The Office is one of the most beloved sitcoms of all time, with lovable characters and an entertaining mockumentary storyline. The show aired through the prime of early 2000s TV, spanning nine seasons and cementing itself in the hearts of many. Over a decade after the show ended, fans keep going back to rewatch, and one of those reasons is the iconic relationship at the forefront: Jim Halpert and Pam Beesly.
Throughout the show’s early seasons, Jim and Pam epitomized a will-they-won’t-they dynamic. Given The Office‘s workplace setting, romance isn’t exactly what one would expect, but Jim and Pam share intense chemistry from the first episode. With ups and downs, flirting, and heartbreak, Jim and Pam were part of the show’s heart. Their long-winded romance took a while to build. But luckily, in a world of streaming, there’s no need for fans to wait to see their happily ever after.
1. Season 1: Jim and Pam Are Best Friends in The Office
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Season 1 of The Office didn’t last very long, with only six episodes proving that the show’s creators were trying something new. Throughout the six episodes, audiences learn who Jim, Pam, Michael, Dwight, and the rest of the Dunder Mifflin Scranton team are and that Jim Halpert has a massive crush on Pam. She doesn’t reciprocate those feelings, though, as she’s engaged to her high school sweetheart, Roy Anderson, a warehouse worker. As such, their relationship stays within the confines of a friendship, and they share plenty of platonic fun.
The Office‘s debut season only had a few episodes, and there weren’t many noteworthy ones for Jim and Pam’s relationship. Still, the second episode, “Diversity Day,” gave Jim and the audience a little hope. In it, Michael is racist all day, and Jim loses out on a sale, but Pam falling asleep on his shoulder makes it a good day for him. The season ends with “Hot Girl” and Jim possibly moving on, asking out Katy, played by Amy Adams.
2. Season 2: Jim’s Crush on Pam Intensifies Into Love
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Season 2 is when things started picking up for The Office in terms of quality, and there are significantly more episodes, at a whopping twenty-two. With that said, though, Jim and Pam were still only friends. The season showcased more of their friendship through various pranks they pulled on Dwight. But Pam was still engaged to Roy, and Jim was dating Katy casually, though it was clear Jim’s crush was growing.
Season 2 starts strong with The Dundies, a Dunder Mifflin Scranton-exclusive award show set at Chili’s or similar Scranton establishments every year. In the episode, Pam, amid an argument with Roy, attends the Dundies, gets inebriated, and even kisses Jim quickly, marking their first kiss. A few episodes later in “The Client,” they share a rooftop dinner, later considered by Jim as their first date. In “Christmas Party,” Jim gets Pam in Secret Santa, where he gives her several well-thought-out presents, including a note professing his feelings for her that he takes out of the gift before she reads it. The season ends with “Casino Night,” where Jim confesses his love and kisses Pam by his desk, leaving the season on a romantic cliffhanger.
3. Season 3: Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder For Jim and Pam
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When Season 3 picks back up, there’s a flashback to the Jim and Pam kiss and the resulting conversation. It’s short and bittersweet, resulting in Jim’s transfer from Scranton after Pam’s rejection. It’s a heartbreaking turn of events, and while Pam calls off her engagement, Jim and his Stamford coworker Karen start a relationship that follows him back to Scranton. For a while, Pam is left pining after Jim, even when she gives Roy a second chance.
After Jim transfers to the Stamford branch, he and Pam don’t have contact until the fifth episode, “Initiation,” where Jim accidentally calls Scranton while Pam is still at work. Their dynamic doesn’t return until Jim returns in “The Merger,” where things are slightly awkward. “Beach Day” shows a more confident Pam admitting that she misses how things were with Jim before he transferred. The next episode seemingly puts the drama on hold and the romance on a pedestal as Jim asks Pam on a date.
4. Season 4: Jim and Pam Finally Get Together
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It’s unsurprising that after the Season 3 cliffhanger, everything pointed to Jim and Pam as a couple, but they were both adamant that they’re just friends. That rouse quickly falls apart when the cameras catch them kissing after work. Their dynamic doesn’t change too much, but fans finally get to see both parties happily in love.
There are a few notable episodes of their relationship, starting with “Money,” where they spend their first night away together at Schrute Farms. Episode 13 of the season features the infamous “Dinner Party,” where the couple join Andy, Angela, Dwight, and his old babysitter for a disastrous dinner party at Michael and Jan’s condo. It’s clear that their relationship is new but on a fast track toward commitment as “Goodbye Toby” features Jim as he plans to propose. Unfortunately, things don’t turn out that way as Andy throws a wrench in Jim’s grand gesture, getting engaged instead.
5. Season 5: Jim Proposes to Pam, and They Get Some Good News
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The failed proposal gets addressed early in Season 5 after Pam reveals she’s heading to New York for a twelve-week art program at the prestigious Pratt Institute. So, to avoid another long engagement, they wait until she’s back. But that also doesn’t last long. Throughout the season, their relationship gets tested with another long-distance stint, a workplace shift, and an unexpected milestone.
The first two episodes of The Office‘s Season 5 split with “Weight Loss,” where Pam heads off for three months to NYC. The episode features the infamous scene where the duo meets at a rest stop/gas station, and he proposes in the pouring rain. “Frame Toby” features Jim buying his parents’ house, and he and Pam move in together. But she, having failed art school, spends a good chunk of the season questioning her future career, even quitting Dunder Mifflin with Michael Scott to found the Michael Scott Paper Company. The season ends with a hospital visit and a happy moment.
6. Season 6: Jim and Pam Halpert Get Married and Have a Baby
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Season 6 of The Office solidifies Jim and Pam’s relationship in The Office by finally giving them two massive milestones. The Office shifts its focus onto more notable Dunder Mifflin issues like financial problems and management issues, allowing Jim and Pam to exist peacefully in the workplace with a stable relationship. The season overall opens the door for their relationship to last, so there isn’t room for will-they-wont-they drama.
While it was clear that Pam and Jim got news of her pregnancy at the end of Season 5, it got announced in “Gossip.” Jim also gets a promotion in the early part of the season, right before Jim and Pam get married in Niagra Falls. Episodes seventeen and eighteen, “The Delivery,” are split in two, with the first featuring Jim as a nervous wreck and the second part introducing little Cecelia Marie Halpert or CeCe.
7. Season 7: Jim and Pam Fall More in Love With the Birth of Cece
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Believe it or not, nothing especially significant happens in The Office Season 7 that revolves around Jim and Pam. The only notable part of the season is Steve Carell’s Michael Scott leaving Dunder Mifflin for good. With that said, though, there are a few memorable moments between the couple within the season.
Episode 3, “Andy’s Play,” centers around Andy in a production of Sweeney Todd and his trying to impress Erin. But, Jim and Pam struggle to find childcare to attend the play. The episode ends with them finally getting CeCe to sleep and having a sweet little date night in the car. “Costume Contest” features Pam slightly upset about a past fling’s return. To cheer her up, Jim breaks his no serious Halloween costume rule, showing up in a Popeye outfit with baby CeCe. Michael says goodbye in the twenty-second episode, which is emotional for everyone on-screen and off.
8. Season 8: The Halpert Family Grows, and Cathy Rocks the Boat
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Season 8 of The Office starts strong, with “The List” showing Pam pregnant with “little Michael Scott,” their second baby. But, things start to get rocky a few episodes in with “Pam’s Replacement.” In it, Pam prepares for maternity leave, and her temporary replacement, Cathy, rubs her the wrong way as she bonds with Jim, though he remains completely faithful.
After that, Pam is absent for a few episodes until “Jury Duty,” when it’s revealed in an all-too-realistic scenario that the Halperts are struggling with raising two kids. In the next episode, Pam returns from maternity leave, only to have Jim sent on an assignment in Tallahassee, Florida. There, Pam’s anxieties about Cathy get confirmed, as the woman tries to get between their marriage. Luckily, the Jim cheating on Pam storyline got axed by John Krasinski, and their marriage remains stable for a while.
9. Season 9: Jim and Pam Get Rocky With Real Marital Problems, and Brian Enters the Scene
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Season 9of The Office was notably different from its predecessors as it started with Jim and Pam acknowledging the documentary crew. It was clear from the first episode that Season 9 was the beginning of the end, and things got real. The second episode, “Roy’s Wedding,” gave Jim and Pam a glimpse into the past and a mirror to reflect on their relationship, leaving them searching for any secrets or unknowns about their marriage.
Pam finds out Jim’s big secret –he started a company– in “Andy’s Ancestry” and is happy for him but upset that he hid it. “Here Comes Treble” has a similar feeling, as Pam finds out just how much of their money Jim invested without telling her. Their relationship hits the rockiest point yet, as Jim starts splitting his time between his family and his new job. They’re seen fighting for the first time in The Office and are seemingly on a path to disaster until “A.A.R.M.” In that episode, she reveals that she’s afraid she’s not enough for him, and Jim compiles a montage of them over the years before finally giving her the infamous teapot letter and sealing their fate as soulmates. The final episode of the show shows them moving to Austin, Texas, to pursue Jim’s dream job, and they presumably live happily ever after.
