If there's anyone qualified to judge the legitimacy of an Office fan theory, it's Rainn Wilson, who played The Office's resident conspiracy theorist, Dwight Schrute, for the show's entire nine-season run. Stopping by ESPN to promote The Meg, the show's hosts couldn't help but bounce the little-known Pam-is-evil fan theory off of Scranton's top paper salesman.
For those of us who aren't well-versed in the Pam-is-Evil fan theory, here are the basics:
Pam... Cheated on Roy Led Jim on for years Jealous of Katy Back w/ Roy but awkward about Karen Lied to coworkers an… https://t.co/V60OjdCFuE— Russillo (@Russillo) 1526155034.0
I am Ryen Russillo. Pam is the WORST https://t.co/fs6UZLyIhC— Caahhll (@Caahhll) 1534090355.0
And it goes even deeper...
Perhaps Pam was the evil force behind all The Office's hardships?
@ryenarussillo Couldn't accept that her mother and Michael were happy together— windchimesRrude (@windchimesRrude) 1526155116.0
@ryenarussillo Claimed on the booze cruise that she didn't want to get married on a boat without her parents, later… https://t.co/Gi7loupUpc— Matthew Edward Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ (@Matthew Edward Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ) 1526177563.0
Say it isn't so!
@ryenarussillo Makes a massive deal about baiting Jim into saying the new receptionist was hot while she was pregnant— Michelle Smallmon (@Michelle Smallmon) 1526161432.0
Fortuantely, Rainn is here to comfort us with the knowledge that everything is ok and Pam was good the whole time...
...or not.
In the clip, Wilson comments:
You are a horrible human being. What do you do in your life? What are you at home watching — what other conspiracy theories do you have? … Don't be a Pam. Be a Dwight, girls. I think it's a fantastic theory. You know what? I'm going to explore this a little bit more.
Rainn Wilson: "Don’t be a Pam. Be a Dwight, girls." https://t.co/DxgUOV6vmG— Michelle R. Martinelli (@Michelle R. Martinelli) 1533912889.0
Rainn also spoke of another Office moment that really touched him:
There's a beautiful moment when Dwight is heartbroken because Angela has left him, and they're sitting in the stairwell — him and Jim — and Jim offers him some consolation. And then Dwight reaches out. He's kind of in tears, and he reaches out and he puts his arm out like he's going to grab Jim. But then he looks and Jim is gone, and Dwight looks around and he's kind of embarrassed.
And I love that moment because it kind of sums up The Office for me because if Dwight had connected with Jim, if Dwight had put his arm around Jim and they had like looked into each other's eyes and said, 'I gotcha, bro. I'm here for you,' and they had a bro moment, then the whole show would have fallen apart because they need to be antagonists. But it was this beautiful, poignant moment that ends kind of comedically.
Apparently @ESPN is now analyzing TV shows too, like The Office 😂 But that 'Pam is evil' theory makes an interesting case tho...— Lj Quilos (@Lj Quilos) 1534181977.0
What do you think? Was Pam evil the whole time? Perhaps the real question is "Just how evil was she?"