John Krasinski refused to do this scene on The Office — and thank goodness

Though The Office is a comedy through and through, there are many emotional moments throughout the nine seasons and romances to root for. And there’s no couple better than Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) and Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer), whose relationship is no doubt one of the best parts of the show.

Viewers were so invested in Jim and Pam’s relationship when The Office was airing that there really was no other choice but to have them end up together. And even though they’re in a great place by the show’s finale, the rough patches they go through are hard to watch for diehard fans. Both characters were criticized for choices they made throughout the show’s run, and even the actors faced backlash.

So it makes total sense that when Krasinski was presented with a scene that would seriously damage Jim’s relationship with Pam, he refused to do it. According to Uproxx, the 42-year-old actor contributed to a newly-released book, Welcome to Dunder Mifflin: The Ultimate Oral History of The Office. In the book, he recalls the one time he remembers “putting [his] foot down” — when Jim was supposed to kiss Cathy Simms (Lindsey Broad).

“I remember saying things that I never thought I’d say before, like, I’m not going to shoot it,” Krasinski writes, adding:

"“My feeling is there is a threshold with which you can push our audience. They are so dedicated. We have shown such great respect to them. But there’s a moment where if you push them too far, they’ll never come back. And I think that if you show Jim cheating, they’ll never come back.”"

Fans will remember Cathy as Pam’s temporary replacement at the office in season 8. She quickly forms a crush on Jim, and doesn’t try to hide it. By the episode “After Hours,” she has a full plan to try and seduce Jim, but fortunately, it doesn’t work.

Broad received backlash for her role in The Office, and the actress confirmed in a tweet in 2020 that she still gets a ton of unfair hate. It goes without saying that this fanbase is still super passionate, and sometimes not in a good way.

Jim cheating on Pam certainly would’ve changed things on The Office, and might’ve even affected the show’s viewership. Creator Greg Daniels thinks differently, however, explaining:

"“I feel like that kind of worry was good in terms of the fans’ engagement. I think they knew what was coming. They were very comfortable with the show they were getting, and I needed to worry them that maybe I was going to give them a bad ending so they were happy when they got a good ending.”"

At the end of the day, Krasinski, of course, got his way, and I’m sure millions of fans are thanking him right now.