Pam Beesly
| Pam Beesly | |
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| Name | Pam Beesly |
| Job | Receptionist, Dunder-Mifflin |
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| Last Episode | |
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| Portrayed by | Jenna Fischer |
Overview
Pam Beesly is the receptionist at the Scranton branch of the Dunder-Mifflin paper company. During Seasons 1 and 2, she was engaged to Roy, a worker downstairs in the paper warehouse. Pam is cheerful but tends to have difficulty speaking her mind and taking risks, both of which she works on during Season 3.
Character
Pam does not want her current job to become permanent, remarking that "no little girl ever dreams about becoming a receptionist". Pam is apathetic toward her work, evidenced by her frequent games of FreeCell on her office computer.
Michael has criticized Pam for simply forwarding calls to voice mail without answering and (in a deleted scene) for not sounding enthusiastic enough when speaking on the telephone. Pam is usually happy to abandon her work if asked to do something else by her best friend and co-worker Jim Halpert.
Jim has suggested she apply for a salesperson position within the company, but at the end of the close of Season 3, Pam is still the receptionist.
Relationship with Jim
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
Seasons 1 and 2
Pam and Jim are best friends, and their relationship is occasionally the subject of office speculation. For several months, Jim dated a purse salesgirl named Katy but broke up with her on a company "booze cruise" after watching Roy suddenly announce to the whole ship, "It's time to set a date, babe" (for their wedding). Dejected, Jim privately reveals his feelings for Pam to Michael Scott, who encourages Jim to "never give up". At the end of Season 2, Jim tells Pam he is in love with her and kisses her.
Season 3
At the start of season three, Jim has transferred to the Stamford branch and been promoted, while Pam remains at Scranton but has broken up with Roy. The Stamford and Scranton branches merge and Jim transfers back to Scranton, where his reunion with Pam is awkward at best. In the meantime he has started seeing Karen Filipelli, another Dunder-Mifflin salesperson. This season shows the development of Jim and Karen's relationship and Pam's difficulty through that. In the final episode of the season, Jim and Karen both interview for a job at Corporate in NYC, where Jim reads an affectionate note from Pam. He spontaneously drives back to Scranton and and asks Pam to dinner, and after she accepts he says "It's a date."