This Hot Take About Jim's Pranks On The Office Has Fans Debating
The Office, the American sitcom based on the British version of the same name, has become one of the most popular comedy series of recent years since it first aired in 2005. A mockumentary-style show, The Office focuses on the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. As the show follows the everyday lives of the employees, the characters often speak directly to the cameras in individual interviews.
Salesmen Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) and Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) are among the series' most popular characters. Jim is easygoing and charming with a sarcastic sense of humor, while Dwight is quirky and matter-of-fact, with his humor stemming mostly from his droll deliveries. The two of them have a bit of a rivalry within Dunder Mifflin, with Jim frequently playing practical jokes on Dwight. Recently, this topic has been a point of discussion amongst fans of The Office on Reddit. Here is the debate fans are currently having about Jim and Dwight.
How good are Jim's pranks on The Office?
Recently, Reddit user daddyputin6969 posted a meme about The Office, in which a man sits at a table with a sign inviting people to come over and talk to him about a topic. The sign reads, "Jim's pranks aren't that funny. Dwight's reactions are what make them good. Change my mind." The post got a few fans talking about the show's famous prank exchange.
The first comment is in disagreement with the original poster — user lemurgetsatreat wrote, "Pavlov's dog, Christmas wrapped desk, Asian Jim. Creative and hilarious. I don't need to change your mind to know that you are wrong, good sir." This comment, of course, brings up some of the most notable pranks of Jim's, such as when he wraps every single part of Dwight's desk in Christmas wrapping paper — including the desk itself, the computer monitor, and the desk chair, or when he pulled a Pavlov-like experiment on Dwight, training him to unconsciously put his hand out for a mint whenever he hears Jim's computer booting up.
The next comment brings up a good point, as Redditor HsHaZard remarked, "It's both so no." Really, the hilarity of these moments wouldn't work without both of the characters' personalities working together. With the Christmas-wrapped desk, Dwight takes the challenge head-on, saying it'll take him five minutes to unwrap everything. When he sits at his "desk," it collapses underneath him and he falls — it turns out the entire setup was made of cardboard and then wrapped in paper. It also remains unclear where Dwight's actual desk setup was stored.
The rest of the commenters seem to be in agreement with this assessment, noting that Jim plans these pranks with Dwight's reactions specifically in mind. Regardless, most fans would agree that these moments between Jim and Dwight make for some of the funniest in the series.