There is so much to love aboutThe Office. For some, the best part is Dunder Mifflin Scranton’s regional manager Michael Scott (Steve Carell). For others, it might be how much Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson), the assistant (to the) regional manager sucks up to him. All the supporting characters, fromdimwitted but sweet Kevin(Brian Baumgatner), to angry cat lady Angela (Angela Kinsey) have their hilarious charms, too.
The heart ofThe Office, however, is the relationship between Jim Halpert (John Krasinksi) and Pam Beesley (Jenna Fischer). Their romance, which played out in front of us for nine seasons taking them from best friends, to lovers, and finally, as a husband and wife with a family, is what so many dreamed of for their own lives. While their relationship wasn’t perfect, it was also incredibly cute. InThe Office’s Season 8, their love was threatened by a new character named Cathy Simms (Lindsey Broad).Fans absolutely hated Cathy, but if you take a closer look at her, she served an integral purpose.
Cathy Simms' First ‘Office’ Episode Was “Pam’s Replacement”
The first time we meet Cathy SimmsonThe Officeis during the Season 8 episode “Pam’s Replacement.” Cathy is the aforementioned replacement, as Pam is close to giving birth to her and Jim’s child and is heading out on maternity leave. In comes Cathy, a young and pretty temp with an outgoing personality. Of course, as everyone in the office has no filter, many comment to Jim about how pretty Cathy is, but he is smart enough to play dumb and try to ignore it all. Then Pam asks Jim if he finds her attractive. Halpert says no, but as he confesses later, “I’m not going to tell my nine-months-pregnant wife that I find her replacement objectively attractive.”
Another one of the best parts ofThe Officeishow much Dwight respects Pam. He offers to help her find outif Jim truly does find Cathy attractive. He says, “The male reveals attraction through the unconscious and involuntary signs; the puffing of the chest, mirroring, increased blood flow to the crotch. I say we start there.” So what does Dwight do but pretend to fall on Jim, so he can grab his crotch and find out if he has an erection.
Cathy seems harmless enough. Jim probably does find her attractive, but we know he’s not attractedto her. That’s the difference. So what’s Cathy’s role onThe Office? Will she become a new member of the cast? The new Pam in search of her Jim? It’s sort of like that, but much worse. In the episode “Special Project,” it’s revealed that CathywantsJim. The two are going on a work trip to Florida together and we overhear her talking to a friend on the phone about her intent to seduce Jim.
Pam and Jim’s Relationship Was Tested on ‘The Office’ Because of Cathy
Jim is uncomfortable with the whole situation, and it’s not just the work trip. While he may not know how devious her intentions are, he can tell that Cathy has been flirting with him. He tries to ignore it, but it puts him in an awkward position. Unless he’s pranking Dwight, Jim is the nice guy who tries to avoid confrontation, as evident byhis relationship with Karen Filipelli. He tolerates Cathy, but he also knows how it will all look to Pam. Pam is worried that, now being pregnant and older, Jim doesn’t find her attractive.
Things come to a head in the episode “After Hours.” It’s there that Cathy makes her not-so-subtle move. Down in Tallahassee, Jim is alone in his hotel room when Cathy, wearing a tank top and shorts, knocks on his door, claiming that her heating system is out and asking if she can stay with him. She immediately jumps in his bed, where Jim was watching basketball, and laughs loudly at his jokes.When Stanley (Leslie David Baker) knocks on the door, Jim tries and fails to get him to stay.
Halpert knows the perfect way to get rid of Cathy, though: Dwight. He calls his nemesis and makes up a lie about the room having bed bugs, which brings him right over in an attempt to help. Dwight says bed bugs thrive on heat and carbon dioxide so he decides to make himself a human trap,stripping down to his underwearthen jumping in the bed and throwing the covers on himself. Grossed out, Cathy decides to take a shower. When she comes back out, Dwight is gone. Cathy, now in a robe, tries to get Jim to feel her legs. Unable to take it any longer, Jim jumps up andtells Cathy that he’s happily married. Even though Cathy plays dumb, she’s learned her lesson, right?
The Worst of Cathy Brings Out the Best of ‘The Office’s Other Characters
Cathy, sadly, isn’t so quick to take “no” for an answer. Jim spends the entire time sitting on the floor. He doesn’t want to be anywhere near this woman so openly seducing him (let’s just forget that there is a camera crew in the room this whole time for some reason). He gives Cathy the benefit of the doubt and believes her denial. He tries to sit on the bed, but as close to the edge as possible, especially when she snuggles up next to him. It’s then that Jim leaves again and calls Dwight to come back about the bed bugs. When he returns, Cathy is now in lingerie under the covers.Jim tells her to leaveright before Dwight comes in, mask on, holding a bottle of bug killer which he sprays all over the bed and Cathy, driving her out of the room.
Cathy might havegotten between Jim and Pam, but she’s a great character because she brings out the best in everyone. We get to see just how loyal Jim is. The honeymoon stage for Jim and Pam is long over, and the two are now busy everyday with kids, yet Jim never wavers once. And then there’s Dwight, who saves Jim without even intending to. When Dwight comes into the room and sees a half-dressed Cathy with Jim, he doesn’t pause or doubt his friend. He knows Jim would never cheat on Pam, so it doesn’t even cross his mind. Bed bugs are truly the only thing he cares about.
A couple of deleted sceneswould have revealed even more. One has Pam talking to Jim on the phone at the hotel. He tells his wife everything, but rather than being angry, Pam is amused. She said she feels bad for Cathy, that it’s really pathetic, and just as much, she wishes she could see Jim’s face because, “You always look really cute when you’re embarrassed.“Cathy’s character again is used to show justhow strong Jim and Pam’s relationship is.
John Krasinki Shut Down a Controversial Scene With Cathy on ‘The Office’
Cathy could have been more than just a vehicle for others though, as one deleted scene has a confessional with Cathy talking about being in a relationship she’s unhappy with. She says if she had married a man named Doug she wouldn’t be having this problem, but then has to remind herself that she’s not attracted to Doug. What’s going on here? Is Doug just a bad fit or someone who is abusive? Either way, it shows that, under the bubbly personality, Cathy is unhappy. Does she use her youth and good looks as a weapon to counter her loneliness and insecurity? She goes after Jim because she wants the life he has, but doesn’t know how to get it without stealing it from someone else.
Though we never got to dive deeper into why Cathy acts the way she does, one written but never filmed scene would have destroyed that strength between Jim and Pam. Shockingly, the writers ofThe Officehad envisioned a scene whereJim kissed Cathy in that hotel room. This would have meant that he was actually attracted to her and was unhappy with Pam. It would have been a horrible choice. John Krasinski knew this, and in the bookWelcome to Dunder Mifflin: The Ultimate Oral History of The Office, it was revealed thathe refused to go through with the scene. He said, “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.”
Krasinski was right.Jim’s nice guy routine would have been forever destroyedby such a betrayal. He was so in touch with who Jim was that he knew he had to say no to doing the scene. Cathy Simms wasn’t exactly a good person, but the character is better than you remember. She was an interesting one who made everyone else stronger, from the characters she interacted with to the actors who played them.
The Officeis available to stream on Peacock in the U.S.
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The Office
A mockumentary on a group of typical office workers, where the workday consists of ego clashes, inappropriate behavior, and tedium.
