We rooted for Jim and Pam on "The Office" in the beginning, then we weren't so sure as Karen entered the picture and Pam devolved further into loserdom, but after five years of pining, break-ups, cheating on their significant others, dropping out of art school and underhanded business moves, we've realized that while these two are not the perfect people we once thought they were, they definitely do deserve each other. Let's examine how compatibly terrible they are.
They're Both Absurdly Immature
Admittedly, everybody laughs at the pranks. They used to be one of the best parts of the show. But you can't deny that when even Ryan starts telling you to "ask [him] ten years ago" for help with a prank that you've got the sense of humor of a middle schooler.
Jim and Pam Made Out Just Weeks Before Her Wedding to Roy
It can certainly be argued that Pam's refusal to leave Roy for Jim in the early seasons was an admirable show of loyalty, but in the Season 2 finale she not only let Jim kiss her, but she agreed she'd wanted to kiss him for a long time, then told him she still planned to marry Roy, for… some reason.
Jim Let Karen Move to Scranton Without Telling Her About Pam
When the Stamford branch closed and a few employees were offered a transfer to Scranton, Jim decided to go, and since Karen had started dating him and things were going well, she decided to transfer with him. A decision she later regretted when she got there and was surprised with the love of Jim's life on her first day, of course.
Jim Stranded Karen in New York
After Jim and Karen drove to New York together to interview with corporate, and had a perfectly lovely city date the night before, Jim up and deserted Karen, his girlfriend, without a ride home to run back to Pam, his not-girlfriend, after he found a sweet note she'd left in his briefcase. Because when Jim is dealing with people who are not Pam, he doesn't care how they get home.
Pam Declared Her Love for Jim in Front of His Girlfriend, and Everyone Else, for That Matter
When Pam stood up in front of everyone at the Dunder Mifflin beach outing and said "I called off my wedding because of you. I really miss you." to Jim, while he was sitting next to his girlfriend, even the most die-hard Pam supporters didn't have a leg to stand on to defend her.
Pam's… Kind of a Pain
Karen originally diagnosed Pam with bitchery after the whole beach outing debacle, and that, combined with passive aggressive notes on the microwave and a bizarre freak-out over how they need new office chairs over the more popular option of a new copier in one episode, makes us inclined to agree.
Two Joke Proposals is Just Mean
We're nitpicking with this one, as it is part of the maturity issue, but even one joke proposal is cruel -- two is diabolical. Not that Pam didn't have it coming after all the stuff she put Jim through during the Roy years.
Jim Tried to Finagle Salary Raises in Pam's Favor
After Jim had been promoted to co-manager of the Scranton branch in Season 6, a decision came down that there was only enough budget for a few staffers to get pay raises that year. Jim quickly decided that only the sales staff, of which Pam is a new member, should receive them. This was an awful, biased decision that would have screwed over a lot of people simply because they were not Pam.
Talk About It: What has been your favorite Jim and Pam moment?
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