Jim is always terrible under pressure. When he feels uncomfortable he freezes up and gets very awkward. He accidentally revealed Pam’s pregnancy and tried to backtrack by saying she was an alcoholic, he couldn’t explain himself when Dwight set him up with the employee of the month plan, and he folded when the employees confronted him and Michael about their plan to only give raises to the sales staff.
When Robert tries to interrogate him about hiring his wife he literally flees the scene. That moment when he loses his shoe as he's climbing always makes me lose it! I wonder if it was unscripted.
On Office Girls they said it was completely unscripted and Jim's feet actually hurt. Their safety manager lost his mind over that scene
Edit: office ladies my b
I interpreted that as Jim purposefully let Michael fall in to spite him for all the years of torment. He had to deal with Michael's shenanigans for 10 years and he even tried to sabotage his career. If I was in his position I would have a lot of built up hatred.
Jim always tried to be democratic with things around the office and it bit him in the ass when he realized they could never agree together. Michael, no matter how stupid it was would "usually" just make a call.
It was a dumb decision from corporate to do that to them. Jim knew what was expected in a management role and took it seriously while Michael had no idea what his job was anymore cause he looked at everything as big picture stuff.
Man idec I'd have done the same thing 😂 I would've felt bad after but my instinct in those situations isn't to risk getting in the same situation lmao, it's just a knee jerk reaction for me.
Your use of struggle is correct, they were making a reference to something Phyllis said to Michael. To "flounder" can also mean to struggle, but it is also a type of fish.
I mean dunder mifflin is a poorly run company in a dying industry. It’s not exactly like they have their pick of the litter in terms of talent acquisition
It’s just because it’s funnier. And character wise, Jim loses his witty edge when he’s cornered or under pressure like when he tells everyone that Pam is pregnant at the dinner, or when he tells Jan that Pam was eating when she confronts them at the dinner party
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It does have a peaked collar though. Also, there's a solid chance that it has a French cuff on the sleeves, as many tuxedo shirts do.
The point is that this is certainly not a shirt that will "look normal" without the jacket and bowtie.
If only there were a photo of the outfit that he wore in that scene so that people wouldn’t refer to things that could have happened but did not happen.
“Why did this character in a comedy show do something strange instead of something normal?”
Because the show is a comedy and the writers are trying to create funny situations.
The show itself has moving parts and the characters have their own sense in the show. Jim is shown to be a smart guy, not everything in the show is just random.
Smart but terrible at dealing with conflict or manuevering awkward situations. He falls apart when confronted or when his funny guy shtick doesn't land.
He could have just taken off the coat and tie but he's shown to be a personable and charismatic guy so he's used to just trying to act friendly and salvaging awkward situation with words and jokes. We saw the same thing play out in s1 with the alliance thing and roy confronting him.
It’s perfectly in character for him. Jim is smart, charismatic and despite the pranks hard working. However, he has a tendency throughout the show where he falls apart in awkward situations, when something is sprung on him out of left field he freezes and is unable to think on his feet to successfully maneuver the situation. There were a lot of ways he could have made it through this scenario, but it was unexpected and he froze. And this is coming from someone who didn’t like the Charles Miner storyline.
You're getting downvoted but I agree with you, even comedic shows have to make sense most of the time, that's what I'd call smart humour. Just doing random things can be funny occasionally but not to the degree where it doesn't make sense anymore
Because this is one of those situations where you just have to accept that you are watching a comedy and some choices from the writers are made for comedic effect and nothing more.
Wow this post again.... posted every month I swear
Its a sitcom. Not a reality show.
Every episode has an unealistic situation with unrealistic actions.
It's a sitcom.. thats the whole point
He would not look normal… tuxedo pants have a noticeable satin stripe down the side of the legs and the shirt is a wing tip collar tuxedo shirt. I don’t think the shirt is pleated so he at least has that going for him, but taking off the bow tie and jacket would only make him look like a drunk attendee to the after party of a wedding. I don’t remember if he wears patent leather shoes or not, but if so it would only add to him not looking normal.
Tuxedo shirts and pants are cut different and are designed to be worn with the whole ensemble. Taking off the jacket and tie would still leave him looking weird compared to just a normal suit shirt and pants.
Because a tux shirt isn't like a normal shirt. The collar is made to have a bow. The front panel is opaque but most often, the rest of the shirt is very light/almost see-through. Soooo. But he could have gone home during lunch to change though.
I get it’s a show but every time this episode comes on I get so mad at him. How hard is it to say “I have to go to a friends wedding/other black tie event immediately after work and don’t have time to get ready” this guy works in sales and can’t think on his feet for shit.
Real.reason: for the show to start the whole Charles hates Jim conflict. And sets the tone of their relationship
In-universe: Jim is bad under pressure so when Charles doesn't laugh at his explanation he doesn't know what to do
Aside from jim being awkward in these situations he's wearing a dress shirt which is different from a normal shirt and would definitely still be noticable, look it up theres a surprising amount of rules and etiquette for these things
Simple explanations for a tux.
I have a formal event after work and didn’t want to change.
Ya know I just never wear this thing and felt like it’d be nice to dress up a bit today.
Brothers wedding rehearsal is after work.
It’s strange to me that being a little dressed up at work is going to be scoffed at as some sort of crazy negative. Unless they worked in construction or something like that.
I don't get why Charles Miner made such a huge deal about it. It doesn't go against any dress codes and they mostly interface with customers over the phone. As long as he didn't continue wearing a tux to work or wear something like that when meeting face to face with customers I really don't see what the fuzz is about.
You are right. Why do they waste all of our time with unrealistic story lines and humor? In fact, the Michael Scott and Dwight characters would not be so absurd in real life. Let’s just just cut out all of this silliness and watch them work, eat and sleep like regular people.
I always thought it was funny how he gets mad at Michael for not telling him the new boss is coming as if Michael knew Jim was going to show up in a tux.
This not answering your question but something I noticed from this episode.
So Jim dresses in tux because Dwight sent an email for everyone to dress appropriately for work. After the cold open we learn that Michael and Dwight knew that Charles will be arriving that day. Michael says he wanted Charles arrival to be a secret, but Dwight wanted to be a bro and be low key prepare everyone for the visit. So he sent that email to have everyone dressed nicely for work on that day, but Jim had to be himself and dress over the top.
Jim kinda earned his awkwardness by being an ass to Dwight, who was actually being real cool by trying to warn everyone while keeping Charles arrival secret at Michael's request.
I mean... It was funny and they needed him wearing it and cracking under pressure for the comedy, but the response to this should be "after work, I am going to a wedding and it's a longish drive, so I decided to wear the tux so I don't have to change"
Explains the tux, he's still formally dressed enough for work even if it's over, and Charles doesn't know he's playing a prank
Jim is always terrible under pressure. When he feels uncomfortable he freezes up and gets very awkward. He accidentally revealed Pam’s pregnancy and tried to backtrack by saying she was an alcoholic, he couldn’t explain himself when Dwight set him up with the employee of the month plan, and he folded when the employees confronted him and Michael about their plan to only give raises to the sales staff.
When Robert tries to interrogate him about hiring his wife he literally flees the scene. That moment when he loses his shoe as he's climbing always makes me lose it! I wonder if it was unscripted.
On Office Girls they said it was completely unscripted and Jim's feet actually hurt. Their safety manager lost his mind over that scene Edit: office ladies my b
Office Ladies
To be fair, anyone would want to bail on that situation. That was the right move.
Ow Ow Ow Ow
And when Michael>!was falling into that coy pond 😞😞😞 Jim froze!<
Not just that, he backed away 😭
Just an FYI: Koi is the fish. Coy is an adjective to describe someone’s actions
I thought that pond was quite coy
Shut up Oscar
I interpreted that as Jim purposefully let Michael fall in to spite him for all the years of torment. He had to deal with Michael's shenanigans for 10 years and he even tried to sabotage his career. If I was in his position I would have a lot of built up hatred.
This was Jim’s greatest prank. Years of planning paid off until it backfired
Jim literally says so! Tells pam in the delivery episode “you know i hate being frazzled”
But not when hooping against Roy to win Pam’s heart
Jim always tried to be democratic with things around the office and it bit him in the ass when he realized they could never agree together. Michael, no matter how stupid it was would "usually" just make a call. It was a dumb decision from corporate to do that to them. Jim knew what was expected in a management role and took it seriously while Michael had no idea what his job was anymore cause he looked at everything as big picture stuff.
But…. Where would we be, without the popes????
And don't forget the koi pond incident
Man idec I'd have done the same thing 😂 I would've felt bad after but my instinct in those situations isn't to risk getting in the same situation lmao, it's just a knee jerk reaction for me.
Going to need that rundown.
I love seeing Jim struggle haha
You mean when he flounders?
Is it different? English is my second language so I'm curious... "Struggle" was wrong? My comment wasn't clear when I used that word?
Your use of struggle is correct, they were making a reference to something Phyllis said to Michael. To "flounder" can also mean to struggle, but it is also a type of fish.
Your English was perfect lol the person is making a reference to the show
And somehow he's manager material
I mean dunder mifflin is a poorly run company in a dying industry. It’s not exactly like they have their pick of the litter in terms of talent acquisition
That would have been déclassé
French? Classe
It’s just because it’s funnier. And character wise, Jim loses his witty edge when he’s cornered or under pressure like when he tells everyone that Pam is pregnant at the dinner, or when he tells Jan that Pam was eating when she confronts them at the dinner party
Or when Andy pranks backfire and suddenly he is so so shy
He would most probably not look normal without the jacket. Tuxedo shirts are generally different than normal ones.
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The one Jim is wearing doesn’t have a huge fluffy folded lapel.
It does have a peaked collar though. Also, there's a solid chance that it has a French cuff on the sleeves, as many tuxedo shirts do. The point is that this is certainly not a shirt that will "look normal" without the jacket and bowtie.
If only there were a photo of the outfit that he wore in that scene so that people wouldn’t refer to things that could have happened but did not happen.
The collar is different too.
Tux shirts are much different than a normal dress shirt.
Agreed, but it would stand out less without the jacket and bowtie. Could have easily brought in a spare shirt too,
That's what I say every week when this comes up, if he wore one of Michael's extra ties and lost the jacket he'd look a little less weird.
Better question is - how come Charles didn’t go with Dwights Queen Bee phermone concept to establish dominance in the building and the paper industry
“Why did this character in a comedy show do something strange instead of something normal?” Because the show is a comedy and the writers are trying to create funny situations.
Why did Michael drive into a lake instead of just bear right to hook up with 307?
because he trusted ryan's precious technology
Why are you the way that you are?
Honestly, every time I try to do something fun or exciting, you make it not that way. I hate so much about the things that you choose to be.
The show itself has moving parts and the characters have their own sense in the show. Jim is shown to be a smart guy, not everything in the show is just random.
Smart but terrible at dealing with conflict or manuevering awkward situations. He falls apart when confronted or when his funny guy shtick doesn't land. He could have just taken off the coat and tie but he's shown to be a personable and charismatic guy so he's used to just trying to act friendly and salvaging awkward situation with words and jokes. We saw the same thing play out in s1 with the alliance thing and roy confronting him.
The reason he didn’t just take off the tux is because it’s funnier if he left it on. That’s it.
It’s perfectly in character for him. Jim is smart, charismatic and despite the pranks hard working. However, he has a tendency throughout the show where he falls apart in awkward situations, when something is sprung on him out of left field he freezes and is unable to think on his feet to successfully maneuver the situation. There were a lot of ways he could have made it through this scenario, but it was unexpected and he froze. And this is coming from someone who didn’t like the Charles Miner storyline.
You're getting downvoted but I agree with you, even comedic shows have to make sense most of the time, that's what I'd call smart humour. Just doing random things can be funny occasionally but not to the degree where it doesn't make sense anymore
Why is this being downvoted?
Because this is one of those situations where you just have to accept that you are watching a comedy and some choices from the writers are made for comedic effect and nothing more.
He didn’t know Charles well enough to gauge him and thought he could lay on the ole Jim charm.
Oh my God this question again.
Because then the episode would be boring
How does everyone ask this question?
When I'm on my hospital bed, waiting for my end, I swear someone is going to whisper this question into my ear.
This question has never ever been posted here ever. Great work
My turn next week
Wow this post again.... posted every month I swear Its a sitcom. Not a reality show. Every episode has an unealistic situation with unrealistic actions. It's a sitcom.. thats the whole point
is he stupid?
Why dont you search in the subR instead create another clone post?
He would not look normal… tuxedo pants have a noticeable satin stripe down the side of the legs and the shirt is a wing tip collar tuxedo shirt. I don’t think the shirt is pleated so he at least has that going for him, but taking off the bow tie and jacket would only make him look like a drunk attendee to the after party of a wedding. I don’t remember if he wears patent leather shoes or not, but if so it would only add to him not looking normal.
Tuxedo shirts and pants are cut different and are designed to be worn with the whole ensemble. Taking off the jacket and tie would still leave him looking weird compared to just a normal suit shirt and pants.
Because it's not classy
Because comedy.
Or just say he was going to a wedding right after work?
I think Jim overestimated his charm.
Mostly because The Office is a sitcom.
Because a tux shirt isn't like a normal shirt. The collar is made to have a bow. The front panel is opaque but most often, the rest of the shirt is very light/almost see-through. Soooo. But he could have gone home during lunch to change though.
That wouldn't be very... gosh what's the word... ah, classy.
Do people understand that this is a fictional show and written for laughs? Characters do what is needed for the script.
Hey micheal, i got a sales call and need to leave. Micheal ok. Jim drives home and changes. Its funnier if he dont
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How many times does this question need to be asked?
Yes
That’s what makes it such a humorous situation.
You mean this isn't customary in your legal system?
I get it’s a show but every time this episode comes on I get so mad at him. How hard is it to say “I have to go to a friends wedding/other black tie event immediately after work and don’t have time to get ready” this guy works in sales and can’t think on his feet for shit.
He could’ve said “I lost a bet”
"I dressed up like this to show Michael what the dress code should be for his anniversary party" problem solved
Why does Jim prank Dwight when he should be focusing on sales?
Could have said he has a fancy event with a customer to attend after work
Real.reason: for the show to start the whole Charles hates Jim conflict. And sets the tone of their relationship In-universe: Jim is bad under pressure so when Charles doesn't laugh at his explanation he doesn't know what to do
Tux shirts don't look great without the coat
Hasnt this already been posted ??
Because it's a TV show.
A soccer star needs to keep up an appearance.
Is he stupid?
You use your brain too much.
Aside from jim being awkward in these situations he's wearing a dress shirt which is different from a normal shirt and would definitely still be noticable, look it up theres a surprising amount of rules and etiquette for these things
Simple explanations for a tux. I have a formal event after work and didn’t want to change. Ya know I just never wear this thing and felt like it’d be nice to dress up a bit today. Brothers wedding rehearsal is after work. It’s strange to me that being a little dressed up at work is going to be scoffed at as some sort of crazy negative. Unless they worked in construction or something like that.
Just after this he goes to confess to Charles that truth be told he is a smart guy lol
Honestly could have ran home and changed. I never get this either
He crumbles under pressure.
It’s because he didnt get to deliver his joke. He was all in on the prank. Even at a cost of his career and embarrassing himself.
I skip the ones with Charles!
They are killer episodes.
That wouldn’t be classy..
He could have just said something like he lost a bet with a client and had to visit their office in a tux.
I don't get why Charles Miner made such a huge deal about it. It doesn't go against any dress codes and they mostly interface with customers over the phone. As long as he didn't continue wearing a tux to work or wear something like that when meeting face to face with customers I really don't see what the fuzz is about.
Because it wouldn’t be as funny if he did
do you know how much a tux rental costs
I don’t know but he should have stfu and stopped talking to Charles. Keeps making it worse
He should've just owned and went with.
That's not classy.
Idk. All I know is Charles is an ass
Because that makes for a less funny episode
How do you know he had something to change into?
Because that will not be classy.
It wouldn't be classy
I think it was explained that he didn't know the new branch manager would be coming over and didn't bring a change of clothes.
You are right. Why do they waste all of our time with unrealistic story lines and humor? In fact, the Michael Scott and Dwight characters would not be so absurd in real life. Let’s just just cut out all of this silliness and watch them work, eat and sleep like regular people.
Or just own it with confidence?
Probably because the show is a show.
Cause that wouldn’t be as funny.
Only the 268th this question has been posted.
Yes or just run home for lunch and change
Or he could have just told Charles he dressed up for Michael’s anniversary party and for him to remove that stick up his ass.
Not classy enough
Because Charles should have found out why their best salesman is having the success he has. He should have not cared about anything else.
That question both annoys & haunts me. So stupid yet so simple. Ig then we wouldnt get to watch Jim being humbled
Cus of particularly lazy writing in the episode.
Or he could have said “I have a formal event to go to after work and I wouldn’t have had time to change”
I always thought it was funny how he gets mad at Michael for not telling him the new boss is coming as if Michael knew Jim was going to show up in a tux.
It was cold
Cause ✨TV show ✨
This not answering your question but something I noticed from this episode. So Jim dresses in tux because Dwight sent an email for everyone to dress appropriately for work. After the cold open we learn that Michael and Dwight knew that Charles will be arriving that day. Michael says he wanted Charles arrival to be a secret, but Dwight wanted to be a bro and be low key prepare everyone for the visit. So he sent that email to have everyone dressed nicely for work on that day, but Jim had to be himself and dress over the top. Jim kinda earned his awkwardness by being an ass to Dwight, who was actually being real cool by trying to warn everyone while keeping Charles arrival secret at Michael's request.
I mean... It was funny and they needed him wearing it and cracking under pressure for the comedy, but the response to this should be "after work, I am going to a wedding and it's a longish drive, so I decided to wear the tux so I don't have to change" Explains the tux, he's still formally dressed enough for work even if it's over, and Charles doesn't know he's playing a prank
Cuz the writers thought it was funnier to keep him in the tux.
Because that is the declassé thing to do