So in case it wasn't obvious that I'm the biggest Office nerd around, I actually copied and kept my answers from the original JP and PD in season 3. Here were my long answers for this episode!

1. Is Jim's distant behavior understandable? (Are you mad at him?) Completely, He uprooted his life to get away from the situation in Scranton and now he's been thrown back into it. That doesn't mean I'm not a little frustrated because I think it's preventing him from seeing the changes Pam made (more on that under #5)

2. Did Jim do the right thing by telling Pam he was seeing someone? It's good he told her before she found out from someone else, but he shouldn't have expected her to react differently. Jim of all people knows that Pam's very guarded about her feelings, she goes out of her way to avoid conflict, and she's pretty difficult to talk to once she's on the defensive. Pam was on the defensive the second he said "hey." She didn't stop, she didn't smile, she didn't walk towards him. If Jim wasn't behind his own emotional wall, he would seen Pam was behind one as well. I don't think either of them were in the right head to have that conversation.

3. Should Jim have just asked Pam how she felt instead of relying on innuendo? Should he have told her how he felt? What prevented him from doing so? Being more direct wouldn't have made much of a difference. They were both trying to hide their feelings but figure out the other's feelings at the same time, no wonder there were so many miscues! I have a feeling Jim asking about Pam's feelings for him would have resulted in the same answer ("we're friends, we'll always be friends") As for how he feels, he doesn't even know.

4. Should Jim tell Karen about Pam? He should say something, because in that office Karen will find out. But it's going to be tricky, Jim's not going to say "I was in love with Pam for 3 years" but if he just says he had a crush and he's over it, it won't take too much observation on Karen's part to figure out it was much more than a crush, and he's definitely not over it.

5. What will it take to alleviate the communication barriers between Jim and Pam? No matter what, it's going to take time. But empathy too. Pam wanted things to be back to normal right away, she doesn't realize how hard it is for Jim to be back. Of course, Jim's interactions with Pam always seem to remind him of his hurt and rejection and he couldn't see that she was going out on a limb in running and hugging him and also asking him to coffee. No, it's no Casino Night confession and kiss, but it's still pretty bold for Pam.

6. What will it take for Jim to take down his wall? Is his wall restricted to Pam or will Karen be up against it as well? He's going to have to see that Pam understands how hurt he was (and go through a bit of it herself) and that she does return his feelings. But he'll have to give a little too. Every time he talks to or thinks about Pam, he seems to say to himself "but she rejected me, twice." The longer he automatically returns to those thoughts, the longer the walls will say up. Karen will be up against the wall as well, if she isn't already. He doesn't want to invest any more of his emotions into someone unless he sure of it. Karen likes him a lot more than he likes her right now, she's the one giving him gum, rubbing his back, calling him after work. I can see them running into trouble if the relationship progresses to a point where Jim has to make a real emotional commitment.