Here's why John Krasinski thinks Jim and Pam's first kiss on The Office was perfect. The Office ran for nine seasons from 2005 to 2013, and in the years since it went off the air, it has proven itself to be one of the most enduring and beloved sitcoms of all time. It follows the everyday lives of the employees of the fictional paper company Dunder Mifflin as they become documentary subjects. The Office's colorful characters have kept audiences entertained with their ridiculous antics and heartwarming relationships. When it comes to the latter, few are as beloved as the romantic paring of Jim (Krasinski) and Pam (Jenna Fischer).
Jim and Pam are frequently counted among the best television couples in recent memory, and that's largely thanks to their slow-burn romance at the beginning of The Office. For the first three seasons, the duo remained firmly in the "will they, won't they" category as both grappled with their feelings for the other amid other relationships. It's easy to think their first kiss came in the season 2 episode "Casino Night," but it actually arrived in season 1's "The Dundies". A drunken Pam pulls Jim into a quick kiss after winning an award, catching both Jim and the audience off guard.
Krasinski recently appeared on his former co-star Brian Baumgartner's podcast An Oral History of The Office. Inevitably, conversation turned to Jim and Pam's relationship, and Krasinski shared his thoughts on how special their first kiss was. "That's real life, whereas a regular television show would have a big, huge kissing," said Krasinski. "I remember reading that script and being like, man, that is so smart." He then elaborated on how he feels the Dundies setting, as strange as it was, was actually quite perfect, saying, "Like, rather than if it was a big kiss where I took her out back and made some huge overture, you'd be like, ‘oh good, I'm being entertained by this moment. But I don't feel anything. I'm not connected."
Krasinski makes a very fair point. The brilliance of the first kiss is that it's so innocent and sudden, and a big deal isn't made of it. Obviously, it rattles Jim, but no one else reacts and it isn't discussed afterward. It also showed just how deep both Jim and Pam's feelings went for each other; Pam, who was still engaged to Roy (David Denmen) at the time, was clearly so comfortable with Jim that she had no second thoughts about jumping into his arms.
Jim and Pam's relationship is one of the highlights of The Office, which makes the fights they have during season 9 such a disappointment for fans. Early plans actually had the two split up during The Office season 9, though that was later changed so they merely went to couples counseling to work out their issues. Considering how pivotal they were to The Office's success, it's a good thing the writers ultimately decided to keep them together for the entire run. And to think, it all began with an innocent kiss in a Chili's.
Source: An Oral History of The Office