5 Things that Dawson’s Creek Did Right
After much deliberation, here’s Part II of our “5 Things” installment. To refresh, we posted the wrong things about the Creek earlier this week. Now without further delay, here are our favorite things (or at least our top 5)…
1. Joey & Pacey. This was a no brain-er for us. These Cupcakes are probably the biggest Pacey/Joey fans around. In the beginning, we watched them bicker constantly. Occasionally though, there were glimmers of a real friendship (taking her to see her dad) and a split second attraction (i.e. Double Date). They had a lot in common. Pacey was the black sheep in his family and Joey was the girl with the dad in prison, the dead mom, and the sister pregnant by her black boyfriend. They were underdogs. Season 2, both were in different relationships and had their own struggles to deal with. And then Season 3 came along…
Joey and Pacey grudgingly turned to each other, formed a very close friendship, and slowly began to fall for one another. There was a lot of cheering when Pacey finally kissed Joey (and laughter at the meltdown that followed).
Their chemistry was undeniable. (And even this many years later, still adds up. Josh and Katie should have gotten married, people!) Their relationship was a partnership, centered in reality - not this larger than life fantasy. They constantly challenged each other to do better, be better. Not once did we see them hold each other back. Unlike Joey and Dawson, we were able to see this couple grow … separately and together again. A grown-up relationship.
2. Jack and Jen’s friendship. Here’s the thing… Jen comes in and steals Dawson from Joey. Everyone is mad. Joey gets Dawson. Downward spiral Jen. Here comes Jack. He’s awkward and weird. He kisses Joey. He steals Joey from Dawson. Dawson spiral. What gives these the right to mess with the golden couple? Well, it’s TV. And both these situations led to the Jen and Jack friendship (“keep fighting for your lost causes!”). She stopped being a drunk whore. And he finally had someone on his team.
It was sorta precious. Everyone wants a gay best friend. She finally had a guy in her life she could count on. He helped her get into college. She helped him crawl out of his shell and meet guys. It just worked. Other than Pacey and Joey, these two were probably the second best pairing out of the show. (Although, how heartbreaking was their kiss? For a moment you wanted things to be different so it could work out.) In the end, Jack said it best - Jen was his soul-mate, they belonged to each other.
3. Evolution of characters.
Pacey: He was supposed to be Dawson’s sidekick, the comic relief. Sure, Pacey was also a troublemaker. He had an affair with his teacher. (But hey, she got him to do this homework!) He was ostracized by his entire family for being a “failure”. The guy, as Dawson once drunkenly put it, that made him feel good about his life because Pacey’s life was supposed to be worse.
It is no wonder these Cupcakes (and everyone else) rooted for the underdog. Mr. Witter had a steady record of helping the characters on the show, and making them feel better. He stood by Andie when her mental health deteriorated. He fought on Jack’s behalf when his darkest secret was about to become public knowledge. He built Bessie a business for her B&B. He bought Joey a wall. He acted as a confidante to both Dawson and Jen.
He wasn’t supposed to get the girl or get out of Capeside. But in the end, he got both.
Jen: She came to Capeside with baggage. While she tried to start her life with a clean slate, all her demons reappeared in Season 2. Jen was a character that never really knew herself… she was a mess a lot of time (Abby Morgan, a threesome?!) and we were never sure if we loved her, hated her, or just felt sorry for her. She made her own share of mistakes, tried her best to figure out why she was the way she was. With a little help from her friends (and Grams), viewers saw a character grow, and mess up - in a truly honest way.
Grams: When we think about Grams, we remember her as the woman who took Jack into her home, drove all night so that Jen could fix her relationship with Henry, and told us that you know you love someone when you can spend the entire night watching them sleep by the fire. It’s easy to forget that at one point she described Joey and Dawson as heathens and was called a borderline racist by Bessie.
In the beginning, she was a one-dimensional character - the strict, close-minded grandmother. As the show progressed, we saw a softer side. She was a tough ally (for all the characters), and a true romantic. Funnily enough, Grams was a solid adult the kids could always count on.
4. The guest stars! A few of our favorites: Ali Larter (Kristy Livingstone) during Season 2: Pacey’s eye candy. Roswell’s Jason Behr as bad boy, Chris Wolfe in Season 2 (how great was “The All Nighter” episode?). Rachel Leigh Cook (Devon) in Season 2. First a nude model in Joey’s art class, and then the actress playing Joey (err.. Sam) in Dawson’s new movie. Jerry Maguire cutie, Jonathan Lipnicki (Buzz) as Pacey’s “little brother” Season 3. Glee’s Jane Lynch played Pacey’s mom during Season 4 (who knew?!). One Tree Hill’s Chad Michael Murray as Charlie, love interest of Jen and Joey during Season 5 (liked his shaggy hair!) Can’t forget as Mimi Rogers as Jen’s mom and Andy Griffith as Mr. Brook’s friend. (FF: This is kind of a personal favorite but Harve Presnell, who played Mr. Brooks, was the lead in my absolute favorite musical as a child, The Unsinkable Molly Brown! He was quite handsome!)
5. The season finale. It was a fitting finale, it really was. Perfect? No. But satisfying. First, good call on getting Kevin Williamson to come back to write the finale (WE MISSED YOU KEVIN!). It certainly had the same feel as the first two seasons. The right mixture of comedy and drama.
Skipping a few years into the future worked really well, especially since we had had just enough of college by the end of Season 6. (Loved that scene in the bar where they are reminiscing and drinking.) It was also nice that they managed to have a full reunion with all the main characters (even if some of the scenes ended up as bonus ones.)
And we can’t forget the ending. Pacey and Joey, together. Dawson and Joey, friends. Jack adopting Jen’s daughter. Dawson’s show is a success and he’s about to meet Spielburg. Couldn’t have ended much better.
Honorable mentions:
