In Season 8, Episode 16, “After Hours,” Cathy asks to hang out in Jim’s room, noting that her room is under maintenance. Jim lets her in and automatically becomes uncomfortable. He tries to ask Stanley (Leslie David Baker) for help but is unsuccessful in his attempt. That’s when he calls Dwight (Rainn Wilson), telling his co-worker that there are bedbugs in his room. Dwight runs to the rescue, but this bedbug intervention only leads Cathy to take a shower in Jim’s room. Jim ultimately asks Cathy to leave, stating that he is happily married.
Dwight’s approach to bedbugs may bring laughter to many, but fans in the subreddit r/DunderMifflin are wondering why Jim didn’t take other approaches to Cathy’s unwanted advances. U/MsCardeno wrote, “I’ll never understand why Jim didn’t just say he’s going to hang out at the hotel bar or something. Like he literally didn’t have to be in the room with her. Just leave …” U/rachelle_makes_stuff thought that Jim should have told Cathy that he was tired and asked her to leave. Another Redditor, u/AsgardianOrphan, added that Jim may have been trying to avoid confrontation.
Fans are also speculating about Dwight’s bedbug battle, wondering if Dwight knew what was going on with Cathy. “He was oblivious to the Cathy problem,” wrote u/ReasonableCup604. But u/Rough-Culture disagreed. “Pam was his best friend in the office. I’ve always assumed he was in on it at least a little,” they wrote.
