Dawson’s Creek Season 2: A Reflection – Part 1

When we last left the denizens of Capeside, Dawson and Joey finally got together, Jen’s grandfather died, and Pacey was being hassled for being a loser. What will happen during the second half of their sophomore year of high school?

Episode one, titled “The Kiss,” opens moments after Dawson and Joey “romantically” make out for most of the night, departing to “sleep” on the aforementioned kiss and what it might mean for their relationship and Joey’s opportunity to head off to France. She decides not to go to see what direction the fledgling romance will take, a decision she might come back to regret. While discussing what happened, Pacey and Dawson get their hair cut, with Pacey deciding to go all awesome and frost his tips. While distracted by the hot cheerleader he has a crush on, he pulls out in front of another car, which just happens to belong to new arrival Andie McPhee. I’m sure she’ll stick around longer than one episode. Poor Jen is reeling from the death of her grandfather, and is further upset when she discovers that Dawson and Joey are now a couple. The adults in the show, Dawson’s parents, come to some kind of conclusion after Mitch decides to visit a divorce attorney.

The next episode finds all of our peeps at the “Crossroads” in one way or another. Dawson reads Joey’s diary and she gets upset. Dawson is so consumed by Joey and what was written in the diary that he neglects to get the hints Pacey is dropping about his 16th birthday. Jack McPhee shows up and gets a job at the Ice House with Joey. Jen, in all her grief, decides to live a little with the help of fake bad girl Abbie Morgan, and starts to return to her wild New York roots. The adult Leery’s take to different folks about their relationship, and the result is Mitch telling Gail that he thinks they should try an open marriage.

The kids all learn about “Alternative Lifestyles” during the next episode, but not the alternative lifestyles your’re thinking. They are all paired up with each other in various ways to work on an economics project about budgeting.* Jen tries to use her pairing with Dawson as an attempt to get him back, dressing all provocatively and coming on to him at every turn. Pacey and Andie are paired as a broke couple, and struggle with the assignment, but ultimately Pacey pulls through and proves that he is super awesome. Joey is the odd one out and has to budget as a “successful single mother” and proceeds to offend her sister by finding someone that’s more successful.

*I guess budgeting can be an economics activity, but should be more of a home economics one.

Ms. Jacobs, the hot English teacher that had an affair with Pacey during the first half of season one, returns to Capeside in “Tamara’s Return.” Pacey is thrown for a loop by this, but eventually comes to realize that it is time for him to move on. Joey and Jack, merely co-workers right now, discover a shared passion for art, which upset Dawson (of course). Andie seeks out Dawson to find out more about Pacey. Jen is still in the clutches of Abby, who tries to get the attention of Guy-on-a-Boat, but Guy-on-a-Boat takes a liking to Jen instead.

A “Full Moon Rising” has everyone on edge for some reason, because “strange things happen with full moons” or something. Pacey comes into contact with the McPhees’ mother, and he begins to understand why Andie might be the way that she is. Dawson is forced to confront his parents after they try to one-up each other with business meetings at the house. Abby gets all angry with Jen when Guy-on-a-Boat chooses her, but ultimately Guy gets a little to frisky with Jen and ends up thrown out of the house by Grams. Finally, a power outage at the Ice House prompts Joey and Jack to kiss for some reason, and I have a feeling that Dawson won’t be too pleased by that.

At “The Dance,” Dawson learns of the kiss between Joey and Jack and decides to punch Jack in the face. Meanwhile. Pacey and Andie are getting closer, but he still abandons her when the hot cheerleader gets dumped by her boyfriend. Jen, all messed up as she is, tries to get back with Dawson, who ends up shutting her down, leaving our delicate flower all wounded yet again. And as if Dawson didn’t have enough problems, his parents decide to temporarily separate. Poor guy.

Some crazy-hard English midterm has the kids pulling “The All-Nighter,” with wild and crazy results. Over at Chris Wolfe’s house, in a multiple-episode arc so he’ll be around for a while, our reluctant students try to study but get forced into trying to figure things out. Pacey’s fling with Ms. Jacobs is revealed during a quiz from a ladies magazine, causing Andie to question his honesty. Dawson turns to Chris’ younger sister to find out why his relationship with Joey is failing, and Jen hops back into bed with the skeezy Chris. After they all fall asleep, they end up cramming for a few hours, ready to take on the midterm, only to have the test postponed.

Who ends up being “The Reluctant Hero” during the next episode? It could be Pacey for helping Andie’s mom during a psychotic break at the grocery store. It could also be Dawson, who saves a drunken Jen from having a threesome the Skeezy Chris and one of his friends. Either works I suppose. Joey and Jack take their budding relationship another step forward when they go on a picnic. Dawson’s also receives $2,500 from the Boston Film Festival after winning with his “horror” movie, and sets out to make his next best movie.

That’s all for now. Until next time…