Every few years I go back and rewatch Dawson’s Creek the full way through. In preparation to meet Kerr Smith and James Van Der Beek at 90s Con next month, I started rewatching the series this week.
I think I was 13 when I watched the show for the first time and I notice that each time I rewatch, my opinions from that first watch change and evolve so much. So, let’s go through my impressions this time.
- I’m Team Joey
- The first time I watched, I definitely was a Joey fan, but at the end of the day, it was because I LONGED for her to be with Dawson. I was firmly a Team Dawson and Joey girl.
- If you don’t know who Joey ends up with at the end of the series, I can almost promise you that at some point in this post I will spoil who it is, so take this as your warning.
- Now, I love her attitude, I love her wardrobe, her facial expressions are hilarious, and I love how complicated her character can be. I know romance is at the heart of this show, it’s a teen drama after all, but watching the series as an adult, I just want the best for Joey. I hurt when she hurts, I feel her heartbreak at seeing the boy she loves with another girl, I feel the giddiness in a budding crush. Yes, she has her moments when she annoys me, but I love Joey Potter. Her character feels real and realistic.
- To me, the show is Joey’s show. It might be called Dawson’s Creek, but this is Joey Potter’s world and we’re all just living in it.
- The first time I watched, I definitely was a Joey fan, but at the end of the day, it was because I LONGED for her to be with Dawson. I was firmly a Team Dawson and Joey girl.
- I Feel for Jen
- When I first watched the series, I hated Jen because I felt like she was getting in the way of Joey and Dawson getting together, and I’m not sure if I was already annoyed by her in this season, but as a young teen, I was a Jen Lindley HATER. I was annoyed by almost everything she did.
- Now, I adore Jen and I really, truly feel for her. She grew up way too fast, she has been completely objectified by men her entire life, she’s living with a woman who is trying to force her to be religious when that’s not something she believes in, and she tries so hard to befriend Joey, who just can’t get out of her own way because she’s jealous of Dawson’s feelings for Jen.
- Jen Lindley is really just trying to get a fresh start and it feels like everything is against her for a little while.
- Dawson. Is. Intolerable.
- Listen, I love Dawson Leery because he’s Dawson Leery, but boy does this kid have a lot of growing up to do.
- When I was young, I adored Dawson. I loved everything about him. Watching it now, I still appreciate how much he loves film and he’s so pure hearted and well intentioned, but the way he goes about things honestly just hurts to watch. I used to love his blind optimism and how he seemed to live in this fantasy dream world in his mind, but now, it’s like, ‘dude, get out of your own head and learn to live in the real world!’
- It also blows my mind that he doesn’t have any idea that Joey has feelings for him, and then once he does start to put it together, he just brushes her feelings aside. For a boy who has a vocabulary like his, I would’ve expected him to have some better communication skills.
- The way he treats women is unacceptable. I know he’s never had a girlfriend before, but he should know better than to treat women the way he does. He has Mitch Leery as an example, he should know how to treat women.
- The way he treats Jen when he finds out she’s not a virgin boiled my blood. The way he spoke to her and treated her like she was less than really tainted my perception of him. Again, I know he’s just a kid, but he still should’ve known better. He has very antiquated views (and I know this was also the late 90s, so viewpoints will be different) but the way he slut-shamed Jen did not sit well with me.
- He literally tells Pacey that winning Jen back has become a bizarre hobby.
- No woman should be won, nor should that ownership be a hobby.
- I don’t like how he treated Mary Beth on the double date with Jen and Cliff. He completely used her to try and get Jen back and didn’t even take her feelings into consideration. High schoolers do this all the time, but that doesn’t mean I have to approve of it.
- His relationship and feelings over ownership over Joey
- Pacey develops feelings for Joey toward the end of season one and asks Dawson for his permission to ask Joey out and Dawson says no, to which Pacey responds ‘You don’t want her but you don’t want anyone else to have her either.’ and I think this is exactly how Dawson feels, which is so twisted.
- After the beauty pageant, Dawson sees Joey as if he’s seeing her for the first time, saying ‘You transformed into this beautiful Joey’ and I am SO PROUD of Joey for calling him out on this because he truly couldn’t see the backhanded nature of his comment. She was finally was hearing the words she wanted to hear from him, and yet she chose to walk away from him and I couldn’t be more proud.
- This is a really underrated part of the show in my opinion. This isn’t word for word, but Dawson says, ‘I thought this was what you wanted’ and Joey responds, ‘I want you to look at me and see the person you’ve always known and realize that what we’ve always had is more incredible than just some passing physical attraction – it’s just lipstick, it’s just hairspray. Tomorrow I’m gonna wake up and be Joey. Just Joey. You’ve had a lifetime to process your feelings for me and I can’t spend the rest of mine hoping that you might throw a general glance in my direction.’
- Listen, I love Dawson Leery because he’s Dawson Leery, but boy does this kid have a lot of growing up to do.
- Pacey, Pacey, Pacey
- I adore Pacey. He definitely doesn’t make the best decisions this season, but I still adore him. I remember not caring for his relationship with Tamara when I first watched, but the older I get, the worse their relationship becomes. Thankfully, it’s a fleeting relationship, and honestly, I choose to just overlook it when I watch because I know it’s going to be over almost as fast as it started. On the whole, the relationship was wrong. But I will say, I fault Tamara more for it than anything. She should’ve known better and stuck to her instincts.
- I think Pacey is such a witty and dynamic character and I love how this season sets up that growth. Though he might not make the greatest decisions, he’s so pure and kind at heart.
- I love the episode where Joey and Pacey team up for an extra credit assignment. It so perfectly sets up their later romance (Hardcore Pacey and Joey shipper here)
- The Finale
- I forgot how HEAVY the season finale is! Between Joey seeing her dad and Jen’s grandfather passing away… it’s so SAD. I couldn’t keep the tears in.
- Mitch and Gale
- When I was young, I knew the wrongness of Gale’s infidelity, but watching it this time, I could not stop crying. I adore Mitch Leery and I hate seeing how hurt he is.
- I hate the way Mitch yells at Gale in the car, but watching him grieve and come to terms with the fact that the woman he loves more than life itself cheated on him hurt so bad. Then, when he comes back home and Gale explains to him her reasoning behind the affair.. the tears would.not.stop.
- Grams
- I freaking love Grams… Later in the series. In this season, I hate how stuck in her ways she is, but I will say, I appreciate seeing it because it makes the transformation I know she undergoes in later seasons mean even more.
- Film References
- I love all of the film references and I love the Detention/Breakfast Club episode
- Kevin Williamson is such an incredible writer and storyteller.
- The Pilot
- Pilots are tough, but this is one of my all time favorite pilots and one of my favorite episodes of the entire series.
Anchored Musings 