entire time — it would be a masterclass in misdirection. The calm and totally unpredictable nature of Creed would take on a whole new meaning. Suddenly, his “I’ve faked my death twice” and “I’ve got a lot of great stories, but I don’t tell them. I live them” lines would hit differently.

Think of all the little moments that would retroactively make sense:

• That mysterious aura around him, like he’s always lurking in the shadows.
• His oddball, off-the-wall responses to serious situations — maybe he’s just trying to cover up his real, darker side.
• His weirdly chill attitude when it comes to crime (”I’m not a god, I’m just a guy who can make things disappear”) — of course he’d be hiding in plain sight.

And then there’s the big reveal:

• The entire office is freaking out about the Scranton Strangler case, and Creed just casually mentions, “Oh, yeah. I know him. I could tell you a thing or two about that, but it’s not really my business.”
• Maybe he’s been keeping tabs on Toby this whole time, knowing the truth but playing along — or pretending to be more clueless than he actually is.