All sorts of fun stuff happenin’ down at “the Creek” during our last update, and I’m sure it only portends to get more exciting as season 2 wraps up on the sophomore year for our pseudo-teenagers. Let’s get on with it!
In “Be Careful What You Wish For,” Dawson turns 16 and gets even more angst-y, trying to make sense of his poor little life and his difficulties with the ladies, especially considering that his former girlfriend Joey dated a guy that turned out to be gay.* As Joey plans a great surprise party for him back at the Leery residence, Dawson accompanies Pacey and Andie for a night on the town. On the advice of her therapist, Andie decides to act a little more recklessly, and Dawson joins in the fun, getting drunk and getting on stage to sing “the blues,” which was a truly difficult scene to watch. Meanwhile, Joey is dealing with her own stuff at the Leery house as Stupid Abby and her loser friends taunt Jack for being gay, than try to make out with him to prove that he is not. Joey unfortunately catches them in the act, Jack reaffirms that he is gay, and Stupid Abby’s game is foiled again. When a drunk Dawson finally shows up at home, he ruins the party by telling everyone how he really feels about them before passing out into the cake and spending the night in the bathroom with Andie, promising never to drink again.
*Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
An art festival or something comes to Capeside in “Psychic Friends,” and our characters react to the predictions of some fortune teller. Joey decides to follow the advice of the crazy lady and pursues a guy who wants to take her picture, goes to a photo shoot, and makes an ass of herself when he turns out to be more interested in Jack. Jen tries to convince Grams to meet an old high school flame to catch up, but it all goes terribly wrong when the dude turns out to be married. Pacey is trying to understand what the crazy fortune teller told Andie and how he fits into her life, while Dawson shows his “Dawson-Joey” movie to his new film teacher, allegedly some big shot screenwriter from Hollywood on sabbatical, and she tells him that it sucks in so many words, bruising his tender 16 year-old ego.
In “A Perfect Wedding,” the wedding in question is not of our main characters, seeing as how they are in high school and whatnot, and it is not even anyone on the periphery. With Joey’s dad out of jail on parole, he decides to try and make the Potter family more successful by turning the Icehouse into a one-stop wedding-shop by offering catering. Everyone gets involved to ensure that the wedding is indeed perfect, though there are various pratfalls along the way. Pacey spends the episode trying to convince Andie that weddings are a big deal, to which she ultimately agrees after they destroy the top layer of cake. Joey wrestles with the idea of bringing her family issues to the forefront at a wedding attended by every single person in Capeside for some reason. Mitch shows up with Dawson’s film teacher, creating drama for all the Leerys. Dawson also helps Jack talk a nervous bride back into getting married when she locks herself in the bedroom. After being kicked out of the wedding by Andie, Jen and Stupid Abby steal a bottle of champagne and set about getting drunk and feeling sorry for themselves along the pier. Unfortunately, they drink a bit too much and Stupid Abby falls into the water after hitting her head, and the final scene is her zipped into a body bag while Jen stands by crying.
You could imagine what “Rest In Peace” is about. As everyone at Capeside High pretends that Abby was a great person and should be missed, Dawson and Joey both decide that she was a horrible person and it really isn’t that tragic that she is gone. Andie is asked by Abby’s mom to deliver a eulogy because she is so out of touch with her daughter’s life that she thinks they are super great friends because she gave her a ride home one day. Meanwhile, as Abby’s only “friend,” Jen is upset by the outpouring off grief and gives a speech at the funeral blasting everyone, but mostly offending Grams, which leads to her being kicked out of the house. Andie finds Abby’s journal full of hateful entries about everyone, decides to rush back and get it before Abby’s mom can find it, and ultimately sees an apparition of Abby, leading her to crazy town. After Joey is afraid to attend the funeral since the last funeral she went to was her mother’s, Dawson comforts her and they end up back together yet again, but not before Gail informs Dawson that she has been offered a job in Philadelphia.
With Joey and Dawson back together (didn’t see that coming), “Reunited” revolves around a romantic dinner for them at a fancy restaurant to celebrate some meaningless anniversary. Unfortunately, Mitch and Dawson’s film teacher also show up at the restaurant and steal their reservation. When Jen and Gail end up have a girls night out at the same restaurant, the teens plot to reunite Mitch and Gail, which only works temporarily. Meanwhile. Jack and Pacey try to confront Andie about her descent into crazy town after she admits that she has been seeing and having conversations with Tim, her older brother that died and drove her mother into madness.
The penultimate episode “Ch… Ch… Ch… Changes” brings many changes to our friends. Dawson is making a film as a final for his film class about people changing and whatnot, while also helping Joey’s dad expand the Ice House. Jack calls his father, who arrives from Providence intent on taking them all back to get some treatment, including Jack for his homosexuality. Jack must decide whether or not he wants to stick around and be by himself or go back and be with his family. Living with the Leerys, Jen calls her mom to see if she can come home and is told that she can’t, so she is also trying to figure out where to live. Pacey gets all Dawson on us and begins to wonder if he can live without Andie, or if it is more important for her to get better than for them to be together.
In the final episode of season two, “Parental Discretion Advised,” Dawson witnesses Mr. Potter selling drugs out of the Ice House and debates whether or not to tell Joey. He confronts Mr. Potter, who indicates that he will take care of it. Meanwhile, Sheriff Witter, Pacey’s father, already has suspicions and has been staking out the Ice House, much to Joey’s chagrin. Gail decides to head to Philadelphia for her fancy new job and announces that she will be taking Dawson with her for the summer. Pacey is still being all whiny like Dawson, slumping in school and reverting to old ways and getting bullied by his father. Later, the teenagers get together at the Ice House to study, and somebody lights the restaurant on fire. Sheriff Witter assumes arson, and Joey begins to wonder why anyone would burn down the Ice House. When Dawson goes to the police to inform them about the drugs, Joey gets all mad and refuses to turn her father in, but eventually comes around and wears a wire as her father incriminates himself. Pacey and his father have a brief altercation after the sheriff makes fun of Pacey for being emotional, but they too come to an understanding about everything. As we head off into the end of the season, Jen is invited back to live with Grams, and in turn invites Jack, while Joey tells Dawson that she can never forgive him for what he did to her family, apparently failing to understand that her father was the bad guy. For someone so smart, she sure can be stupid.
As our Capeside Clan heads off to enjoy the summer, what can he expect for their junior year? Will Jack find love? Will Pacey and Andie remain together after she gets better in treatment? Will Joey continue to hate Dawson? Will Dawson continue to be Dawson? Find out next time as we begin season 3, which kicks off with the introduction of a couple of new guest stars and all sorts of fun!
Until next time…
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