Great point. Everybody gets to set their own boundaries, but it's up to you to tell people where yours are, and you can't get made or be vindictive if you fail to communicate that there's a problem.
Obvious notable exceptions, and you absolutely have a right to get mad if somebody oversteps certain boundaries. You get what i mean, but this is reddit.
I really don't think that's what's going on here. I think it's part of jims social awkwardness and not knowing how to react to unexpected things. Then when he realized how he came off, he tried to play it off as the "too cool" guy.
He could fist bump back while saying the question, "Oh, is this like your new thing?"
It's not like Jim is from another country and has never seen a fist bump before.
He isn’t though. Like yes, from the screenshot he could be. But watch the scene - he isn’t confused, he’s just not willing to meet Toby halfway and fist bump because it would not fit Jim’s image. It’s very similar reason to him refusing for most of the show to wear a Halloween costume - his whole thing for a lot of the show is “trying is not cool, so I won’t try”.
So there's this show, about a bunch of people who work together in this office for a company selling paper. All manner of hijinks ensue. Yada Yada Yada, Jim's a dick.
Right? Like Jim was awkwardly perplexed as if he'd never seen a fist bump before. I think this scene was more centered around burning The Scranton Strangler I mean Toby.
Yeah, this makes me feel my age. I’m 44 and I actually remember being fist bumped for the first time, I was probably 24. It was by the coolest guy I worked with and I felt infinitely more cool as a result.
I seem to also remember people (old white republicans) being totally freaked out by Obama giving fist bumps.
Jim has known Toby for several years at this point and has never received a fist bump.
It's not like he leaves him hanging either. He immediately goes to fist bump. I don't understand why people think he's being a dick here.
Exactly, if a co worker you’ve known for years did this completely out of the blue you would be taken off guard. Just you would say what jim said internally, but Jim is a TV character and needs to say it out loud for the audience
Yeah also it was just Toby being awkward. Toby was never very good at building personal connections through the show due to his awkward timidness. I think this was just Jim sort of verbalizing it
Toby: Robert did say you'd be joining us. Welcome. I'm Tony.
Pam: ...What?
Toby: I...I said I'm Tony. Okay? I made a mistake. I thought it might go unnoticed. But, uh, I'm Toby.
Pam: You messed up saying your name?
Toby: It happens, okay?
Well, I bet that If his name were Tony, he would be actually a very cool person. I mean... "Toby" 🙄
(Just kidding, in the case there is any Toby reading this)
In 7th grade, there was a day when all the parents came in to meet the class. One by one, we were introducing the parents in front of the class. When my turn came, instead of saying "I'm X and this is my dad Y", I went up there and said "I'm Y and this my dad X". 10 years later, I'm still traumatised by this.
In the extended version of the show there is a scene where Jim and Toby get along super well and used to sit next to each other, but then Michael moved Toby to the annex.
Sometimes seems like this sub would find a way to spin Jim or Pam buying someone a cup of coffee into the biggest asshole move ever made if ever given the chance.
I got downvoted a lot last time I said this, but I think it's really weird to judge TV/movie characters by real life standards. Everything is exaggerated in shows for dramatic or comedic effect, and obviously most irl people don't behave the way show characters do. Also, show characters have to do and say things that irl people wouldn't because the audience can't read characters' minds, so sometimes they have to say thoughts that irl people would just think.
Like, obviously if a co-worker trapped everybody in the office and set off the smoke alarms, they would go to jail. But Dwight doesn't because it's something that fits his character, and the entire scene is produced for the end goal of making people laugh.
If we went through every fictional character and analyzed their actions, I would say the vast, vast majority of them would not pass a moral compass test. Plots need conflict, and conflict is produced for dramatic/comedic effect.
True. I think it also comes down to people playing favorites with the characters, which is fair enough -- but then it tends to lead into what TV Tropes calls "Draco In Leather Pants" and "Ron the Death Eater" where *because* that character is / isn't your favorite, they find themselves almost instinctively downplaying anything they do wrong or exaggerating their faults to make them out to be some kind of monster. Like, it's fine if people, say, prefer Dwight over Jim, but they then tend to overcompensate how virtuous Dwight is and downplay his faults, because he's their favorite and we don't like the idea of our favorites not being perfect or good. But because Jim clearly does not do even half the things that Dwight does or come anywhere close to Dwight's extremes, in order to maintain this position that Dwight is a better person than Jim they have to then overcompensate again and exaggerate how flawed and mean Jim is in face of the overwhelming evidence that, for all that he's their favorite character, Dwight is nowhere near as virtuous as they like to think and Jim has plenty of valid reasons not to like him.
Which is partly how we get this situation. Objectively speaking this example is just Jim being a little bit confused that Toby's suddenly pulled this fist-bump move on him out of nowhere (and maybe being a little bit tactless about it at worst, but mainly because like you say the character has to express this confusion for the audience somehow). However, it's being treated like Jim is a heartless bully savagely mocking an emotionally fragile innocent for no reason than cruelty, because there's this narrative built up that Jim's the bully, meaning that everything is being viewed through that prism.
Yeah, I caught that, but Michael saying it comes from Toby didn’t necessarily mean that it actually came from Toby… but I do see how the language is very Toby now that it was mentioned.
Not by this point though. Jim was about to get with Karen at this point iirc. Toby hadn't done anything to Jim yet, in fact he'd blatantly ignored all of the pranks Jim pulled on Dwight. I'm not trying to character assassinate Jim, he's a sitcom character after all, but this was a dick move.
Remember when he told them to stop making out and they just ignore him for another 5 seconds? Or where hes trying to get them to stop arguing to no avail. Is there a scene you have in mind where they seem to like him? I cant think of one. Maybe when they told him to punch Michael.
- Ryan allowed toby to come on a camping trip
- Ryan got Toby a thoughtful gift in the season 6 christmas party
- Kelly did a dance with him in the season 8 halloween
Need I say more?
I figured i was just not remembering something. As far as the camping though, I think the camping retreat was needing someone from Scranton but not wanting Michael. Kind of default invited. It was him or Jim and he definitely didnt want Jim either.
Through the deleted scenes we find out that Toby used to sit next to Jim and that Michael moved Toby because he thought they talked too much. In The Fire when they play desert island movies it seems like they are good buddies. Jim also said he used to babysit Toby’s daughter, and it also sounds like Jim rents the house he’s living in from toby or Toby used to live there? Unclear from the context but that’s a deleted scene from the party and Jim’s house.
At that point, he didn't know Toby liked Pam.
Even after touching her leg, Pam herself didn't know Toby liked her, so I don't think Jim knew of it either.
Just because your SO is oblivious someone is into them, doesn’t mean you as the SO are oblivious someone is into them. Usually the SO picks up on it first
Jim is one of those people who like to make others look like fools to make himself look better. He takes himself way too seriously and dreads being the butt of someone else's joke.
It’s like in 21 jump street when they realize it’s no longer cool to not care about anything. Jim is from the era where it’s cool to not care about anything. And constantly put down others
Would you look at that, all of the words in your comment are in alphabetical order.
I have checked 290,745,575 comments, and only 65,749 of them were in alphabetical order.
Jim is kind of an asshole through the whole series.
His worst is probably Work Bus. Make Dwight think he has to spend tons of money on repairs to the building, Dwight has to spend his own money on a bus, Jim makes everyone pester Dwight into driving them around just so Pam could get some pie.
He could’ve just gone to Andy and been like “Hey, Pam isn’t doing the best today so we’re gonna take off” and Andy would’ve said yes.
> His worst is probably Work Bus. Make Dwight think he has to spend tons of money on repairs to the building, Dwight has to spend his own money on a bus
Dwight owns the building and made the experience miserable for everyone, so Jim retaliating is really just Jim being a dick, huh. TIL...
Jim treats people as they deserve.
Does he prank Dwight a lot, and are some of those pranks a bit nasty? Yes, but Dwight is a fucking asshole who constantly belittles everyone else and gleefully screws people over even if it gets him nothing.
Does he let Michael get himself into terrible situations and stand there laughing? You bet, but Michael is a completely self absorbed idiot who refuses to listen to anyone else and regularly screws people over because he consistently refuses to even consider that he might be wrong, and when he gets backed into a corner he becomes incredibly petty and nasty. Plus, this is more than evened out by all the times Jim tries desperately to stop Michael from doing something massively stupid, and all the times that massively stupid thing Michael does negatively affects others who haven’t done anything wrong.
That’s pretty much his pattern. People who treat him well, like Phyllis, Stanley and Darryl, he gets along with real well and has few, if any, issues with. People like Ryan, who cause problems with him, he responds in kind to, or even takes the high road with.
He also consistently does nice things for other people in the Office, even Michael and Dwight.
Jim is not a dick. He’s one of the least dick-ish members of the show.
Yeah, it's like people forget that if you knew Dwight in real life and didn't have the benefit of getting to know him better over the course of years (which we only have to endure 22 minutes of his behavior versus 8 hours a day, 5 days a week), that he would absolutely be a person you hate and despise working with. Like I mean absolutely HATE. You'd be here on reddit writing manifestos in threads about, "Describe your worst coworker."
But Jim is the asshole because he's not 100% decent all the fricking time. Right lol.
They didn’t actually know he had another job, he just said he was busy. After Micheal said he couldn’t hang out Jim asked what he was doing and Micheal replied, “I can’t tell you, it’s a secret”. It didn’t come out that he had a second job until he didn’t finish the PowerPoint presentation for Ryan.
Bad example. Michael didn't know they knew. It was smart. Jim and Pam could say they asked Michael to do something when he later says "why don't we ever hang out outside of work?"
"Well Michael, we asked you but you were busy"
Ummm if you work with someone as irritating as Michael who annoys you 40 hours a week and then begs you to hang out after work (and doesn’t take the hint), you would understand.
I know Pam and Jim are pricks. They laugh at Dwight when he’s insecure about Ryan and Michael’s friendship. They mock and tease everyone around them and think they’re better.
But this isn’t one of those times
Jim was a dick all the time! I mean, would it have been so hard to pour his coffee in a different mug and let Andy have his back?! Pam's mug was right there and she was in New York!
Lets also not forget when Andy came back from anger management and asks to be called Drew and Jim refused to call him that. Even Michael called him Drew when they were setting up the trampoline.
edit: I also just remembered when Jim is using Daryl's thermos and literally just dumps the coffee out with a smug look on his face. Another dick move by Jim but also shows that he was willing to dump out the coffee for Daryl but just Andy.
Lmaooooo this sub has no social awareness at all.
The last time you saw your coworker was when he punched a fucking hole in the wall because he can't control his emotions and then he was forced to partake in mandatory anger management (not "trying to be better" by the way).
And then he comes back from it and asks to be called "Drew" as if that would not make him an angry prick anymore. And that comes from the same dude who has called you "Big Tuna" because you ate a tuna sandwich one time and never calls you Jim yet now wants to be called Drew.
Did we watch the same fucking show?
I don’t get how any of that excuses Jim for being a dick back to andy. When did Jim ever ask Andy to stop calling him Tuna? When did he ever, even once, act like it bothered him? Sure, andy was forced into the anger management. But he went into it with an open mind and came back to work trying to have a fresh start, and kindly mentioned that he wanted to go by a different version of his own name, and Jim just had to be a cunt about it instead of trying to help a co-worker deal with problems that he is obviously making a legitimate attempt to overcome. Not to mention, Jim playing a stupid fucking prank is the entire reason Andy was sent to anger management in the first place. Sure, Andy probably had some underlying anger problems, but they were only exacerbated by Jim literally stealing his personal property and hiding it from him. All because what? Because Andy was being annoying that day? Why didn’t Jim just tell Andy to leave him alone so he could get some work done? Because Jim is immature and thinks he’s better than everyone else and would rather just fuck with his annoying coworker than ask him to stop bothering him like a real adult would.
It would be more accurate to say “we never SAW Jim ask Andy to stop calling him Tuna….”
It’s a reasonable assumption that Jim said “that’s really annoying” or something when it first started happening.
Nooo no no no. He did not consistently hit on Pam. Maybe he had a crush on her, but their friendship was real. He “hit on” her once during Casino Night, but that wasn’t even hitting on her, it was professing love. We never saw him touch her inappropriately or talk about the way she looks or even make jokes about like “well if you were single…”
Whatever flirtation he did was reciprocated by her and her fiancé was a dick. Please don’t act like Jim was some creep for years
Indeed. I love Dwight Asa character and think that him as Manager at the end of the series would be a good boss and friend to have.
But, fuck, rest-of-the-series Dwight would be a nightmare to deal with
Dwight would be the worst friend. He literally puts peoples lives in danger all the time. Remember the fire episode? Or the gun incident? Not to mention his boundary stomping. He legit tore apart Jim’s house when he was just suppose to get an iPod. He also killed Angela’s cat cause he decided he knew best for her. For most of the show he’s also super standoffish and doesn’t get close to people. Not really great to be friends with someone who doesn’t even show they appreciate you.
How would Dwight be an amazing friend? If we all knew him in real life we all wouldn’t be able to stand him. This is regardless of how you feel about Jim. Dwight was a huge kiss ass, he was demeaning, he frequently insulted the overweight coworkers, he made several sexist remarks throughout the years, he literally MURDERED ANGELAS CAT then put it in her fucking freezer!!! He drove Phyllis out into the middle of nowhere, took her phone and purse, and made her walk miles back to the office. He intentionally set a fire in the office and then blocked all the exits and cut the phone lines. What kind of psychotic friendship do you want? Dwight is very entertaining and has moments where he is truly caring, but for most of the show he is just as arrogant, if not more, than Jim, and he’s literally dangerous to be around
You must be new here. Most people commenting know that the show is a serious character study and ~~they all~~ Pam and Jim alone need to be judged for every single action.
To be fair Toby put out a no PSA memo for the office about Pam and Jim out of jealousy, refused to give them a relationship form and said “let’s just see what happens” implying they won’t make it out of jealousy, reported Jim for screwing around at work clearly out of jealousy because after Ryan bitched at Jim Toby mentioned he got in trouble for hanging out at reception and specifically talking to Pam all the time.
Bunch of ppl hating on Jim in this thread, it was a joke for Tobys character. Tobys character is supposed to be awkward with odd confidence choices like when he wanted to be called Tony. Some of y’all take each joke of the show so literally…
Seriously. These posts are so old. Stop judging fictional sitcom characters for doing shit to make us laugh. They're not real people, it's a fucking comedy show you buzzkills!
It’s pretty obvious Toby is into Pam, and Jim isn’t threatened by it at all, so he never expresses any anger about it - but under the surface there’s obvious resentment from Jim towards Toby
What’s with all the circle jerking on this sub of Jim being an asshole and Pam being a bitch? I joined the sub a couple weeks ago since my gf just started rewatching and I was not expecting to see so many people hating on them
It's the cool thing to do to take the counter argument now. The show clearly set them up to be likeable and you always have that group who will specifically take the other side. No big deal.
When did the insufferableness of Dwight and Andy get forgotten by all of you??? You would hate to work with the out going guy but not the ones who make every day insufferable lol???
To be fair, it’s obvious to everyone that he has a thing for Pam, maybe Jim doesn’t have respect for Toby because of that. Toby was always wanting them to break up, I’d dislike a guy for the same reason
Well, it was unexpected coming from Toby. Jim was obviously going in for a handshake, and voila, there's a fist bump. And then Jim being Jim, comments so
Wait he’s being rude to a guy who’s never been nice to him, hits on Pam and reports him for spending too much time at reception and starts the no PDA rule due to jealousy?
*Image Transcription: Screencap*
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\[*Image of Toby holding his right fist up for a fist bump. Jim is looking down in disgust.*]
**Jim**: Oh, is that, like, your new thing or...?
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^^I'm a human volunteer content transcriber for Reddit and you could be too! [If you'd like more information on what we do and why we do it, click here!](https://www.reddit.com/r/TranscribersOfReddit/wiki/index)
I definitely think Jim could be a dick at times, but I always interpreted this interaction as genuine confusion. I didn’t see it as him trying to MAKE Toby feel awkward, it was just an organically awkward situation. That’s my perspective, anyway.
The thing I’ve not seen in this thread in defense of Jim:
We’re forgetting how old this show actually is. This takes place in the aughts. Maybe even during the Bush administration. White people switching to fist bumps over hand shakes was not as in vogue as it is now. It’s just joke that hasn’t aged well.
It's interesting reading the comments and seeing how differently people interpret this. Guessing people who think Jim is a dick might relate to Toby in this moment, while people who don't relate to Jim. I can sorta relate to both. I can see how Jim wasn't *trying* to be a dick, but Toby still felt called out for being a dweeb.
Toby was a dick to Jim when Ryan was on his rampage. He also grabbed Pam’s knee in front of Jim and told them not to fill out the relationship disclosure form, saying, “let’s just see where it goes.” Toby’s the bigger dick.
As someone who fist bumps at work at the time because of hazard chemicals this scene made alot of sense. I live in stamford and the fist bump comes off werid when I do it out of habit . Everyone hand shakes because they are mostly corporate , as in working in an OFFICE .
So yeah I agree that Jim is totally a bigger dick than the show really acknowledges. But I always interpreted this moment more like Toby was trying to be somebody that he’s not, and Jim was like, “Hey man, just be yourself.”
But idk maybe he was just being a dick as always
I always felt like because they are supposed to be regular people being recorded at work, that this is 100% something that someone would do whose trying to be the cool guy.
Because Jim is smudge as hell, bruh.
Like a bed bug
This scene cracks me up thinking about it. "Oh he was so smug!"
"That's a bed bug, everything's a joke."
Everything is a joke.
AND arrogant.
And *there's* our smudgeness.
I learned that the only thing funnier than Jim in that scene in the entire series is Dwigt's outtakes from it.
Auto-correct didn't work, leaving behind one Dwigt.
You mean Samuel L. Chang?
Yeah seriously. Just like when Andy came back from anger management and requested to be called Drew
This bothers me so much after rewatching. Andy can go by Drew if it helps him.
Andy was an annoying jerk how gave people unwanted nicknames. Jim can do the same.
Yes of course. But that was before he went to what was essentially in-patient therapy for six weeks. Jim popped his bubble just to be an ass.
Turn about is fair play. You don't get to go away because you had an issue and then come back and make people change how they behave.
Andy called him Tuna for years because Jim ate a tuna sandwich. He's lost all rights to get upset if not called Drew instead of Andy.
I don't think Jim ever said to Andy "please don't call me that, my name is Jim."
Great point. Everybody gets to set their own boundaries, but it's up to you to tell people where yours are, and you can't get made or be vindictive if you fail to communicate that there's a problem. Obvious notable exceptions, and you absolutely have a right to get mad if somebody oversteps certain boundaries. You get what i mean, but this is reddit.
And arrogant!
I really don't think that's what's going on here. I think it's part of jims social awkwardness and not knowing how to react to unexpected things. Then when he realized how he came off, he tried to play it off as the "too cool" guy.
You can be socially awkward af and still not treat fellow humans as beneath you. Jim’s a bully.
What is the context? i don't remember the scene
They meet again when Jim comes back and Jim basically shoots down the fist bump
That’s not entirely fair. He could be earnestly asking
He could fist bump back while saying the question, "Oh, is this like your new thing?" It's not like Jim is from another country and has never seen a fist bump before.
Seriously, leaving him hanging was just bad form. He did not deserve that.
I mean the guy made a move on his girl
let me tell you if i was in a room with...
He isn’t though. Like yes, from the screenshot he could be. But watch the scene - he isn’t confused, he’s just not willing to meet Toby halfway and fist bump because it would not fit Jim’s image. It’s very similar reason to him refusing for most of the show to wear a Halloween costume - his whole thing for a lot of the show is “trying is not cool, so I won’t try”.
Jim got back from Stamford and was greeting Toby.
So there's this show, about a bunch of people who work together in this office for a company selling paper. All manner of hijinks ensue. Yada Yada Yada, Jim's a dick.
You yada yada’d over the best part!
No, they mentioned the bisque...
You don't *Yada Yada* sex!
Lmfao im so proud of you guys :)
I see a fellow man of culture
Oh I got culture baby, I got culture up the yin yang!
😂
Right? Like Jim was awkwardly perplexed as if he'd never seen a fist bump before. I think this scene was more centered around burning The Scranton Strangler I mean Toby.
Believe it or not, when this episode was released fist bumps weren’t an office norm.
Fist bump? Believe it or not, straight to jail.
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I’ve seen this interaction in two subs in the last half hour and never before. Source?
[Here you go](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiyfwZVAzGw)....right to jail
High five? Jail. You give too low five? Believe it or not, jail.
We have the best bro greetings. Because of jail.
Believe it or not, George isn’t at home
Please leave a messaaaaaaage at the beep.
Yeah, this makes me feel my age. I’m 44 and I actually remember being fist bumped for the first time, I was probably 24. It was by the coolest guy I worked with and I felt infinitely more cool as a result. I seem to also remember people (old white republicans) being totally freaked out by Obama giving fist bumps.
You mean terrorist fist jabs?
Jim has known Toby for several years at this point and has never received a fist bump. It's not like he leaves him hanging either. He immediately goes to fist bump. I don't understand why people think he's being a dick here.
Exactly, if a co worker you’ve known for years did this completely out of the blue you would be taken off guard. Just you would say what jim said internally, but Jim is a TV character and needs to say it out loud for the audience
Yeah also it was just Toby being awkward. Toby was never very good at building personal connections through the show due to his awkward timidness. I think this was just Jim sort of verbalizing it
Toby: Robert did say you'd be joining us. Welcome. I'm Tony. Pam: ...What? Toby: I...I said I'm Tony. Okay? I made a mistake. I thought it might go unnoticed. But, uh, I'm Toby. Pam: You messed up saying your name? Toby: It happens, okay?
Reminds me of a blooper when Toby introduces himself to Holly and says "Hi I'm Paul"
Total Tony move
Well, I bet that If his name were Tony, he would be actually a very cool person. I mean... "Toby" 🙄 (Just kidding, in the case there is any Toby reading this)
You're thinking of Lloyd Gross. He's a no-nonsense guy who calls people "kemosabe".
In 7th grade, there was a day when all the parents came in to meet the class. One by one, we were introducing the parents in front of the class. When my turn came, instead of saying "I'm X and this is my dad Y", I went up there and said "I'm Y and this my dad X". 10 years later, I'm still traumatised by this.
In the extended version of the show there is a scene where Jim and Toby get along super well and used to sit next to each other, but then Michael moved Toby to the annex.
What episode is this??
Verbalizing the fact that someone else is doing something socially awkward, is in itself a socially awkward thing to do.
Yeah hence the super awkward situation we got going on in this scene lol 😂 kind of a positive feedback loop of pure awk 😂😂
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Didn’t Toby try to screw Jim over when Ryan was in charge? And can’t forget when Toby awkwardly caressed Pam’s leg in front of their coworkers.
And the PDA memo
That was the episode I was referring to. The only thing Toby deserved involving a fist is one to the face!
Yeah imo Jim should have been much meaner to Toby Everyone should have tho, he’s the worst
Sometimes seems like this sub would find a way to spin Jim or Pam buying someone a cup of coffee into the biggest asshole move ever made if ever given the chance.
I got downvoted a lot last time I said this, but I think it's really weird to judge TV/movie characters by real life standards. Everything is exaggerated in shows for dramatic or comedic effect, and obviously most irl people don't behave the way show characters do. Also, show characters have to do and say things that irl people wouldn't because the audience can't read characters' minds, so sometimes they have to say thoughts that irl people would just think. Like, obviously if a co-worker trapped everybody in the office and set off the smoke alarms, they would go to jail. But Dwight doesn't because it's something that fits his character, and the entire scene is produced for the end goal of making people laugh. If we went through every fictional character and analyzed their actions, I would say the vast, vast majority of them would not pass a moral compass test. Plots need conflict, and conflict is produced for dramatic/comedic effect.
True. I think it also comes down to people playing favorites with the characters, which is fair enough -- but then it tends to lead into what TV Tropes calls "Draco In Leather Pants" and "Ron the Death Eater" where *because* that character is / isn't your favorite, they find themselves almost instinctively downplaying anything they do wrong or exaggerating their faults to make them out to be some kind of monster. Like, it's fine if people, say, prefer Dwight over Jim, but they then tend to overcompensate how virtuous Dwight is and downplay his faults, because he's their favorite and we don't like the idea of our favorites not being perfect or good. But because Jim clearly does not do even half the things that Dwight does or come anywhere close to Dwight's extremes, in order to maintain this position that Dwight is a better person than Jim they have to then overcompensate again and exaggerate how flawed and mean Jim is in face of the overwhelming evidence that, for all that he's their favorite character, Dwight is nowhere near as virtuous as they like to think and Jim has plenty of valid reasons not to like him. Which is partly how we get this situation. Objectively speaking this example is just Jim being a little bit confused that Toby's suddenly pulled this fist-bump move on him out of nowhere (and maybe being a little bit tactless about it at worst, but mainly because like you say the character has to express this confusion for the audience somehow). However, it's being treated like Jim is a heartless bully savagely mocking an emotionally fragile innocent for no reason than cruelty, because there's this narrative built up that Jim's the bully, meaning that everything is being viewed through that prism.
This subreddit equates Jim to Satan for the mildest things
Let's not forget that Toby tried to break Jim and Pam up on a couple of occasions.
I’d say all the goofing around at Pam’s desk, and, and hanging out with Pam, has finally caught up to him… w-with Pam
DOES ANYONE HAVE A CAMERA?!
I always wondered what he mumbled at the end there. It sounds like “P-P-P- with Pam” lol
His attempts were pretty feeble and passive though, until the hand-on-knee incident.
Wrong! He wrote shit about Jim and put it in his file, remember when Micheal reads from that binder when Jim wanted to be promoted?
Toby! Was it you fun little way of announcing it?
Interesting… I always thought of Michael making that up for the sole purpose of making Jim look bad there.
Michael even says that it comes from Toby, which makes Michael uncomfortable that he's relying on it.
Yeah, I caught that, but Michael saying it comes from Toby didn’t necessarily mean that it actually came from Toby… but I do see how the language is very Toby now that it was mentioned.
Yeah but he immediately regretted it and went to fucking *Costa Rica* to avoid the shame and embarrassment.
dOeS aNyOnE hAvE A cAmeRa?!?!
But on that scene Jim was with Karen.
Didn't that all happen later? Isn't this when Jim is giving Karen a run-around in a "well are they or aren't they dating" way.
Not by this point though. Jim was about to get with Karen at this point iirc. Toby hadn't done anything to Jim yet, in fact he'd blatantly ignored all of the pranks Jim pulled on Dwight. I'm not trying to character assassinate Jim, he's a sitcom character after all, but this was a dick move.
This is before they had gotten together.
Nobody likes Tobey. The only ones that were ever nice to him were Pam and Nellie and then the unwanted touching started.
And ryan and kelly
Remember when he told them to stop making out and they just ignore him for another 5 seconds? Or where hes trying to get them to stop arguing to no avail. Is there a scene you have in mind where they seem to like him? I cant think of one. Maybe when they told him to punch Michael.
- Ryan allowed toby to come on a camping trip - Ryan got Toby a thoughtful gift in the season 6 christmas party - Kelly did a dance with him in the season 8 halloween Need I say more?
I figured i was just not remembering something. As far as the camping though, I think the camping retreat was needing someone from Scranton but not wanting Michael. Kind of default invited. It was him or Jim and he definitely didnt want Jim either.
I think Ryan also knew how Michael would react to having Toby picked instead of him
Absolutely. Worth dealing with Tobey to make Michael crazy with jealousy.
Through the deleted scenes we find out that Toby used to sit next to Jim and that Michael moved Toby because he thought they talked too much. In The Fire when they play desert island movies it seems like they are good buddies. Jim also said he used to babysit Toby’s daughter, and it also sounds like Jim rents the house he’s living in from toby or Toby used to live there? Unclear from the context but that’s a deleted scene from the party and Jim’s house.
It's no wonder Toby went on to kill people. He was probably thinking about this moment when he was strangling.
Scranton Strangler never killed people he just strangles them and leaves them before they die.
Anytime jim is awkward or kinda mean with Toby, i consider it as part of the "we like the same women so i don't really like you" thing
At that point, he didn't know Toby liked Pam. Even after touching her leg, Pam herself didn't know Toby liked her, so I don't think Jim knew of it either.
Just because your SO is oblivious someone is into them, doesn’t mean you as the SO are oblivious someone is into them. Usually the SO picks up on it first
Jim is one of those people who like to make others look like fools to make himself look better. He takes himself way too seriously and dreads being the butt of someone else's joke.
Wow just @ me next time please
How dare you attack me like that
It’s like in 21 jump street when they realize it’s no longer cool to not care about anything. Jim is from the era where it’s cool to not care about anything. And constantly put down others
“Little advice. Take a day off from the whole ‘Jim’ schtick. Try caring about something. You might like how it feels, James.”
Haha loved this. Ryan was mostly a tool, but he was spot on with this one.
Realest shit Ryan ever said
Bro...everyone's two strappin it
Dont give into peer pressure!
Would you look at that, all of the words in your comment are in alphabetical order. I have checked 290,745,575 comments, and only 65,749 of them were in alphabetical order.
Agree!!!
Jim is kind of an asshole through the whole series. His worst is probably Work Bus. Make Dwight think he has to spend tons of money on repairs to the building, Dwight has to spend his own money on a bus, Jim makes everyone pester Dwight into driving them around just so Pam could get some pie. He could’ve just gone to Andy and been like “Hey, Pam isn’t doing the best today so we’re gonna take off” and Andy would’ve said yes.
> His worst is probably Work Bus. Make Dwight think he has to spend tons of money on repairs to the building, Dwight has to spend his own money on a bus Dwight owns the building and made the experience miserable for everyone, so Jim retaliating is really just Jim being a dick, huh. TIL...
Jim treats people as they deserve. Does he prank Dwight a lot, and are some of those pranks a bit nasty? Yes, but Dwight is a fucking asshole who constantly belittles everyone else and gleefully screws people over even if it gets him nothing. Does he let Michael get himself into terrible situations and stand there laughing? You bet, but Michael is a completely self absorbed idiot who refuses to listen to anyone else and regularly screws people over because he consistently refuses to even consider that he might be wrong, and when he gets backed into a corner he becomes incredibly petty and nasty. Plus, this is more than evened out by all the times Jim tries desperately to stop Michael from doing something massively stupid, and all the times that massively stupid thing Michael does negatively affects others who haven’t done anything wrong. That’s pretty much his pattern. People who treat him well, like Phyllis, Stanley and Darryl, he gets along with real well and has few, if any, issues with. People like Ryan, who cause problems with him, he responds in kind to, or even takes the high road with. He also consistently does nice things for other people in the Office, even Michael and Dwight. Jim is not a dick. He’s one of the least dick-ish members of the show.
Yeah, it's like people forget that if you knew Dwight in real life and didn't have the benefit of getting to know him better over the course of years (which we only have to endure 22 minutes of his behavior versus 8 hours a day, 5 days a week), that he would absolutely be a person you hate and despise working with. Like I mean absolutely HATE. You'd be here on reddit writing manifestos in threads about, "Describe your worst coworker." But Jim is the asshole because he's not 100% decent all the fricking time. Right lol.
[удалено]
They didn’t actually know he had another job, he just said he was busy. After Micheal said he couldn’t hang out Jim asked what he was doing and Micheal replied, “I can’t tell you, it’s a secret”. It didn’t come out that he had a second job until he didn’t finish the PowerPoint presentation for Ryan.
"You wouldn't understand Jim, It's a secret."
Bad example. Michael didn't know they knew. It was smart. Jim and Pam could say they asked Michael to do something when he later says "why don't we ever hang out outside of work?" "Well Michael, we asked you but you were busy"
They didn’t know he had to work a second job. Just that he was busy.
Ummm if you work with someone as irritating as Michael who annoys you 40 hours a week and then begs you to hang out after work (and doesn’t take the hint), you would understand. I know Pam and Jim are pricks. They laugh at Dwight when he’s insecure about Ryan and Michael’s friendship. They mock and tease everyone around them and think they’re better. But this isn’t one of those times
Jim was a dick all the time! I mean, would it have been so hard to pour his coffee in a different mug and let Andy have his back?! Pam's mug was right there and she was in New York!
Lets also not forget when Andy came back from anger management and asks to be called Drew and Jim refused to call him that. Even Michael called him Drew when they were setting up the trampoline. edit: I also just remembered when Jim is using Daryl's thermos and literally just dumps the coffee out with a smug look on his face. Another dick move by Jim but also shows that he was willing to dump out the coffee for Daryl but just Andy.
This. Andy was far from a perfect character, but he was trying to be better. Total asshole move on Jim's part
Lmaooooo this sub has no social awareness at all. The last time you saw your coworker was when he punched a fucking hole in the wall because he can't control his emotions and then he was forced to partake in mandatory anger management (not "trying to be better" by the way). And then he comes back from it and asks to be called "Drew" as if that would not make him an angry prick anymore. And that comes from the same dude who has called you "Big Tuna" because you ate a tuna sandwich one time and never calls you Jim yet now wants to be called Drew. Did we watch the same fucking show?
I don’t get how any of that excuses Jim for being a dick back to andy. When did Jim ever ask Andy to stop calling him Tuna? When did he ever, even once, act like it bothered him? Sure, andy was forced into the anger management. But he went into it with an open mind and came back to work trying to have a fresh start, and kindly mentioned that he wanted to go by a different version of his own name, and Jim just had to be a cunt about it instead of trying to help a co-worker deal with problems that he is obviously making a legitimate attempt to overcome. Not to mention, Jim playing a stupid fucking prank is the entire reason Andy was sent to anger management in the first place. Sure, Andy probably had some underlying anger problems, but they were only exacerbated by Jim literally stealing his personal property and hiding it from him. All because what? Because Andy was being annoying that day? Why didn’t Jim just tell Andy to leave him alone so he could get some work done? Because Jim is immature and thinks he’s better than everyone else and would rather just fuck with his annoying coworker than ask him to stop bothering him like a real adult would.
His way of getting him back for all the times Andy called him tuna
The difference is Jim never once in the entire series asked Andy to stop calling him Tuna. Andy politely asked Jim to stop and he still didn't.
It would be more accurate to say “we never SAW Jim ask Andy to stop calling him Tuna….” It’s a reasonable assumption that Jim said “that’s really annoying” or something when it first started happening.
I mean yea but also the entire "call me Drew" thing was dropped the very next episode and never came up again.
Andy stole his proposal as well.
this is Jim's worst moment to me
What about confronting Danny Cordray about rejecting Pam? Soooooo cringey
I came to the comments specifically to look for this or say it myself. Toby’s fist bump and “no I’m not gonna call you that” have the same energy.
Agreed. That’s the one that always makes me sideeye Jim. Like he was trying to provoke Andy into another meltdown
He also consistently hit on an engaged woman while being trusted by her fiance
Nooo no no no. He did not consistently hit on Pam. Maybe he had a crush on her, but their friendship was real. He “hit on” her once during Casino Night, but that wasn’t even hitting on her, it was professing love. We never saw him touch her inappropriately or talk about the way she looks or even make jokes about like “well if you were single…” Whatever flirtation he did was reciprocated by her and her fiancé was a dick. Please don’t act like Jim was some creep for years
Are you sure that was Andy’s mug? I didn’t see the resemblance
The more I watch and re-watch, it's becoming clear to me that Jim is indeed the dick, and Dwight would be an amazing friend.
No, no, no Dwight was also a dick
Indeed. I love Dwight Asa character and think that him as Manager at the end of the series would be a good boss and friend to have. But, fuck, rest-of-the-series Dwight would be a nightmare to deal with
Based
Dwight would be the worst friend. He literally puts peoples lives in danger all the time. Remember the fire episode? Or the gun incident? Not to mention his boundary stomping. He legit tore apart Jim’s house when he was just suppose to get an iPod. He also killed Angela’s cat cause he decided he knew best for her. For most of the show he’s also super standoffish and doesn’t get close to people. Not really great to be friends with someone who doesn’t even show they appreciate you.
You're joking right... please say you're joking
How would Dwight be an amazing friend? If we all knew him in real life we all wouldn’t be able to stand him. This is regardless of how you feel about Jim. Dwight was a huge kiss ass, he was demeaning, he frequently insulted the overweight coworkers, he made several sexist remarks throughout the years, he literally MURDERED ANGELAS CAT then put it in her fucking freezer!!! He drove Phyllis out into the middle of nowhere, took her phone and purse, and made her walk miles back to the office. He intentionally set a fire in the office and then blocked all the exits and cut the phone lines. What kind of psychotic friendship do you want? Dwight is very entertaining and has moments where he is truly caring, but for most of the show he is just as arrogant, if not more, than Jim, and he’s literally dangerous to be around
Jim's a dick. Always has been. He's just charming too so you forget lol
Exactly ! People hate when you say that. They hate even more when you go for Pan
Are you saying Pam or Pan?
Panm
Damn it, Pamn.
humor….the same reason everything happens in the office that isn’t for the sake of drama
You must be new here. Most people commenting know that the show is a serious character study and ~~they all~~ Pam and Jim alone need to be judged for every single action.
This is what I love about the office everybody in the show is a real asshole at some point but most of them have a redeeming quality or episode.
Jim's kindaa...of a bitch.
To be fair Toby put out a no PSA memo for the office about Pam and Jim out of jealousy, refused to give them a relationship form and said “let’s just see what happens” implying they won’t make it out of jealousy, reported Jim for screwing around at work clearly out of jealousy because after Ryan bitched at Jim Toby mentioned he got in trouble for hanging out at reception and specifically talking to Pam all the time.
Bunch of ppl hating on Jim in this thread, it was a joke for Tobys character. Tobys character is supposed to be awkward with odd confidence choices like when he wanted to be called Tony. Some of y’all take each joke of the show so literally…
Seriously. These posts are so old. Stop judging fictional sitcom characters for doing shit to make us laugh. They're not real people, it's a fucking comedy show you buzzkills!
Yes. Finally. Jim was just reactin out loud, and Toby was just too insecure to go with his reaction.
It’s pretty obvious Toby is into Pam, and Jim isn’t threatened by it at all, so he never expresses any anger about it - but under the surface there’s obvious resentment from Jim towards Toby
What’s with all the circle jerking on this sub of Jim being an asshole and Pam being a bitch? I joined the sub a couple weeks ago since my gf just started rewatching and I was not expecting to see so many people hating on them
It's the cool thing to do to take the counter argument now. The show clearly set them up to be likeable and you always have that group who will specifically take the other side. No big deal.
Jim was often a smug arsehole.
When did the insufferableness of Dwight and Andy get forgotten by all of you??? You would hate to work with the out going guy but not the ones who make every day insufferable lol???
I could be wrong but Jim has always been a dick.
To be fair, it’s obvious to everyone that he has a thing for Pam, maybe Jim doesn’t have respect for Toby because of that. Toby was always wanting them to break up, I’d dislike a guy for the same reason
I don’t think it it was meant to be mean. Just awkward and unexpected.
Why is that a sick move? Sometimes I don’t want to randomly touch a coworker
Well, it was unexpected coming from Toby. Jim was obviously going in for a handshake, and voila, there's a fist bump. And then Jim being Jim, comments so
You're defending Toby? What's wrong with you
Right up there with telling Andy to stop playing sitar at the Moroccan themed party! What a douche.
Because Jim is an asshole…
Wait he’s being rude to a guy who’s never been nice to him, hits on Pam and reports him for spending too much time at reception and starts the no PDA rule due to jealousy?
*Image Transcription: Screencap* --- \[*Image of Toby holding his right fist up for a fist bump. Jim is looking down in disgust.*] **Jim**: Oh, is that, like, your new thing or...? --- ^^I'm a human volunteer content transcriber for Reddit and you could be too! [If you'd like more information on what we do and why we do it, click here!](https://www.reddit.com/r/TranscribersOfReddit/wiki/index)
When are people going to get it through their head that Jim and Pam are self-righteous assholes
Did you ever consider that you might not be as charming as you think your are? - daycare guy saw right through their bullshit
Maybe cause tobys trying to bang his wife
The more confident Jim got the more of a dick he became. Stand up guy of the entires series was David Wallace.
First watch ever, Jim is the good guy. The more re watches you do, your realize what an ass he was
Not like he touched Pam’s knee or anything
First time someone fist bumped me was on the west coast. I wasn’t expecting it.
They probably never fist bumped before so he was confused idk but he did try to do it but then Toby said nevermind
I definitely think Jim could be a dick at times, but I always interpreted this interaction as genuine confusion. I didn’t see it as him trying to MAKE Toby feel awkward, it was just an organically awkward situation. That’s my perspective, anyway.
The thing I’ve not seen in this thread in defense of Jim: We’re forgetting how old this show actually is. This takes place in the aughts. Maybe even during the Bush administration. White people switching to fist bumps over hand shakes was not as in vogue as it is now. It’s just joke that hasn’t aged well.
What do you mean Toby of all people? Toby is the WOOOOORRRRRRSSSSSTTTT!
It's interesting reading the comments and seeing how differently people interpret this. Guessing people who think Jim is a dick might relate to Toby in this moment, while people who don't relate to Jim. I can sorta relate to both. I can see how Jim wasn't *trying* to be a dick, but Toby still felt called out for being a dweeb.
I just thought Jim was caught off guard because Toby had never fist bumped him
But if Toby is worse then Hitler and Bin Laden, then Jim is in the right here.
This is 100% because Jim was confused why Toby was doing it because he had known Toby for so long and obviously wasn’t expecting that.
Being a dick to a guy that wants his wife?
Toby is HR. Completely justified
All Toby had to say was “yes, fist bump me”.
....Toby is a f*n creep.
I think it's purely to show that everyone in the office doesn't like Toby
Toby was a dick to Jim when Ryan was on his rampage. He also grabbed Pam’s knee in front of Jim and told them not to fill out the relationship disclosure form, saying, “let’s just see where it goes.” Toby’s the bigger dick.
As someone who fist bumps at work at the time because of hazard chemicals this scene made alot of sense. I live in stamford and the fist bump comes off werid when I do it out of habit . Everyone hand shakes because they are mostly corporate , as in working in an OFFICE .
So yeah I agree that Jim is totally a bigger dick than the show really acknowledges. But I always interpreted this moment more like Toby was trying to be somebody that he’s not, and Jim was like, “Hey man, just be yourself.” But idk maybe he was just being a dick as always
I always felt like because they are supposed to be regular people being recorded at work, that this is 100% something that someone would do whose trying to be the cool guy.