Jim Halpert. At this point, he's kind of become a pop culture icon for the American "everyman." In The Office, he served as one of the only characters in the entire ensemble who resembled a pretty normal human. Especially when compared to the likes of people like Dwight Schrute.
Like all mortal men, Jim had a dark and a light side to him. Here's a reminder of the forces at play inside ol' Gumby Halpert.
10 Good Guy: Tolerating Michael, And Becoming Friends With Him
Michael Scott was not the easiest boss to be a subordinate of. He was a lovable man-child, but his antics could be tone-deaf, annoying, or even destructive at times. So, tolerating having to answer to such a boss could be a chore at times, and Jim's tolerance of Michael was certainly a great feat.
And it paid off because, over time, Jim's respect towards Michael allowed for a solid friendship to form, and Jim could influence the best aspects of Michael's personality to flourish.
9 Bad Guy: Letting Michael Fall In The Koi Pond
During their run as co-managers, Jim and Michael occasionally clashed. At one point, while attending a meeting with a client, Jim was forced to have the non-professional Michael tag along. While walking from the meeting, Michael stumbles and falls into a koi pond.
When the office workers get a hold of the tape (which Michael allows to be played after Jim demands it remain unseen), they realize that Jim side-stepped away from Michael as he fell, not stopping his fall despite fully well being able to at least try. It was a petty move by Jim, and this time around, Michael had done nothing to deserve it.
8 Good Guy: Asking Darryl To Join Him With Athlead
Darryl and Jim had a pretty solid friendship throughout the run of the show, as the two shared similar personalities; they were both down to Earth, more normal than many of their coworkers, and both were unsatisfied with their jobs.
When Jim decided to do something about that dissatisfaction and help start-up Athlead, he invited Darryl to join the company and made sure to squeeze in an interview for him. Though it took some time, he managed to secure the spot for his friend, and Darryl loved the new role.
7 Bad Guy: Emotionally Cheating On Karen
To be fair to Jim, Pam definitely was in the wrong when she revealed that she shared feelings for Jim, but rejected him to settle with Roy instead. Her refusal was excruciating for Jim, who moved to Stamford and tried to reboot his life. And to his credit, he did earnestly mean it; he began dating his coworker, Karen, and they had great chemistry.
When the Stamford branch shut down and was merged with the Scranton branch, Jim had to return to his roots, this time around, with Karen. Pam had called off her engagement to Roy, but Jim was with Karen, and went out of his way to show off that fact to Pam. Karen steadily just became a tool for Jim to manipulate Pam into seeing what she was missing out on, and the fact that he still had feelings for Pam and didn't just end it with Karen was very unfair to both parties.
6 Good Guy: Keeping The Office Spirit Fun
Jim was a great leader around the office, even before he was a manager. Whenever things got too stale or Michael's antics would sow chaos, Jim was able to rouse the troops and keep things stable, and often, fun.
The Office Olympics were one such example, and playing "survival island" with everyone while waiting for the office fire to be extinguished was another.
5 Bad Guy: Getting Smug With His Coworkers
At times, Jim could get a superiority complex. Jim was always pretty crafty and cunning, but sometimes that streak could become arrogant, and it would alienate his coworkers, who he could sometimes see as lesser because they were so strange.
This certainly came up with the koi pond incident, which earned Jim the wrath of the office. And at times, he could be condescending as a manager, which wasn't much of a switch up from Michael's childish rule. His often lazy work ethic without consequences also irked many members of the office, and it certainly didn't work out with tougher bosses like Charles.
4 Good Guy: Being Friendly To Dwight
Despite Dwight's eccentric and sometimes even downright dastardly behavior, Jim was pretty supportive of the assistant to the regional manager. Jim took Pam to enjoy a stay at Schrute Farms and gave it a good review on Trip Advisor. He also stuck around for Dwight's Christmas party even though he had Athlead work in Philadelphia to attend to. He also saved Dwight's job during the Sabre fiasco Robert California orchestrated.
But the nicest thing of all was that he gave Dwight advice on Angela, empathizing with him over the painful experience of such turbulent romance. This bond would lead to Jim being chosen as Dwight's best man for his wedding down the road.
3 Bad Guy: Jim's Pranks (Sometimes)
At times, Jim's pranks could escalate situations needlessly. His constant pranking of Andy led to the infamous outburst and wall-punch that followed...granted, that might have been more on the fault of Andy.
Likewise, his never ending pranks on Dwight could sometimes lead to extreme responses from Dwight that would affect the entire office, or the pranks were just a little too mean towards Dwight.
2 Good Guy: Being a Sweetheart Towards Pam
The Jim and Pam storyline was one of the key components of The Office, and especially in those early seasons, there was nothing as unbearable as seeing Jim the underdog fight to steadily win Pam's affections.
Jim was constantly put into impossible emotional situations, but at the end of the day, he prevailed. His creative approach to win Pam over, his patience, and his efforts, even his mistakes, all showcased just how much he loved her.
1 Bad Guy: His Approach To Athlead
Jim was very much in the wrong when it came to his approach towards Athlead. In an (almost) mid-life crisis, he realized that his throwaway office gig had become his career, and he wanted more out of his life. So he decided to become a founding member of Athlead, which was in Philadelphia, all without telling Pam.
On top of that, he invested $10,000 into it, again, without consulting his wife, who he had worked so hard to become romantic partners with. And to make matters worse, he would take his frustrations out on Pam and instigate petty and needless fights.
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