Dawson’s Creek 2.16, Be Careful What You Wish For: 16 is the Loneliest Number

July 2, 2011

Dawson’s Creek 2.16, Be Careful What You Wish For: 16 is the Loneliest Number

That poor cake did nothing to deserve that

Summary: Dawson is minutes from turning 16 and is freaking out that he’s still a whiny child (no, he really said that) while everyone else is growing up and moving on. He’s in the same spot he was on his 15^th birthday. It also doesn’t help that Joey dumped him for a gay guy. Pacey tells him to figure out what he wants and go after it –  to “be definitive.” Dawson decides that what he really wants is to get Joey back.

In the morning, Mitch cooks a traditional breakfast for Dawson, then discusses presents with Gail, who’s already decided to get Dawson a car. Mitch tells her that he knows he needs to provide the family with more money, so he’s putting his restaurant plans on hold to do some substitute teaching. At the Icehouse, Joey and Pacey plan a surprise party for Dawson while Joey ignores Jack. Pacey asks how Joey’s handling the Jack situation, and she says everyone asks her that as if she’s dying. She insists that she’s fine, and that Jack is the one going through something difficult.

Abby shows up with some friends, one of whom notes that Jack is the first guy to ever come out at Capeside High. They think he’s brave for coming out as a teen. Abby thinks Jack being gay is a waste since he’s hot. She tries to convince him that she’s not the heartless person everyone thinks she is. Andie goes to therapy and is asked what she wants for herself. She wishes she could let go of all her worries and not care about what other people think. The therapist encourages her to have “one night of imperfection.”

Joey admits to Bessie that she’s having a hard time not feeling like she made Jack gay. Now she’s not sure what to do next. Bessie encourages her to focus on her art and the things she likes to do. Ty and Jen kiss in her kitchen, but he stops before they can do too much, saying it’s in case Grams finds them.

Joey and Dawson hang out by the water, talking about how they wished on snowflakes when they were kids. He tells her he wants them to get back to the way they were. Joey does, too, though she means friendship while he means a relationship. She’s the only thing that makes sense to him. He thinks they’re soulmates (gag) and are meant to be together. Joey reminds Dawson that they broke up because she had things to work out. He notes that she was able to date Jack while she worked those things out. If he and Joey aren’t meant to be together, then he doesn’t know anything.

Joey, Bessie, and Gail get things ready for Dawson’s birthday party while Pacey and Andie take him out. Andie’s enjoying sitting in the backseat of Sheriff Witter’s cop car, making her own siren sounds since Pacey won’t turn on the real one. Dawson’s in a bad mood and Pacey tries to get him to be positive. Andie spots a place she wants to go to and makes Pacey change their plans, citing her doctor’s orders. Jack arrives for the party and is bombarded by Abby and her friends again, who all find him hot.

Ty is uncomfortable with kissing Jen again, telling her he’s worried that things will “get out of hand.” She thinks he’s both sweet and old-fashioned. Dawson, Pacey, and Andie end up at a blues club and she continues to try to let her id have fun. She explains the concept to Dawson, telling him it’s about letting loose and not worrying about what others think. Dawson thinks that sounds like a good idea. He and Andie get their waitress to make their Cokes more rummy.

Back at Dawson’s house, Abby flirts with Jack, telling him there’s no such thing as gay, just bisexual. “We’re all just sexual animals under God,” she purrs. It’s open-mic night at the blues club, and Andie and Dawson decide to let their ids sing about their tough lives. Dawson also reveals that he knows about the surprise party. Pacey drinks from Andie’s glass and realizes why his friend and girlfriend are acting so weird. When the waitress comes back around, they ask for more drinks and she tells them she has to check their IDs. Andie tells her it’s a little late for that and that they’re underage.

Mitch disapproves of Gail’s choice of car for Dawson, and she replies that nowadays a lot of things about their marriage are her decision, except for what happens in the marriage itself. Jen and Ty make out in the new car (which we all know is the most action that car is ever going to see), but he stops them before too many of her clothes can come off. He says she’s tempting him. He’s attracted to her, but he doesn’t want to have sex before he’s married, and she can’t change his mind. Jen’s upset that he thinks she wants sex anyway. He’s made her feel like a slut.

Abby flirts more with Jack and they wind up in Dawson’s room. She says they’re both outcasts so they have to stick together. Dawson arrives at the house, shouting, “Surprise!” Joey quickly sees that he and Andie are drunk, which becomes even more obvious when they start dancing on a table. Joey tries to get Dawson upstairs before his parents notice his behavior. Of course, they catch Abby and Jack making out on Dawson’s bed.

Joey runs off and Jack tries to go after her but loses her. Abby tells her friends that Jack isn’t so gay anymore. “More gay than ever,” he corrects. Dawson comes down to blow out his candles and announces all the things he wishes for: that Gail hadn’t had an affair, that Mitch would get a real job, that his parents would be adults, that Pacey would stop being a goody-goody and go back to having a worse life than Dawson, and that Jen would be a partier again so Dawson could have fun with her. He also tells everyone that Jack’s “starring in his very own version of In and Out.”

As everyone looks on, Dawson tells Joey he accepts her trying to find herself, then pretends to go around looking for her. He kisses her, but she pushes him away, right into his cake. Later, he and Andie practice their synchronized vomiting in the bathroom. She’s horrified not only by her behavior but that his parents saw her act the way she did. They agree to never drink again.

Mitch laments to Gail that they’re ruining Dawson’s life. She tells him she’s taking the car back, since Dawson obviously isn’t mature enough for it, and they agree to pay for part of a different car that Dawson can help finance. Jack finds Joey, who can’t believe he would go for someone who was so horrible to Andie. He tells her he’s still been confused about who he is, but he’s sure now that he’s gay. Joey assures him that everyone wants to be normal, but no one ever really feels that way. She thinks Jack is lucky to have the support system he does. He’s worried he’ll end up alone.

Jen goes home to find Ty waiting for her outside the house. He tells her he doesn’t think they should see each other anymore, which is the least surprising thing she’s ever heard. He says that his whole life is about what he’s been taught in church. Jen notes that he likes to drink and party, and he judges gay people because he thinks straight sex is the only sex that’s okay, but he won’t have it. Ty says Jen makes his senses leave his head, thought it’s really about him, not her. Jen tells him that kissing him didn’t make her want to have sex – she actually wanted something pure.

Dawson apologizes to Joey for his drunken ramblings, and she easily forgives him. She adds that he was speaking the truth. He tells her he got drunk because he was tired of being lonely. He asks why she left him for Jack, and Joey replies that Jack wasn’t Dawson. She didn’t want something better, just something different. She needed to see herself as a separate person and find out if she can be a whole person without Dawson. He asks her to find out quickly, then says he loves her. After he falls asleep, Joey says she loves him, too. Then she realizes it’s snowing.

Thoughts: Singing on this show: 0 for 3.

Dawson and Andie’s singing scene is pretty funny, though. The actors played it really well.

Dawson wants less than a splash of Coke – “just a spla.” Drunk Dawson is funny.

Jack doesn’t seem to care that Andie got drunk. He’s pretty self-centered in this episode. Also, why in the world would anyone listen to anything Abby has to say?

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