Yeah, I was going to say -- I doubt he has the job because he thinks he has to have one, I'm sure he has the job because he does have to have one.

::shrug:: I can't understand doing something with that level of permanence--in the sense that he's come back to Scranton twice now instead of taking other jobs/looking for other jobs--if you don't love what you're doing. Especially given that Jim is still young, and while we don't get a whole lot of the scope of their lives outside the office, it doesn't seem like he has a whole lot going on for his priorities to be elsewhere.

I think love motivates Jim. The pain of unrequited love (and a healthy desire to get past it) is what drove him to leave Scranton and go to Stamford.

He might not be particularly driven to move ahead in his job, but he's not averse to it, as long as it fits in with what else he wants. His return (from Stamford) to Scranton wasn't so much his choice. A branch closed, and he was promoted as part of that closure -- I think he was promoted and accepted that promotion before he knew he'd end up in Scranton. It was only after Josh left for Staples that the decision was made to shutter Stamford instead of the Scranton branch.

Jim really only left Scranton, once. Going for an interview doesn't amount to leaving. He interviewed. Interviews are really a two way process -- they're useful for the job seeker to determine his interest, as well as the employer. I think Pam's note was likely the final thing that swayed Jim to stay in Scranton, but he had a strong reaction to Jan's humiliation, and was never particularly driven to climb the Dunder-Mifflin coorporate ladder, anyhow. I think he was also feeling a pressure from Karen for a level of commitment he's never sought from her.

I've never had any desire to move away, even when I was young. As interesting as what you're doing sounds, it would never be for me. Jim's family hasn't been mentioned (or mentioned a lot), but maybe they come into play as well. I know living around here was one of my priorities, and that was largely because of my parents.

Agreed, that look to the camera at the very end made the episode.

All credits to Jenna here. Script wise, it doesn't read very well. It's literally not many frames of film, but in those frames you see everything she's feeling. Great, great acting.

I'm 25, and I've lived 7 places now. 2 moves for jobs, one across countries. So I can relate. Jim's awesome, but kinda an ass at times -- but that applies to pretty much all the characters in The Office. That's why I love them so.

And Pam's talking head at the end -- well, that was the first time she admitted *on camera* that there was more than friendship between Jim and her, right?

I think you're right! That definitely felt like a breakthrough moment to me.

I assumed Jim invited Pam to dinner because he and Karen were no longer a couple. Largely on his "it's a date" comment, even though there's some room to interpret.

Yes, I'm fairly sure that Jim broke up with Karen before driving back down to Scranton. I just don't know when that happened. I think Jim & Karen were still acting couple-y in the waiting room before their interviews, so I think that the breakup happened after Jim left his interview and before he drove to Scranton. I think we'll see a flashback to that scene at the beginning of next season.

I thought that the conversation about what would happen if one or the other of them got the job pretty much put an end to their relationship, assuming there was further discussion off-camera.

Hmm, that's also possible. So you think they were essentially over by the morning of the interviews? I just think they would have been a lot more uncomfortable around each other in those scenes if that were the case. I also think that Jim's interview was the catalyst for his deciding to go back to Scranton to be with Pam; if he'd already broken up with Karen by then, I think that scene and that decision would have played out differently.

And the end--I mean, seriously. Part of me wanted a bigger moment, you know? something more like the denouement in the UK office, where one or the other of them come back and use a kiss to make the relationship. But it was more in keeping with the nature of their relationship that he would ask her out on a date.

I have to say, as much as I would have liked to see another big kiss between them, a grand moment, I *really* loved that he just asked her out on a date. It was so... normal!

I just don't understand why, being intelligent and capable of hard work and knowing the score, he purposefully chooses to keep himself where he is in his career. And I don't think it's all Pam.

Maybe he'll get a totally different job now? I would be pretty happy if the show ended with both Jim & Pam leaving Dunder-Mifflin altogether for better jobs.

I can't understand doing something with that level of permanence--in the sense that he's come back to Scranton twice now instead of taking other jobs/looking for other jobs--if you don't love what you're doing.

Yeah, I agree with Cindy here -- it's not about the job, it's about love. I have very little trouble believing that Jim doesn't care too much about his career, but he cares a whole hell of a lot about Pam. Jim's not adventurous, he's not career-oriented, and he's not all that interested in advancing up the Dunder-Mifflin corporate ladder. What he wants is to be happy with Pam, and if that's gonna be in Scranton, then Scranton it is.

I have to say, as much as I would have liked to see another big kiss between them, a grand moment, I *really* loved that he just asked her out on a date. It was so... normal!

Me, too. Also, this gives them much more room next season. If they start slow, maybe are a little tentative, it will be easier to build in believable levels of conflict (which will be compelling, I hope).

So, does anyone have any opinions on why Karen didn't get the coorporate job? She seems very career driven, capable, intelligent, professional, etc.

Do you think it's because she was willing to go, "Off the record," about Michael to David Wallace?

Hmm, that's also possible. So you think they were essentially over by the morning of the interviews? I just think they would have been a lot more uncomfortable around each other in those scenes if that were the case. I also think that Jim's interview was the catalyst for his deciding to go back to Scranton to be with Pam; if he'd already broken up with Karen by then, I think that scene and that decision would have played out differently.

Not that they had officially broken up, necessarily, but knowing that they didn't really have a future together has got to be the beginning of the end, IMO. Especially from Karen's side. Because, Jim...

Jim's not adventurous, he's not career-oriented, and he's not all that interested in advancing up the Dunder-Mifflin corporate ladder. What he wants is to be happy with Pam, and if that's gonna be in Scranton, then Scranton it is.

I'm assuming he's from there, and the one line about how he hadn't been to New York since his sixth-grade field trip was pretty telling to me.

So, does anyone have any opinions on why Karen didn't get the coorporate job? She seems very career driven, capable, intelligent, professional, etc.

But does she have an MBA? Also, she's a woman. Jan didn't end up working out too well in that position. At least they know Ryan won't sleep with Michael, as much as Michael wants to.

I doubt Jim has him MBA, and I really felt like he had the job and just didn't want it. It could be sexism. That's what Scott thinks. I just think Karen must look as good on paper as Jim, and she presents herself well. I'm wondering if she just made a classic blunder in believing anything is ever actually off the record. She didn't show loyalty or respect for her immediate superior. I assume that David Wallace will be the immediate superior of the person who gets Jan's position.

I'm guessing that after Jim's interview Karen came back from lunch, he told her that he thought she'd get the job and that he wouldn't move to NY to be with her and that she accepted that, also thinking she'd get the job. So Ryan getting it is going to make their break up retroactively harder.