The Office’s Jim and Pam might have been one of the show’s better couples, but they still had several frustrating moments. Jim and Pam’s relationship in The Office was the focus of the show’s main storyline for a significant chunk of its run, but they weren’t always perfect. Despite the pair being two of the main characters in the cast of The Office, Jim and Pam’s plots weren’t as exciting in later seasons of the show compared to when they were first introduced.
As The Office progressed, so did Jim and Pam as characters. Both started the show wanting to be with one another and by the end of The Office, they were married and had two children – Cece and Phillip. Although their love story had a happy ending, Pam and Jim were still guilty of creating some incredibly irritating moments in The Office.
10.Jim Picks Pam Up At Dwight’s Dojo
Season 2, Episode 6 – The Fight
One of the earliest moments in the show that established just how heavy the tension between Jim and Pam was happened in the episode “The Fight.” After Michael made everyone go to Dwight’s dojo to watch them fight, Jim and Pam started to get incredibly silly. The two messed around in laughter, and Jim picked Pam off the ground, but it only stopped when she noticed her coworkers’ reactions. Pam suddenly became overly angry at his actions and demanded to be put down, leaving Jim confused and embarrassed but still apologetic.
This was an odd moment for Pam. Because she only brought their flirting to an end when she spotted the others watching them, it was clear that Pam knew that Jim holding her wasn’t appropriate. Yet, she still playfully teased him anyway. Although Jim might have taken things too far by picking her off the ground, he didn’t deserve Pam’s abrupt response, especially as it seemed to be an honest mistake, and he was just trying to have fun with her.
9.Jim’s Confesses His Feelings To Pam
Season 2, Episode 22 – Casino Night
Jim and Pam’s first real kiss in The Office was in the episode “Casino Night,” when Jim finally admitted the underlying feelings he had for Dunder Mifflin Scranton’s receptionist. Pam initially let Jim down gently, but after talking to her mother on the phone, she allowed Jim to kiss her in private in the office. Pam decided to stay with Roy despite this, which broke Jim’s heart. Although Pam hurt Jim, they were both in the wrong at this moment. Jim continued to push the topic with Pam, even though she’d already rejected him worse.
However, Pam shouldn’t have let Jim kiss her either, especially if she knew deep down that she wasn’t going to leave Roy. He wasn’t the best character, but regardless of his attitude and how he treated Pam, it was hugely disrespectful for her to kiss Jim moments after Roy left the event. They both looked gloriously happy after the smooch, yet didn’t get together, so it wasn’t really fair for Pam to be distraught over Jim and Karen’s later relationship when she could have changed the outcome.
8.Jim Moves To Stanford After Kissing Pam
Season 3, Episode 1 – Gay Witch Hunt
After the fallout of “Casino Night,” Jim left Scranton in The Office. He moved to the Stanford branch and took on a new role, but the memories of Pam haunted him still. Despite his heartbreak, Jim tried to have a new start in Stanford, which was where he met Karen and Andy. It was a sad moment for the pair, especially as certain scenes proved that they were both thinking of the other. However, Jim’s decision to depart was rather frustrating for a few reasons.
Jim’s decision to move was purely about Pam. Although he claimed that part of his reasoning was because Stanford offered him a big pay rise, it didn’t feel like enough of a benefit to sway his decision. Jim loved Pam, but he knew that she and Roy had split up shortly after “Casino Night,” so it was bizarre that he still left anyway. In theory, if Jim were really torn up about Pam, it would’ve made more sense for him to move to another company where he had no chance of interacting with her.
7.Pam Tells Jim To Get More Sleep
Season 3, Episode 15 – Ben Franklin
Shortly after leaving, Jim ended up back in Scranton again after the Standford branch closed down. At this point in the show, he was dating Karen, one of Jim’s most important relationships in The Office. Karen and Pam’s first interactions were a little uncomfortable, but over time, the pair found common ground. However, their bond was quickly damaged when Jim confirmed that he still had feelings for Pam. Jim’s admission was poorly timed and all-around a terrible idea, but Karen wanted things to work, so he spent numerous nights staying up late and talking it through with her.
In a painfully cringeworthy moment in The Office, Pam told Jim about the importance of getting sleep. This moment was incredibly awkward and out of character for Pam, who usually knew how to read the room and avoid difficult topics of conversation. Pam knew things with Jim and Karen weren’t great, and she was clever enough to realize that it was because of her. Jim was obviously not going to discuss this with Pam, of all people, but she made a bit of a fool of herself trying to act normally.
6.Pam Quits Art School To Be With Jim
Season 5, Episode 8 – Business Trip
One of the moments in The Office that made viewers quit was when Pam left art school. Jim and Pam found their long-distance relationship hard, but ultimately, they were happy because Pam was fulfilling her dream. However, after she discovered she’d failed, Pam returned to Scranton to be with Jim. This was particularly annoying as Jim was determined that she finished school and came home “ the right way ,” but Pam ignored him and went back anyway. It was massively disappointing, considering the number of fights Pam and Roy had about it.
Pam made a point of saying that it was the right time for her to go to art school so that she wouldn’t have to compromise on a future of marriage and children with Jim. Although it can be argued that nothing was more important to Pam than Jim, it shouldn’t have been the case. Pam was her own person outside of Jim, but her decision not to retake her course implied that nothing else mattered to her other than their relationship, which was an example of poor character development for her.
5.Jim & Pam Pester Danny Cordray About Why He Didn’t Call Pam Back
Season 7, Episode 6 – Costume Contest
After Michael convinced The Office’s hotshot salesman, Danny Cordray, to join Dunder Mifflin, he was relatively absent because he worked on the road. However, when he attended the Halloween party in the episode “Costume Contest,” it was revealed that when Jim was in Scranton, Pam and Danny went on a few dates. Jim was baffled as to why Danny never called Pam back, which was a weird query to have about his wife, and he and Pam wouldn’t give up on trying to find out why.
Unsurprisingly, Danny was very confused in these scenes, especially as it’d been so many years and Pam was now married to Jim. Although Jim and Pam were simply curious about the past and how things could have been different, it was still plain weird that they were so obsessed with knowing. Sadly, the two most socially competent characters in The Office lost all sense of manners and hounded Danny, which was cringey.
4.Jim & Pam Get Drunk And Look For Places To Have Sex In The Office
Season 7, Episode 16 – PDA
After a drunken Valentine’s Day lunch, Jim and Pam stumbled back to their workplace. This was a sweet moment for the pair, who had become consumed by work and parenting, so it was nice that they got to spend some quality time together. However, they ruined the moment when Dwight started listing those who’d had sex in the office and started looking for somewhere they could go themselves. This was such a strange moment for both Jim and Pam, who’d never exhibited this kind of behavior before.
Jim and Pam’s desire to have sex in the office was wildly out of character for both of them, and it would have made more sense if it were Dwight and Angela. Jim had especially voiced that he and Pam had their own home to go to, so it was weird that he changed his mind about this. It wasn’t as if this was the first time Jim and Pam were drunk in The Office either, and although they were trying to be adventurous, this moment was simply too unrealistic for the characters.
3. Pam Tries To Prove Jim Is Attracted To Cathy
Season 8, Episode 7 – Pam’s Replacement
Shortly after The Office’s Cathy Simms arrived as Pam’s maternity leave cover in the episode “Pam’s Replacement,” she and Jim hit it off. Pam started to form a theory in her head that Jim was attracted to Cathy, but he wouldn’t admit it. Although it could be argued that Jim didn’t confirm this because Pam was pregnant, which he implied in a talking head, he simply wasn’t drawn to Cathy. This was proved in later episodes of The Office season 8 when Cathy tried to make a move on Jim in Florida.
The subsequent events led to Dwight and Pam taking Jim for a “lie detector test,” but it was wild that they even got to that point. Pam’s concerns weren’t due to her being self-conscious; they were more because she was adamant about being right. Like with Danny, Pam’s obsessive need to find out the truth was nonsensical and odd. There was no positive for Pam if she’d got Jim to confess, yet she persisted anyway as if she was looking for a reason to have her feelings hurt.
2.Jim Gets Angry When Pam Fails To Record Cece’s Receital
Season 9, Episode 12 – Customer Loyalty
One moment that highlighted Jim and Pam’s relationship problems in The Office was when Pam couldn’t videotape Cece’s recital. It was hard not to feel sorry for Pam, who tried her best but failed to record their daughter’s dancing because she received a phone call about designing a local mural. Jim was fuming that his wife couldn’t do the one thing he’d asked, but at the same time, it wouldn’t have been an issue if he was there. Jim was so focused on Athlead that he missed out on major family events.
He was supposed to attend but pulled out at the last minute because of his new company, so it wasn’t as if Pam knew from the beginning that she’d need to film it. Jim also didn’t offer any response to Pam’s exciting news, something she’d been excitedly talking about for a while, which was disappointing. The most frustrating thing about this moment, however, was that Jim and Pam didn’t say what was on their minds and talk about their issues; instead, they wrapped up their problems in a silly argument.
1.Pam & Jim’s Lunch With Brian The Boom Operator
Season 9, Episode 15 – Couples Discount
The Office season 9’s Brian twist failed for several reasons, but his awkward lunch date with Pam and Jim definitely didn’t help. In the final season of the show, the documentary crew became more present than ever as the reality series built up to its premiere, which was why the boom operator was seen interacting with Pam more. After a warehouse worker graffitied Pam’s mural, Brian punched the guy in the face and was fired. As a thank you, Jim and Pam went for lunch with Brian, where Jim discovered he’d missed out on a lot more than he realized.
Jim was uneasy when he found out that Brian shared an intimate moment with Pam after he’d made her cry. Although it was a perfectly normal reaction, it was one that Jim didn’t really deserve to have, considering how he treated Pam throughout the whole Athlead storyline. They ended up having a blazing row in the parking lot afterward, too, which wasn’t really fair as Pam had done nothing wrong. This was a frustrating and disappointing moment for Jim and Pam in The Office, who once again could have avoided it if they’d just been honest.
