Does Jim cheat on Pam with Cathy?

If you're just now tuning in to John Krasinski's career, then you may know him best for his starring role in Amazon's "Jack Ryan" series, or for his film work as the director, star, and co-writer of "A Quiet Place." However, many TV viewers and Peacock binge-watchers will forever associate him with the role of Jim Halpert from "The Office." Krasinski co-starred in 201 episodes of the show, which still enjoys great popularity and was, in fact, the most-streamed show of 2020.

Jim and Pam (Jenna Fischer), the receptionist and later administrator of the Scranton branch of the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, had a relationship that started out as a flirtatious friendship before blossoming into a full-on office romance and eventually marriage. They lived happily ever after on the show, but when the character Cathy (Lindsey Broad) joined "The Office" in season 8, Krasinksi had to take a stand to keep Jim from cheating on Pam.

At the time, Pam was back in Scranton, and the writers' room devised a scenario whereby Jim and Cathy would have kissed on a business trip to Florida. Krasinski, however, was having none of it.

Dwight vs. the Overgrown Bed Bug

In the book, "Welcome to Dunder Mifflin: The Ultimate Oral History of The Office" (via Uproxx), Krasinski recalls how he rejected the ill-conceived kiss with Cathy, saying:

"That's the only time I remember putting my foot down. I remember saying things that I never thought I'd say before, like, I'm not going to shoot it.

"My feeling is there is a threshold with which you can push our audience. They are so dedicated. We have shown such great respect to them. But there's a moment where if you push them too far, they'll never come back. And I think that if you show Jim cheating, they'll never come back."

Creator Greg Daniels wanted to worry the audience that he "was going to give them a bad ending so they were happy when they got a good ending." However, Krasinki's rationale swayed him, and ultimately — though she did work her way into Jim's Florida hotel room and try to seduce him — the show never treated Cathy as any real threat to Pam. Instead, it had Dwight (Rainn Wilson) come to the rescue, as Jim called him and convinced him that there were bed bugs in his room.

Cathy, herself an overgrown bed bug of sorts, would leave with Dwight's chemical spray in her face, and Jim and Pam would stay together without any shark-jumping kisses between him and other women. All's well that ends well.

In season 8 of The Office, Jim Halpert spent a month in Florida helping to launch the first brick and mortar Sabre store. Being away from Pam and under the influence of Stanley proved to bring more temptation than Jim was expecting. 

Jim's new desk mate, Cathy Simms had been harboring a huge crush on him for quite awhile. They hung out together the entire time. One night Cathy came to his room in her underwear claiming that her heater was broken asked if she could join the party. 

Jim let her in and then later kicked her out by making up an excuse about bed bugs. The question is why would a happily married man let her in to begin with? Why did she feel comfortable showing up to his room wearing barely anything. 

I propose that Jim and Cathy had been having an affair while in Florida, but were smart about avoiding the cameras. Jim overcompensated wildly, trying to hide even looking in Cathy's direction let alone sit next to her. This makes no sense as they had been sitting together throughout the team meetings. Cathy also admitted to the affair on camera, while Jim gaslighted her trying to convince us that she's just crazy. 

Was Cathy actually crazy or did something actually happen that Jim is trying to hide? The original script did actually call for Jim to cheat on Pam, but John Krasinski refused to film it. He felt it went too far and betrayed fans of The Office. Now we're left to wonder and read between the lines.

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A new book about "The Office" revealed that Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) almost cheated on Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer) with a coworker. 

Written by "The Office" actor Brian Baumgartner, who played accountant Kevin Malone, and executive producer Ben Silverman, "Welcome to Dunder Mifflin: The Ultimate Oral History of The Office" gives fans of the series a closer look at what went into creating the show and features interviews with the cast and filmmakers. 

Pam and Jim's relationship is one of the main plotlines of the series. The two start out as co-workers and friends before ultimately starting a relationship and getting married. 

However, "Welcome to Dunder Mifflin" reveals that series creator Greg Daniels had slightly more dramatic plans for the couple, particularly when Jim goes on a work trip to Florida in the season 8 episode "After Hours" and Pam's maternity leave replacement Cathy (Lindsey Broad) tries to make a move on him. 

According to People, Krasinski recounted to Baumgartner and Silverman in the book that Daniels told the actor that they needed "a good Pam-Jim storyline," and Krasinski suggested that the two "get borderline separated."

'"I think we can do it and then come back,'" Krasinski said he told Daniels. "[Daniels] was so on board with that."

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