Hear Me Out, ‘The Office’s Cathy Is a Better Character Than You Remember
Cathy’s character gets a lot of hate, but she is very important.
There is so much to love about The Office. For some, the best part is Dunder Mifflin Scranton’s regional manager Michael Scott (Steve Carell). For others, it might be how much Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson), the assistant (to the) regional manager sucks up to him. All the supporting characters, from dimwitted but sweet Kevin (Brian Baumgatner), to angry cat lady Angela (Angela Kinsey), have their hilarious charms, too.
The heart of The Office, however, was the relationship between Jim Halpert (John Krasinksi) and Pam Beesley (Jenna Fischer). Their romance, which played out in front of us for nine seasons, taking them from best friends, to lovers, and finally, as a husband and wife with a family, is what so many dreamed of for their own lives. While their relationship wasn’t perfect, it was also incredibly cute. In The Office’s Season 8, their love was threatened by a new character named Cathy Simms (Lindsey Broad). Fans absolutely hated Cathy, but if you take a closer look at her, she served an integral purpose.
Cathy Simms’ First Episode Was “Pam’s Replacement”
The first time we meet Cathy Simms on The Office is during the Season 8 episode “Pam’s Replacement.” Cathy is the aforementioned replacement, as Pam is close to giving birth to her and Jim’s child and is heading out on maternity leave. In comes Cathy, a young and pretty temp with an outgoing personality. Of course, as everyone in the office has no filter, many comment to Jim about how pretty Cathy is, but he is smart enough to play dumb and try to ignore it all. Then Pam asks Jim if he finds her attractive. Halpert says no, but as he confesses later, “I’m not going to tell my nine-months-pregnant wife that I find her replacement objectively attractive.”
Another one of the best parts of The Office is how much Dwight respects Pam. He offers to help her find out if Jim truly does find Cathy attractive. He says, “The male reveals attraction through the unconscious and involuntary signs; the puffing of the chest, mirroring, increased blood flow to the crotch. I say we start there.” So what does Dwight do but pretend to fall on Jim, so he can grab his crotch and find out if he has an erection.
Cathy seems harmless enough. Jim probably does find her attractive, but we know he’s not attracted to her. That’s the difference. So what’s Cathy’s role on The Office? Will she become a new member of the cast, the new Pam in search of her Jim? It’s sort of like that, but much worse. In the episode “Special Project,” it’s revealed that Cathy wants Jim. The two are going on a work trip to Florida together, and we overhear her talking to a friend on the phone about her intent to seduce Jim.
Pam and Jim’s Relationship Was Tested on ‘The Office’ Because of Cathy
Jim is uncomfortable with the whole situation, and it’s not just the work trip. While he may not know how devious her intentions are, he can tell that Cathy has been flirting with him. He tries to ignore it, but it puts him in an awkward position. Unless he’s pranking Dwight, Jim is the nice guy who tries to avoid confrontation, as evident by his relationship with Karen Filipelli. He tolerates Cathy, but he also knows how it will all look to Pam. Pam is worried that, now being pregnant and older, Jim doesn’t find her attractive.
Things come to a head in the episode “After Hours.” It’s there that Cathy makes her not-so-subtle move. Down in Tallahassee, Jim is alone in his hotel room when Cathy, wearing a tank top and shorts, knocks on his door, claiming that her heating system is out and asking if she can stay with him. She immediately jumps in his bed, where Jim was watching basketball, and laughs loudly at his jokes. When Stanley (Leslie David Baker) knocks on the door, Jim tries and fails to get him to stay.
Halpert knows the perfect way to get rid of Cathy, though: Dwight. He calls his nemesis and makes up a lie about the room having bed bugs, which brings him right over in an attempt to help. Dwight says bed bugs thrive on heat and carbon dioxide, so he decides to make himself a human trap, stripping down to his underwear, then jumping in the bed and throwing the covers on himself. Grossed out, Cathy decides to take a shower. When she comes back out, Dwight is gone. Cathy, now in a robe, tries to get Jim to feel her legs. Unable to take it any longer, Jim jumps up and tells Cathy that he’s happily married. Even though Cathy plays dumb, she’s learned her lesson, right?
The Worst of Cathy Brought Out the Best of ‘The Office’s Other Characters
Cathy, sadly, isn’t so quick to take no for an answer. Jim has spent the entire time sitting on the floor. He doesn’t want to be anywhere near this woman so openly seducing him (let’s just forget that there is a camera crew in the room this whole time for some reason). He gives Cathy the benefit of the doubt and believes her denial. He tries to sit on the bed, but as close to the edge as possible, especially when she snuggles up next to him. It’s then that Jim leaves again and calls Dwight to come back about the bed bugs. When he returns, Cathy is now in lingerie under the covers. Jim tells her to leave right before Dwight comes in, mask on, holding a bottle of bug killer, which he sprays all over the bed and Cathy, driving her out of the room.
