Dawson's Creek - 313 - Northern Lights

Original air date: January 26, 2000

Well, the last time we left off, the gang came together to help out Joey with her sister's B&B. Only hers, Bessie who? Anyway, this week Andie's play is debuting with Pacey as the star. Will the gang band together to support them? Probably not but let's find out, shall we?

We open the episode at Joey's house again. So, is Joey's house the new Dawson's house for openers this season? I am not really objecting to this because it means less Dawson. Also, only Joey and Pacey are in this scene so this episode is looking up already. They are practicing for Pacey's big play and it's sweet that Joey is helping him out. She stops wanting to help when they get to a lovey dovey scene in the play. Pacey protests because he doesn't know his lines yet and Joey says this:

Joey: Sorry, Master Thespian, but the whole next page consists solely of cooing, tickling and lap-sitting -- three things definitely not in my range as an actress.

This is an extremely accurate assessment of Katie's acting talents on this show as well. She normally only excels at surly, snarky, and petulant. Thankfully, the charisma of Joshua Jackson brings out the niceness in her otherwise I probably wouldn't have been sold on Joey and Pacey.

Joey mentions that she can't go to his opening show and Pacey looks crushed which gives me feels because no one should crush Pacey like that. She explains that she's going out to a party to see the northern lights with AJ, the annoying jerk she met at college tours who magically became not jerky because Joey is awesome or something. I really don't get the appeal, especially when she has Pacey like right there but whatever. Pacey protests and claims that "college guy" is just making up the fact that you might be able to see the Northern Lights in Capeside to get into her pants. Or as he referred to them as "Potter pantaloons."

I love alliteration, sue me. And how do you not giggle at the word "pantaloon?"

Joey rudely says that she'd rather take her chances on stupid AJ and his northern lights party then go support her friend on his opening night because she's kind of a shitty friend sometimes. On top of that, you usually have to wait until really late to see the Northern Lights, so why can't she see his play and then go to the party? Right, because the writers need conflict in any way they can manufacture it.

The next day, Dawson asks Joey what she thinks about his decision to drop film class even though he had to beg and grovel his way in. Joey tells him he'll be bored in study hall which is even dumber because he dropped a class that would help him in his career, not to broaden his horizons but to sit around in what is essentially a spare period. Is study hall an actual thing in American schools? We just had spares where you could go to the library and study or you could do literally anything else that's more fun, like hang out and play games in the cafeteria. We were never forced to sit in a class and study. That seems stupid. Kendra, the Film dream Slayer, walks up to them and calls Dawson insane for dropping film class. Joey cuts out so that Kendra can yell at Dawson some more.

Well, this is awkward

Kendra asks Dawson what's up and if his weird behaviour has anything to do with the film festival. I don't get why she thinks that because he stayed in film class after the festival, he dropped it after their conversation where she said that if your only interest is movies, then you'll end up making movies about movies. Dawson claims he just needs to recharge his batteries but it sounds like he's just quitting to me. You can find other interests while still keeping up with your main passion, Dawson.

She berates him for not giving her a heads up which I was going to find weird until she drops the bombshell that apparently, they were partners in film class and they have to pitch a feature length film  in their class together. I've said this a thousand times already but I'll say it again, Dawson is a douche! Way to leave her in the lurch, asshole. His response is basically a snide comment about how their teacher will probably get her an extension and another partner anyway and that she probably has the assignment finished anyway. She does but he's still a douche for just assuming she'd be ok with being ditched to do the project by herself, and the pitch is in front of the class. I hate public speaking so if I was ditched last minute to do an oral presentation by myself, I'd be super pissed. Dawson shows some insight by saying he doesn't have any ideas for the project anyway but Kendra ruins it by saying this:

Can people stop going on about how creative and original
Dawson is when he clearly isn't?

Oh, fuck you!

At play rehearsal, Pacey is having trouble remembering his lines and Andie is freaking out because Mr. Broderick is a no show. Jack comes in and takes Andie away to show her that Mr. Broderick is in the nurse's office with a possible case of kidney stones. He asks Andie to take over for him but she freaks out that she can't do everything by herself. Jack volunteers to help and Mr. Broderick passes his director's binder to her, telling her it's been her show all along. He then says this:

Mr. Broderick: It's yours now. And as the house lights fall over that magic place we call the theater, all I ask is that you give pause for a fleeting moment... and think of me.

Jack's reaction to this line is priceless

Jen is trying to catch up with Henry who is literally running away from her which is weird because I thought that they were friends now and he seemed totally cool last episode. As it turns out, he's avoiding her because he thinks she's trying to cancel dinner with him. Jen says she isn't but that she does need to postpone their dinner because she wants to support Pacey on his opening night. See? Jen is a much better friend than Jeoy, she's actually willing to change her plans to support Pacey. But in the show's universe, her doing this is bad because it means she's avoiding Henry. This is Dawson's Creek, where the only relationships that matter are boyfriend/girlfriend relationships. Le sigh. Henry claims to be ok with the play thing and asks to go with her so that could be their date instead. Jen reluctantly agrees.

Bessie is trying to get Joey ready for her date and comes at her with an eyelash curler.

I like Joey this season, she's actually funny

Pacey arrives at the Potter's because he is freaking out about his bad read through. I barely hear their conversation because I was too busy aww'ing about the fact that when Pacey is stressed, he goes to Joey for help and she immediately tries to calm him down. She apologizes and says she sucks for not being there for him for his opening show. Pacey agrees that she sucks but tells her that she can get back into his good books if she agrees to attend the after party, he also points out that she'll probably need a shoulder to cry on anyway because the Northern Lights thing won't pan out which sounds awful but somehow Pacey makes it adorable and Joey (and I) chuckle a bit and agrees to try and make it to his party. Bessie comes into the room to announce AJ's arrival and this happens:

Awww, poor Bessie...I still laughed though

Pacey begs Joey to reconsider and bail on AJ and it breaks my heart because it's obvious to the viewer that Pacey likes her and we want to see him with her. He then warns her that the first thing AJ will do is pay her a lame compliment about how incredible she looks and it's a testament to how good an actor Joshua is that he can go from spouting diatribe about what a player AJ is and then flip to absolute honesty when he pays Joey the compliment. Anyway, he continues listen things that AJ will probably do, such as help her put her coat on and take the first opportunity he can at the party to get her alone. AJ arrives and indeed pays Joey a compliment and helps her put her coat on.

Can we skip AJ and just get right to these two making out?

At the party, AJ baffles me by first offering Joey a drink and then taking it away because it's alcoholic. I think the writers were going for him being gallant for not trying to get underage Joey drunk but then why the hell did he offer the drink to her in the first place? When the sky clouds over and the rest of the party starts to head inside, Joey wants to follow suit but AJ, as Pacey predicted, asks her to go for a walk with him. Joey looks a bit hesitant but she agrees.

Dawson arrives at the school to see Pacey's play when he's approached by Andie asking where Pacey is. She freaks out when Dawson says he doesn't know so he offers to go look for him.

He finds Pacey playing basketball in the gym, where he's clearly upset about Joey going out with another guy and missing his first night performing. Dawson, of course, thinks it's just nerves about the play. To his credit, Dawson is actually really supportive this scene. This just proves that Dawson and Joey are better apart. The last time he was apart from Joey, he became a better friend too, this is becoming a trend. He also spins the basketball on his finger which is pretty impressive.

Hang on, is he flipping us off?

Pacey chides Dawson for giving up his own dreams and what made him happy just to sit around in study hall with the unmotivated students. Coming from Pacey, that is saying a lot about how wasteful study hall is. Dawson claims he's just spreading his happiness around, instead of focusing it on one thing, which is stupid because he's not exploring another hobby, he's just sitting around like a lump during a free period. Pacey wonders how Dawson can be so chill when Joey is on a date with a college guy but Dawson is pretty low key about it. He says that it had to happen some time and motions for Pacey to go and get ready for his play.

Henry is looking around the auditorium and Jen waves him to the seats she's saved. Henry says that they were supposed to meet out front but Jen claims that she thought whoever got there first had to save seats. She also invited Grams along.

Awwwwwkwaaaaaarrrrrrrd

Pacey arrives backstage and tries to tell Andie to send out his understudy. She won't hear it and sends him out anyway. Pacey freezes on stage for a moment but he soon breaks out into the dialogue and has the audience laughing. In the good way, not in the "this guy is a disaster" way. Andie is thrilled that her play is going well.

On their walk, AJ and Joey share an extremely forced and awkward conversation where at one point, he brings up her dead mother as a possible reason why she's so driven. Thanks, bud. It sure gets a lot of girls in the mood when you talk about how their mother's death causes them to be focused on work. Smooth.

Talking about your dead mother gets me so in the mood, don't ya know?

He then starts talking about how sexy it is that charged particles are drawn to the Earth's atmosphere to create the northern lights (I'm not joking, this is pretty much his come on line) and they kiss. Then Joey gets super awkward and says she has to meet someone. They both go.

The play has gone off without a hitch and at the party, Jack gives Andie a bouquet and congratulates her and it's super sweet. Jen congratulates her too and she also tries to avoid the awkwardness of her situation with Henry and Grams. When Jen is left alone with her supposed date and her grandmother, she quickly bails to talk to Pacey.

Jen congratulates him on his performance and it's revealed that no one in his family showed up to see it. Pacey's family is the worst and I have so many feels for him after that line. Jen also points out that Joey is not in attendance and Pacey pretends like it doesn't bug him. Joey of course shows up behind them to ask who they are talking about but of course, Pacey and Jen don't say.

Kendra approaches Dawson at the party and asks him why he dropped film. He tells her that he dropped it when she told him about being passionate about more than just one thing. He then tells a story about when he was little and seeing Jurassic Park in theatres. About how these teenagers were making out and kid Dawson couldn't comprehend why they'd rather kiss than watch the movie and I've actually got a soft spot for Dawson on this one because I was definitely that kid who was completely enraptured by movies. Anyway, Dawson says that he's not the kid that brings dates to movies to make out but he's not the little kid he once was anymore, but something in-between where he overanalyzes everything to the point of not enjoying anything. Accurate thought is accurate, Dawson.

Joey tries to congratulate Pacey on his performance that she's heard was great but Pacey wants to talk about her date with College Guy. Joey babbles about how the sky had clouded over and some big technical terms about not being able to see the northern lights and Pacey correctly guesses that AJ kissed her. Joey says that she's not sure that she'll see AJ again anyway because he's just so much more sophisticated than her  and other stuff. Pacey assumes that she's still hung up on Dawson but Joey says that she doesn't know if she'll feel the way about someone else that she used to feel about Dawson, indicating that she is over him. We all know she'll find someone way better than Dawson, very soon. Unfortunately for now, that person is AJ. Pacey points him out to Joey and tells her to go to him.

Aww, don't give Pacey a sad, Joey

Meanwhile, Henry has somehow got himself up in the rafters because it's what Pacey's character did in the play (the play in question is Barefoot in the Park which I've never seen and have no clue about the context of this scene). Anyway, Henry is up in the rafters and has decided that the best way to win a girl's heart is to embarrass her in front of a bunch of students, teachers, and parents by forcing her to repeat what he says or he refuses to get down. It's a stupid scene and I get it's supposed to be cute but I actually think it's a bit questionable. I think it's because the dynamic between Jen and Henry is that Jen has been shown to not be interested in Henry but Henry keeps persisting and trying to wear her down into dating him or guilting her into dating him and it makes me uncomfortable.

Plus, you know he's going to murder her anyway

Joey and AJ talk and he asks her if he did something wrong. Joey says he didn't and apologizes for running off on him because she was scared. He wants to go out with her again and she agrees but not before they talk a bit more about the northern lights. AJ mentions that he's seen them before and since it looks like they won't be seeing them, Joey asks him to describe them to her. He does and Joey says that they sound scary. I've heard lots of words to describe the northern lights before, beautiful, gorgeous, colourful, mesmerizing, breathtaking, for instance. I've got to say, I have never heard them referred to as "scary" before. That's a new one.

Super scary amirite?

Jack is helping Andie to clean up and mentions that he's sorry that their father wasn't there. Jesus, are none of these kids parents proud of them? It's like Mr. McPhee got wind of the fact that Pacey's entire family didn't show up to the play and felt that his title of Worst Parent in Capeside Forever was being challenged and skipped it too. Don't worry, guys, you all suck equally. Anyway, Jack congratulates her and asks if she's ok. He then points her towards Pacey and she decides to go talk to him.

She talks to Pacey and sympathizes with his parents not showing up. She then does something completely remarkable. When Pacey asks if she's disappointed in him returning to academic mediocrity, she tells him how not disappointed she is and admits that she tried to spruce him up. Then this:

Andie: But, uh, thing is, Pacey, I was wrong. There was never anything about you that needed fixing up. And there never was and there never will be, cuz you're perfect as is.

Amen, sister. Also, thank you writers, for actually making her liable for once this season. They had gone out of their way to just make her utterly horrible this season so far so it's nice to see her admitting to the flaw in their relationship and telling Pacey that he is fine just the way he is. Pacey learned his lesson about his hero complex last season so it's only fitting that Andie acknowledges her need to make everything and everyone around her perfect to fit the perfect life she pictures for herself. Kudos, writers.

Finally, some nice closure for these two

Henry and Jen talk and she tells him to stop it with the grand romantic gestures. She doesn't want him to try so hard. He agrees but I'm sure he'll forget by next episode and still act like an idiot. There is an art to grand gestures, Henry, and Lloyd Dobbler you aren't. Anyway, somehow this turns into Jen liking him again and they kiss.

We end the episode with a scene between Dawson and Joey which utterly bores me because I'm just not into these two. #sorrynotsorry Anyway, Dawson explains that he needed to see her because he felt lost and she asks him what he thought would happen when he dropped the class that was his one passion. Dawson says he didn't think, he just did. Then he notices the northern lights and Joey is irritated that she was waiting the whole night to see them but ended up only seeing them with Dawson.

Ah, his pain is my joy

I'm happy with stopping there because I find it hilarious that Joey outright tells Dawson that she didn't want to see the northern lights with him, despite the fact that the show was trying to go with a "she saw them with Dawson because they are soulmates" thing. We all know that's a lie by now so, I like my ending better. That was Northern Lights.

Stay tuned for the next episode where Henry does more stupid and over the top shit to convince Jen to like him, and the rest of the gang go to some stupid party. Oh, and Jack's ex, the one he had sex with, comes to town. Should be interesting, so stay tuned for Valentine's Day Massacre.

Dawson's Creek - 312 - A Weekend in the Country

Original air date: January 19, 2000

Here we are back in the Creek. Last episode we got the drama of Andie and Pacey doing a school play, Jen and Jack going to a music festival in Capeside, and Dawson was his usual douchebag self while Kendra totally schooled him and his shitty "movies about other (better) movies." Let's see where the drama takes us this time.

We open the episode in Joey's room, unusually enough. She is pacing the room while Dawson and Pacey are watching The Big Chill. Thanks to contrivances, they are watching the exact scene that will be replicated later on, just so that all you kids out there understand what they are ripping off paying homage to later. The scene in question, is where the characters are dancing and singing while in the kitchen.

Anyway, Joey is freaking out because the B&B will be opening officially tomorrow but they don't have any customers. I have no clue how to run a business, let alone a B&B, but it seems to me that you should have started advertising the hell out of the place before you opened and been booking people for the projected open date. Then again, I suppose a lot can go wrong in that instance but it seems better than opening and then beginning to book people or generate interest. But, I digress.

The phone rings and Joey gets super excited but when she answers, it's a telemarketer. Womp-womp. I kind of love that she tries to sell her B&B to the telemarketer and gets hung up on though.

See how you like it, Telemarketer!

At school, the next day, we see Henry run into Jen, not literally though this time. He wants to ask Jen to go to a fancy restaurant that he's been working at to earn a free dinner. No, scratch that, he's not asking because then she can say "no."

I don't like where this is going

Really writers? This isn't cute or charming no matter how hard you keep trying to tell the viewers it is with your light/fun music. It's actually really creepy and sends a horrible message. I don't know, maybe I'm oversensitive and girls actually do like this type of thing and I'm the weird one but I just don't see this as cute. Like Jen said before "dating is a consensual activity." You do have to ask someone out and they have the choice to say "yes" or "no", that's kind of how it works.

Jack bumps into Andie and offers to help her with some computer thing she's having trouble with. Andie takes the opportunity to drop hints to Jack about moving back home. Jack takes this to mean that their father asked her to guilt him into moving back so he wouldn't have to ask. Judging by the fact that Mr. McPhee is the Worst Parent in Capeside for life, I can totally understand him thinking that his dad would do that but it's pretty obvious that it's Andie that wants him to move home since she storms off when Jack refuses. The writers want us to think otherwise though so, I guess we'll humour them.

Gee, I wonder why Andie is upset with Jack?

Meanwhile, the Potter sisters are in a bank looking to take out a loan but they don't qualify. They are offered the opportunity to remortgage the house as apparently they own it outright, thanks to their mother who left it for them. Joey laughs at the idea but Bessie wants to consider it and asks for the forms.

Joey is super pissed that Bessie is considering to put their family home on the line for the new business and bitches at Bessie that she isn't allowed to do it because Joey doesn't agree. Bessie rightfully puts her in her place.

You go, Bessie

Dawson then shows up at their home with a video camera, and it actually looks a bit creepy. Maybe I'm biased because I hate Dawson but seriously, he just appears from behind a bush with a running camera pointed at their house.

Yeah...that's it...

He's actually trying to be helpful by taking footage of the Potter B&B to advertise on the web, which isn't a terrible idea. Joey moans that they can't afford advertising and I would hope that Dawson is offering to do this for them for free. It also costs nothing to upload a video to...wait did YouTube exist then? I think it did. My loose Google search tells me that it did not so maybe it would have been costly to have a video file on the internet. Damn, those were dark times...

Lacey arrives to make everything better and to tell them all that he managed to get a well known hotel critic to agree to stay at the Potter B&B and give them a review. This is extremely sweet of him though very ill timed as the Potters are ill prepared to have a professional critic come and review them. Joey points out that they have no guests but Pacey has taken care of that and has contracted the help of the Creek gang, Grams, Jen, Jack, and Andie, and Mitch and Gail, to help.

Joey is not grateful so much as majorly pissed. Dawson is mad as well because of the parents thing but I don't give a crap about him or his feelings and am focusing on just Joey and Pacey this scene. It was apparently Mitch's idea to ask Gail to play married couple for the weekend anyway so there, Dawson.

Joey tells Pacey to call it all off because they are not ready for guests and professional critics and one bad review could tank their only chance at a viable business and now, leave them with no home. Pacey agrees to call everything off immediately but just as he's calling the critic guy, he's shown up at the door.

Womp-womp!

Dawson confronts his parents about their ruse and how hurtful it is to him to see them play acting a happily married couple right after they got divorced. Mitch and Gail are all, "We're just helping Bessie and Joey." but Dawson calls Mitch out and says that Pacey just asked him to help and didn't say anything about Gail coming along. He then storms out.

Joey deals with snobby critic guy as he snobs around the room complaining about lack of heat and private bathroom. Joey covers nicely about the heat being down because they are an environmentally friendly establishment but admits that there is only one communal bathroom. Yuck. I know places like that exist but I prefer having my own bathroom. 0 stars! Anyway, the Snob continues to be a dick to Joey and criticizes her for saying "Enjoy your stay" more than once. That seems like a rude thing to point out to a person, maybe they just really want you to enjoy your stay.

Joey feels like she's blowing it, regardless

Andie visits her brother in his room and jokes about being able to play brother and sister. She also drops more hints about Jack moving back home. It seems really obvious to me that Andie wants Jack to move back in because she misses him but Jack still thinks she's only pressuring him to come home on their father's orders. The writers think they are being clever so, shush. Let the writers have their fun.

Gee, I wonder why Andie is pressuring Jack to come home for their father!

Bessie asks if Snob is having fun but Joey snarks that a lemon never looks like it's having fun. Bessie tells her to be nice because the guy is just doing his job, so at least she's relaxed about it. Joey is just on freak out mode. Bessie asks for Pacey's help to turn down the beds but he's working on the overflowing toilet in the bathroom. I guess he gets the crap jobs for getting them into this mess.

Mitch confronts Dawson about the situation with Gail. He apologizes to Dawson and tells him that he just wants to be Gail's friend and cheer her up because she is apparently being turned down for jobs everywhere. Dawson is pissed off because he doesn't understand why his parents can be friends but divorced. He should count himself lucky that his parents aren't bickering constantly but I'm not a child of divorce so I don't fully get it. I guess this is pretty realistic for a teen to be pissed/confused about though so, good job, writers.

Bessie and Joey are trying to cater to Snob and explain their situation for a more favourable review, then this awkwardness happens:

Bessie! Your sister is right there! Gross!

Pacey says he has everything taken care of just as the furnace burns out. Snob points out that "handyman Witter" should check the furnace. Thanks for that, Snob.

Joey is trying to get the furnace working again when Bessie comes in and informs her that Snob has gone into town to eat. Joey ignores her and TV swears at the furnace. Bessie points out that swearing at the thing won't help and Joey sasses that flirting with it might. I thought this was leading to an argument about the flirting but Joey instead launches into a tirade about how hard it is to be sixteen to the woman who is trying to manage a new business, a baby, and raising her little sister because their mother is dead and their father is in prison, while her husband has to work out of town. Yeah, Joey, tell us more about how hard your life is, I don't think your sister understands hardships at all. But again, props for writing a realistic teen moment, writers. Bessie calls Joey out for wanting to leave Capeside so badly but putting in a lot of effort with the B&B and Joey gets snarky about how she'll stop putting so much effort in then.

Pacey, bless him, is out chopping wood for the fireplace because he feels responsible for the weekend and everything that is going wrong. Mitch comes out to see if he's OK but Pacey feels like a screw up. Mitch gives him a really nice pep talk and it's actually kind of sweet. I actually wish that Mitch was Pacey's dad in this scene. Dawson doesn't deserve a dad like Mitch. Yeah, Mitch has his faults but he's definitely better than Pacey's dad and Dawson sucks.

Dawson apologizes to Gail for freaking out on her and his dad. Dawson goes on about how weird it is that she and Mitch are still friends after getting divorced and Gail points out that it's kind of like him and Joey still being friends which is fairly legit. This causes Dawson's mind to be blown.

Whoops, guess I am a hypocrite

Andie and Jack have gone to the Lindley's to pick up a space heater for the Potters. Andie notices how ingrained Jack is with the Lindley's life, having his own type of milk and in jokes with them, and she gets upset because she wants that with Jack. She lets it slip finally that their father, Worst Parent in Capeside for life, also ignores her and tells Jack he's lucky for having a family that is so warm and together. Jack finally clues in and realizes that Andie is the one that wants Jack to move back because DUH! Uh, I mean-OH! How surprising! You sure got us, writers. Did not see that coming.

Of course we did! Obviously Andie misses Jack, they're siblings! Idiots!

Dawson is outside with Jen and she asks him flat out what he was so scared of when she told him about her past when they were dating. Um, he wasn't scared, he was a giant slut-shaming cock-bag. This was his problem:

And you never know when you might need to
have a sacrifice to the Gods!

Dawson bullshits about the fact that he was scared the unknown is always scary and that he was intimidated by her experience. That's one way of glossing over his behaviour, writers. Touché. Jen then asks if most other boys would react the same way as him and Dawson tells her that there is no way to know how anyone else would react but he actually admits that the way he reacted back then was wrong and apologizes for it! Holy shit! The only question now is, will he change? My money is on 'no'.

The men are trying to light the fireplace when Grams comes in and shows the men how it's done. Like a boss! Grams reveals that she's the one that used to light the fires in the winters after dinner. She then tells a story about her and Jen's Gramps and how he'd read to her in front of the fire. The gang then starts talking about their memories. And it's actually a pretty sweet scene, I wish the show would do more scenes with everyone hanging out because it's nice to see them getting along.

The important story is Joey's as she reveals that her mother had dreams of opening up her own B&B which is why it was so important to her that the B&B doesn't fail. She then surprises me by thanking everyone for coming to help them out and make her mother's dream a reality. Then she doesn't surprise me by being all mopey and telling everyone to go home because it's useless. Joey then notices that Snob has overheard her and she apologizes to him for the horrendous experience he's had and tells him that their B&B is probably awful but that her mother would have loved it. Gotta play that dead mother sympathy card, eh Joey?

Did I mention my mother was dead? Because she is. 

The next morning, Joey wakes up to the smell of bacon cooking and chatter in the kitchen. She goes down the hall to investigate what is going on and walks into the scene from The Big Chill that they were watching and she was criticizing earlier.

Same music and everything, this must have really cost them

Also, I have my suspicions that the editor for this scene is a crack shipper for Andie and Joey because  check this out:

Ohhhhh yeaaaaahhhh!
You are welcome, male/lesbian readers

Joey asks everyone what's going on and they urge her into the bedroom for breakfast. Snob is at the head of the table and is happily eating breakfast. Joey apologizes, like it's her duty to and not Bessie's, for the fact that their B&B sucks but Snob assures her that theirs is the warmest (meaning friendliest) place he's ever stayed and that the pancakes are delicious. Joey tries the pancakes and then compli-sults her sister on the fact that they are good but that she sucks at cooking so they can't be hers. I guess she's justified because they aren't Bessie's, apparently Bodie is back!

Yay! Bodie has been rescued from the room of forgotten side characters!

Although I don't get this reveal because the Big Chill montage clearly showed Andie and Jack cooking the pancakes. But, whatever, Bodie is back and that's awesome for Bessie. She deserves some happiness because she gets shit on a lot and has had to deal with everything Joey has had to and more but constantly gets forgotten about. Like in this episode, where everyone was worried about Joey and not about Bessie who is actually going to be running the B&B.

Bessie reveals to Joey that she found a guest book that their father had gotten their mother ten years ago which apparently Bessie had forgotten about until Joey mentioned it. Joey finally acknowledges everything that Bessie has had to do and excuses her for forgetting that their mother had wanted to open a B&B. They continue eating breakfast and Snob gives a toast to the Potter B&B and wishes it to live long and prosper because he's apparently secretly Spock.

Mitch and Gail are talking about the memories they shared the other night by the fire and Mitch says that it brought back another memory. Apparently, he wanted to open up a fish bistro when Gail was pregnant with Dawson. Mitch then claims that it wasn't really his dream, it was hers. He encourages her to pursue that dream instead of applying for more broadcasting jobs. This is a mighty convenient twist, writers. I think he offers her the warehouse he bought last season from Ta-mah-ra and was going to turn into a restaurant himself but the writers aren't too clear. I think they are being intentionally vague because they realized that for two seasons they did show Mitch wanting to open his own restaurant so it shouldn't have been a "forgotten memory" for him. Whatever.

Jen tells Henry about her jaded past because this is apparently the reason she was reluctant to date him. She is amazed that he's not disgusted or judgemental about it, you know like Dawson was when he found out? And I laugh because the psycho serial killer Henry is still a better person than Dawson fucking Leery.

Oh sure, I murder people all the time but I'd have to be
an absolute dick to slut shame the girl I like

Jen is amazed that he's taking the news so well because most guys would react horribly (just Dawson, Jen. Just Dawson.) but Henry, rightfully points out that her experiences made her who she is and that's why he likes her. OK, show, you are starting to sell me on Henry.

Dawson mocks Pacey for handling a camera but covers it by saying that he was just asking in general if he knew what he was doing. Dawson tells Pacey that he's changed and thanks him for "taking care of Joey" which is really kind of insulting but whatever. He then tells Pacey that he's gone above and beyond and that he's glad that he's there for Joey. Pacey jokes about how hard it is to look out for her and makes like he hates it but we all know the truth.

Jack tells the Lindley's that he wants to move back in with Andie and be with her because she needs him. They are concerned about his father because he is the Worst Parent in Capeside for life but Jack tells them that he wants to move back to support Andie. He then thanks them for being the best people ever because they are. He wants to give what they gave him to Andie, love and support. It's super sweet. I love these guys, best family ever.

Pacey goes to try and tell Joey about the furnace being repaired but finds that she's asleep on the couch. He puts a blanket over her and it is super sweet!

Awwww!

Then we get a montage of everyone, Bessie and Bodie with Alex hanging out, Jen and Henry hanging out, Jack moving back home, Dawson alone (as it should be), Pacey watching Joey sleep...no no no no no! Stop being Edward Cullen! You're better than that, Pacey. Tucking her in was cute but staying and watching her sleep is creepy. I am happy that we end the episode with the two of them though and it is getting really obvious that Pacey likes Joey which is getting me pumped for future episodes.

That was A Weekend in the Country, not a great episode but not a horrible one either. I liked the gang pulling together to help Joey out. I also like that Jen gets a guy who does not care about her past or shame her for it so the show is selling me on Henry finally. Here's hoping that Northern Lights keeps the good things going, especially Joey and Pacey.

Dawson's Creek - 311 - Barefoot at Capefest

Original air date: January 12, 2000

Here it is, folks, the first Dawson's Creek episode of the new millennium and what do they choose to do on this momentous occasion? They bring back Henry.

Sigh...let's get this over with

We open up this episode at Capeside High, with Dawson and Joey walking to the film lab so that Dawson can rent a camera. Specifically a 16mm camera of which the school only has one but surprise! Kendra is back in the house and she is in charge of the equipment. Dawson makes a snide comment about the fact that she volunteered to be in charge of the equipment so that she could familiarize herself with it not being honest or something. I don't get Dawson's insult, he just sounds whiny because she is smart about being able to get herself used to working with expensive equipment while Dawson, who claims to be passionate about film, entered his homework assignment in a film festival and doesn't volunteer to work in a film lab. Haters gonna hate, Dawson. Kendra has way more drive it seems and Dawson doesn't like it.

Anyway, he can't check the camcorder out because Kendra has it checked out for like a month straight and while I am totally team Kendra and team IHATEDAWSONWITHAPASSION, it's really not fair for a teacher to let her have the camcorder that long when there are other kids in the class that might need it too. Special treatment because your daddy is the principal is not cool. But then again, Dawson doesn't get the camera to make another movie rip/off or Dawson's Creek2.0 which also makes him mad, so...

We cut to Jen and Jack who are grocery shopping together and being adorable and the True Soul Mates of Dawson's Creek. They argue over how much cereal Jack is allowed to buy and it's the cutest. Jack then bumps into Ethan, from the train and the way he greets him is very similar to the way Jen greeted him when they first met, which is adorable.

Jack: Uh, Ethan. From the– from the train Ethan.
Ethan: I prefer just plain Ethan.

Except Jack doesn't continue it like Jen did by saying "OK, Just Plain Ethan" which is good because that was annoying, sorry Jen. Anyway, Ethan says he's going to some music festival that Capeside totally always has every year but of course, no one knows about it until now. Ethan even bugs Jack for not knowing what his own hometown does. He tests Jack on his music knowledge, which Jack fails but Ethan asks him to come to the festival anyway. Jack is very excited about this.

I love them

Andie tries to meet up with a teacher named Mr. Broderick, sadly not this one:

Wouldn't that have been amazing?

Seriously, a character named Mr. Broderick who is the play director and they couldn't get Matthew Broderick? Sigh. Anyway, this Mr. Broderick went to the same school of crappy/bullying teaching that Cranky English Teacher from last season went to because Capeside only hires the shittiest of teachers, apparently. What I imagine the Capeside hiring adverts would say:

Do you enjoy bullying your students? Sleeping with minors? Ignoring the proper rules of education? Then come apply at Capeside High today! Where you can take out all of your frustrations, mid-life crises, and sexual pleasures on this generations youth, and we pay you!

Anyway, Andie tries to talk to Mr. Broderick but he's so busy that he just can't even with her right now. Seriously, he doesn't let her get her question out, he just continues to rudely tell her when auditions are. She finally blurts out that she wants to be his assistant director and Mr. Broderick is all "why didn't you just say so?" and I want to kill him already.

Dawson is mocking Kendra as he and Joey walk home and even Joey isn't having his whiny-ness because she throws down that she deserves to use the equipment too. I love it. Dawson then changes his argument by saying that he just wants the camera in a timely fashion which again, though I hate to admit it, is fair. If people are only allowed to check out a camera for a week, then that should apply to everyone, even the Principal's daughter. Anyway, they enter his house to find the living room completely empty. Gail explains that she's moved her stuff out and wanted to explain this to Dawson herself. Dawson says she doesn't need to explain herself and that he's OK with it but he's clearly not because it must suck to watch your childhood home be changed like this. Joey notices and asks him if he wants to talk, Dawson does not and sad pandas away.

Jack and Jen are walking around Capefest together because Jack wanted to go to meet up with Ethan and Jen is a really supportive friend. She tries to give him advice about not moving too fast and letting Ethan come to him. Jack wanders off from Jen to go find Ethan.

We are subjected to a montage of auditions which is thankfully not for a new movie that Dawson is making but is for the play that Andie wants to assistant direct. There's a lot of terrible people and then some guy comes in and reads the lines and...no he still kind of sucks but Andie is willing to go with him. Mr. Broderick claims that he already found someone for the role, that person turns out to be Pacey.

Andie is not impressed

Dawson actually goes to Kendra's house to whine at her some more for taking the camera and no, I'm no longer seeing your side of things, Dawson. This is just too annoying and too whiny to try to defend. Leave the poor girl alone and maybe talk to the film teacher about being more fair with the camera distribution. Before they can really get into an argument about it, Principal Green shows up and just blindly assumes that they are friends and invites Dawson to dinner.

Dude, learn to read the room

Back at Capefest, Jack has found Ethan who came alone and asks Jack if he wants to grab a bite to eat. Jack quickly agrees and we cut to them walking along the beach and talking. Ethan is disappointed that Jack didn't ask for his number on the train. Jack admits that he was nervous and then asks Ethan why he didn't ask for his number. Ethan says that he didn't because he could and that Jack needs to learn to ask because he's the newbie. I don't really understand this sentiment, you're either interested or not, why does Ethan feel the need to test Jack? Perhaps this is just something that I can't really understand because of the never having been there thing. Jack mentions that Ethan was the first gay person he's talked to unless he counts the Internet. Ethan doesn't. Ouch, Ben Street.

*sigh* I have to prepare myself for this next part of the episode because I loathe it with a passion. Just...hang on a sec, let me collect myself. OK, so we cut to Jen, who is having no luck putting up her tent, when she sees a guy with a burger. She asks where he got it and he points her in the direction of the vendor and says they are veggie burgers and delicious. I'll take my burgers with meat, thanks. Anyway, Jen walks over and who is cooking the burgers? Henry, of course.

Are we really sure those are veggie burgers though? I feel a round of
"God, That's Good!" coming on...

Jen is all smiles and joking when she sees him but he looks like he's thinking of how he can murder her on site and use her meat for his burgers with no one noticing. She stupidly asks him for help with her tent which kind of makes me angry at her. I mean, she doesn't like this kid, made it extremely clear and now all of the sudden she's all "tee hee, I can't put up my tent, help me?" and it bothers me. This is a shitty thing to do to people and the fact that she is oblivious as to why he's upset with her, also irritates me because he had a huge crush on her, creepy as it was, and she now kind of has that over him. One of the most humiliating and infuriating things I ever experienced was when a crush of mine shot me this shit-eating grin after he'd started dating someone and clearly wasn't interested but knew that I had had a crush on him. My crush dried completely up in that moment. So, in this small, small, short lived instant, Henry actually has my sympathy.

That quickly dries up the moment he claims she led him on just to stomp on his heart. I get his anger but in no way was that what she set out to do. She was misguided and careless with his feelings towards her, for sure but she wasn't some evil harpy intent on destroying him. He kind of wins me back when he calls her out for being smug about being on the requited side of unrequited love and calls bullshit on her "we agreed to be friends" line when they haven't talked at all and she knows dick about him. Then he tells her to put up her own damn tent. Good for you, Henry. You go serve your meat pies...er "veggie" burgers now and leave the show forever. Please?

Back at the Green's house, the most awkward dinner is happening. Principal Green starts bragging about Kendra being the best filmmaker ever while Dawson makes snide comments about not knowing anything about her movie. She snaps back that her project is between her and her crew and Dawson shoots back, and I quote:

Dawson: So in order to bask in the glory of this mind-bending idea of yours, I have to offer my services?

Fuck you, Dawson. Now, you think this would be the moment that Principal Green would clue in to the mistake he's made, but nope. He just suggests that they should totally work together and when they shoot his idea down immediately, he just laughs it off like they are just being the silliest things and don't want to jump across the table and kill each other. I don't get how he can be this dense.

You kids and your arguing. lol! Who wants dessert?

Back at Capefest, Ethan and Jack are still talking, specifically about sexuality and this show surprises me at how well it goes about it. Like, for this time (which sadly was not that long ago), this conversation is amazing. Ethan says that people want to define sexuality by who they sleep with but that it is more than that, Jack should know because he hasn't kissed a guy yet but he still knows he's gay. This is a great conversation and a great way to bring the issue of sexuality to their teen audiences. This show is sometimes questionable in the way it handles their non-straight characters but sometimes, they give us gems like these and I applaud the way they handled it. Anyway, Ethan notices that all of his camping gear is missing and freaks out.

Cut to Andie arguing with Pacey about quitting the play. Pacey doesn't want to because Mr. Broderick has guaranteed him a C in English if he does the play. Andie chastises him for going back to his slacker ways and then begs him to quit because this play was her way of getting over him, which she can't do if he's in the play and she has to deal with him. Pacey tells her she should quit but she refuses but he stands his ground because:

My God, he's adorable

Back at the Green house of awkwardness, for some reason Dawson is wandering around their house by himself and walks into Kendra's room. Dude, not OK! Kendra sneaks up behind him but for some reason, doesn't kick his ass for being in her room. Dawson is all perplexed that her room isn't movie geeky enough and she shoots back that his room is probably wall to wall Spielberg posters. Dawson weirdly responds by proudly confirming this and correcting her that his room is, in fact, a shrine.

If Dawson was a real person, I'd feel compelled to contact Spielberg
and warn him that he might have an Annie Wilkes level stalker after him

Anyway, Kendra points out that there is so much to be passionate about that it would be silly to focus on just one. Dawson counters that if you find something you're passionate about, you should immerse yourself in it. Kendra then shoots Dawson down wonderfully:

Oooh, sick burn!

You know, because all of his movies tend to be rip offs of other things? Like how he ripped off some of Psycho and probably a lot of Creature from the Black Lagoon for his first movie? Or how he ripped off Blair Witch with his stupid documentary? Or how he just rewrites season 1 to his liking? Sure, the last one is meta but seriously, Dawson does not have an original film in him. They get to talking about their parents' respective divorces and I kind of laugh that the show acknowledges how crappy a lot of the parents are in Capeside; when Kendra mentions she's making a film about dysfunctional families, and Dawson tells her that Capeside will give her a lot of material. Dawson finally lets loose about how he is feeling about his parents divorce. He has feels and runs out of her house quickly. Not before this happened though:

No, you definitely are self-obsessed

Jack and Ethan return to Jack's campsite to find Jen sitting on their flat tent. She is relieved when she sees them because they can help her with the tent. I didn't know tents were this hard to set up but then I've never been camping so I can't comment. Anyway, Jack tells her about how Ethan's stuff got stolen and that he needs a place to stay and then asks her to make herself scarce for the next few hours. Jen is like "fuck this, I'm out" and tells him she's going home and will pick him up in the morning. I support her decision.

Jen doesn't end up going home because she hears music and it is Henry singing Bruce Springsteen's No Surrender, and playing the guitar. I can't take this scene seriously because of Jen's face the entire time she watches him sing. I can't decide what the hell she's going for, wonder? fright? Boredom? Stoned out of her skull? I don't know.

You decide

Back at Capeside High, Pacey and the other students are rehearsing the play while Mr. Broderick keeps making ridiculous decisions on how they should play the characters. Like how they should be "Louder and angrier" and ignores Andie's suggestions. This guy is useless.

At Capefest, Jack and Ethan are inside their tent and talking a bit about how Jack knows Jen. Ethan then quickly says good night and Jack looks extremely disappointed because he definitely wanted something more to happen.

Now we get to the point of the episode that I hate. Jen is now a stammering idiot regarding Henry because he's just so deep now that she knows he's a vegetarian and plays acoustic guitar. So now she actually does have the hots for him which is completely and utterly stupid because he's creepy and he's been a jerk to her and it kind of makes it seem like...Jen is only into him because he's ignoring her. That's a horrible message to send to girls and guys. Don't like people who treat you like dirt or ignore you. It also perpetuates the myth that girls don't like nice guys but do like you when you are jerks to them and I hate that because it's horrible. I also don't get why she's hanging all over him when she supposedly isn't interested in him and knows that he likes her because that's really mean. He tells her to stop toying with him and just leave him alone. Please do, Jen, I'm begging you. He's so creepy!

Dawson is taking his posters off his walls when Joey enters through the window, of course. She asks him what the hell is going on and Dawson explains that he was at Kendra's house and what she said about passions and making movies about other movies. Joey immediately attacks and calls him a sell out which is entirely unfair of her because for once, he's taking some good advice about opening himself up to life and experiences so that he can make better movies. He's not going to make better movies, mind you but at least he's trying to better himself. He acts like a smug dick about not asking about "Mr. Ivy League" and Joey says that it's shitty of him not to ask. They yell at each other until Joey runs away and he looks upset. I'm not that invested in this, I'm waiting for the end of this drama and the beginning of the goodness.

Capefest, next day. Ethan suggests they do breakfast like nothing is wrong but Jack is upset because he wanted more to happen last night. Ethan is like "dude, I was tired so I went to sleep" and I concur with him for Jack to stop being a drama queen. Ethan wants Jack to ask for his number so that they can get together as friends and Jack is disappointed with this. Ethan says that Jack isn't ready so Ethan doesn't want to go there with him. Jack seems to soften a little to the fact that Ethan is a little interested in Jack but wants to be friends until Jack is more ready. Ethan gives Jack his number.

At another rehearsal session, Mr. Broderick is late and so Pacey encourages Andie to start the practice without him and show off her directorial skills. She hesitates but then goes for it and starts giving everyone better directions than just "louder, angrier!" and everyone excitedly starts rehearsing her way.

The part of the episode that really bugs me is now. Jen approaches Henry who angrily tells her where the stage is and asks if she's lost or something. Jen apologizes for being "careless with his heart" which, OK is valid. She then goes on to say that she hasn't liked someone the way that he liked her but that she'd like to and that if anyone is the younger and less experienced in that regard, it's her not him.  Since she has acknowledged that she is less than he is, he immediately changes tune and excitedly agrees with her that he's much more mature and then starts being nice to her. Now, it was a nice apology but it's just the way he went from ice cold to completely warm and bubbly after she said something he wanted her to say...feels a bit manipulative and makes me uncomfortable. It kind of sends the message that if you make someone feel bad enough for not liking you when you are so obviously pure and nice and good, they will eventually start liking you back. That is not cool, writers.

It doesn't help that Henry looks like he's plotting her murder all the time

Mr. Broderick walks in on the students rehearsing and proceeds to congratulate himself for giving them "acting exercises" that finally got them to do the play right. Pacey is like "Dude no, Andie is the one that got us to act the scenes out right" but Mr. Broderick won't hear it because he's a Capeside High teacher and is therefore, the worst. He asks Andie for the set designs and she shows them to him but he's all "no, this sucks and is not what I wanted." She's like "yes, it is." and he's like "you are worthless, stop thinking, and do things the way I want them done now, little girl" or something to that effect because he's a tool. Andie runs out.

Pacey follows her and tries to get her to come back. Andie says she can't work with a douche like Mr. Broderick when things are hard enough, so Pacey offers to quit. She tells him that he can't because he's really good. He then tries to convince her to come back but she says no, so he just pretends like he said yes. The scene is charming because Joshua Jackson is just charm on a stick but also kind of frustrating because the writers are acting like "Pacey said yes and that he'll see her at rehearsals so she has to go now, lol!" and I'm sitting here like, she keeps saying no...no one is holding a gun to her head so she could just walk away if she doesn't want to. This doesn't bind her into doing it at all. Whatever, I guess she's still doing the play because Pacey said so.

Jack and Jen joke about their adventures the night before and they are so cute together. I love their friendship. Jack notices that Jen is in a pretty good mood, despite the fact that he sent her packing in the hopes of getting some with Ethan. Jen admits that she met someone but won't say who. Big mistake, Jen, you should definitely let everyone know that you were talking to Henry, in case you go missing soon and people aren't left with "She said she met someone" "some new friend" as the only leads in the case. Yes, I'm fixated on Henry looking like a serial killer. Can you blame me?

Look at this, it looks like she's scared of him because
he's glaring creepily at her

Joey returns to Dawson's now empty looking room to apologize. She has brought him a John Lennon Imagine poster because apparently they listened to Beatles albums when they were kids and Dawson wanted to be like John Lennon and write music. She tells him that he was about other things and she wanted to remind him of that. Dawson thanks her and hangs the poster, asking if she thinks it will help him to walk his own path. Joey says that he always walked his own path (debatable) but that he just needed to widen it a little. End episode.

Again, this is not a horrible episode, it's just kind of boring. There were a few bright spots but that was mainly with Jack and Ethan and Pacey and Andie. OK, and also Kendra schooling Dawson about how unoriginal he was because truth. The only reason I personally dislike this episode so much is the Jen and Henry stuff. I do not like that character, I find him to be whiny and self-entitled and I hated the way they handled bringing him back and making Jen practically beg him to give her the time of day. There was literally no reason for her to want to and I'm sorry but being vegetarian and able to play the guitar are not things that would sway someone into liking someone they didn't in real life That is just stupid.

Stay tuned for the next episode, A Weekend In The Country in which the Potter's Bed and Breakfast officially opens for business.