A JIM AND PAM KIND OF LOVE

photo: netflix

If you’re a fan of The Office (U.S), you might have heard about the recent news of NBC paying $500 million for the rights to stream the show starting next year on its own streaming service, pulling away one of the most watched shows on Netflix. This means that I will no longer be able to watch one of my all-time favorite shows (I am not paying for another streaming service!) with one of my favorite television couples - Jim and Pam.

My favorite romantic trope in television is the infamous Will They Or Won’t They? and Jim and Pam embody this perfectly. In the first few seasons of the show, Jim and Pam spent basically the majority of their workday flirting with each other and pulling pranks on Dwight. Even though Pam was engaged to her longtime boyfriend Roy and the only time she spends with Jim is at the workplace in front of their co-workers, their on-screen romance is still crystal clear. Sure, they’re “just friends”, but Jim knows her favorite flavor of yogurt, Pam can’t help but sit next to him in every office meeting, plus they both spend more time together at the receptionist desk than the time I have spent at my desk during actual jobs.

After Jim confesses his love for Pam and she kisses him, but ultimately rejects him by telling him that she’s still going to marry Roy, he is heartbroken and starts working at a different Dunder Mifflin branch. When he comes back to Scranton, Pam is single for the first time in years, but Jim is dating their co-worker Karen. It’s clear that Pam still has strong feelings, and even though Jim is dating someone else, we can see he doesn’t like her the way he liked Pam. When Jim realizes his true feelings during a job interview for a higher position in the company, he drives back to Scranton, whips open the door just when Pam is telling the documentary crew that she’s happy for Jim and wishes the best for his new life in New York, and Jim asks her if she’s free for dinner. Pam smiles and her eyes start to tear up, as she says yes to a date with the guy she has secretly adored for years.

True love. For our theme of “Love” at Loyal Nana this month, I racked my brain to think of people that made me feel like romantic love could be a real thing. Jim and Pam might just be characters, but they give me hope that something so wonderful as having a soulmate can exist. They’re the perfect couple- but also have their own flaws and make mistakes. They are perfect to me because no matter how many years it took, they never really gave up on each other. And when problems arise in their relationship, they evolve with each other and always circle back. They are really, truly, disgustingly cute. They are best friends in love, the kind that pulls pranks on their beet farmer co-worker, but also share a home and children together. Sometimes I feel emo because I don’t know if I’m ever going to experience this kind of very special, once in a lifetime kind of relationship. I don’t think most people get the chance to. But at least I can watch it for hours on Netflix. Until NBC takes it away and I am forced to crowdfund money for another streaming service. Or maybe you can give me your login password?