August 4, 2012
Dawson’s Creek 5.22, The Abby: Why You Gotta Be So Mean?
I couldn’t find a good picture for this episode, so here’s a cute pug
Summary: There’s chaos in the hallways of Worthington’s dorms, since the school year is over. Audrey wants Joey to go to L.A. with her for the summer, but Joey’s planning to go back to Capeside. Audrey suggests that she tag along for a few days. There’s a knock at the door, and the girls prepare to throw water balloons at whoever’s there, since they think it’s one of their crazy floormates. It’s actually Professor Wilder, who’s probably glad he didn’t get into a relationship with a 19-year-old.
Wilder’s there to give Joey a copy of the school’s literary review, which contains the story she wrote about Dawson at the beginning of the year. She tells him that they’ve gone their separate ways. They talk about their summer plans, and she admits that she’s not that happy about going home, since it feels like a step back after a year of moving forward. Wilder thanks her “for more than [she] can possibly imagine,” but he doesn’t elaborate on that.
Over at the restaurant, Alex tells the staff that they’ll be hosting a lunch for their investors the next day. It’s possible it will lead to the opening of another location. She wants everyone to be on their best behavior since her job could be on the line. Pacey nixes one of her menu ideas, and Alex pulls him aside to warn him not to mess with her, since he won’t win. Dawson gets a call from Waller, but won’t share the obviously good news with Oliver until Oliver admits he was an idiot.
Jen and Jack discuss vacation ideas; she wants to go somewhere like Fiji, but he wants to backpack through Europe. Jen thinks that sounds like a bad version of summer camp. Jack also wants to go to Cleveland, for some reason. Joey and Audrey pack up to move out of the world’s nicest dorm room. Alex yells at the kitchen staff, then proves to be a true bitca by firing a single mother working three jobs, even after Pacey tries to stop her.
In Capeside, Joey and Audrey meet up with Dawson at his house, and Audrey asks to see the infamous room where Dawson and Joey spent so much of their childhoods. Joey asks Dawson to spend some time with Audrey while she goes to see her father in jail. Back in Boston, Jack and Jen tell Grams that they’ve decided to go to Costa Rica for two months. Jen knows it could be a disaster, but for the rest of their lives, they’ll be able to say they went there. Grams ruins Jen’s good mood by telling her that her parents want her to spend the summer with them in the Hamptons.
Pacey ruins Alex’s lunch for the investors by taking all the food to a homeless shelter. Oh, and he rehired the fired waitress. He announces to the head investor that he’s witnessing a coup d’etat brought about by Alex’s horrible, horrible nature. The investors just want to know where their lunch is. Pacey bought pizza for them, telling them that his feelings are shared by everyone else on staff. Alex yells that he’s fired, and he responds, “Reap the whirlwind.”
Joey goes to the prison but learns that Mike was paroled four months earlier. A guard tells her that it was Mike’s choice whether or not to tell his family he was released. Joey gets emotional, saying that Mike is her dad. The guard sympathetically tells her that he heard Mike is working in a five and dime in another town.
Dawson gives Audrey a tour of Capeside, as well as some stories of the gang’s teenage experiences. He thinks Pacey still likes Audrey, so she shouldn’t give up on him. They start talking about L.A., and Dawson announces that he’s going there to work on the movie with Oliver and Waller. Audrey’s excited for him, as well as the fact that she’ll have him around to hang out with. She invites him to stay with her.
Jen has a weird little dance party, then tells Jack that she’s trying not to fall apart because of her parents. He doesn’t want to go to Costa Rica by himself, so he’s going to cancel their tickets. Jen doesn’t want to spend the summer with their parents, but Jack thinks she should. She wants some time to think about her options and figure out what to do. He leaves and she goes back to her dance party.
Pacey waits for Alex outside the restaurant so he can tell her he didn’t want to let things go and wonder what could have happened. He wants to know what happened to make Alex so horrible. Alex says that she believes people get what they ask for. Pacey starts to leave, but can’t get his car to start, so Alex offers him a ride.
Joey tells Bessie about Mike, and Bessie tells her not to judge him for staying away. Audrey’s on Bessie’s side, saying that now Joey gets to decide whether or not she wants her father in her life. They talk about Dawson, and Joey remembers him coming along the last time she visited Mike in jail. Audrey adds that Dawson drove from New York to Florida to see her, which Joey didn’t know about.
Alex tells Pacey she plans to get a new job, since his comments about her are going to ruin her reputation. She starts complaining about her future prospects, and Pacey notices that she’s speeding. He tells her to slow down, but as we all know, Alex is a complete Nutter Butter, so she ignores him. She thinks her life is over, but it makes her feel alive. Unable to make her stop, Pacey tries to call her bluff, urging her to drive faster. He stars to kiss her, and she finally gets so shaken that she stops.
Joey goes to the Leerys’ to tell Dawson that Mike was paroled. Dawson thinks it’s understandable that Mike would want to stay away, since the last time he was around, he made Joey’s life hard. Joey asks about L.A., and Dawson shares the news about the movie. She’s happy for him, but she also seems sad that he won’t be around. Joey says she’s worried she’ll say the wrong thing. “You’ve already said all the right things,” Dawson assures her.
Alex admits to Pacey that she has problems (yeah, no kidding) and could have killed someone tonight. She appreciates that Pacey saved her. He tells her it’s not too late for her to try to make things right. Jen talks to her parents on the phone, then tells Jack that she declined their invitation to the Hamptons. She thinks they were relieved. Jack thinks she made a mistake. Grams joins the conversation, saying that Jen’s parents’ attempts at reconciliation may not have been enough to salvage the relationship. However, if they really want it to work, they’ll try again.
Dawson visits Mitch’s grave to tell him about the events of the past year. He admits that he wants to be with Joey, but he’s not sure they can make things work after all this time. Meanwhile, Joey goes to the five and dime with a copy of the literary review.
Thoughts: So why was the episode called “The Abby”? Why give the episode a name like that and not explain it??
It’s Bessie! Yay, Bessie! Sorry you only got one scene.
Alex went from annoying to cartoon villain in one episode. Nice writing, there.
And Pacey’s an idiot for accepting a ride with her. Hello, Boston public transportation. It’s called the T, Pacey.
I know this is common sense speaking, but couldn’t Jen go to Costa Rica and then spend a couple weeks with her parents? She really doesn’t have to choose between the two. Summer’s a good three months long.
July 28, 2012
Dawson’s Creek 5.20, Separate Ways (Worlds Apart): Your Dreams Are More Important Than Joey Potter
I love whoever snapped this dorktastic shot
Summary: Audrey mopes home to her dorm room only to find a scrunchie on the doorknob. Joey and Charlie are in Joey’s bed, having taken a nap fully clothed, so I’m not sure why there was need for a scrunchie. Joey’s pleased to be in a relationship with a guy who doesn’t know everything about her, and vice versa. Neither has 18 years of expectations about the other. By the way, Charlie used to play with dolls, if anyone cares.
Pacey and Audrey go to the restaurant, having received memos that the place is under new management. Audrey thinks someone bought Danny out and he’s gone. No one’s at the restaurant, but there’s a note announcing a staff meeting that afternoon. They wonder why no one called to tell them. Charlie tracks Joey down to tell her that a band has asked his to go on a small tour with them. They’re leaving next week, and he doesn’t mind leaving school to go. He wants Joey to go with them. She doesn’t think it’s a good idea. He hopes they won’t break up if he goes.
Dawson and Oliver are preparing for a meeting with an agent about their movie. Dawson’s nervous but Oliver thinks it’ll go well. He just thinks they need to enter like Tom Cruise (heh) and Dustin Hoffman on the escalator in Rain Man. Joey tells Audrey about the tour, adding that Charlie wants them to spend as much time together as possible before he leaves. She feels like they’re skipping a lot of relationship steps. Audrey finds the whole thing romantic and says Joey’s overreacting.
Audrey and Pacey go back to the restaurant; she announces she’ll quit if there’s flair involved. (Hee.) They meet the new manager, Alex Pearl, who confirms that the restaurant was sold. The old owners and chef have moved on, but the new owners want to expand and develop other locations. Pacey doesn’t like the idea of the owners being forced out. Alex assures him that they were fairly compensated, since money is why they’re all there. She warns that some of the staff will be let go. Pacey is really unhappy about that, and Alex doesn’t want to hear it.
After the meeting, Alex formally introduces herself to Pacey, apologizing if she seemed harsh. He’s the first person she’ll be meeting with about his job. He tells her that despite his attitude, he needs the job and wants to keep it. Alex gives him the good news that he’s getting promoted. Pacey worries that he doesn’t have the experience necessary, but Alex tells him to keep the status quo and everything will be fine.
Charlie’s considering not going on tour; school is important, and he could have another touring opportunity in the future. Joey’s uncomfortable with the idea of him not going. He wants to prove to her that he can be “a person of substance.” He assures her that they’ll be great together, obviously not getting that that’s what she’s concerned about. In New York, Dawson and Oliver wait for their meeting, and Oliver manages to distract Dawson from his nerves by talking about the possibility of hooking up with the receptionist.
Audrey’s news from Alex isn’t as good as Pacey’s: She’s been fired. He promises to talk to Alex and work things out. Dawson and Oliver meet their potential agent, Andrew Waller, and Oliver proceeds to make a fool of himself, to the extent that Waller asks if he’s on drugs. Joey beats herself up for making boys give up their dreams and stay in Boston to be with her. Audrey asks her about her dreams, urging her to just tell Charlie to go on the tour. Joey admits that she’s not ready to date him, and she definitely doesn’t want him to change his life for her.
Pacey tries to talk to Alex about Audrey, choosing the wrong time to do so. She gets knocked into him and obviously we’re supposed to anticipate that the two of them will eventually hook up. Ugh. Dawson blasts Oliver for trying to make the two of them look better than they do; it’s okay that they’re amateurs. He knows Oliver ruined their one chance with Waller. Oliver thinks they’ll find someone else since their movie is just that awesome, and they’re like the Coens or the Wachowskis.
Dawson admits that their partnership might have been a bad idea. Oliver says he’s just being optimistic. Dawson argues that he needs to be realistic. He’s sick of Oliver being naïve. Oliver points out that Dawson was recently optimistic, driving all the way to Florida for Joey. Dawson decides not to ride home with him.
Joey and Audrey go hear Charlie’s band perform, but Joey’s preoccupied by her inability to properly have a fling. Audrey urges her to break Charlie’s heart already and put him on the tour bus. Pacey arrives and promises again that he’ll get Audrey her job back. Joey fills him in on the tour and her plan to make Charlie go. Audrey suddenly comes up with an idea, telling Joey to let her handle things. When Charlie joins them, Audrey yells that Joey’s been sleeping with Pacey. Joey finds it hard to play along until they start a slap fight that accidentally turns real.
The guys break up the fight and Pacey makes “Lucy” and “Ethel” tell Charlie the truth. Well, one of them will do it, as Joey lets Audrey and Pacey leave. She finally tells Charlie straight out that he needs to go on tour or he’ll regret it. She also doesn’t want him to stay for her. She asks if he would have considered staying if she weren’t in the picture. Charlie says no, and Joey points out that he can’t miss out on such a great opportunity because a girl asked him to. He realizes that she didn’t ask him to miss it.
Dawson stakes out Waller’s office to beg for a second chance. He knows Waller likes to take chances, and he thinks he and Oliver are going to pay off. Dawson’s had a hard year and is determined not to screw up. He at least wants Waller to promise to look at their next project. Waller can see that he’s sincere, which is marketable. He agrees to look at Dawson and Oliver’s next project, and in the meantime try to get some producers to look at their movie.
The next morning, Charlie wakes Joey up by playing “I Want You to Want Me” outside her dorm window. She and Audrey make fun of his musical talents for a while before Joey goes out to talk to him. He tells her he’s just trying to make some money to cover expenses for the tour. She’s happy to hear that he’s going. Charlie says that when he becomes a “person of substance,” he’ll look him up. Joey tells him it’s not about that, it’s about making a decision about his life without basing it on a romance that’s barely developed. They say goodbye on good terms.
At the restaurant, Pacey again tries to talk to Alex about Audrey. Alex says she’s just a case of the last person hired being the first one out. She remarks that Pacey seems older than 19 and is too young to settle down with Audrey. (Settle down? All they do is have sex, really.) Alex says that the two of them want the same thing, then kisses him. Pacey decides it’s a good idea for him to leave. Outside Grams’, Dawson runs into Joey and tells her that he thinks the meeting paid off. She’s happy that he’s fulfilling his dreams.
Thoughts: Alex is played by Sherilyn Fenn. Something about her has always bugged me, but I can’t figure out what it is.
Waller is played by Jack Plotnick, who has been in everything and is recognizable within three seconds of sight.
Oliver, reading The Hollywood Reporter: “Yes! Pulp Fiction 2!” Hee.
Oh, Audrey, you’re awesome and I love you. The fake fight with Joey was perfect.
This episode had a lot of (surprisingly) funny lines, and this exchange during Charlie’s serenade was the best:
Audrey: “Could he be any cuter?”
Joey: “No. He could be more in tune.”
Audrey: “Come on! This is so romantic. It’s like that movie. It’s like you make him want to be a better man.”
Joey: “Wouldn’t it be better for society if I made him want to be a better guitar player?”
July 23, 2012
Dawson’s Creek 5.19, 100 Light Years from Home: “How Does It End?”
Brooding is much more fun on the beach
Summary: Joey and Dawson are watching some movie about spring break, because, fittingly, it’s their spring break. Dawson’s about to head to New York for a meeting about his movie. He’s uncertain, so Joey says lots of nice things about him. She thinks Mitch would love what Dawson’s doing. Joey realizes that after the awful year they’ve both had, things have worked out well. Dawson stills feels bad about the way he treated Joey right after his father died, but she’s past it. Then there’s some blah blah about dreams, but no one cares.
Dawson heads off with Oliver, who bugs him about what (or who, more accurately) he’s thinking about. This is a mini-clip show, so Dawson tells Oliver about their relationship as we see flashbacks from the pilot. Meanwhile, Joey’s reading on a beach in Florida while Pacey and Audrey make out in a bedroom. (It seems her parents own the house where they’re staying.) They talk about their families, who don’t appear to know about their relationship. Jen and Jack are also there, and the latter is cranky.
Joey gets a call from Charlie, who’s been calling her every few hours and won’t take the hint that she doesn’t want to talk to him (mostly because she keeps flirting instead of making the hint a clarification). Later, the girls and Pacey hang out by the pool and try to decide what to do. Joey spots a movie star named Chris who turns out to be a friend of Audrey’s. He’s there for an MTV-sponsored M2M concert and offers the kids free passes. Audrey assures Pacey that she and Chris were just friends, but Joey knows they dated. Charlie calls again, then reveals that he’s at the house.
The kids go to the concert, where Pacey rejects the advances of a girl who turns out to be one of the M’s of M2M. Joey flirts more with Charlie while Audrey tries to avoid having any kind of meaningful conversation with Chris. Pacey’s beginning to suspect that something’s going on there. Charlie tells Joey a story about all the steps he took to track her down, but it turns out Pacey told her where they were. She tells him that doesn’t mean she’s going to hang out with him.
Pacey and Chris chat about Audrey, and the truth about Chris and Audrey’s relationship comes out. Chris is happy that Pacey doesn’t seem to be dating her, since he’s been thinking about how cool she is lately. Joey interrupts a conversation Charlie’s having with a girl and gets her to leave by telling her that Charlie’s one of the Hanson brothers. After some Joey/Dawson flashbacks highlighting the intensity of their friendship and relationship, Oliver asks Dawson, “How does it end?” He hopes it’s tragic, with Joey running into a homeless Dawson on the street and not recognizing him. Then Dawson gets hit by a bus. (I love you, Oliver.)
Charlie gets Joey back by interrupting her conversation with another guy. Jen watches, then has a coughing fit while Jack (who seems drunk) gets excited about a hotel raffle. Pacey confronts Audrey for lying about Chris; she says if she’d told the truth, Pacey would have ruined the evening by trying to get her to compare the two of them. Audrey says Chris was her Dawson, and breaking up with him was the hardest thing she had to do. She still wonders sometimes if she did the right thing. Pacey reminds her that their relationship was supposed to be casual, so her lies don’t matter.
The next morning, Pacey tries to convince Joey that he’s learned from his past relationship mistakes. She points out that her own Dawson is in the past, as is Audrey’s Dawson. Pacey just wants a girl who doesn’t have a supposed soulmate. Joey advises him to leave himself open to the possibility of falling in love with Audrey. He asks if she takes her own advice. She admits that she might possibly like Charlie, but they’re not going to have a serious future. Pacey points out that Charlie came all the way to Florida to see her.
More Dawson/Joey flashbacks as Oliver wonders if Dawson’s considering going to Florida instead of New York. Dawson doesn’t know what he would say if he did go see Joey. Oliver thinks he should take a chance. (I no longer love you, Oliver. Stop encouraging this.) Dawson knows it’s crazy but decides to go anyway. Charlie gives Joey surfing lessons as Jen nurses a cold, Jack drinks, and Pacey, Audrey, and Chris avoid each other. Jen notes that Jack seems to be drinking to forget something, but he doesn’t want to talk about it.
Joey tells Jen about her day with Charlie, and though Jen claims to be okay with that, she’s not sure why Joey wants to waste her time. She warns Joey not to fall victim to Charlie’s charm. Joey thinks her instincts trump Jen’s experience. She throws Jen and Dawson’s relationship in Jen’s face, asking why Jen cares so much about Charlie and what he and Joey do. That night, Chris comes by the house and tells Audrey he wonders where they would be if he’d followed her to Boston. She says they’re different now, though he thinks she’s pretty much the same. They kiss, which Pacey sees.
Joey’s a little distant with Charlie, pointing out that she’s not sure how she feels about him. He knows she’s only uncertain because of what he did to Jen. He swears that’s not all he is. “Haven’t you ever hurt anybody?” he asks, thankfully not triggering a stream of flashbacks. Sometime later, Dawson arrives at the house to find Jack on the roof, drunk. He jumps in the pool and Dawson pulls him out.
Jack confides that college has turned out to be harder than he expected. He’s failing and will have to ace all his finals. Dawson promises that their friends will help him out. Jack points out that he wasn’t very helpful when Mitch died, but Dawson disagrees. Jack tells him that Toby has a new boyfriend. He starts crying, wondering how to fix his life when he doesn’t know where it went wrong. He just wants to go back and start over.
Audrey starts to tell Pacey that she kissed Chris, but he lets her know he saw. She asks if he cares about her; she can’t keep seeing him if he doesn’t. She wants to be his official, exclusive, serious girlfriend, and she wants him to want the same thing. Pacey assures her that he does. He’s wanted to tell her all day and was just waiting for the right time. They make their relationship official.
In the morning, Pacey finds Dawson in the kitchen and tells him that he’s made a mistake if he came there to see Joey: “It’s over.” Dawson disagrees: “No, it’s not.” He’ll keep coming back as long as there’s something to come back for. When something pulls him this strongly, he has to act on it. Dawson asks where Joey is, and Pacey tells him she’s with Charlie.
Joey and Charlie spent the night in a tent (inside the house), telling each other their life stories. He realizes that even though they’ve been together all night, he hasn’t given her “a proper kiss.” They smooch while Dawson mopes on the beach.
Thoughts: Why in the world would you want to date a guy who screwed over your friend? Especially when that screwing over was in the form of sleeping with someone else, exactly like your father did to your mother?
I either never knew who M2M were or I blocked them from my memory. Either way, I’m good with it.
Joey, why are you wearing jeans on the beach? And not sitting on a towel? Are you familiar with sand?
Dear Charlie, you are creepy.
July 21, 2012
Dawson’s Creek 5.18, Cigarette Burns: Let’s Go to the Movies
Putting the “WHAAAAAAT?” in “whatever”
Summary: Joey watches Dawson’s movie in his attic room and tries to pretend it didn’t make her cry. She tells Dawson that the movie is really good and she was crying because she’s excited that he’s finally realizing his dream. She was also impressed by Charlie’s acting. Joey thinks Charlie was just a jerk to Jen because he was afraid. Oliver arrives and comments that Dawson seems to have moved on from Jen already. Also, he wants to screen the movie at school the next day.
Dawson objects to the screening, but the next day, Oliver is still confident about it. Dawson thinks the movie’s too long and needs a lot more work. Oliver disagrees, even though there appears to be some unplanned nudity on Charlie’s part. He thinks Dawson’s displacing his feelings over his breakup. Then he asks if Dawson would be okay with him asking Jen out.
Pacey and Audrey have sex at Danny’s place (Danny and Emily are on vacation), and he’s suddenly curious about how many other guys she’s slept with. Instead of answering, she turns the question around, and he says she’s the seventh. She tells him he doesn’t want to know her number. Pacey’s shocked that her number is that high.
At Grams’, Dawson confides in Jen that he’s nervous about the screening. They’re awkward with each other, and she says it’s okay if they don’t know how to act right now. He appreciates the familiarity of talking to her; she doesn’t think that has to change. Audrey bugs Joey for her opinion on the movie, and Joey assures her that she and Charlie were both great. Audrey notices that Joey is trying to make herself look nice.
Audrey mentions asking Pacey how many people he’s slept with. Joey thinks she should be honest with him, even if he’s insecure. Then she says it depends on the number. In the car on the way to the screening, Pacey tells Audrey that at this point in their relationship, they should start defining things. She blurts out that she’s slept with 27 men and he crashes the car.
Jen is surprised when a man named Clifton Smalls comes to the house to meet Grams for the screening. He knows all about Jen, Jack (“the homosexual!”), and Dawson. Jen quickly realizes that Grams and Clifton are dating. (Oh, and to prove how far Grams has come over the years, Clifton is black.) Jen interrogates her grandmother’s boyfriend but can’t find anything about him to object to.
As Dawson sets up for the screening, he overhears a woman yelling at someone on the phone. She’s in the midst of being dumped by her boyfriend. They chat about a professor, and the woman tells Dawson he must be in the middle of his pretentious phase. As an example, she guesses that Dawson tells people Run Lola Run is his favorite movie of the past few years, but it’s not really. The woman introduces herself as Amy Lloyd, a film critic there to review the movie.
Joey and Charlie flirt and wind up sitting together at the screening. She tells him she prefers him when he’s not trying so hard. Pacey unsuccessfully pretends he’s okay with the number of guys Audrey’s been with. Dawson confronts Oliver for bringing a critic to the screening, but he’s unapologetic. Amy’s impatient and tells the two of them to start the movie already. Oliver figures out that Dawson ticked her off and sends him to make things right.
Dawson quickly apologizes to Amy, admitting that he probably would have sucked up if he’d known who she was. He wins her over by flirting and complimenting her reviews, which he reads every week. She suggests going to the coffee shop where he always reads her reviews. Audrey pulls Joey away from Charlie to tell her that if Pacey asks, she slept with 27 people. “Rock and roll!” interjects someone who overhears. Joey orders her to be honest.
Charlie and Joey flirt more, and he lets her know he’s interested. He wants her to see him the way he wants her to see him (got that?) in the movie. She tells him she’s amused by how smooth he thinks he is, when the reality is that everything he’s thinking is all over his face. For instance, right now Charlie’s thinking that Joey’s hot and he wants to take her out. He corrects that he actually wants to take her to the bathroom and have sex. Joey quickly splits.
Pacey tells Jack how much he likes Audrey, but how the things she says sometimes surprise him too much. She pops up to tell him she slept with 57 guys, which makes him do a spit take. Oliver nervously tries to tell Jen that he likes her, but she cuts him off by telling him that it’s unlikely anything will happen between them. He predicts that she’ll come to see him differently.
Jen next encounters Joey, who wants to talk about boys. She’s conflicted by being interested in someone who’s charming on the outside but a loser on the inside. Jen tells her about Clifton, saying that no matter how many losers the two of them date, there could be a guy like Clifton somewhere down the road. Joey notes that that’s a long way in the future.
Amy asks Dawson to convince her why she should see his movie. He gives her a few reasons, then admits that he doesn’t think it’s done. He gives her a quick rundown of the past year of his life, saying that the movie may not be about his life, but he put everything he has into it. Amy says she’d like to see a film that contains that much “passion and heartbreak.” As they start to leave, she spots her ex-boyfriend and asks Dawson to kiss her. Too bad that wasn’t her ex.
Back at the screening, Pacey tells Audrey that he knew before they started dating that she’d been with other guys, but his insecurities shouldn’t be hers. She tells him her real number is five. (She does more making out than anything so she can find the right guy.) Audrey apologizes for lying and admits that she has her own fears and insecurities. She just needed to hear Pacey say he likes her no matter what.
Dawson and Amy talk about ending relationships, and he tells her that making the movie helped him keep his life together. She’s worried that he’s wasted his time and the movie sucks. Amy promises that she’ll be honest, and either way, he might get to kiss her again. Dawson admits that he loves Road House. They finally make it back to the screening, to Oliver’s delight.
As Joey watches Grams and Clifton, smiling at their happiness, Charlie approaches her to ask a favor. She asks if he’s the jerk or the nice guy right now. He tells her he really does want to ask her out, but she makes him nervous. He really wants to be the nice guy, not the jerk. His favor is for Joey to let him sit with her during the movie and possibly give him another chance. She does.
Oliver does some eye-flirting with Jen, who seems to be a mixture of embarrassed and flattered but won’t tell Jack why. Dawson introduces the movie with a lot of disclaimers, saying that it’s a “labor of love” put together by a lot of talented people. Even if it’s never viewed again, it will always be a snapshot of who they all were when it was made.
Thoughts: Okay, I’ll bite – why is this episode called “Cigarette Burns”?
TWO HOURS AND 45 MINUTES?? Shut up, Dawson.
When did he find time to do all the post-production, anyway? This episode aired just two months after “Guerilla Filmmaking,” when they finished filming. We’ve seen him working on the movie exactly zero times since then.
I liked that someone overheard Joey and Audrey. On TV, people are always having private conversations in public, loudly enough for anyone to hear them, but no one ever does.
Oliver was annoying before, but now he’s a sweet little dork.
How do I hate Amy? Let me count the ways…
June 23, 2012
Dawson’s Creek 5.14, Guerilla Filmmaking: It’s In His Kiss
Okay, calm down, Dawson
Summary: Audrey and Oliver are drinking and making out, but it’s only for his movie. She stops the scene, complaining to Dawson that her character’s actions don’t make sense. He tells her to work through the subtext. Pacey’s putting in time with a boom mic, and Jen is way too excited to be some sort of production assistant.
Joey’s in class, where Professor Wilder is talking about how conflict makes stories intense. He asks for a real-life example and Joey starts to give one about a guy, but doesn’t get through it before the class ends. She tells him afterward that class was uncomfortable, though it seems to me she could solve that problem by dropping the class. He tells her that whenever she’s ready, he’d like to prove to her that he’s not creepy. (Good luck there.)
Audrey goes to the restaurant and wonders if Pacey, who’s already in the kitchen, spend the night there. (He did, with some one-night fling named Rina.) Jack’s uncomfortable at the frat house, and Eric tells him to stop stressing over it. Dawson watches dailies in his attic room and complains to Jen that something isn’t right with the movie. The ending doesn’t work, but they only have 12 hours to rewrite it because they have to return their rented lights soon. Oh, and Oliver can’t act.
Dawson tries to break this to Oliver gently when he arrives, and though Oliver disagrees, he wants Dawson to have final say on everything as the director. He notes that they only have a day to recast the role. They need someone hot, sexy, and charismatic. Jen laughs, thinking of Charlie, and Dawson sends her to get him.
Joey tries to talk to Audrey about Wilder, but Audrey thinks they’re talking about Pacey. Joey doesn’t want to become a Wilder groupie, though Audrey and I agree that the ship has already sailed on that. He’s definitely no longer just the mentor Joey used to think he was. She considers dropping Wilder’s class, since the alternative is obsessing over a guy she can’t be with. Audrey tells her to appreciate how alive her emotions are making her feel.
Jack and Eric end up alone at the frat house, drinking and playing video games. Jen runs lines with Charlie for his audition; she’s clearly uncomfortable but he’s good. Oliver asks Dawson if he’s okay with working with his girlfriend’s ex. Dawson’s more concerned with rewriting the ending of the movie. Eric and Jack talk about Jack’s sexuality, as well as their differing opinions over the movie Notting Hill. Eric mentions his admiration for Jack’s openness, and things turn uncomfortable.
Wilder spots Joey talking to herself outside her house; she’s been trying to figure out what to say to him. She starts with, “I’m sorry you kissed me.” She doesn’t want an apology from him, though. She wants them to shake hands and part ways, then avoid each other forever. Wilder isn’t disappointed to hear that Joey’s dropping his class, which she finds insulting. He tells her he just means that she’ll be fine with or without his class. Now she doesn’t want to leave.
Pacey helps Audrey run lines in her room, though she’s not so much reciting as trying to seduce him. They start making out, but Audrey quickly puts the brakes on and says going further would be wrong. “Do you have any notes?” she asks. The filming begins again, but Audrey has a problem with Charlie’s kissing. (Pacey has a problem with it, too, but in a different way.) Audrey finally blurts that the setting is unprofessional, it’s too much with Pacey there, and he’s horrible with the boom.
Joey and Wilder hang out awkwardly in his house, discussing how inappropriate the situation is. She thinks this is the perfect example of an internal conflict that would serve a story well. They almost kiss again, but they’re interrupted when Joey gets a phone call summoning her. She starts to leave, but comes back to kiss Wilder.
At the frat house, a couple of Jack’s brothers tell him they know what happened: Eric said Jack tried to kiss him. Jack’s offended that they would accuse him of something he would never do. He knows the brothers won’t believe him no matter what he says anyway. He announces that he’s moving out. Pacey tells Dawson that Audrey’s having a rough time because the two of them kissed. Charlie makes things worse by trying to offer up script notes. Jen flips out.
Joey arrives, and Dawson sends her and Pacey to get Audrey from her hiding place in the bathroom. Then he asks Jen to leave since her fury at Charlie is getting in the way. Jen’s sad that she can’t stay to clap the marker. Pacey admits his and Audrey’s kiss to Joey, who would rather see the two of them get together than hook up with randoms. She tells both of them she wants them to be happy, and a relationship might be a good idea.
Jack packs up to leave the frat house (apparently he only has a bagful of belongings), first telling Eric that they both know what really happened, and he hopes Eric gets help to deal with whatever’s going on with him. The film shoot moves outside as Joey tells Dawson she’s fixed his latest crisis. She asks if the movie has a happy ending. (It doesn’t: The protagonist kills his love interest.)
Dawson wishes he could still be his old “embarrassing romantic” self and bring some hope to the movie. Joey shares that she once read the words “hope dies last” on a bus station bench. She thinks she might be the sign Dawson’s waiting for that things will be okay. Jen sees Jack sitting on a bench downtown and is shocked that he’s taken up smoking. She asks what’s happened to him. He can barely remember when they were friends. But there’s hope: She loved Notting Hill.
Oliver finally agrees that the end of the movie sucks. Dawson tells Audrey to forget everything she’s done up until now and make her character as honest as she’s ever been. He plans to shoot the final scene in one shot. He’s so proud of himself that he can’t stop giggling. In the movie, Charlie’s character arrives to kill Audrey’s. She apologizes, saying she had no choice but to act the way she did. The current moment is the best because she’s with him.
Audrey continues blathering bad dialogue (seriously, Oliver, you suck as a writer, too) about how you need to enjoy the current moment, and how you can’t win or lose in life. Suddenly it starts snowing, which makes Audrey start laughing. Dawson keeps filming, and the scene ends with Audrey and Charlie walking off together happily.
Later, Pacey and Audrey try to talk about where they stand. She tells him he’s not her type, then kisses him. He’s confused, so she explains that she was trying to convince herself that they’re not right for each other. It’s obviously not working. Joey walks home alone, pausing to use a snowball to pretend she’s a baseball pitcher. To be continued…
Thoughts: I bet Wilder’s students are thrilled that they’re paying thousands of dollars to have him tell them their writing needs conflict. Shut up, Wilder.
Suddenly Joe’s this amazing writer? Uh, okay.
Yeah, Wilder, Joey’s instincts are really top-notch. Stop encouraging her.
I’m so glad I don’t live in a world where I have to make sure Joey Potter approves of all my relationships, or where I feel the need to apologize when I kiss a guy she used to be involved with.
I know the next episode picks up where this one left off (and is also really dumb), but I don’t think the “to be continued” is really necessary.
June 17, 2012
Dawson’s Creek 5.13, Something Wilder: Like New
Yeah, sorry, I just don’t have the urge to make out with this guy
Summary: Jen gives Dawson some school supplies to celebrate his first day at the Boston film school. Included is an ET Trapper Keeper, which is totally appropriate for a college student. She’s way too excited for him. In Joey’s room, she and creepy Elliot discuss Professor Wilder’s book; he thinks she only likes it because she has a crush on the author. He asks her to go out that weekend and she accepts. Audrey teases Joey about her new guy, though Joey tries to downplay their relationship.
Jen delivers Jack’s mail to him at the frat house, where all the guys stare at her. She’s read one of his letters and confronts him about being on academic probation. Jack doesn’t seem to think it’s a big deal. At Dawson’s new school, he runs into Oliver and has to stand there while Oliver insults various classmates.
Audrey calls in to Jen’s radio show to complain about guys who ask for your phone number, then never call you. (Apparently this isn’t the first time she’s called in.) Jen tells her to stop being negative and nurture love. Jack mentions his academic probation to his frat brother Blossom, who warns that if he doesn’t raise his grades, the frat won’t be very supportive. Oliver gives Dawson a script he’s just written and asks him to direct it.
At Worthington, Elliot continues to be weird. Professor Wilder tells Joey that the Rose project is officially over, so they’re all going out to celebrate on Friday. She doesn’t realize until too late that that’s the same night as her date with Elliot. Dawson tells Jen he’s not going to direct Oliver’s script, partly because he wants to do his own stuff and partly because he doesn’t want to make a commitment to a film right now. Jen thinks he should go for it since he obviously likes the script.
Pacey goes by Worthington to pick Audrey up for work and learns about Joey having two dates in one night. (Audrey thinks the evening with Professor Wilder could “end up with date-like circumstances.” Joey says her only reason to choose that option would be for her academic career. Audrey doesn’t think she has the guts for that. She also wonders if Joey’s ready for a committed relationship. Joey says she is, and Audrey replies that that means she’ll be going out with Elliot.
Jack is starting to turn his grades around, so Blossom apologizes for jumping on him. He suggests that they party that night to celebrate Jack’s accomplishment. Oliver already has a preliminary shooting schedule for his film, but Dawson tells him he can’t direct. He does give the advice that he doesn’t think Oliver needs flashbacks in the movie. Oliver uses this as an in to get Dawson to discuss the movie more.
Jen goes to Pacey’s restaurant to complain about a meeting with her producer in which she was told that she’s lost her edge. She’ll be canceled if she doesn’t go back to the way she was before she was so happy with Dawson. “Nobody likes happy people,” Pacey agrees. Jen asks him to say something horrible to get her back to her sarcastic mindset. However, when Dawson calls, she calls him her “little pumpkin” in a baby voice, which isn’t good for anyone.
Joey pulls the stupid brush-off technique of telling Elliot she doesn’t feel well, so she has to postpone their date. Jen tries to get her edge back and ends up yelling at Dawson for making her happy and boring. He just laughs and calls her cute. Jen’s happy again when she hears that he might do the movie, and she reluctantly agrees to let Oliver come to dinner with them so the guys can talk business.
Jack and Eric drink at Pacey’s restaurant’s bar, which I’m sure all the frat guys frequent. Eric is still annoying and doesn’t help Jack feel better. Joey goes to dinner with Wilder and her classmates, afterward walking back to campus with Wilder. They discuss his book and who the characters were based on. Dawson, Jen, and Oliver go to dinner at a diner, but no one’s really listening to Jen.
Joey thinks one of the characters in Wilder’s book is based on his wife, who he admits doesn’t exist. She questions him about why he broke up with the girl he based his leading lady on. He says she was crazy, and as you get older, you no longer want someone crazy. Oliver decides that his and Dawson’s creative relationship isn’t going to work, so Dawson’s fired (though he was never hired to begin with).
Joey and Wilder get coffee and chat about Dawson in front of a green-screen Boston harbor scene. She laments that the nice guys never give you butterflies; she only gets them over people she shouldn’t. Then they kiss, because they’re both idiots. “I’m going to go to prison, aren’t I?” Wilder asks when he realizes what just happened. They quickly split up and Joey tries to take things back to some level of appropriateness by calling him Professor.
Blossom tries to make nice with Jack, who’s drunk and angry that his frat brothers don’t really care about his problems. Blossom admits that the house comes before anything else. He taunts Jack for getting emotional and says it’s “like talking to a chick.” Jack’s ready to make things physical, but Eric, Pacey, and Audrey keep the two guys apart. Blossom says that it wasn’t worth bringing Jack into the frat since he hasn’t made them look any better. Jack hits him and ends up accidentally breaking some glasses and cutting his hand.
Joey returns to her dorm to find a care package Elliot left for her. She feels bad, as she should. Dawson tells Jen that he could have handled dinner with Oliver better; Oliver’s annoying, but he has a great script and a lot of passion. Jen clearly couldn’t care less about the movie talk. Dawson thinks that directing someone else’s work would be a good challenge, and he should apologize. Jen blows up at him for not listening to her, then realizes that her edge is back.
Joey announces to Audrey that she kissed Wilder and dumped Elliot. She didn’t want to stop kissing Wilder, but she got scared. She came to Worthington to become a different person, but she hasn’t been able to. Audrey wonders why she wants to be someone new when she’s good enough as she is. She advises Joey to seize new opportunities because she might not get them again. Speaking of not being a new person, Jen’s back to her old self on the radio.
Jack gives Pacey money to repair damages from the fight, and Pacey asks what he’s doing to himself. He’s been in Jack’s position and knows he’s scared to be in academic trouble. He doesn’t get why Jack is goofing off just so he can hang out with the guys who attacked him and left him at the restaurant the night before. Jack won’t answer Pacey’s questions of whether it’s worth it.
Dawson finds Oliver on campus and apologizes for going overboard. He thinks part of him was trying to sabotage the movie so he wouldn’t have to accept a challenge. Oliver guesses that Dawson also doesn’t want to face being down after the project’s over. He warns him not to coast through life just so he doesn’t have to feel anything bad. Dawson agrees to direct the film but wants to know why Oliver isn’t doing it. Oliver admits that he wants to be the movie’s star.
Thoughts: Super-happy Jen scares me. It’s like she’s on drugs. And not even good drugs. (Not that there are good drugs. Just say no, kids!)
Really, the two-plans-for-the-same-night plot? Freaking A, Joey, get a backbone and tell Elliot you have to take a rain check.
I don’t think it’s so much that Wilder lied about being married as it is that the writers forgot they established him as married, and when they decided they wanted to hook him up with Joey, they had to backtrack.
Also, I still don’t get all the Wilder love. That’s the guy all the girls at Worthington are in love with? I don’t see it.
May 5, 2012
Dawson’s Creek 5.8, Hotel New Hampshire: It Took Five Years, But Dawson’s Finally Gotten Some
I know, weird, right?!
Summary: Dawson visits Pacey on his boat and confides that he doesn’t know what he’s going to do with his life. The only thing he’s sure about is not going back to USC. Pacey tells him to take his time. He also notes that he’s never known what to do with his life, and now he’s found a job he likes. He tells Dawson about his attraction to Karen but doesn’t want to bother him with details. Dawson knows Pacey will help her even if there’s drama.
Joey and Jen study at Grams’, taking a break to discuss Jack and the upcoming frat formal. Jen doesn’t want to go, so Joey figures she’ll wind up as Jack’s date. She asks Jen how Dawson is, which surprises Jen. She says he’s better and is seeing a therapist. Joey’s having a hard time not helping him, but she’s happy Jen is there in her place. Jack’s frat has a meeting about the formal, which is mostly an excuse for the guys to hook up with hot girls. One of the brothers encourages Jack to bring some Worthington girls for them. He agrees, and a guy named Eric calls dibs on one.
Pacey goes back to Karen’s and asks her out, calling their potential date a “trial run” for a drama-free relationship. She doesn’t really want to accept, but he wears her down with his charm. Dawson has a session with Dr. Weir, telling her about the chat he had with Pacey. He feels like his friends are seeing him as someone breakable instead of the person they knew before. Dr. Weir brings up the film festival he unknowingly won and encourages him to take a friend and go to it.
Jen gets a visit from Nora and tells her she thinks she’s finally over Charlie. Nora admits that she feels herself giving in to his efforts to get her back. She doesn’t realize that Jen hasn’t also been getting love letters and pleas for forgiveness. Jen claims she doesn’t care, but she winds up crying to Dawson that she wants the same treatment Nora’s getting from Charlie. Dawson invites her to take a break from her life by accompanying him to New Hampshire.
Jack has also convinced Audrey to go to the formal, and she’s more excited about it than Joey is. As the guys pick them up, Dawson checks in at the film festival and gets gushing praise for his movie. His screening is sold out, which is ticking off a guy named Oliver Chirchick. Jen is mistaken for Dawson’s girlfriend, and she decides to have some fun with that, even if it means sharing a love-themed hotel room.
The Sigma brothers approve of Jack’s female offerings, though Jack wants to keep that quiet. He tells Joey that Jen won’t be there since she and Dawson went away for the weekend. Joey’s surprised but not worried. Pacey takes Karen out to dinner and they seem to have a good time. He tells her she deserves better than to be Danny’s mistress.
Dawson and Jen see Oliver’s movie (Smoke Crack and Worship Satan), which is so good that Dawson doesn’t get how he won the top prize. Jen and her ridiculous hat think he’s undermining himself. Oliver warns Dawson that his movie better be good; the winning movie usually has a unique vision, and he doesn’t want to lose to a “Hollywood slickster.” Then he sees Jen and tells her she’s pretty.
Pacey walks Karen home and notes that she isn’t smoking. She says she only smokes when she’s nervous or annoyed. He’s pleased that she’s neither right now; in fact, she was pleasant all night. He gives her flirty compliments and she tells him she had a great time, which makes him happy. Pacey goes to kiss her on the cheek, but she turns it into a makeout session, which they take into her apartment.
Dawson’s movie gets lots of applause. The head of the festival reveals that Mitch sent him a letter praising the film and asking him not to keep it out of the festival even though it was submitted late. Dawson reaches for Jen’s hand. He accepts his prize but finds it hard to say anything. He winds up talking about Mitch’s love of movies, which rubbed off on Dawson. He dedicates the movie to Mitch, saying he’ll think of him every time he looks at the prize. He adds a special thank-you to Jen.
At the formal, Audrey’s incredibly bored by a drunk Eric, who tells Jack she’s “all tease and no please.” Joey overhears Jack assuring Eric that Audrey’s easy and will definitely hook up with him. She gives Jack a disgusted look and walks away. Karen’s smoking now and tells Pacey that having sex with him doesn’t change anything: “This was a mistake. You’re not worth what I’m risking.” He asks her why she risked it, then figures out that it was to get back at Danny.
Dawson and Jen attend a post-festival party, where Oliver admits that Dawson’s movie was great. He learns that Dawson dropped out of USC and encourages him to visit his own college in Boston. Jen approaches, and it looks like Dawson is seeing her in a different way now. She tells Oliver his movie was great and he replies that she’s still really pretty. He adds that Jen and Dawson make a great couple.
Joey confronts Jack about his comments, which he points out are no different than from what she used to say about Audrey. Joey notes that she knows Audrey better now. She hates the jerk Jack has turned into. It’s like he was just waiting to come to Boston so he could dump his high school friends and make new ones. Jack says he feels at home there. He no longer has to worry about anyone else.
Joey accuses him of hiding and pushing his real friends away in favor of “wannabe pimps.” He mocks her for saying he doesn’t live up to her “standards of righteousness.” She corrects that she’s talking about common decency. Jack points out that everyone at the formal is having a good time; no one’s forcing anyone else to be there. Joey realizes that she has no reason not to leave.
Dawson’s feeling good about the evening; tonight was the first time in a while that he hasn’t felt guilty about Mitch. He thanks Jen for helping him. Jen thanks him back for restoring her faith in men. They discuss their past dramas, and Dawson says he thinks the two of them didn’t work out because Jen was never attracted to him. She just thought he was safe. Jen calls his bluff by kissing him. And then they do the same thing Pacey and Karen just did.
The next morning, Dawson tells Jen he’s pleased with the way his first sexual experience went. Pacey goes to work early to tell Danny he quits. He confirms that it’s about Karen, blasting Danny for putting him in the middle of his relationship issues. Danny announces that Karen already quit. He apologizes for the position he put Pacey in and says he can take his job back if he wants.
Jack comes by Joey and Audrey’s room to apologize, and Audrey easily forgives him. Jack is having a hard time bringing two groups of friends together. Joey feels bad for judging. She always thought she had an open mind, but now that she’s living in a big city, she has more to learn than she expected. Jack needs his frat, and his friends need to learn to accept that. Jack says he has to be less extreme.
Pacey meets up with Karen outside the restaurant, and she tells him she doesn’t regret what happened with them. He forced her to make a decision she should have made a long time ago. Pacey encourages her to give herself a chance, but Karen wants to do something new. Despite his best efforts, Pacey couldn’t save her from herself. Karen advises him to stick with Danny since he’s good at what he does.
Jen and Dawson pack to go home, but she thinks they need to have a talk. She feels awkward and doesn’t want to risk their friendship. Dawson clearly doesn’t see this as a big deal. Though he doesn’t know what will happen next, he’s ready for whatever comes, even if things have to change. Jen agrees that she’s ready, too. She doesn’t want to leave just yet, so Dawson says they don’t have to.
Thoughts: I think they only set this episode in New Hampshire so they could use the title. I mean, who cares about a film festival in New Hampshire? There were barely 50 people there.
The Jen/Dawson hook-up is so random. Yeah, yeah, emotional distress, gratitude, blah blah blah, but come on.
Eric is played by Ryan Bittle, who was Todd on the Sweet Valley High TV show. He’s definitely not as hot as Todd is supposed to be.
Audrey, we need to have a talk about your crimped hair.
Don’t most film festivals award prizes after all the screenings, instead of before the whole festival? I guess I’m thinking of the big ones like Cannes, but that’s probably because people vote, so of course they have to watch the films first.
Dawson talking about Mitch and sharing his love of movies is really sweet. It’s nice to find out where Dawson’s movie appreciation came from.
'90s Flashback 