December 28, 2012
Dawson’s Creek 6.24, …Must Come to an End: Soul Mates
And they all lived happily ever after. Uh, except Jen
Summary: Jen’s friends have gathered at the hospital, and Jack tells them that she wants them to be happy and not cry when they visit her. Pacey is elected to see her first. Doug comes by with flowers and assures Jack that he’s still here for him. Dawson and Joey join Pacey in Jen’s room, and they don’t appreciate Jen’s black humor. Later, Joey goes home to the bed and breakfast, where Bessie accuses her of trying to avoid Christopher. She also thinks Joey’s still in love with both Pacey and Dawson. Bessie makes her call Christopher to officially break things off.
Dawson and Lily watch Harold and Maude, which Lily hates because Maude dies. (Uh, spoiler.) Dawson teaches her what a soul mate is, but Lily doesn’t care – she just wants to know if she can move into Dawson’s old room. Joey visits Pacey at the Icehouse and he makes her dinner. She calls him on continually complaining about being stuck in Capeside, since he has a great life there. He tells her that her return has reminded him of what he’s capable of.
They throw food at each other, and just when he’s about to start a serious conversation, she throws more food. She wonders if it’s okay for them to be having a good time while Jen’s dying. Pacey thinks this is the perfect time for some levity. The next day, Joey tells Jen about her breakup with Christopher; Jen says Joey always jumps into relationships with her heart, then jumps out with her head. They talk about Dawson’s show, and Jen admits that she hates the girl who was cast as her character. Joey says that at least Jen’s character gets to have sex.
Joey continues that the triangle isn’t about Sam choosing between Colby and Petey. She needs to make a decision for herself. Jen asks if they can use real names instead of character names. Joey wishes she’d seen the truth without the TV show. She’s always known who she’s supposed to be with, but fear makes her run, and she’s comfortable running. Jen offers to make it her dying wish that Joey make up her mind once and for all. Before Joey can share her decision, Dawson interrupts.
Dawson takes Jen outside so she can film a goodbye message for Amy. It includes a list of things Jen wishes for her, including the hope that Amy can believe in God, even if Jen doesn’t. It doesn’t matter if God exists or not as long as Amy believes in something. She also needs to love with her whole body and not run away from the person she falls in love with. Pacey shows Jen footage he stole from Dawson of the kids messing around with each other in the first season. It’s set to Alanis Morissette’s “Hand in My Pocket,” because of course it is. Then they talk about Joey, because of course they do.
Pacey says that she makes him feel alive, but Jen thinks he needs to feel that way because of himself, not someone else. She hopes he, Joey, and Dawson can stay friends no matter what happens. Jen starts crying and says she doesn’t want to leave her daughter alone. Pacey promises that Amy won’t be alone, and he’ll be spending Saturday nights with her. Suddenly Jen gets a surprise visitor – Andie.
Joey finds Dawson outside and he tells her he wasted too much time in his “Hollywood bubble.” He still owes the show a season-finale script, but he can’t think straight to write. Joey tells him not to feel guilty about being caught up in his own life. He isn’t sure why he even cares so much about a stupid show when his friend is dying. Dawson continues that seeing Joey again brought all his memories back. She tells him that they’re together every week on TV; he turned his life into something fictional, but it’s also real. As a writer, he gets to “live life twice.”
Pacey and Andie talk about Jen’s worsening condition, then lament that they haven’t kept in touch better. He says she was his first love, but he still hasn’t been able to get things right. She tells him it’s not about getting it right, it’s about recognizing when something’s wrong and fixing it. Jack asks Jen what will happen to Amy; he wants to take care of her. Jen thinks he would be a great father and asks him to help Amy find “a place to be.” She herself was always the instigator, and she wants Amy to be different, to belong. “You belong to me,” Jack says. “You’re my soul mate.”
Everyone passes the time in the waiting room, and eventually Jen wakes up, looks over at a sleeping Grams, and dies. “I’ll see you soon, child,” Grams tells her. There’s a wake at the Icehouse, where Doug watches Jack longingly and Pacey encourages them to talk. He finds Joey in the kitchen and tells her she’s “off the hook,” meaning he wants to let her go so he can be happy. He’s always loved her, but he needs to stop worrying about when the timing will be right. They both need to be happy, even if that means Joey has to be with someone else. It’s enough for Pacey just to have been in love with her.
Joey says she doesn’t want him to release her. Everything she’s done in her life has led her back to Pacey. She loves him, and that’s what’s kept her moving. Dawson is still her soul mate, but her love for him is innocent and tied to her childhood. She doesn’t want to be let off the hook because she’ll just keep running. Pacey asks what she means, but Gail and Bessie interrupt before she can explain.
Jack takes Amy to the beach, where Doug finds them. Jack tells him he’s thinking about moving to a place where Amy will be more comfortable having a gay parent. He’s tired of being a groundbreaker in Capeside; he wants to give Amy a normal life. Doug points out that Amy will have a gay parent no matter where she lives, and she’ll always have to deal with rejection. Jack just has to show her how to handle it.
Doug wants to help him, but Jack thinks he feels pity or a sense of obligation. Doug announces that he loves Jack, and that Jack will stand out no matter where he lives. Doug wants to stand out with him. They kiss, but Jack gets a little flustered when they spot an elderly couple walking by. Doug greets them and says he was just kissing his boyfriend. “That’s sweet, dear,” the wife says. The guys laugh.
Outside the Leerys’, while Alexander and Lily play together, Dawson has a flashback to Jen’s arrival in Capeside. Joey joins him and asks him to write a happy ending for his season finale. He muses on the phrase “life and death” since birth, not life, is the opposite of death: “Life has no opposite.” Dawson’s life is real, not fiction, for the first time in a long time. He knows he and Joey will always be connected because what they have goes beyond friendship or a romantic relationship. Just then Lily calls to Alexander to climb the ladder to her new room.
This inspires Dawson’s season finale, which includes Sam climbing up to Colby’s room to say, “I don’t want to wait for my life to be over. I want to know right now, what will it be?” (Gag.) Joey watches from her New York apartment as Sam and Colby kiss. “You and me. Always,” he says. Joey thinks this was the perfect ending. Pacey, who’s watching with her, admits to crying at the scene. They call Dawson in L.A. and learn that he has a meeting the next day with Spielberg. Then there are flashbacks, and then we’re done! Forever!
Thoughts: I mentioned that I started rewatching Angel (crazy Laura from Beverly Hills, 90210 was in the first episode), and there was also someone familiar in the second episode: Bodie. He had more dialogue in that one episode than he had in six years of Dawson’s Creek.
Good casting on Lily – she looks like she could be Gail’s daughter.
Pacey confirms it: Joey did go to Paris.
Seriously, music guys? Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel”? Was that really necessary?
Jen’s message to Amy totally made me cry. And then I cried again when she died. And a little when Doug and Jack got back together. I hate myself.
Um, where were Jen’s parents? Eh, I guess that’s par for the course for them.
Well, it took me two years, but I finished the show! I can’t say I regret it, but I don’t exactly feel more fulfilled in life or anything. Stay tuned for a new show, coming next week.
December 26, 2012
Dawson’s Creek 6.23, All Good Things…: The Beginning of the End
Say goodbye to this, because you won’t see it again
Summary: Two Dawson- and Joey-ish teenagers have a Dawson- and Joey-ish conversation in a room that looks a lot like Dawson’s. The guy’s name is Colby, and he wants to make sure the girl, Sam, is only friends with his best friend, Petey. Joey’s watching this on TV, on a show Dawson executive produces. When it’s over, a guy happily turns off the TV and complains about the writing. Apparently he’s a writer and Joey is his editor. He hates that she watches the show, but she thinks he secretly likes the show, too.
Dawson talks to someone about an episode they’re working on, then goes into a meeting with the writers, who are trying to figure out if Sam should be with Colby or Petey. They think putting her with Petey would be a good way to break the idea of “destiny.” As Dawson heads off to another task, we get exposition that he’ll be going to a wedding the next day. In Capeside, Doug pulls Jack over for speeding on his way to school. Jack asks if there’s something he can do to keep from getting points on his license. Doug kisses him, because they’re dating, because Doug is, in fact, gay after all. Uh-huh.
Pacey runs the rebuilt Icehouse and is still sleeping with older women, this time a married menu designer who totally looks like Gail. From her office, Joey calls whoever’s getting married and says she hopes the person liked the curtains she sent. She won’t be able to make it to Capeside for the wedding. Instead, she’s going away with the writer, Christopher. Her coworker approves of her decision to skip the wedding.
Jack’s class is one he teaches at Capeside High; he has his students reading Whitman and tries to get a jock to be comfortable reading about homosexuality. Jen shows up with her baby daughter, and contributes to some exposition – Jack and Doug have been dating for six months, but Doug is still in the closet, so they have to pretend they’re not together. Joey packs for her weekend with Christopher and finds a ring in his drawer.
The next day, Doug eats at the Icehouse, which he helped Pacey get. Pacey bugs him about Jack, encouraging him to be more comfortable with himself. Doug counters by bugging him about his not-so-secret girlfriend, Maddy. He also exposits that Pacey is 25, so five years have passed since “Joey Potter and Capeside Redemption.” Pacey wishes he could still be the bad boy he used to be. Dawson’s in Capeside, though he still hasn’t resolved the season finale of his show. Then he randomly runs into Joey at a gas station, because she’s in Capeside for the wedding after all.
The two have been emailing but haven’t seen each other for a while, and haven’t been great about keeping in touch. Dawson has to take a phone call from one of his actors, so Joey leaves. Dawson ends up at the Leerys’, and we learn that Gail’s the one getting married and Lily is now a film freak. Also, his show is called The Creek, because he’s just that creative. Over at the bed and breakfast, Joey tells Jen, Bessie, and Grams about the ring she found. Grams notes that if she decided to run instead of get engaged, Christopher probably isn’t her Mr. Right.
Bessie and Grams leave the room, and Jen admits to Joey that Grams isn’t doing too well. Joey offers to watch the baby, Amy, while Jen takes a nap. Doug and Jack go work out together and discuss the fact that they keep spending weekends together out of town. Jack wants to stay in Capeside since the only people who should care that Doug is gay don’t have a problem with it. Jack feels like they’re having an affair. Doug shoots back that he wasn’t a [gay slur redacted] at 15 like Jack. Jack points out that Doug was, he just couldn’t admit it.
Joey shows up at the Icehouse, and it’s clear that Pacey’s still in love with her. He points out a poster over the bar for The Creek and exposits that it came out of the film they all helped Dawson make. Speak of the devil, Dawson appears, but before things can get awkward, Jen and Jack join them. Reminiscing commences, and Jen learns that no one else is ready yet to laugh about Abby Morgan. Joey exposits that Audrey is singing backup for John Mayer and is dating a guy who’s completely different from Pacey. Also, Andie’s a doctor.
Jen’s a little drunk, so Jack decides to take her home before she can spill too many secrets. But first she lets us know that Amy’s father is an ex-boyfriend who left after Jen got pregnant. Joey decides to exit as well, leaving Dawson and Pacey alone. They ask each other if they’re really happy with their lives, and the fact that they both still want Joey remains unspoken. But at least they’re talking and not trying to kill each other with boats!
Jack finds pills in Jen’s bag, but Jen says they’re Grams’. Jack thinks Jen has changed the most out of all of them, considering she’s a mother now. He doesn’t know why he moved back to Capeside or why he puts up with Doug’s refusal to leave the closet. Jen understands his fear over changing. At the Leerys’, Dawson tries to write his season finale, then hears someone coming up the ladder. For some reason, he thinks it’s an intruder and not the obvious visitor, Joey. Meanwhile, Pacey closes up the restaurant, then gets his own visitor: Maddy’s husband and some thugs, who beat him up.
Joey and Dawson talk about their lives, including Joey’s relationship with Christopher and Dawson’s lack of a social life. She thinks he should wait to worry about that sort of thing since he’s living his dream right now. Dawson, however, isn’t sure why he’s slumming in TV when he always wanted to make movies. Joey points out that “dreams come true, not free.” She starts to go back to the bed and breakfast, but Dawson invites her spend the night (no, not like that).
In what’s clearly a dream, Joey (in a wedding dress) and Dawson (in a tux) recap the whole series in front of a bunch of wedding attendants. After they kiss, they turn into Colby and Sam, and Dawson wakes up. He’s in bed alone. After the real wedding, Gail and her new husband cut the cake. Pacey avoids Maddy and finds Jen taking pills, which she says are for anxiety. She compares him to George Bailey from It’s a Wonderful Life because he has everything before him but doesn’t want to be happy. He needs to realize that his life is fine and make the most of it.
Gail finds Dawson writing and accuses him of trying to hide from his friends. She caught Joey climbing down the ladder that morning. Dawson admits that he feels like he’s falling back into his past – his former life has become his present. Gail points out that since he’s the writer, he gets to tell his life however he wants. He goes to talk to Joey, but Pacey gets to her first and asks her to dance. Jack apologizes to Doug for their fight but says they can’t stay in their little bubble forever. Neither can be on the other’s schedule, so Jack thinks they should end things now.
Joey tries to get Pacey to tell her where the cut over his eye came from, but he avoids the subject. Jen cuts in to dance with Pacey and gets Dawson to dance with Joey. Joey tries to explain why she left that morning, and Dawson teases her for rambling. Jen asks to change partners again, so when Maddy comes back out to the dance floor, she sees Pacey dancing with Joey. Joey catches her watching them and puts the pieces together. Pacey asks her to help him out, then kisses her. Before the kissing can continue, Jen collapses.
Grams tells someone to get Jen’s pills, but Pacey says he just saw her take one. Grams announces that they need an ambulance – Jen is sick with some sort of heart ailment. Everyone ends up at the hospital, and Grams tells Jen’s friends that she’s had an abnormality her whole life but it didn’t come to light until she got pregnant. She doesn’t think this is anything serious. However, Jack didn’t even know there was a problem. Once Jen is stable, Grams sends everyone home, then goes off to call Helen.
Pacey drives Dawson and Joey home, and though the guys are optimistic, Joey thinks something’s really wrong. Christopher calls and Joey uses Jen’s illness as an excuse to stay in Capeside longer than she’d planned. Jack’s still at the hospital, where Grams is suddenly not so hopeful. Jack visits Jen and she admits that she didn’t tell him she was sick because she wanted to avoid dealing with it. Things started out all right, but now there’s nothing the doctors can do for her. Jen wants to do things right now, and that includes finally asking for help. Jack spreads the word about Jen’s condition and Joey ends up looking for comfort from Dawson.
Thoughts: Christopher is played by Jeremy Sisto. I know, weird, right?
Also weird: Maddy is played by Virginia Madsen. If it makes you feel any better, this was pre-Sideways Virginia Madsen. If it had been post-Sideways Virginia Madsen, it would be a lot more embarrassing for her.
After all those years of Pacey’s gay slurs, Doug is actually gay? I can’t believe it.
’90s music alert: Edwin McCain’s “I’ll Be.” Which is weird, since this episode was filmed five years after that song came out and takes place five years after that.
So Jen was just, like, “I’m dying but I’m not goingt o make sure my daughter’s taken care of”? Um, okay.
December 18, 2012
Dawson’s Creek 6.22, Joey Potter and Capeside Redemption: About a Girl
There’s something so familiar about this…
Summary: Joey voices over something about how she can’t swear this is how things happened, but this is how it felt. Meanwhile, Grams and Jen hold a yard sale in preparation for their move to New York, Jack and Pacey move out of their apartment (still no sign of Emma). Audrey studies, and Dawson works at the Leerys’ restaurant. Joey rows over to the Leerys’ house and climbs the ladder, finding Dawson taking down all his movie posters. She still wants him to make his movie even without any money.
Joey continues that Dawson’s money problems aren’t Pacey’s fault. Dawson says that it’s just par for the course for them. He’s also upset that she’s choosing Pacey’s side, though she says she isn’t. Joey tells him that if he gives up now, everything will be a waste. Dawson says he doesn’t believe in it anymore. The movie was supposed to be “a celebration of friendship,” but he doesn’t want to tell the story anymore. Joey refuses to let him give up.
The next day, Joey gathers Jen, Jack, and Audrey at Grams’ and gives them assignments to make the movie happen. For example, Audrey will be playing Tamara. Jen suggests that she could play Eve, but Eve isn’t in the movie. Audrey asks who Eve is. “Long story. Ambiguous ending,” Jack replies. (So I guess Jen just never asked her mother about that, huh?)
Next Joey goes to Capeside to retrieve Pacey from Doug’s place. Pacey’s been filling his time by watching soaps in his underwear. Joey tells him they’re making Dawson’s movie for “$10 and a dream.” Pacey thinks he would just screw things up, but Joey insists that they need his help. He says things between him and Dawson will never be the same – and neither will things between anyone in the group.
Audrey and Joey bust Harley and Patrick making out, and Joey promises not to tell Hetson if the two of them do her a favor. Meanwhile, Jen and Jack try to get some film geek interested in the movie; Jen even offers to go out with him. He’d rather go out with Jack. Dawson comes home from the restaurant to find Joey, Jen, Jack, and Audrey in his room with all his movie equipment and posters. They tell him they’ve cast the movie for him and will help him make the film. And he doesn’t have to worry about work because Gail is firing him.
Production begins in downtown Capeside, starting with a scene between “Pacey” (Patrick) and “Tamara” (Audrey) at the video store. Joey and Gail have worked something out with Doug to get Pacey to make a delivery. Patrick and film student George start the scene where Pacey and Dawson met Tamara, but Audrey has problems showing skin. Patrick asks if she can just go naked. He narrowly escapes a beating at the hands of Joey. Meanwhile, Pacey tries to charm a dentist into doing a cameo in the movie.
The video-store owner isn’t happy about how long the filming is taking, so Doug (who’s blocked off the street for Dawson) takes him outside to distract him for a few minutes. Joey’s freaking out about how many things are going wrong, but Dawson likes the chaos because it leads to “happy accidents.” Speaking of happy (or at least things that make me happy), Todd arrives to lend a hand, having been told about the movie by Gail. Joey ends up as his errand girl.
Dawson tries to film the scene just before Jen’s first appearance on the show, but Harley (playing Joey) won’t let Patrick pull her into the water because she can’t swim. Joey makes Audrey tend to Todd while she splashes water and makes it look like Harley’s in the water when she isn’t. As Pacey keeps trying to round up townspeople, Joey assures Harley that her character isn’t a lesbian, so that’s not the reason she hates Jen.
Pacey ends up at a restaurant and runs into his old crush Kristy. She’s stunned that he doesn’t remember her. Grams watches the filming from the Leerys’ porch, enjoying that the kids are having fun with each other again. She’s ready to begin the next part of her life in New York. She says she misses Capeside every day but isn’t sorry they left. The two of them and Jack say goodbye to everyone and head off to New York.
Pacey and Kristy catch up, and she gives him her phone number and encourages him to call. As she leaves, Joey arrives and Pacey boasts that the girl who represents every girl who ever thought he was a loser is now interested in him. Joey notes that plenty of girls have told him over and over that he’s not a loser. Pacey still doesn’t want to go to the set, but he gives Joey a bunch of money, so apparently he’s spent all day taking donations. She tells him it’s not her fight.
Dawson wraps the first day of filming with a Joey/Dawson scene from the pilot. The day on the set has made Todd want to produce instead of direct. He also totally wants Audrey. She tries to resist his charms, but ultimately gives in. Dawson and Joey wind up back in their traditional spots on his bed, and he invites her to spend the night. He wonders what she would do if she woke up 15 again. Joey says watching the filming makes her feel like a weight has been lifted. He agrees, saying the movie will save him a lot of money on therapy.
The two talk about what a great day they had, then discuss what the movie is about. Dawson says it’s about a girl who had to grow up to realize she already had everything she wanted. He tells her he’s afraid that if he closes his eyes, she’ll leave. She doesn’t, but when he wakes up in the morning, he’s alone. Joey’s left him a note asking him to meet her by the fountain in what I guess are the ruins.
Dawson’s there at the appointed time, but instead of Joey, he meets Pacey. The guys aren’t sure how to get past their recent fight, since they both meant everything they said to each other. Pacey isn’t sure it’s possible to move on since they’re so different from the people they used to be. He thinks the only thing they still have in common is their love for Joey. The guys confirm that neither regrets the time he spent with Joey. Pacey thinks they’re both lucky that she would want to be with either of them.
Dawson notes that they both wanted Joey so much, they destroyed their friendship, but Joey only ever wanted them to be friends. Pacey asks if it’s possible for them to repair their friendship. After a long pause, Dawson says that anything’s possible. Pacey gives him the money, plus the news that the dentist will need a cameo. Dawson’s very touched and thanks him.
Joey voices over again as Dawson films the last scene, Harley rowing Joey’s boat. Jen and Jack walk through New York as Joey walks down another street in a city she’s finally gotten to visit: Paris. She talks about how her friends have shaped who she’s become, and how she loves them more every day. Bad things happened, but she’s able to remember the good times. She can’t swear this is how things happened, but this is how it felt.
Thoughts: Of course Joey’s the hero here. After all, the show is called Joey’s Creek, isn’t it?
Kristy isn’t played by Ali Larter this time around, so maybe that’s why Pacey doesn’t recognize her.
Joey’s very cheerful in this episode, and it’s a little scary.
So I guess we’re not supposed to be sure if Joey ever really made it to Paris? To quote Jack, “Ambiguous ending.”
December 15, 2012
Dawson’s Creek 6.21, Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road: Ghosts in the Machine
I bet that ladder got its SAG card for this series
Summary: Pacey is still outside the Leerys’ house, preparing to tell Dawson that he lost all his money. Dawson invites him in to see all the film equipment he bought with his new credit cards. His happiness and gratitude make it even harder for Pacey to give him the bad news. Which is why he doesn’t, even when Dawson gives him a script and asks him to be an associate producer.
In Boston, Jen’s mother Helen arrives for a visit Jen knew about but Grams didn’t. Grams is angry with Jen because she didn’t want Helen to know that she has cancer. Jen hasn’t told her but thinks she deserves to know. Jack Osbourne is back at Worthington, which he might wind up attending. Audrey has a “Lifetime moment” since she and Joey are about to part ways for the summer. She gives Joey her furry pink pillow, for some reason.
Jen and the other Jack go grocery shopping so Jen can cook dinner for her mother and grandmother. She begs Jack to eat with them so she doesn’t have to face Helen on her own. Jack thinks C.J. will be enough moral support. Plus, he’ll be meeting Helen for the first time, then saying goodbye to Jen before going to New York for grad school.
Joey goes home to Capeside and finds The Untitled Dawson Leery Script on the front porch of the B&B. She then goes to the Leerys’, where the ladder is back in its usual place. Dawson tells her to climb it, so she does, discovering that he’s set up his room the way it used to look, with all the movie posters. She’s impressed with his eye for detail.
Jen, Grams, and Helen awkwardly have tea, and Jen comes up with an excuse to leave the room so the other two are forced to talk. Helen wonders why Jen summoned her to Boston, and why she and Grams have waited so long to reconnect. She likes the person Jen has become, especially considering the person she would have become if she’d stayed in New York. Grams is glad that she could help, and knows Helen would do the same if Grams needed her assistance.
Audrey and Jack Osbourne run into Pacey at Hell’s Kitchen; it’s the first time Audrey and Pacey have seen each other since she went to rehab. She’s surprised to learn that he’s thinking about drinking during the day. She asks him what he’s hiding from. Pacey laments that he let people believe in him, and now it’s coming back to haunt them. Audrey warns him not to try to deal with his problems by drinking.
Dawson and Joey recognize the awkwardness between them and how they haven’t talked in a long time. She wonders if being back in a familiar place might actually help them reconnect. Talk turns to Dawson’s screenplay, which he claims he gave to her so he could get an honest opinion from someone who hates him. Joey tells him he grew up. She thought she would escape while he remained a hopeless dreamer, but she was just trying to get away from growing up.
Joey continues that she’s realized how difficult it is for her to talk about intimacy, but it doesn’t mean she has to lose herself. Dawson thinks that sometimes you have to lose someone to realize how much that person meant to you. He tells her missed her. She assures him that this time, he got his screenplay right. She adds that she missed their friendship.
Helen meets Jack and C.J., thinking Jack is Jen’s boyfriend. (She’s forgotten that she met him before.) “I don’t know what the gays look like these days,” Helen says. Jen says Jack is her only friend, which is bull, and when Helen comments that Jen used to be popular, Jen tells her it was because she had so much sex.
Suddenly Uncle Bill bursts in to confront Grams over their breakup. He’s looked into the lies she told him and knows she has cancer. This is news not just to Helen but also to Jack. Bill wants Grams to let him care about her, and he encourages her not to give up. He doesn’t realize that not everyone in the room knew. Jen agrees with him that Grams needs to stop trying to be so strong and let her family take care of her. She also thinks they should move to New York and live with Helen. Helen agrees.
Joey leaves Dawson’s house late, just as Pacey is returning. He tells them both that his and Dawson’s money is all gone. Dawson reminds him that he wanted out of Stepatech. Pacey says he was just trying to do the right thing. Dawson replies that Pacey always wants to be the hero, but he’s so eager that he doesn’t see all the pieces of the puzzle. Pacey can’t believe that Dawson thinks Pacey screwed him over.
Joey tries to calm the two of them down, but Dawson says it won’t help. Pacey thinks they should address the elephant in the room. Joey protests, wanting them to keep business business. Dawson notes that he and Pacey haven’t been friends for a long time anyway. In fact, he doesn’t think Pacey has been his friend for a long time, since he made them competitors. If he hadn’t, he would have seen that they’re not that far apart.
Pacey says their worlds aren’t alike, and Dawson’s just upset that Pacey broke out of his. Dawson isn’t impressed at Pacey’s supposed success, especially since it made both of them broke. Pacey says that’s just life. He asks Dawson if he’s happy that he’s the better man now. Dawson says Pacey wrote him off long ago.
Pacey points out that Dawson hasn’t tried to get in touch with him for the past three years. Joey again tries to bring some peace. Pacey tells Dawson he didn’t mean to lose all his money and he’s sorry. Dawson says it was all a mistake from the beginning. Pacey walks off and no one tries to stop him. Then Dawson goes back into the house without saying anything to Joey.
Joey joins Pacey on a dock, though he thinks she’d rather be comforting Dawson. These are the roles they were meant to play. Joey says they chose to play these roles, and they’re now ghosts of the people they used to be. She doesn’t think they even remember how the whole mess started. If Joey wanted to go after Dawson, she would. She adds that no matter how much she loves Pacey, he only remembers the negative things.
Pacey says his best friend just walked away, but they haven’t even been friends for the past three years. Joey encourages him to let her be his friend. She may not fit where he wants her to, but that doesn’t meant there’s no place for her. She thinks the guys need to stop their rivalry because it’s been a moot point for a long time. Pacey needs to be the one to make the move. Joey says that ghosts don’t leave until they’ve made peace.
Back in Boston, Jack addresses Jen’s secret-keeping, saying she and Grams are basically his only family. Grams asks him not to feel sorry for him, just believe in her. He promises to visit them in New York, but Grams wants him to move there with him. Jack can’t really argue, since he was the one who wanted to go to school in New York in the first place.
It’s open-mic night at Hell’s Kitchen, apparently, and Audrey performs something maudlin. Meanwhile, the soon-to-be roommates eat fresh-baked cookies at Grams’ house, and Dawson, Joey, and Pacey all mope by themselves.
Thoughts: Helen was recast and is now played by Mimi Rogers – the first ex-Mrs. Tom Cruise.
Hey, whatever happened to Emma? Did she get deported? I…wait, never mind. I don’t care.
Jen and Grams didn’t tell Jack that Grams was sick? Now THAT’S mean.
Nice acting from James Van Der Beek and Joshua Jackson in the big fight scene. They’re good together.
If that’s really Busy Philipps singing (and it sounds like it is), she has a nice voice.
December 8, 2012
Dawson’s Creek 6.20, Catch-22: A Fool and His Money
This is before they start smashing computers
Summary: Pacey’s having dinner with Sadia, who wonders why he waited so long to ask her out. He tells her he was “otherwise engaged,” but that’s been “taken care of.” At Worthington, Joey and Eddie discuss Catch-22 so the writers can justify using that for the title of the episode. She’s studying for Hetson’s final, wanting to make up for the last final she took for his class. Audrey gets a letter from the dean informing her that she can only stay at Worthington if she goes to summer school. She thinks she can negotiate her way out of it.
Joey realizes that since the semester is almost over, she and Eddie won’t be able to stay in her dorm anymore. They’ve discussed going to Capeside to work at the B&B, but Eddie has other ideas, ones he won’t share with Joey. Jack stops by the helpline while David is working, but David’s still mad about their ridiculous fight and doesn’t want to talk. He agrees to maybe meet with Jack later, but doesn’t give any kind of commitment.
At work, Pacey speaks to some job candidates, telling them that he had sex with Sadia because his life is awesome. Also, because he’s officially turned into Rich. Speaking of Rich, he tells Pacey that the Stepatech approval is about to go through. Pacey hooks up with Sadia again later, telling her that as soon as the FDA approves Stepatech’s new medical “thingy,” he’ll have enough money to buy a new car. In case it isn’t clear that Pacey has turned into Rich, he barely reacts when Sadia mentions that she has a boyfriend.
Joey ensures that she’s on time for her final by arriving two hours early with Eddie. Eddie decides that now is a good time to thank Hetson for his recommendation to the writing workshop. Joey’s worried that things will go badly and Eddie will end up hitting Hetson again. Eddie proceeds with a thank-you that proves he’s not as good with words as his admission into the workshop would have us believe. Joey tells Eddie that Hetson’s “whatever” is the best response he’s going to get.
Dawson calls Pacey at work to say he’s changed his mind about Pacey letting him invest all his money. Pacey assures him that Stepatech’s flu vaccine is going to make him very rich. Dawson considers using credit cards to finance the film, but Pacey wants Dawson to keep trusting him. Joey discusses her final with Eddie, complaining about the obscure questions Hetson asked. Fortunately, she knew the answers, so she thinks she aced it. Eddie rewards her with a backpack containing a booklet about traveling Europe for cheap. That’s his plan for their summer together.
David meets Jack at Hell’s Kitchen but isn’t happy to see him talking to a male classmate. He accuses Jack of leading him on, then announces that they’re over. Jack notes that he wouldn’t have asked to meet David if he didn’t want to work things out. David says Jack’s just going through the motions, which isn’t enough for him. Jack is thoroughly confused, as he should be, though maybe he should’ve seen this coming after David’s weird behavior in the last episode.
Joey and Eddie start planning their trip, and she tries to get them to stick to practical ideas. He doesn’t care for being practical if it means they get to spend the whole summer together. They’re already pretty broke, so it doesn’t matter how much money they spend. Joey points out that this romantic idea he has won’t be as romantic as he believes; their lives will still be here when they get back. Now she thinks they should wait a month or two to make some money first. Eddie interprets this as her changing her mind about going.
Joey says she’s throwing her life “off-course,” but he just wants her to take a chance and spend some time with him. She reminds him that the books they’re read about trips and adventures aren’t meant to be guidelines they should live their lives by. Eddie says they’re meant to encourage people to step into the world, where their lives begin. He wants an adventure to change his life. Joey asks if that means she has to stop being who she is. He tells her she’s a scared little kid who’s afraid to take chances, but that shouldn’t define her as a person. She tells him to sleep somewhere else tonight.
At work the next morning, Pacey learns that the FDA didn’t approve the vaccine. Rich doesn’t think it’s a big deal, but Pacey’s been touting Stepatech for months and is going to have a lot of unhappy clients. Rich thinks the clients have only themselves to blame. Joey meets with Hetson to declare her major in English; he gives her back her final with an A- on it. She’ll have a C+ for the year (the class was a year long?), which pleases her.
They discuss Catch-22, which Hetson sees as a man choosing life over a bleak existence. He has Joey read a passage about Yossarian saying he’s not running from his responsibilities, he’s running to them: “There’s nothing negative about running away to save my life.” Hetson says that a lot of critics find that part too sentimental, as if Joseph Heller wanted to put a moral in an amoral tale. But Hetson likes it, because right now the writers are letting him show a sentimental piece of his unsentimental character.
Joey announces that she needs to go somewhere, but they can finish their discussion next semester. Hetson yelps that he’s not going to let her into any more of his classes (does he really have the option?). She tells him she’d never take another class with him, but she does want him to be her advisor, mostly so she can keep torturing him. He smiles because he totally likes her torturing him, but also because that means he gets to keep torturing her, too.
Pacey shares the FDA news with Sadia, as well as the fact that he’s now lost all of Dawson’s money. She doesn’t think it’s a big deal. Then she wants to ask him some questions on the record. Pacey won’t go for it. Sadia can’t be with him that night since she’ll be with her boyfriend – who’s now her fiancé. She tells Pacey that they have a long-distance relationship and it’s kind of boring. He decides to make her deal with the boredom by breaking up with her.
Jack goes back to the helpline, this time to see Jen, who makes her first appearance in the episode with eight minutes to go. He asks if she thinks he only went out with David to prove that he could be in a relationship. He’s worried about still being alone when he’s 35, going to bars and trying to pick up guys. Jen notes that right now he’s not even old enough to go to bars, so he shouldn’t worry about not having met the love of his life yet. Jack thinks Jen and C.J. will stick it out because they give him hope.
After dealing with dozens of angry clients, Pacey just has Dawson to address. First he asks Rich for a loan so he can give Dawson back his initial investment. Pacey put all of his own money in Stepatech as well, so he and Dawson are both broke. Rich tells him he’s an idiot, then gives him the answer he should have given Dawson: No. Instead of just dropping it, Pacey keeps fighting, and Rich tells him he hasn’t earned any help. He adds that Pacey is a failure and a loser who will never amount to anything. Pacey attacks him and they have a fight that breaks a bunch of computers. It ends with Pacey getting himself fired, which Rich thinks he wanted all along.
Joey makes Audrey register for summer classes, then tells her she’s decided to go to Europe with Eddie after all. But before she can tell him, she finds a goodbye note he left her saying that he, unlike her, wants to act without worrying about consequences. Maybe people like him (and Pacey, who’s now at the Leerys’) are just doomed to make the same mistakes over and over, but he still hopes for a happy ending. (Hey, Joey, at least he left you a note this time.)
Thoughts: Pacey went from lovable romantic to creepy jerk in two episodes. Goodt hing we can blame Joey directly.
I guess this means no more Hetson. Thank God for Todd Manning on my TV five days a week.
Cheap trip or not, how were Joey and Eddie planning to pay for their summer in Europe? The plane tickets there would have probably wiped them out.
Seriously, Jack, you are better off. David is crazy. If it’s between being alone and being with him, just get some cats and go with it.
Do most schools let you pick your advisor? We were assigned ours.
When Jen has the best outlook on relationships, you know your characters are screwed up.
December 1, 2012
Dawson’s Creek 6.19, Lovelines: The One Where Everyone Talks About Sex All the Time
You people all have a lot more problems than we can handle in an hour
Summary: Joey tries to study in her room while Eddie tries to distract her, frustrated that they haven’t done anything physical since their reunion. Audrey suddenly arrives, back from rehab a day early. She tries to make Joey and Eddie guess who was on her plane, saying he’s a very sexy celebrity. Joey guesses Brad Pitt; Eddie guesses Ian Ziering. (Hee!) It was actually Dr. Drew, who Eddie isn’t familiar with. Joey and Audrey try to familiarize him with Loveline. Joey says Dr. Drew and Adam Carolla are in town for a fundraiser at the counseling center.
Speaking of Jen, she’s at the health center right now, clearly nervous about hosting the fundraiser. C.J. tells her she could become the next Ryan Seacrest. He wants to have sex after the event, but Jen says she has to help Grams, then announces she’s dumping C.J. Eddie still has sex on the brain, but Joey doesn’t even want to talk about it. It’s not exactly the best time for the conversation anyway, since Audrey’s in the room. After Joey leaves for class, Audrey warns Eddie never to hurt her again.
Jack and David sell tickets to the fundraiser, and a guy named Fred tries to ask David out. Jen’s still freaking out about her hosting duties and wants David to serve as a ringer so at least one person will ask a question. C.J. arrives and Jen tries to avoid him. Then Audrey shows up, looking up for Dr. Drew, and Adam Carolla hits on both her and Jen. Audrey doesn’t care about him; she just wants to know if he’s seen Dr. Drew naked. (Be right back, I have to go throw up forever.)
The auditorium fills up but David’s MIA, so Jack gives his seat to Fred. Eddie and Joey arrive together, and he won’t shut up about their sex life (or lack thereof). David finds Jack and Fred together and chastises Jack for a) not saving a seat and b) not getting one on the other side of the auditorium. Then he makes Fred give up his seat, because David is secretly a jerk, I guess. Jen kicks off the event, apparently not nervous at all anymore, at least until no one has a question.
Audrey tries to save Jen by raising her hand, but Jen won’t call on her. C.J. tries next, but Jen reminds him that he’s supposed to just pass the microphone around to the people asking questions. Dr. Drew and Adam tell him to proceed, so C.J. tells them how his girlfriend seemed to be fine, then suddenly dumped him. Adam tells him to run since the girlfriend is crazy. Jen interrupts to say that C.J.’s problems aren’t as important as those of the attendees who actually paid money to be there.
Eddie tries to have the sex conversation with Joey again, way too loudly for the setting, and of course everyone hears. Adam and Dr. Drew think that if they’re not mature enough to talk about sex, they shouldn’t be having it. Then they bring Eddie and Joey up on stage for further scrutiny. Audrey still wants to be heard, though, and appeals to Jen with a hilarious sad-puppy face. Joey and Eddie recap their relationship, and Adam sides with Joey – Eddie left Joey twice and now can’t seem to understand why she doesn’t trust him.
Dr. Drew tries to focus on Joey, asking if abandonment is an issue for her and what her relationship with her dad is like. (Can open! Worms everywhere!) Joey immediately tries to shut things down. Jen helps Dr. Drew keep her on stage by telling her that people call the helpline all the time with daddy issues: “You’re very normal in your abnormality.” Joey wants to kill her. She gets Jen to turn back to the audience, and David blurts out a question about how he should respond to his boyfriend openly flirting with someone else in front of him.
Dr. Drew tells David and Jack to talk about their relationship; he thinks Jack’s acting out because he has something to tell David but doesn’t know how to say it. Jen suggests that Jack is just really nice to everyone and wasn’t flirting, “because nobody’s that stupid.” Adam thinks David should dump Jack. Jen goes to someone behind a screen for a question, but Audrey takes the girl’s place so she can hit on Dr. Drew.
C.J. speaks up again, asking for a woman’s (specifically Jen’s) perspective on his issue. Jen says they’re done with his problem. Dr. Drew urges her to answer so the audience can see how she answers questions at the helpline. Jen says C.J.’s girlfriend is just confused, and might be dealing with a lot in her life and doesn’t feel like she has time for a relationship. Dr. Drew and Adam realize that Jen is C.J.’s girlfriend and ask her directly why she dumped him. Jen can’t come up with a good reason and asks to go back to Joey: “She’s more screwed up than me.”
Eddie announces that Joey’s father did time in jail. Joey tries to change the subject by asking Jack to come up on stage. Eddie isn’t done, but C.J. points out that at least he still has a girlfriend. Audrey just wants to know what kind of underwear to wear for Dr. Drew. Adam hates everyone. Jen says that if anyone else has a problem, they should call the helpline. She heads backstage, where Audrey accosts her with questions about what it was like to be so close to Dr. Drew. Jen gives her a microphone and tells her to take over.
Audrey gets things moving and offers some of her own experiences as supposedly helpful advice. She still strikes out with Dr. Drew, though. Afterward, Joey and Eddie go to retrieve her but are still fighting. Adam tells Eddie to shut up about sex and just enjoy the fact that Joey wants to be with him. When he was in college, girls didn’t dress as sexily as girls do now. He gets Joey to admit that she wouldn’t be with Eddie if she didn’t trust him.
Joey says that they’ve been living in a fantasy since Eddie came back, and they’ll have to come out of it eventually. He tells her she’ll have to take a leap of faith and know that he loves her. She hurries him to her dorm room before Audrey can find a way back there. Meanwhile, David is still grumpy, but Jack doesn’t think he needs to explain or apologize for anything. David thinks his original instincts about Jack might have been right. Jack tells him to dump him already if that’s where this is going.
For some reason, this offends David, who says he’s not the one who’s looking for a way out of the relationship. He doesn’t want to dump Jack so Jack can leave guilt-free. Jack points out that he doesn’t need to feel guilty because he didn’t do anything wrong. David tells him to apologize or break up with him. Jack only gives a sarcastic “sorry,” so David tells him to take his time and get back to him. Jack is sad and I am confused.
Now Jen’s ready to talk to C.J., but he’s not interested. She pretends to call him on the helpline and tells him she made a mistake but isn’t sure how to fix it. She admits that she has trust issues, and he points out that she has to start trusting people sometime. He assures her that if she tells him her problems, he won’t run away. Jen finally shares that Grams is sick. C.J. comforts her, promising that she can have as many freak-outs as she needs.
Audrey’s still looking for Dr. Drew, but Adam says he’s already left for the airport. Then she tries to find a ride home, but all of her friends have left. Dr. Drew is, in fact, still around, and Audrey tells him that she listened to Loveline while she was in rehab; it made her feel less alone. She’s not sure she could have gotten through rehab without the show. Dr. Drew offers her a ride, and Audrey says she knows she’ll have to keep her distance since he’s married.
Thoughts: Joshua Jackson directed this episode, which is probably why he wasn’t in it. He did great with the scenes where a lot of people were talking and things were moving quickly.
Ugh, Adam Carolla. Get away from me.
No way would everyone in an auditorium full of college students be hesitant to say something about sex.
If I were Jack, I would have gone with the breakup over the apology, because David is nuts.
November 24, 2012
Dawson’s Creek 6.18, Love Bites: Dance Dance Revelation
YOU IDIOT! LOOK WHAT YOU’RE GIVING UP! AHHHHHHHH!
Summary: Joey and Eddie are staring at each other at Hell’s Kitchen. He starts the writing workshop in the fall, and he’s come back to Boston to thank Joey for helping him get in. He appreciates that she did something so great for him even after he hurt her. If he’s going to be a writer, he wants her around. Joey reminds him that he walked away, and Eddie reminds her that he came back. She tells him she moved on. She tries to apologize but he’s already out the door.
The next day, Harley looks through Joey’s closet, trying to find Joey something to wear when she chaperones Harley’s school formal. Joey doesn’t remember agreeing to chaperone. Harley’s still a little worried about Patrick’s obsession with Joey, but Joey promises not to do anything with him. Over at Grams’, Jen and C.J. have worked out their sex problems and have moved on to talking about Grams, who apparent broke C.J.’s Uncle Bill’s heart. Jen says she’ll find out what happened.
Pacey calls Joey, who apparently never let him know the previous night that she wasn’t coming over after all. He wants to go out that night, but she’s going to Harley’s dance. Pacey realizes Joey will be dressed up and looking pretty, so he invites himself along. Dawson shows up at Pacey’s office with all his money from Todd’s movie – he wants Pacey to help him turn it into more money so he can finance his movie. Pacey’s hesitant to mix business with friendship. Dawson’s instincts are telling him this is a good idea, though.
Jen confronts Grams about ending things with Bill, noting the irony of Grams acting like a teenager while Jen is embarking on a real adult relationship. Grams doesn’t want to talk. Joey looks at pictures of her various exes before Pacey arrives with a couple of corsage options. One is for the fun-loving Joey and one is for the romantic, classical Joey. She picks the radish/carrot “fun-loving” corsage. She also has a rose for him.
Five seconds after getting to the dance, Harley starts complaining, since apparently Patrick isn’t going to dance. Joey says she knows how she feels, since Pacey isn’t a dancer either. Also, he broke up with her at their senior prom. Pacey offers to dance with Harley while Joey tries to fend off Patrick.
Dawson heads to Capeside and puts all his old movie posters up in his bedroom, for “inspiration.” Gail would like to know what he plans to do for money (and not just because she would like rent). Dawson thinks his movie will bring in enough to finance the next one. Gail asks if he has a plan B. He doesn’t know what that phrase means. She points out that making a hit movie is kind of a long shot, so he needs to be practical.
Harley dances with another guy, trying to make Patrick jealous. Joey and Pacey discuss their past prom disaster, and he says he’s glad he got a second chance. Joey completely fails to tell him about Eddie. Patrick gets in a fight with Jamie, the guy Harley was dancing with, and Joey has to remind Pacey that they’re supposed to be the adults there, so he needs to break it up. Harley ends up crying in the bathroom, wondering if Patrick said anything to Pacey about her.
Not really, but Pacey’s giving him a lecture about being an idiot. He tells Patrick to just ask Harley to dance. Joey assures Harley that she’s going through the same thing many girls have gone through, including Joey herself. Harley says that if her high school experiences are the same as Joey’s, she’s doing something wrong. Patrick tells Pacey that he does like Harley; Pacey tells him that having real feelings for a girl will make him a better person. He needs to be nice to her and tell her he likes her.
Joey admits to Harley that she’s had a bad experience at every dance she’s gone to, except this one. She heads to the boys’ bathroom, where Pacey and Patrick are goofing around. Patrick isn’t sure why he should take advice from Pacey, since he’s not exactly the greatest with girls. Pacey points out that he got Joey to go to a dance with him.
Jen relays a message from a doctor to Grams, wondering why she’s seeing a doctor Jen has never heard of. Grams tells her to stop digging for drama. Jen notes that Grams always makes her talk when she’s feeling mopey, so Jen’s repaying the favor. Grams confides that she has a malignant tumor in her breast. She’ll be starting radiation next week because the cancer has spread too far for surgery. Jen is shocked, but Grams doesn’t offer any comfort.
Pacey and Joey agree that the night has been nice, but Joey quickly ruins it by announcing that being with him doesn’t feel right. It’s not him, it’s her, basically. Pacey thinks she’s just scared about where things will go; he is, too. Joey feels sure that it’s not going anywhere. He thinks she’s just pushing him away the way she always pushes people away. He knows his feelings for her are the greatest thing he’s ever felt. He’s sure he can love her again. Joey silences him by announcing that Eddie’s back.
Dawson keeps trying to write something, eventually turning on the TV to watch Creek Days. Gail checks on him and he mentions that he appreciated the support he got from his family and friends when he worked on that piece. He admits that he doesn’t have a plan B, and never will. Gail suggests that he go back to film school to make sure he’s really committed. Dawson points out that he spent a year as a gopher; if that didn’t kill his dream, nothing will. Plus, school costs money. He wants Gail to believe that he’ll fulfill his dream.
Gail launches into a story about the time Mitch tried to make gum in their kitchen. Dawson was five and served as sous chef, but something happened that resulted in his parents having to shave his head. Gail thought Mitch’s dream was based on his love of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Even though the experience drove Gail crazy, she also admired it, and the way he was willing to do crazy things to make his life the way he thought he could be when he was a kid. In other words, she supports Dawson.
Jen finds Grams in the kitchen, baking, and tells her it’s okay to be scared. Grams doesn’t think it will do any good. Jen asks what she can do to help, and not just in the kitchen. Grams wants to deal with it on her own. Jen thinks they both need someone to take care of them. Grams tries to assure her that she could go into remission and live a long time. She promises that she’s not going anywhere because she’s not ready to die yet.
Patrick finally dances with Harley, promising that he didn’t come just to get in her pants. He didn’t want to have to think about her coming there with another guy. Pacey and Joey dance, but it’s pretty depressing. Joey ends up at Eddie’s house, kissing him, so I guess they’re back together or whatever. Hooray.
Thoughts: You guys, I’ve been spelling Gail’s name wrong this whole time. Oh, well, too late to change it.
Pacey wonders what kind of school dance has a punch bowl. What kind of school dance doesn’t have one?
Dreams are great, Dawson, but you MUST HAVE A PLAN B. Otherwise you end up living in a cardboard box.
Joey, you’re an idiot. I don’t care how cute or charming or talented Eddie is. You’re choosing him over PACEY. Unacceptable.
Once again, no Kerr Smith. Poor guy.
November 17, 2012
Dawson’s Creek 6.17, Sex and Violence: Coitus Interruptus
“Yeah, this is totally just as good as sex. I don’t feel dissatisfied at all”
Summary: Pacey walks Joey to her dorm after a date, and despite the fact that they just spent a whole evening together, he’s just now telling her that he recently got a promotion. He now has an office and a secretary. Joey, however, has had her hours cut because everyone’s on spring break and no one’s going to Hell’s Kitchen. Pacey asks her out again and they kiss awkwardly.
C.J. spends the night with Jen at Grams’, though they didn’t have sex. In fact, they haven’t had sex for a week. Jen says her sex drive isn’t the same as his, and they can be intimate in different ways. He’s disappointed to realize that she means by cuddling. Joey brings Pacey an office-warming gift and briefly meets his secretary, who Rich has just fired. Rich is a jerk to Joey (I know, shocking), then suggests that she fill in as Pacey’s secretary while she’s on break.
In L.A., Dawson pitches a movie (I guess it’s his stupid Creek Daze thing) to Heather Tracy, and though she thinks it’s a good idea, she doesn’t think it’s right for the studio. It needs more sex. Dawson thinks the lack of sex makes it unique. Heather won’t back down, telling him to add in an affair with a teacher or something. He doesn’t think that will be a problem. Jen and C.J. work at the helpline; she tells someone on the phone that C.J. won’t stop talking about sex.
Joey is immediately popular with the guys at Pacey’s office, because she’s just that hot. Later, he reminds her that he likes coffee in the morning, but she tells him to make it himself. Pacey complains to Rich that the guys are all over her, and he feels uncomfortable telling a friend what to do. Rich tells him a reporter is coming in for a newspaper interview and seems interested in Pacey. Joey’s interested in the reporter’s interest.
C.J. chastises Jen for using their own relationship problems to counsel other people. She points out that if a girl called to say that her boyfriend was pressuring her to have sex, C.J. would counsel her about that. He’s basically upset that Jen had sex with jerks but won’t have sex with him. She thinks he’s calling her a slut.
Heather prepares Dawson for another meeting with Larry (the studio executive from “Day Out of Days”). He remembers Dawson and is happy that he got Natasha into bed. (Heather told him about that.) Dawson pitches his stupid movie, trying to describe it as a coming-of-age story, but Heather blurts that it’s a teen sex comedy: “American Pie meets Stand By Me.” Larry just wants the actresses in the movie to take their clothes off.
Dawson continues, saying that the lead character is a good guy but it gets in the way of his interactions with girls. Larry quickly loses interest, so Dawson says the lead falls in love with a girl from school who’s actually a stripper. Larry likey. He tells Dawson he has a deal and doesn’t want to hear any more about the movie. In fact, Dawson should stop talking because any more information could work against him. But Larry would like to hear more about Natasha.
Joey gives Pacey some numbers he was waiting for (and which she should have given him earlier), then accidentally hangs up on the person he was talking to. She tells him she didn’t want to learn secretarial skills because if she was too good at those tasks, she wouldn’t be able to move forward in her career. (Shut up, Joey.) The reporter, Sadia Shaw, arrives, and Pacey’s already met her: She’s the mystery woman from “All the Right Moves.” Joey’s displeased.
Dawson visits Todd (Todd! I missed you!) on the set of a music video and accidentally interrupts his attempts to seduce someone. Sadia interviews Rich and Pacey about Stepatech; Joey tells Pacey he has a call from Jack and expresses surprise when he doesn’t want to talk to his own roommate. Then she loads Pacey’s sugar with coffee and spills cream on Sadia. Rich takes Sadia to his office so Pacey can deal with Joey.
Todd doesn’t get why Dawson is torn about his movie – work is work, and he wants to direct. Dawson already feels morally compromise after some of the things he did for Todd. Todd tells him to decide what kind of filmmaker he wants to be. If he wants to do it his own way, he should reject the studio’s offer. Todd worked hard enough to get where he is, even though it meant making some bad stuff in the process.
Things are tense between Pacey and Joey, and she finally asks how he knows Sadia. He chastises her for not acting professionally. She blasts him for just treating her as a girl who pours coffee. All the assistants in the office are hot and no one respects them. Pacey says he doesn’t pay attention to them; he comes to the office to work, and Joey made that difficult for him today. He doesn’t have to respect her or be nice to her because she’s his secretary.
Joey’s upset about that, of course, and Pacey tells her to just do her job and accept the money happily. She tells him that his secret nickname in the office is Witless. Then she makes comments about Sadia, letting Pacey know that she’s jealous (which, of course, she denies). Pacey asks her to take dictation so he can write Sadia an apology for Joey’s behavior: “She’s new and very bad.” This leads to a makeout session that’s interrupted by Rich.
Jen and C.J. have a silent dinner with Grams, finally blurting out their problems. Grams says that Jen is trying to have her first well-rounded relationship, and C.J. is worried that Jen will always like bad boys more than her. Jen says that “nice pecs and a good six-pack only go so far.” C.J. replies that that didn’t help: “I have nice pecs.” She tells him (through Grams) that she’s had the best sex of her life with him. C.J. apologizes and promises to cuddle whenever Jen wants.
Dawson meets with Larry and Heather again, having added a fire in a strip club to his script. Larry suggests the title Sunset Stripped and requests a minimum of three nude scenes. Finally Dawson has had enough and gives a speech about wanting to write about growing up and falling in love and blah blah blah. He can’t take the studio’s money. Larry still wants to make the stripper movie, though.
Joey goes back to work at Hell’s Kitchen, and Pacey visits because he wants to be abused some more, I guess. He also informs her that she’s no longer his secretary. She thinks it’s because she sucked at the job, but Pacey says it’s because she’s a distraction. Joey makes him tell her why. They make out some more, then agree to meet at Pacey’s place after she closes up. But right after Pacey leaves, Eddie arrives.
Thoughts: I didn’t mention in his first episode that Larry is played by Paul Gleason, the principal from The Breakfast Club, which is just one more John Hughes reference for the series.
Joey objects to Pacey calling her a secretary, like, hi. You’re a secretary. There’s nothing wrong with it. You’re the one making a big deal of it and saying it’s a job that doesn’t require a high level of training or allow a lot of room for career development. I work for a company that provides a lot of resources for secretaries/administrative assistants, and it’s NOT an easy job. And there is a career there, and room to take on more responsibilities and projects. So Joey can just shut up.
In case there’s any question about the kind of movies Larry makes, there’s a poster in his office for one calls That’s What She Said.
Another Jack-less episode. Who did Kerr Smith tick off?
I imagine that right after dinner, Grams went to church to pray for Jen and C.J.’s souls.
November 10, 2012
Dawson’s Creek 6.16, That Was Then: “I Wanna Go Back. I Wanna Start Over”
Boy’s name, clownish boyfriend, absentee father…do you get it?
Summary: Pacey tries to find something on TV, looks out his window, and starts to leave. He runs into Joey, who he says he was just on his way to see. Pacey tries to avoid any kind of meaningful conversation, but Joey wants to talk about what happened the last time they talked, when he told her he’s still in love with her.
Joey says that when she was younger and read Choose Your Own Adventure books, she would cheat so she could always get a happy ending. Pacey tells her that they’re not kids anymore, and he can handle whatever decision she makes. He also wants them to be able to be together without thinking about their history. Joey clarifies that he wants a clean slate. She agrees that they’ve changed and they decide to do some thinking. However, she also wants a plan.
On campus, Hetson talks to Joey about wanting to date so he doesn’t die alone. He says Harley’s been “extra-loopy” lately and has put pictures of boys on her ceiling. Joey assures him that Harley’s normal. Hetson would prefer if Harley were more like Joey – especially if it means she didn’t have a boyfriend. Joey warns that if Hetson gets too strict about boys, Harley will rebel. He asks what her high school boyfriend was like. She just says that people change.
Dawson’s at Capeside High to talk to Mr. Gold’s film class. He spent some time preparing by watching his old movies, and now he regrets it. Pacey gets a call at work from his mom and rushes to Capeside, where his father is in the hospital after suffering an arrhythmia. Doug’s annoyed with him for some reason.
Dawson shows Mr. Gold’s students his and Todd’s movie, then takes questions. One of the students, George, is basically a mini-Dawson and asks Dawson to watch his movie. Dawson is freaked out by being called Mr. Leery. In Boston, Joey asks Harley to go easier on her father; otherwise she’ll spend her teen years stuck in the house. After she leaves the room, a guy named Patrick bursts out of Harley’s closet. Joey returns and finds them kissing.
At the hospital, Pacey gets his father a private room, but Doug snipes at him for throwing money around. He’s shaken over having seen Sheriff Witter fall over during breakfast, since neither has seen their father off-guard before. Pacey admits that he forgot that Sheriff Witter has real feelings. (He probably forgot that Doug has real feelings, too.)
Joey questions Harley’s claims that Patrick is her study partner by trying to get them to actually study. Patrick tries to suck up to her, but she knows he’s “harmless” and that his sweet talk is just talk. Back in Capeside, Pacey tries to call Joey but gets her voicemail. Then Doug calls him in to see their father, who regrets that Pacey had to put his life on hold to come see him. However, Sheriff Witter’s happy to see him and wants him to stay, apparently instead of Doug.
Dawson watches George’s movie but doesn’t give an immediate response. George thinks that means he’s going to tear the film apart. Dawson notes that he’s new at this and is having trouble finding profound things to say to film students. He adds that though the movie needs work, George should keep going and trust himself. He’s already learned the things that can’t be taught.
Dawson tells him to remember what it’s like to be able to make a movie about something he loves. George teases that he already seems like a burnout. He liked Creek Daze and thought it had heart, something that can’t be lost. Pacey tries to talk to Sheriff Witter about his help, but Sheriff Witter thinks everyone needs to calm down, especially Doug. He’s more worried about what the time away from the office will do to Pacey’s job. Pacey doesn’t care – he wants to be with his father.
Patrick tries to sweet-talk Joey again, but Harley’s annoyed by his apparent crush. Joey tries to keep the peace, and Harley calls her Helen, as in Helen of Troy. She tears into Patrick for all the annoying things he’s done, and he defends himself by saying he was keeping his options open. Harley tells him to take her off his list of options.
Speaking of people who are annoyed with other people, here’s Doug. Pacey calls him out on being mad that he’s trying to help the family. Doug’s mad that Pacey is only a member of the family when it’s convenient. He brings everyone gifts, pretends to be one of them, and leaves. Pacey says he wants to leave his past as the family failure behind.
Pacey continues that Doug just wants Pacey around so he can remind himself he’s still the good son. Pacey continues that he had to leave town because he hated how their family treated him. He came back to let Sheriff Witter know that he doesn’t hold a grudge. Part of him thinks this crisis might actually be a good thing. Doug tells him to enjoy the situation while it lasts.
Harley locks herself in her room while Patrick tells Joey that he tried to treat Harley normally but felt weird. He’d rather be the funny one because at least it gets her attention. Joey finds that familiar and says that guys are all the same. Then Patrick hits on her again. Joey tells him that Harley’s a great girl, and if she’s smart, she’ll ditch him. She advises him to leave, forget about Joey, and come up with a grand gesture to win Harley back.
Pacey decides to leave the hospital for the night, but first he tells Sheriff Witter that Doug was the one who got him the private room. In Boston, Joey finally gets into Harley’s room and assures her that she has no interest in Patrick. She also thinks Patrick isn’t really interested in her but was just testing things. Harley knows but doesn’t get why he would test something that’s already unstable.
Joey tells Harley that looking back, her problems with Pacey seem small and her issues with Dawson seem “unnecessary.” (Preach it, sister.) Harley wants to know how she can skip all the drama. Joey says she wonders why things are different, like her relationship with Eddie. As a teen, you think everything’s much more important than it is. As an adult, you take a deep breath and give yourself a chance to make mistakes.
Joey advises Harley to listen to Patrick because he might have something to say that changes her mind about him. Harley wonders why Joey didn’t go to California with Eddie if her relationship with him is so different from her failed ones. Joey says it’s about her and what she’s ready for. But she won’t tell Harley what that is.
Instead of going home, Pacey goes to the Leerys’, where he and Dawson are both surprised to see each other. They talk briefly about Sheriff Witter, a conversation with some unspoken subtext about Mitch. Pacey admits to wanting to let someone else take care of the crisis. He feels like he’s been playing the role of who he is now for so long that he forgot how he got there.
Dawson understands, since he got called Mr. Leery today. He tells Pacey about his visit to the film class and how it made him realize that he doesn’t know anything. Pacey gets that. “I wanna go back. I wanna start over,” Dawson says. Pacey wouldn’t mind that, but he’d mostly like to see where things went wrong.
Dawson mentions his failed relationships, which Pacey thinks are good for finding inspiration for his movies. Dawson replies that now that he has distance and can look at those relationships, he can’t afford to make movies. Pacey jokingly says that Dawson’s the kind of person he deals with every day at work. Dawson invites him in for coffee.
Joey goes home to her dorm and calls Pacey, getting his voicemail. She admits that she hasn’t made a decision about them, and she thinks it’s because she’s trying to do it alone. They should work things out together. If she could go back, she would change a lot of things, and she’s glad she has the chance now. Joey promises not to live in the past, instead thinking about the possibilities before them.
Thoughts: Patrick is played by Taylor Handley, Oliver from The O.C., if that means anything to you.
Pacey uses a pay phone and calling card. How cute.
Instead of telling George not to do drugs, Dawson tells him not to do sports. Heh.
I like that Pacey and Dawson didn’t have some big, dramatic reconcialition scene. Three seasons ago, they would have. But the theme of the episode is moving forward and not living in the past, so it makes sense that they would move on from that kind of thing, too.
What did Michelle Williams and Kerr Smith do to deserve all this lack of screentime? At least Michelle was probably doing a movie. Who knows what Kerr did during his time off?
November 3, 2012
Dawson’s Creek 6.15, Castaways: Fear and Loathing in Las Kmart
Tell me again why you guys broke up?
Summary: Joey has accompanied Pacey to a business dinner, and she’s not having a good time. She’s also not happy to see another woman put her hand on Pacey’s leg. She tells Pacey to get the woman’s phone number already so they can leave. He admits that the woman thinks Joey is his sister, not his date. Joey threatens to kiss him and ruin his chances with the woman. Pacey manages to make a date with the woman, so he rushes out to get Joey home and come back in an hour.
Joey really wants to get back to her dorm to study, but first Pacey takes her to Kmart for, uh, laundry detergent. The store is just about to close, but they’re able to sneak in while a security guard is yelling at kids playing with shopping carts. Joey heads off to the bathroom as Pacey picks out condoms. Before he can pay for them, Joey drags him to the bathrooms, making him stand guard while she uses the men’s room (since the women’s room is closed off). As they’re leaving, the lights are all turned off and the doors are locked.
The two go looking for a phone, but only find intercoms. Pacey’s cell phone is in the car, and a payphone call to the police doesn’t gain them any immediate help. Joey admits that they’re not really having an emergency – they’re inside and they have food and other supplies. Ultimately she gets transferred to an automated system. She asks for Pacey’s coat, since she’s cold and hers is really only for aesthetic purposes. She finds the condoms in his pocket and complains about them being the reason they’re stuck there.
Pacey doesn’t want to talk to Joey about his potential hook-up, and both of them admit they don’t want to talk to each other about sex. He notes that she’s pretty judgmental about the topic. The secret to their friendship lasting is them not talking about sex. Joey wonders why there’s awkwardness about the subject if they’re such good friends. Pacey reminds her that they were once more than friends. He sees her as still being a virgin, despite her experiences with other guys. He notes that lying about sex worked for her and Dawson.
Joey flips out, though she has to admit that Pacey’s right. She wants him to see that she’s grown up. Pacey disagrees, saying Joey doesn’t care who he sleeps with. Joey notes that he dated Audrey, so obviously she can’t complain about him seeing other women. She doesn’t get why he’s so upset. Pacey admits that he wishes she’d felt worse about their breakup. Joey hates that he’s being competitive, though Pacey insists he’s just talking about the two of them, and Dawson isn’t involved. She accuses him of worrying about his ego.
Just as Joey’s asking why Pacey wants to revisit the past, the police call back to tell them they’re not a high priority, so they’ll have to wait for rescue. The two of them kill some time browsing, and Joey finds the movie version of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, the book she’s supposed to be reading for Hetson’s class. Pacey summons her to electronics, where he broadcasts himself on all the TVs to suggest that they make the best of the situation. If she accepts, she can make him do something he doesn’t want to do.
Joey immediately asks for her “something,” directing Pacey to the razors to make him get rid of his beard. (God bless you, Joey Potter.) He pretends to agree, then runs off, making her chase him. He gets away for a while, but she tricks him into coming to her by faking an injury. Then she gets him to shave by threatening to spray shaving cream on his expensive suit. Joey changes into pajamas, then asks Pacey why his beard is so important to him. He thinks it’s contributed to his recent successes in life. She decides to let him keep it.
The two play Battleship (Pacey wins) and Joey asks if he’s happy. She thinks she is, even though there’s nothing special in her life right now. She used to think change was always bad, but now she feels like not knowing what’s coming might be a good thing. Pacey thinks she still likes Eddie. Joey says she did, but he’s in the past. She still wants to know if Pacey’s happy, and he says he has to be, considering the car he drives. He elaborates that he has everything he could want in life, except one thing: nachos.
They eat, tease each other some more, and settle down to watch Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Joey isn’t sure what it says about the American dream. Pacey tells her to just use the words “postmodernist” and “subjectivity” in the same sentence. He gets to choose the next activity, and it happens to be letting him shave his beard. Joey’s very happy to have the real Pacey back. He kisses her, leaving her stunned and confused. He reminds her that she said she was willing to be surprised by the future: “Surprise.”
Joey notes that Pacey doesn’t seem so surprised. He admits that he’s wanted to kiss her all night, even when they were fighting and he was making a date with the other woman. In fact, his desire to kiss her is always there. The two of them being together is the only thing that’s ever made sense to him. Joey isn’t sure how to react, though she’s flattered. And she doesn’t wish he hadn’t said anything. She asks if she can sleep on the information.
The two try to sleep in the camping section but wind up talking about how Joey used to dream that she and Pacey would become castaways during their summer on the boat. They agree that there are a ton of reasons the two of them would never work, but Joey says there’s one reason they would, then goes to his sleeping bag so they can make out. However, she insists it’s only because she’s cold. But she does admit to missing him.
In the morning, a teen employee finds them and gets them moving before anyone else sees them. They pay for their pajamas, the movie, and his razor. The cashier hopes they found everything they were looking for. Pacey says they at least found everything they needed. Joey tells the cashier that the store is perfect the way it is. The once and possibly future lovebirds leave together, bickering as usual.
Thoughts: This episode was brought to you by Kmart and Trojans.
It’s nice to know that Kmart doesn’t make PA announcements or send anyone to check out the bathrooms before they close. And the employees all leave at exactly the same second, without anyone staying to clean or lock up money.
As someone who took a lot of lit courses in college, I can tell you that Pacey’s advice about using “postmodernist” and “subjectivity” in the same sentence is perfect. Probably not for Hetson’s class, though.
What happened to Pacey’s apparent crush on Emma? That came and went really fast.
'90s Flashback 