In The Office universe, there’s no question Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) was a better match for Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer) than Roy Anderson (David Denman). For years, viewers just wanted to see Jim and Pam together. Meanwhile, Roy was just the terrible fiancé who stood in the way. But recently, Fischer admitted there was a time in season three when she thought Pam and Roy were the “true love story” of The Office instead of Jim and Pam. Here’s why.
What happened to Pam Beesly, Roy Anderson, and Jim Halpert on ‘The Office’?
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When The Office made its debut in 2005, Roy was introduced as Pam’s fiancé. But despite their engagement, fans knew the couple didn’t match. Roy didn’t seem to treasure his wife-to-be. He also didn’t want to settle down on a wedding date until midway through the sophomore season.
Meanwhile, viewers could clearly see the spark between Jim and Pam. The “friends” were constantly flirting with each other. They even shared an accidental kiss in the season two premiere. Nevertheless, nothing really happened until the second finale. Jim confessed his love to Pam, and she turned him down. Though the pair shared a kiss — a real one this time — at the end of the episode.
In The Office Season 3 premiere, fans finally got to see the aftermath of Jim and Pam’s first kiss. Pam told Jim she still wanted to marry Roy. Then, as a result, Jim left for the Stamford branch of Dunder Mifflin. But later, viewers discovered Pam didn’t go through with the wedding and she broke up with Roy.
That said, it took some time before Jim and Pam got together. When Jim returned to the Scranton branch after the merger, he started dating Karen Filippelli (Rashida Jones). Meanwhile, it was clear Roy still wanted to win Pam back. He said he wasn’t going to take his ex for granted anymore. He also started taking care of himself and showed subtle signs he truly wanted to do better by Pam.
By now, fans of The Office know how the story ends. Nothing comes from Roy’s efforts. Then in the third season finale, Jim finally asks Pam out. And as they say, the rest was history.
Jenna Fischer wondered whether Pam and Roy could’ve been the real love story of ‘The Office’ instead of Pam and Jim
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In the Aug. 5 episode of the Office Ladies podcast, Fischer and Angela Kinsey (Angela Martin) recapped “A Benihana Christmas.” The two actors reminisced over the classic episode from season three. Then Fischer called out a bit of Jim’s “wishy-washy” behavior.
Throughout the episode, Jim panicked over Pam and Karen’s newly formed friendship because he hadn’t told his girlfriend about his past with the receptionist. Jim was also cold toward Pam, who wanted to prank Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson). But Jim didn’t want to join Pam until he saw Roy give his ex-fiancée a gift in the conference room.
During the Office Ladies podcast, Fischer revealed the present Roy gave to Pam was actually an art book. Of course, fans know Pam wanted to be an artist, and the exchange was surprisingly sweet. Then Kinsey shared she was starting to become Team Roy.
“Roy is winning me over,” Kinsey said. “He wasn’t the best boyfriend or fiancé, but he’s really trying. He’s invested in how to learn how to gift wrap. He’s dressing nicer, and he’s getting in shape. And he’s like, ‘I’m going to buy you a thoughtful gift.’”
Meanwhile, Kinsey questioned whether The Office writers had decided which man Pam was going to end up with. But while Fischer admitted the pull toward Roy was “intentional,” the actor knew Pam and Jim would be endgame after she proposed a theory about Roy to writer Greg Daniels.
“There was a part of this season that I thought Pam might be won over by Roy,” Fischer said. “I had this whole conversation with Greg where I was like, ‘Wouldn’t it be a crazy thing if the true love story is Pam and Roy? Like what if all this time, Jim is just a device that leads Pam to her one true love of Roy? And Roy completely rehabilitates himself and that’s the love story of The Office. It would blow people’s minds.’”
Despite the potential shock value of Pam and Roy, Daniels shut down Fischer’s theory and told her it would be Jim and Pam in the end. But even though Fischer pitched the idea, she knows Jim and Pam were always meant to be on The Office.
“Ultimately, I do believe that it was going to be Jim and Pam,” Fischer said. “But we had a pause, a moment. I think partially because of David Denman’s performance. We were all falling in love with Roy right now.”
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