‘The Office’: Jenna Fischer ‘Loved’ the Way Jim and Pam Finally Connected in 1 Episode That Tested Their Relationship
While Jim and Pam were always destined to be together on The Office, the couple did face a few challenges that put their relationship to the test. Jenna Fischer reflected on how the two struggled with their long-distance relationship, but Jim and Pam connected in a sweet way at the end of one episode and reassured fans things that everything would work out.
Jim and Pam’s relationship was put to the test on ‘The Office’
Relationships aren’t without their challenges and The Office writers threw some curveballs at Jim and Pam over the course of the show. Jim supported Pam’s decision to attend art school in New York City, even though they would be apart, and they definitely felt the strain of the distance between them.
In the season 5 episode “Baby Shower,” Jim and Pam struggled with connecting. Pam tries to tell Jim about the circumstances at art school and Jim tries to explain the insanity of the office throwing Jan a baby shower — and neither really seem to understand each other.
During the June 9 episode of the Office Ladies podcast, Fischer and Angela Kinsey discussed how Jim and Pam struggle with the distance.
When Jim isn’t understanding Pam’s story about people she knows at art school, there’s a sense that it’s frustrating for both of them. “I feel like I have had these conversations,” Fischer said. “And I love the line when she’s like, ‘Why can’t you just be in art school with me?’ Because she’s trying so hard to tell him the story.”
“And, you know, this is the beginning of this storyline with Jim and Pam, where we’re going to show that this distance has gone on for a while and maybe they’re not connecting as easily as they used to,” she added.
Later, when Jim tries to tell Pam what’s happening at the office, she’s at a noisy laundromat and can’t hear him.
“So Pam has this talking head at the laundromat where she says that she’s not frustrated,” Fischer explained. “You know, they have these kind of days where they don’t connect even when they’re together in Scranton.”
‘The Office’: Jim and Pam connect in an unexpected way
Though the circumstances proved to be challenging for Jim and Pam, the writers found an unexpected way to reassure fans that their relationship wasn’t in any trouble.
They didn’t speak directly to one another at the end of the episode, but called each other at the same time and left voicemail messages telling the same story.
“They both go to voicemail at the same time,” Fischer said. “And I remember [creator] Greg [Daniels] talking to me about this scene. I just loved this idea that we’re going to hear each side of their voicemail message and you’re going to see they really are connected.”
“They both recall the same story about the time that, you know, some man came into the laundromat and Jim had to save Pam and then they bought a washer/dryer,” she shared. “They’re recalling the same event. And at the end, they both say, ‘I guess this was just one of those days. I miss you. I wish you were home.’”
