Dawson’s Creek 5.1, The Bostonians: Past, Present, and Future

April 2, 2012

Dawson’s Creek 5.1, The Bostonians: Past, Present, and Future

This dorm room is bigger than my apartment!

Summary: Dawson and Joey ended the previous season by kissing, and they start out this season doing the same. Only this time there’s voiceover, as if it’s a story. Which it is – she wrote what happened as a story for a college class. It gets mixed reviews, and a C from her teacher, Professor Wilder. After class, Joey asks if she can improve her grade, and Wilder tells her she can rewrite the story. If the boy in the story really exists, he can help. Joey isn’t sure what’s wrong with it. Wilder tells her the story ends just when it should be starting.

Joey goes for a run (so we can get a nice view of Boston), then gets a phone call from Dawson. He’s landed an internship, but that means he can’t come visit her for the weekend. They’re both disappointed. Dawson arrives at a movie backlot for his first day of interning; a security guard warns him not to get lost. Jen and Jack are at their school, lamenting the fact that one of them is in a long-distance relationship and the other is single. Jack wants to get Jen some lovin’ since she’s more fun when she’s seeing someone. Some guy invites them to a frat party that night.

Audrey Liddell, Joey’s roommate, asks her to vacate their gigantic dorm room so she can hook up with some guy. Joey’s frustrated that it’s barely October and Audrey has sexiled her to the library numerous times. Audrey offers to repay the favor when Dawson visits. Joey tells her he’s not coming, and Audrey offers to ditch the guy if Joey needs her. Joey decides to go see Wilder instead, though Audrey thinks she should wear something nicer since he’s so hot. The line of girls outside his office agrees.

On her way out of the building, Joey spots Wilder leaving through his window so he doesn’t have to encounter the girls. She tells him nothing happened after the story ended; she and Dawson went their separate ways. He says she stopped before she had to make a decision. Joey claims the kiss meant nothing. Wilder wants her to dig deeper and find out if it was a kiss of passion or a way of saying goodbye.

Out in California, Dawson’s on cloud nine just walking through the backlot. He meets Heather Tracy, a producer working with Todd Carr, the director Dawson will be interning for. She wants Todd’s next project to be a movie based on 7th Heaven (no, seriously), and she wants Dawson to help him out. But not really, since she thinks Dawson is someone else.

Joey hangs out with Jen and Jack at Grams’ new house, talking about Pacey, who they haven’t heard from in a while. Joey complains about the guys Audrey constantly brings over, and Jen jokes that it’s the same thing at her place. Jack thinks they should all go to a frat party that night. Dawson goes to Todd’s set to deliver the script Heather wants him to do, and Todd tells him to read it. Dawson can’t believe he’s in the exact place he always wanted to be.

Joey goes back to her room and is surprised to see that Audrey’s there alone. Unfortunately for her, Audrey wants to talk about sex. She also doesn’t think Joey’s having “the proper college experience.” She studies a lot and never goes out with Audrey. Joey notes that everyone has a different experience. She wants to get good grades so she can get a good job. Audrey thinks she’s afraid to have fun or meet someone she likes, which will force her to let go of the past. Maybe Dawson not visiting is a sign.

Jen heads to a marina and reunites with Pacey; Doug told her where he was. She invites him over for her, Grams, Jack, and Joey’s ritual Sunday dinner at Grams’ house. Pacey admires Dawson for getting an internship that will help him move forward rather than looking back. He asks Jen to keep his presence in Boston quiet.

That night, Jen and Jack stop by Joey’s room and quickly make friends with Audrey. They also invite her to come to the party with them. Dawson gives Todd his impressions of the script, which sucks, not least because it includes a monkey. Todd tells him film school won’t get him where he wants to be. Dawson tells him about the movie he made about Mr. Brooks, but Todd doesn’t want to have to make up something nice if it’s bad or be jealous if it’s good.

At the party, Joey chats with a guy from one of her classes but doesn’t want to extend the conversation. A guy flirts with Jen, but she calls him out for just trying to get in her pants. The guy who invited Jack and Jen to the party encourages Jack to join his frat. Dawson makes a coffee run, then drops everything in front of everyone. Todd mocks him, then gets on his case when he complains under his breath. Dawson loudly tells him to screw himself, giving a monologue about how Todd should be happy that he has such an awesome job. Unsurprisingly, Todd fires him.

Audrey finds Joey sitting off by herself at the party. Joey admits that Audrey was right about her being stuck in the past and not letting anyone get to know her. Part of her still feels 15, stuck back in Capeside and in love with Dawson. Audrey tells her about her own high school boyfriend, Chris, and how hard it was to say goodbye to him. She knew that they would end up hurting each other if they stayed together, so she cut the cord. Audrey just wants to have fun and live her life, even if that means hooking up with lots of guys.

Joey calls Dawson from the frat-house bathroom and leaves a message telling him she misses him. She spent the summer acting like he would show up to get back together with her, but he’s out there following his dream instead. She thinks it’s time to let him go. Joey will probably be in love with him for the rest of her life, but it’s not healthy if she doesn’t move on.

A guy approaches Jen and she tells him before he can even speak that she’s not interested. He tells her he’s crazy (which isn’t a deal-breaker), and also not the kind of guy who would use a stupid line to pick up a girl. He’s at the party because he’s in the band. The guy, Charlie, starts to walk away, then comes back to tell Jen he just wanted to know why the cutest girl at the party is sitting alone. She’s totally charmed.

Dawson leaves the backlot, telling the security guard he won’t be back the next day. The guard notes that there are worse things that could happen. Dawson says his friends are in Boston but he came to California to follow his dreams. The reality doesn’t measure up to what he’d imagined. Joey goes home with Jen and Jack to tease Jen about her new crush. They tell Grams about Charlie, who thinks it’s about time Jen met a nice guy.

The next day, Joey heads back to her dorm room, looking hopeful and somewhat happy. Someone knocks on the door and Joey tells Audrey to get it, since it’s most likely one of her male visitors. Instead, it’s Dawson. At first Joey is happy to see him, but she quickly realizes they’re in for some heartbreak.

Thoughts: This episode is full of actors who are recognizable from other roles:

• Audrey is played by Busy Philipps, who was Kim on Freaks and Geeks and is now Laurie on Cougar Town
• Charlie is played by Chad Michael Murray of One Tree Hill fame
• Prof. Wilder is Ken Marino, who’s been in a bunch of stuff, namely Childrens Hospital, Party Down, Veronica Mars, and Wet Hot American Summer
• Heather is played by Nicole Bilderback, and the roles I recognize her from tell you a lot about my viewing habits: She was on Buffy, House, and Heroes, but is probably most known for playing Whitney in Bring It On

Kerr Smith got a tan and a better haircut between seasons, and he’s looking a little bit hot.

I love everyone’s early-’00s cell phones with the little antennae.

Didn’t we already do this “my dreams are crushed” story?

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