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Jim Halpert's Biggest Friendships and Relationships From The Office
The friendships and romances of John Krasinski's character left marks on The Office fans' hearts.
Throughout its nine seasons, The Office featured tons of up-and-down romances and friendships. In the center of a lot of the Dunder Mifflin relationships web was Jim Halpert (John Krasinski), who began the show as a single prankster and ended as a happily married father of two.
Revisit all of Jim's biggest relationships, from Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer) to his budding friendship with Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson).
Who played Jim Halpert in The Office?
Jim Halpert was played by John Krasinski, who appeared in every episode of the show.
Krasinski grew up in the Boston, Massachusetts suburb of Newtown with fellow Office actor B.J. Novak. The two played Little League together as children and Krasinski was the leading man in a play Novak penned and produced their senior year in high school, according to the Boston Globe.
Being cast as Jim in 2004 was Krasinski's first big break as an actor. He eventually also directed three episodes of the show — Season 6, Episode 15 ("Sabre"), Season 8, Episode 3 ("Lotto"), and Season 9, Episode 6 ("The Boat") — and served as a producer of the show in Season 9.
After landing his role on The Office, Krasinski made the leap to feature films, starting with smaller roles in movies like Jarhead, For Your Consideration, and Dreamgirls before being offered meatier parts in Smiley Face, Leatherheads, and The Muppets. He's also co-written, directed and/or produced several films, including The Quiet Place, The Quiet Place Part II, Promised Land, and Manchester by the Sea.
Jim Halpert's First On-Screen Girlfriend, Katy Mocore
Before he dated Karen Filippelli (Rashida Jones) and Pam, Jim pursued a relationship with Katy Moore (Amy Adams). The two first met when Katy came to Dunder Mifflin to sell purses, in Season 1, Episode 6 ("Hot Girl"). Michael Scott (Steve Carell) allowed her to take over the conference room, despite the office's rule about not having third-party vendors.
By the end of the episode, Jim had secured a date with Katy, and the two were a couple for a period of time.
She came back to Dunder Mifflin to have lunch with Jim in Season 2, Episode 4 ("The Fire"), after the Scranton branch had evacuated to the parking lot due to a toaster fire that Ryan Howard (B.J. Novak) started. The coworkers were all playing a game where they named the films and books they'd take with them to a deserted island, and Katy said Legally Blonde after Jim had made fun of Meredith Palmer (Kate Flannery) for the same answer.
The two broke up in Season 2, Episode 11 ("Booze Cruise") when Jim's feelings for Pam were becoming clearer.
Michael found Jim contemplating his life on the side of the ship during the branch's Booze Cruise party, and told Jim, "Engaged ain't married," pushing him to pursue Pam, who had a fiancé at the time. He broke up with Katy while still on the ship, about which she was justifiably upset.
Jim Halpert and Dwight Schrute's Complex Friendship
From the very beginning of the show, Jim was committed to pranking his desk mate Dwight. Whether it was putting things in Jell-O, creating a fake wrapping paper desk, or sending faxes to Dwight from his "future self," Jim always had something up his sleeve.
While at face value their relationship didn't seem all that friendly, it slowly grew into an important bond for both of them. By the series finale (Season 9, Episode 26), Jim served as "Bestest Mensch" for Dwight's wedding to Angela Martin (Angela Kinsey). Instead of his normal shenanigans, though, Jim pulled off a series of "Gutenpranks" to pleasantly surprise Dwight with leading up to the wedding.
He helped Dwight shoot a bazooka, coordinated the party ending up in Kevin Malone (Brian Baumgartner)'s bar so they could reconnect, and also helped Michael return to be the true "Bestest Mensch" by the end of the day.
Jim Halpert's Relationship with Karen Filippelli
Jim met Karen Filippelli (Rashida Jones) when he transferred to the Stamford branch at the beginning of Season 3, and the two quickly began to buddy up. Karen tricked Jim by giving him the wrong instructions for the branch-wide Call of Duty game in Episode 3 ("The Coup"). Then, to win her affection, Jim spent an entire day tracking down Karen's favorite potato chips in Episode 4 ("Grief Counseling").
Both Dunder Mifflin employees ended up transferring to the Scranton office when the Stamford boss quit unexpectedly, and it slowly became clear that they were dating outside of work. At the beginning of Season 3, Episode 9 ("The Convict"), Jim confirmed their relationship, which continued for the rest of the season.
Eventually, in Episodes 24-25 ("The Job" Part 1 and 2), Jim and Karen both received the opportunity to interview for a corporate job in New York and they made the trip to the city together. Karen told Jim that she would move with him if he got the job, but he didn't reciprocate her feelings, and later left the interview early to return to Scranton.
How Jim Halpert and Michael Scott cemented their friendship
Jim began the show as more of a contradictory presence in Michael's meetings, often smirking at the camera during the boss's silly antics. As Jim climbed up the corporate ladder, his undermining of Michael's leadership became clearer — especially when Dunder Mifflin Chief Financial Officer David Wallace (Andy Buckley) appointed him co-manager of the branch in Season 6, Episode 2 ("The Meeting").
However, Jim gained respect for Michael after seeing firsthand how hard his job was. In Season 6, Episode 3 ("The Promotion"), the two had to decide how to allocate a small amount of budget increase into raises for the staff. When Dwight rallied the office against them both, Jim vented to Michael, saying "We tried to find the fairest way to do it." Michael said, "I used to have to do this part alone and it was the worst." Jim told the cameras, "Michael's my only friend left in the office."
When Michael eventually announced that he was leaving Scranton, he spent his last day telling everyone that he was leaving the following day — but Jim soon realized he was lying. In Season 7, Episode 23 ("Goodbye, Michael Part 2") he said, "You're not leaving tomorrow. You're leaving today, right?" He comforted Michael, who was crying about how hard it was to say goodbye, and they had a heartwarming exchange.
"James Halpert... You started at this company as a fine young man," Michael began saying, but started crying. "I think we should save this for tomorrow," Jim said. "And then tomorrow, I can tell you, what a great boss you turned out to be. Best boss I ever had."
Jim Halpert and Pam Beesly's Romance
Of course, the most pivotal relationship in Jim's storyline was his friendship with and eventual marriage to Pam. The two flirted with each other for years, sometimes working together to prank Dwight or investigate Angela's sneaky affair.
The pair's first kiss was in Season 2, Episode 22 ("Casino Night"), when Jim found Pam talking on the phone in the office after hours and kissed her. In the Season 3 premiere ("Gay Witch Hunt"), a flashback showed Pam turning him down after their kiss, so Jim transferred branches to start anew.
Pam later called off her wedding to her fiancé, and Jim broke up with Karen, so he was finally able to ask her on a date at the end of Season 3, Episode 25 ("The Job Part 2"). During Season 4, it was clear that they were officially together, and Jim proposed in Season 5, Episode 2 ("Weight Loss Part 2").
By the end of the series, the two had experienced plenty of ups and downs, from having their two children together to Jim needing to turn down a job offer to focus on his family. Pam's final act of love on-camera was in the series finale (Season 9, Episode 26), when she sold their Scranton house as a surprise so they could move to Austin and Jim could work at the sports marketing company that he had started with friends.
This story was originally published on July 30, 2023. It was updated August 2, 2023.
