Hot Take: Jim and Pam
Jim and Pam from The Office might be your relationship goals but they’re actually my worst nightmare.
I’m re-watching The Office for the millionth time since high school, and it’s one of those shows with such fast quick witted humor, you’ll find a new favorite joke each time you watch. I remember in high school when Tumblr and Twitter was the center of every teenagers’ universe. Teenage girls would be obsessed over Jim and Pam, while I recognize their great choice of comedy TV, they should really have higher standards. Jim and Pam are my worst nightmare, the co-dependence, working at a dead end office job, and failing art school for the tall guy. Hello! No I don’t want that life for myself, are you fucking kidding me? Their highlights in life were pranking Dwight Schrute together and office parties.
Halfway through the season, Jim and Pam finally find their way to each other and I appreciate that because will they or won’t they for a whole series is so 90s. At the beginning when Jim encouraged Pam and asked her, “Are you going to be a receptionist forever?” I thought Jim’s a good influence for Pam. However, that was when Pam was still with Roy , but when Pam failed ONE class, ONE, and she returns to Scranton waiting for Jim in the parking lot. Jim just kisses her with no attempt to ask her to finish art school for herself or she’s going to resent him forever. Pam had no backbone, she was insecure hiding behind a cute non-threatening face. Every time she faced situations of confrontation she would look in the camera for help, like bitch stick up for yourself. Her character breakthroughs were always small and pathetic like conquering the copier machine, getting the microwave cleaned, or conning her way to being the office administrator. Either Jim liked being this alpha male type or his dream girl just isn’t a strong independent woman.
Unlike Phyllis, Kelly, or Meredith, Pam doesn’t seem like the type of woman who had her slutty years, a serious monogamous relationship is the only life she knows. I have a saying and it goes like this, “every person should have a slut phase, it’s like Rumspringa,” and I approve this message. The only other guy besides Jim and Roy was Danny Corday, the hottest character on the show and he still worked with or relation to Dunder Mifflin. Pam goes from Roy to single to marrying the most eligible guy in her 1500 square foot office. She doesn’t even try to meet someone outside of work who isn’t related to a paper company in some way.
We’re approaching season 9 and Jim and Pam are clearly co-dependent, Jim has a huge career opportunity and the marriage starts crumbling. These two work together from 9-5 and live together raising two kids, but they can’t handle a weekend apart in order to have a better life, it’s called opportunity cost. Daryl was a single dad and he managed to work through being in Philadelphia on the weekends. Also, it seems like they spent most of their time together pranking Dwight, without talking or planning their future together. Do they even really know each other at all? Fortunately, they decided to make the move to Austin but watching the back and forth was so frustrating.