Dwight and Jim had a heated rivalry for most of The Office, as the two had clashing personalities. When first watching the show, it seemed that fans thought that Jim was undoubtedly the good guy, while Dwight was the antagonist. This was because Dwight was far more stern, while Jim was the cool guy who had a lot of charisma. Also, Jim seemed to be more well-liked among their coworkers because of this fact.
Yet, it was actually quite the opposite. Jim was actually pretty awful at times to the people around him, as he had moments where he was extremely mean and selfish. Dwight, on the other hand, progressed as a character immensely, as he showed that he cared for others with his actions. Therefore, Dwight truly was the good guy between this pair, as even though he could be cold, he was a far better person. Jim's awful behavior as the series went on warranted far more criticism from fans than it received.
Dwight Was The Good Guy: He Consoled Pam When She Was Crying
After Pam realized that she had lost her shot with Jim, at that point of the series, she cried in the hallway. Dwight saw her and immediately consoled her, which displayed how empathetic he was able to be.
This was a pretty massive shock at the time, as Dwight was still a bit closed off to his coworkers then. Yet, this moment effectively showed that he cared for the people around him and was quite respectable.
Jim Was The Antagonist: He Constantly Pranked Dwight
The heated dynamic between these two was honestly instigated by Jim entirely. Sure, Dwight made comments about Jim's work ethic, but this was largely because Jim relentlessly pranked and bothered him every single episode.
Jim often took his pranks way too far as well. what made matters even worse was that there was no definitive reason as to why he partook in them. Thus, this was Jim just being extremely mean.
Dwight Was The Good Guy: He Went Above And Beyond For The Company
Dwight was easily the hardest working employee at Dunder Mifflin. He constantly aimed to sell paper and was very active when it came to meetings. Even though his primary goal was to become manager, he took his sales job very seriously.
This showed that Dwight was a character who was perfect for any company to have. Had Dwight switched jobs to a different one, Dunder Mifflin would have struggled immensely without him. Thus, he was extremely important.
Jim Was The Antagonist: He Was Apathetic About His Work
Jim, on the other hand, was openly apathetic about his work. This was due to the fact that he felt as if that he was better than the position he possessed. This resulted in him honestly being a terrible worker a lot of the time.
Jim's disinterest in his work made him come as pretentious sometimes too, so that certainly was a quality that made him an antagonist in the series. What was even worse was that he often showed that he was quite skilled in sales, but he didn't try a lot of the time.
Dwight Was The Good Guy: He Did Everything And Anything For Michael
Dwight was not only a spectacular employee of Michael's, but he also was a great friend. This was also very intriguing because of the fact that Michael was not appreciative of Dwight the vast majority of the time.
In fact, Michael even was cruel to him on occasion. Yet, Dwight was always the first person that helped Michael when he was in trouble or in need of something. This showed how loyal he was able to be.
Jim Was The Antagonist: He Was An Awful Boyfriend To Karen
Jim was such a bad boyfriend to Karen. First off, it was apparent that he still had feelings for Pam when they started dating. This ended up carrying over as the relationship progressed. Jim even lied to Karen about his past feelings for Pam.
Jim led Karen on immensely too, which was left such a bad taste in the mouths of fans. Of course, their relationship ended because Jim chose Pam over her. Thus, this was just vile treatment by Jim, and he never should have dated Karen in the first place.
Dwight Was The Good Guy: He Pepper Sprayed Roy To Protect Jim
Even though Jim tortured him a lot, Dwight protected him when Roy attacked him. Dwight famously used pepper spray and it stopped Roy from successfully punching Jim in the face.
Roy was livid over the fact that Jim kissed Pam, his fiancé at the time, and wanted to get payback. Dwight stepped in for somebody who was nothing but mean to him at the time, which definitely showed his loyalty to those who worked at the company. This was a protagonist type of move for sure.
Jim Was The Antagonist: He Took The Athlead Job Without Talking To Pam
Jim did a truly selfish act when he took the Athlead job without even addressing it to Pam. This required him to travel to Philadelphia, which of course left Pam alone with the kids.
It was honestly awful that Jim did this, as he had a family and wife that he needed to be there for. It was also a rather risky move, as the company was secure whatsoever. One could argue that this was the worst thing that Jim did in the entire series.
Dwight Was The Good Guy: He Was A Good Father
Angela refused to admit that Philip was Dwight's son, even though he knew quite well that he was. Alas, Dwight still dedicated his time to ensure Philip was being taken care of, even if Angela was not very appreciative at first.
This showed that Dwight had a huge heart, especially for both his child and Angela. Once it was revealed that Philip was his son, Dwight was extremely ecstatic and let out easily the largest smile fans saw from him the entire series. It was just a stupendous storyline.
Jim Was The Antagonist: He Didn't Care About Pam's Art Dream
Jim was not very supportive of Pam when she went away to art school. This later was proved to be hypocritical of him, as he took a job in Philadelphia that was not secure, much like art. He showed clear discontent over her pursuing art as a career.
He even didn't attend her art show, which was truly awful of him. He was not present and supportive of his future significant other's dream, which honestly was quite disappointing. It showed just how bad he truly could be.