There are so many quirky characters in The Office, and many of them even unsurprisingly have a criminal record. From bad parenting to stealing office supplies, to possibly being an outright murderer, the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin is full of characters who could be seen as the overarching antagonist.
This is why Pam and Jim, the most down to earth characters of the show, are generally seen as The Office’s moral com. However, behind their confident and charming exteriors lay some extremely dark habits that are narcissistic and borderline sociopathic, and there are arguments to be made that either character could be the villain of the show.
Jim: Is A Jerk To Most Women
His relationship with Katy is one of his worst storylines, and it shows Jim at his worst, as he dumps her on the cruise ship, so she’s unable to leave and still has to spend a discernible amount of time with his friends.
On top of that, he was reckless with his other relationships too, as he went about breaking up with Karen all wrong and all but laughed in her face when he visited her years later. Even with Pam, there are times when Jim has been incredibly cold to her.
Pam: Lying To Get Promotions
For somebody who is supposed to be the moral backbone of a show filled with characters lacking morals, Pam lying to get a promotion is out of character, to say the least.
Pam lied her way into becoming the office , and the new role doesn’t even require her to do anything tasking, barely having to lift a finger. If it was anybody else who lied to get a promotion and Pam knew about it, she would likely call them out and put a stop to it.
Jim: Making His Mistakes Other People’s Problems
Though Jim might seem like he has it together more than any other salesman in the office, he actually makes a lot of mistakes, and the amount of mistakes he makes often increases with the more responsibility he has.
When he lied about being on jury duty, other colleagues had to cover for him, and when he accidentally gave himself a bonus, there was an outcry that rippled through the office. But anytime somebody else makes a mistake, instead of helping them he just mocks them.
Pam: Pushes Her Art On Everybody
Whether her art is great or not, Pam is extremely pushy when it comes to her paintings and murals, and even though there have been enough examples of times when her coworkers haven’t shown an interest in her hobby, it doesn’t stop her from still forcing it on people.
And when her mural is graffitied over, instead of acting rational and getting to the bottom of it in a professional manner, she sees red and everybody has to suffer the consequences.
Jim: Thinks He’s Better Than Everybody Else And Then Expects Favors From Them
One of the most notable things about Jim’s character is his deadpan stare into the camera after somebody says something he doesn’t agree with, which happens to be every couple of minutes.
Jim thinks he’s so much better than his colleagues and clearly has a superiority complex, though it might not be as visible as Dwight’s. S0 does Pam, as the two of them thinking they were so special is one of the things that makes no sense about their relationship. But Jim is much worse, as he still expects things of his colleagues, such as when he needs Stanley and Phyllis to cover his workload when he starts work on his own company.
Pam: Considers Cheating On Jim
In season nine, Pam starts flirting with Brian, the boom operator, and they form an extremely close connection. In a way, Pam was cheating on Jim on an emotional level. But it isn’t just with Jim, as she has a history of flirting with other people when she’s in a serious relationship.
She even cheated on Roy with Jim when they were engaged. This is even worse when she so clearly judges Angela for the way she handles her relationships with Andy and Dwight.
Jim: Bullying Dwight
Being the most obvious reason why Jim could very well be the show’s antagonist, he has been a bully to Dwight since day one. Though some of his pranks were good-natured, and Dwight has clearly fought back on several occasions, most of them were outright bullying.
Whether they’re small pranks that embarrass him and have the whole office laughing at him or ones that genuinely risk his life, Jim could be seen as a straight-up psychopath. Even when he isn’t pranking Dwight, the beet farmer is the subject of many of Jim’s shadiest burns.
Pam: Blaming The Headlice Spread On Meredith
When it comes to home life, there are a surprising amount of parallels between Pam and Meredith, even if they cope with being a parent extremely differently.
When Pam finds out it was her who spread head lice across the office, she doesn’t correct anyone, as they all think it’s Meredith. It ties into the fact that Pam also thinks she’s better than everybody else, as she banks on everybody expecting Meredith to be the one who started the spread.
Jim: Tries To Distract His Co-Workers From Making A Living
It’s obvious how much Jim hates his job, which is one of the saddest things about him, as he is always trying to distract himself so he doesn’t have to face the mundane reality of being a paper salesman.
However, he crosses a boundary when he tries to convince his other colleagues to get involved in his hijinks. Sometimes it brings people together, such as the whole debate about Hilary Swank, but the colleagues are made out to be the bad ones for preferring to do their work.
Pam: Stole All Of Her Colleagues’ Clients
After working with her colleagues for years, it’s surprising that she showed no remorse when moving to the Michael Scott Paper Company and stole every possible client that belonged to her former co-workers.
When she moved to the new company, one of the things about Pam that make no sense, she all but forgot about her friendships, and her shameful actions continued when she moved back to Dunder Mifflin, as she felt she deserved to keep the clients she stole.