Original airdate: November 22, 2000
The last episode was a sad one so thankfully this episode is mostly a silly little caper, starting with the discovery of the crusty old principal's sailboat in the school pool. Quick sidebar here, I see all the time in US shows and movies that high schools have swimming pools. Is this really a thing or is it just a show biz thing? Asking as someone who grew up going to boring schools with no fancy auditoriums, swimming pools, or professional sports arenas that all movie high schools seemed to have. Anyway, the Principal's dog is aboard and 'Class of 2001' is spray-painted on the sail.
Everyone crowds around gawking at the spectacle, including Jack, Joey, and Dawson. Dawson wishes he'd thought of this and Joey shoots his ego in the gut by saying that a prank like this is out of his league. I want to love it but I know how this goes. The Principal calls his dog but oops, the dog goes to Jack who tries to deny knowing the dog. Cut to credits.
When we come back, the Principal calls a bunch of students to his office for interrogations. Amongst the names called are Dawson, Jack, and Pacey. Joining the Principal in the interrogations is Mitch Leery for reasons that are unclear to me other than we need something for Mitch to do because the actor is bored and wants more scenes. Jack is here because he was fingered by the dog, lol. Dawson is here because he could have access to the school's master keys through Mitch (uh, this kind of also paints Mitch as a careless and irresponsible employee but ok). Pacey is here because he would have had access to the storage shed where Principal's boat was stored since it's where Pacey also stored True Love before her untimely demise.
We start with Jack's account of his day. He is at Jen's house to excitedly tell her that he managed to swing her helping him coach the soccer team as her community service requirement after the ecstasy debacle. Sweet! Jen gets to hang out with Jack instead of stinky Drew. Jen is hesitant but agrees and then Jack runs off to meet Drew at the hardware store. Jen is as confused as I am but Jack says that it's a karma thing.
Next, the Principal grills Pacey on what he did all day. It turns out that Pacey was on a ride-along with his brother Doug who flip flops between being semi-supportive to awful. I think they're trying to reform him but I just really dislike him. Joey doesn't understand why he suddenly wants to go for the ride-along but Pacey sidesteps the question by joking about how he'd look in a uniform. He makes the requisite "lol my brother is closeted" joke that the writers seem to love giving him which is the one part of the character I don't like, and then they're off.
Next up is Dawson's turn to recount his morning. Mitch is looking at him suspiciously because he didn't see him the morning in question. Dawson mocks their NYPD Blue roleplay before going into his day. Just a quick side bar that it's funny how the last episode of Glee I covered featured a bit where a teacher was acting like an interrogator and I immediately follow it with an entire interrogation themed episode on Dawson's Creek. Teachers as cops is a theme now. Gail drove him to Mr. Brooks' house for his daily torture. He and Gail are talking about how he lost Mitch's car keys and needs to find them before he notices. Dawson is almost positive he left them here so off he goes to help Mr. Brooks. The old man wants Dawson's help cleaning out a room in his house but Dawson demands payment for this chore since he feels he already worked off his debt. Mr. Brooks tells him no but Dawson threatens to leave so Mr. Brooks agrees to pay him what he's worth, which is very little. I will never get tired of this man belittling Dawson. I love it.
We cut back to Jack's interrogation where he explains to the Principal and Mitch that he was working on a chemistry project with Drew Valentine and they had to pick up supplies at the hardware store. Jack asks Drew to go get some paint for their project and take their stuff to the checkout. Drew asks why Jack can't do it. Jack explains that he has to go find some soccer netting to fix the goal on the soccer field for the kids. Drew is surprised that Jack can be selfless.
Cutting back to Pacey's story, the Principal asks where he went with his brother. We scene change to a doughnut shop because of course. Pacey is equally surprised by the stereotype but Doug assures him that they are in for a way bigger day, filled with stuff way more interesting than any Cops episode. Pacey isn't buying it though.
Dawson's POV: He explains that he spent the rest of the morning alone in Mr. Brooks' study going through old files. He comes across an old yearbook where he finds Mr. Brooks' picture with the caption: Arthur Isaac Brooks, Newspaper, Track and Field, Aspiration to become a famous Hollywood filmmaker. Oh boy, Dawson and Mr. Brooks have something in common.
Mitch asks Dawson about his 9th grade senior pact which Dawson brushes off because it was 4 years ago. The Principal's interest is piqued though so Dawson explains that when he was in 9th grade, the seniors pulled a lame prank and so he and Pacey made a pact that when they were seniors, they would do it right. They would do the prank to end all pranks. The Principal immediately jumps to the conclusion that Dawson did it but Dawson says he was busy all morning, as he said. Plus, he and Pacey aren't on speaking terms right now but then he says that he can't say that Pacey wasn't responsible.
Back in Jack's POV: he explains that he picked up Jen around 12:45 and they got to the soccer field around 1:35-ish. He and Jen are setting up the new net that Jack bought. He also calls the little girl, Molly, over to talk. He offers her the goalie position since the old goalie broke his arm but she declines. Jack is confused but Jen says Molly reminds her of her at that age, they go for the position that offers the least amount of embarrassment rather than seek glory. She then says that if she got pissed off, she might want to take up the challenge. This makes Jack think.
We cut back to Pacey's interrogation. The Principal points out that his boat was removed from the warehouse sometime between 12:30pm and 5:15pm and Pacey is the only senior with access to that facility. Pacey asks what records but the Principal is asking the question here, ok? Pacey offers to talk but says it's going to be extremely boring. He explains his day with Doug where they are sitting in his car on the side of a road. Pacey asks Doug if he feels like he wasted his life becoming a cop to just sit with a radar gun, writing speeding tickets for people. Doug is obviously insulted. That's it, that's the scene.
Back to Dawson, the Principal asks if he was still at Mr. Brooks' house at 12pm. Dawson confirms and says that by 12:30pm, he was anxious to get out of there. Cut to Mr. Brooks' house, a car horn honks and Dawson grabs his jacket to leave. Mr. Brooks asks him where he thinks he's going and Dawson explains that he's done for the day and is going home. Mr. Brooks argues that he's not paying him to spoon his girlfriend, Dawson only denies that she's his girlfriend but Mr. Brooks don't give a fuck about Dawson's romantic life and demands he return in three hours or he won't be paid. Point Mr. Brooks.
Jack voice-overs that Jen's advice on young girls seemed valid and so he decided to put it to practice. he calls Molly over and asks if she got any orange wedges. She says she only got one because some kid named Billy smashed the other one. Jack says that Billy sucks and she agrees, saying that he'll regret it when she's 17 and hot. Jack tells her that she doesn't have to wait that long, she can make them respect her now by showing how tough she is. Molly asks if the goalie position has been filled yet and then asks if she can have it. Jack agrees. Molly makes it clear that she knows that Jack manipulated her but still wants to be goalie. I know she's a precocious kid trope but she's much more charming and likable than Buzz was so I'll allow it.
Back to Dawson's story, Gretchen drops him off at home where Drew is waiting for him. She says he gives her the creeps and I totally agree but Dawson says he's making an effort. Gretchen asks him why and he says it's a karmic thing. She drives off and he goes to see what Drew wants. We find out that Dawson went to the movies last night and bought Drew popcorn and they sat together. Drew was touched by Dawson's welcoming and hands Dawson Mitch's lost car keys. Apparently, they were left in his car from last night. Dawson thanks him for saving him from a huge lecture and Drew says that what goes around comes around, since Dawson was nice to him, he returned the favour. Guys, I think Karma is a huge theme this episode because they are really drilling it in right now.
Pacey is telling his story again and is with Doug when he says they have to look for a stolen dog. It's obviously the Principal's dog but they never mention this. Pacey is incredulous that a lost dog is "the excitement better than an episode of Cops" that Doug promised. Doug is done with Pacey's snide comments and tells him off in an incredibly harsh way and also threatens to beat him so good thing a man with a short and violent fuse is an officer of the law.
Mitch points out that Pacey was looking for the very dog he's suspected of taking and Pacey asks why he's still here since it's obvious he didn't do it. Mitch tells him that there is new details that came to light that points to Pacey's guilt. Pacey asks if he is referring to his pact with Dawson. The Principal is like "oho! you remember this pact too?" thinking he has his man but Pacey points out that he and Dawson are not friends anymore and he could've implicated him to draw suspicion away from himself. Not going to lie, this is a totally plausible thing for Dawson to do based on previous evidence of his behaviour towards Pacey even when they were friends. The Principal insists that they'll nail whoever is responsible no matter what.
Back to Dawson's time in the hot seat and he is incredulous that he's still here. Principal Crustypants (yes, I gave him a made up name now. Deal with it.) points out that there was no forced entry into the school which would imply an inside job and since he would have access to keys, he's a main suspect. Dawson says that he was home but Mitch says he only saw him at 10 so he needs to account for the previous 5 hours as the school was broken into sometime after then as that's when the cleaning crew goes home. Mitch promises he'll be done with this after he tells them where he was that afternoon/evening. Principal Crustypants says they'll be done when he has his man.
Dawson says he went back to Mr. Brooks' house only to find that he's fired because Mr. Brooks was tired of dealing with Dawson's shit. Honestly, that's fair. I think we're supposed to feel bad for Dawson here but we all know I don't care about him so I'm just nodding along with all of Mr. Brooks' insults towards him.
Back to Jack, Principal Crustypants asks him where he was after 5pm. Jack says he was at the soccer field because they had a game. Cut to the field where Jen points out some approaching soccer dad's to Jack before scurrying away which is totally fair. Sports parents are the worst. To prove my point, these dads are pissed because Jack is putting Molly in for goalie and one dad says, I kid you not, "I'm afraid we can't allow that." I don't know why I laughed at that line but I did because now all I can think is that these dads are robots. Dad 9000, if you will.
Dad9000 tells Jack that if he puts the girl in for goalie, they will lose and if they lose, Jack is fired. This man sounds cartoonishly evil and I kind of love his brazen-ness. His big deal is that Jack is gay but the fact that he's using this as the excuse to fire him is really weak. Jen asks Jack what he's going to do and we're left to wonder for now because we cut back to Pacey.
Principal Crankypants is confused about Pacey being put into the back of the squad car because he couldn't find the dog and it's funny to me that he's incredulous about this fact when he is also accusing him of being a perp this whole episode. The car is parked outside a store and Doug comes out with some guy and his groceries. The guy gets to sit in the front while the groceries go in the back with Pacey, who Doug explains to the man is not a perp but his little brother. Pacey is annoyed at this development until they get to the guy's house. The guy gets out and takes out a collapsible cane. Doug helps him carry his groceries inside and Pacey feels awful.
Meanwhile, Dawson is explaining that an hour later, he's gone back to Mr. Brooks' house despite the fact that he was fired. He confronts Mr. Brooks about the yearbook entry and shares that he has the same ambition. He then tells Mr. Brooks that he doesn't want to end up like him and also he can't get rid of him and won't be pushed away no matter what he says. So, Dawson bullies an old man into hiring him again, is basically the end to this story.
Back to Jack's story, his team has won the game so Dad9000 can stuff it. Except that he says that hypothetically they could tie next game and if they do then the three goals Molly did let through will count against them and is this a thing? I know nothing of sportsball but this sounds really dumb for a peewee league. I thought ties were broken by overtime? This is dumb but it's the excuse Dad9000 needs to effectively terminate Jack. He does this all in front of the kids too, who were just happy that they won but now have lost their coach. Molly thinks it's her fault and runs away crying. Good job, Dad9000, you're such an efficiently evil robot that you fired a coach on a hypothetical situation and crushed a child's spirit in one swift blow.
Pacey recounts that they got the call about the stolen boat around 9pm and went to the shipyard to check it out. Pacey offers to enter in the code since he knows it from when he stored True Love there and opens the gate. Drew is inside waiting for them. Doug asks him what he's doing there and he says he got an anonymous phone call. Doug calls bs because they also got an anonymous phonecall 20 minutes prior. Drew asks Doug if he sees a boat on him and snarks that he can frisk him if he wants. Instead, Drew gets to leave and Pacey wants to leave too so he goes after Drew. Doug reminds Pacey that he hates Drew but Pacey says it's just a ride and a karma thing. Get it, guys? Karma? What goes around comes around? You picking up the subtle hints yet?
Principal Crustypants asks Pacey where they went. Pacey says he was just dropped off at home so they let him go home. Before he leaves, he puts in a good word for Dawson, saying that he'd never pull off this prank without Pacey's bad influence because he's too good.
Dawson actually puts in a good word for Pacey too saying that Pacey would never jeopardize his academic future for something that was hardly the prank to end all pranks. Mitch and Principal Crustypants let Dawson go and Mitch asks if he's done. Principal Crustypants is indeed done as he has figured it out, by jobe! Mitch is confused but the Principal is an expert since he watches Inspector Poirot on A&E.
Drew is now in the hot seat and Mrs. Valentine is pissed. Principal Crustypants explains how he knows that Drew is the guilty party and proceeds to explain the timeline he compiled. I'm just gonna let him explain it:
Mrs. Valentine is now pissed at her own son. She asks the principal if one week's suspension is enough but Principal Crustypants counters with two weeks and probation for the rest of the year since Drew seems to have a reputation that is following him. Mrs. Valentine agrees and drags Drew out.
Drew sees Joey and calls her over for a quick chat. He tells her that if she sees the boys, to tell them touche. Joey is super confused and asks him what's up. Drew answers that Karma caught up with him. Oh! You see? All that build-up was because they were enacting karmic revenge on Drew!
Outside the police station, Pacey is waiting for Doug with a box of "please forgive me" doughnuts. Doug is still not super in the mood but Pacey goes into a speech about how much Doug does for the people of the town and that his job does matter. Pacey thinks maybe someday he could ride in the front seat with Doug but Doug doesn't think so. I was going to be mad but Doug clears things up by telling Pacey that he's a daring original, that he was made to break the rules, not enforce them, and that he admires that in Pacey. It was a very sweet scene which is something you don't often see between these two.
Dawson is in the office at the restaurant looking something up on the computer when Gretchen comes in and sees that he's looking up Mr. Brooks and coming up short. She suggests that maybe he used a nickname or something. Dawson thinks that's silly but then an idea strikes him and he searches A.I. Brooks and boom, a bunch of movie titles pop up that he directed.
Molly's sister (the weird one that hit on Jack when he first became coach) is at Jack's house but thankfully, not to hit on him. She's brought Molly because she wants to apologize for getting Jack fired. Jack tells her that she was not the reason he got fired, the crazy robot dads just disagreed with him as a coach. Molly admits that her sister said it wasn't her fault too but she didn't believe her because she can't understand why they would fire him. He tells her that they are confused by him and that it scares them but they can't get mad at them, they just have to keep on being the best people they can be. My heart breaks, this is way more heartwarming than the Pacey/Buzz storyline.
Joey goes to Dawson's house and Mitch answers the door. As she goes up to Dawson's room, he tells her to let him know that he knows and to say congrats. Joey goes up to Dawson's room to find him and Pacey putting stuff into a garbage bag and asks them for an explanation. Before they can say anything Jack comes in through the window and Joey finally gets that they put the whole prank together. They tell her they have air tight alibis but if they wanted to pull it off, they could have easily had Jack swing by Principal Crustypants after meeting Drew at the hardware store (where Drew bought the white paint). Jack could have then left the dog and the paint at a rendez-vous point (leaving the dog some food and water, of course).
Pacey could have gotten into the storage facility around 1:30 when Drew dropped off the keys.
Dawson could have gotten the code from Pacey and driven the truck with the keys to the rendez-vous point to leave the boat there. Pacey would ask Drew to drop him off near the point where he'd pick everything up and drop it off to the school to finish the job. Jack chimes in that the real truth is that Drew is the real mastermind behind the whole thing because he's the worst and Joey agrees that it's karma. Everyone is happy and it's nice.
However, there is one more scene between Dawson and Pacey as they bury the remaining evidence. Pacey thinks somethings been right that hasn't been right for a long time and he can't remember why they're not friends. Dawson says he does know. Pacey explains that Dawson saying he could never trust him again was one of the top five worst moments of his life. Dawson shoots back that seeing him and Joey together was his number one worst moment with a bullet. Pacey asks if he could ever trust him again and Dawson says he'd like to believe it's possible. Pacey says he's willing to try because he's not ready to give up on him yet. I don't know, Pace, I'm really not sure you want to try so hard for a friend like Dawson. He sucks and treats you like garbage but it's your call.
This was a nice light episode that was surprisingly satisfying after the last depressing episode. I did like that episode but it was nice to get the gang working together again, keeping their promise to Andie. Also, as much as it was hammered in, I loved that they took Drew down a peg. That was insanely satisfying because he's just the worst. I realize now that they brought him in to probably make Dawson look way better and it's honestly working, kind of because I super hate Drew. However, I do still hate Dawson too but he's mostly been tolerable so far this season. Let's see if this continues in the next episode, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.
The last episode was a sad one so thankfully this episode is mostly a silly little caper, starting with the discovery of the crusty old principal's sailboat in the school pool. Quick sidebar here, I see all the time in US shows and movies that high schools have swimming pools. Is this really a thing or is it just a show biz thing? Asking as someone who grew up going to boring schools with no fancy auditoriums, swimming pools, or professional sports arenas that all movie high schools seemed to have. Anyway, the Principal's dog is aboard and 'Class of 2001' is spray-painted on the sail.
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| Fancypants school with its fancypants pool and a fancypants sailboat |
Everyone crowds around gawking at the spectacle, including Jack, Joey, and Dawson. Dawson wishes he'd thought of this and Joey shoots his ego in the gut by saying that a prank like this is out of his league. I want to love it but I know how this goes. The Principal calls his dog but oops, the dog goes to Jack who tries to deny knowing the dog. Cut to credits.
When we come back, the Principal calls a bunch of students to his office for interrogations. Amongst the names called are Dawson, Jack, and Pacey. Joining the Principal in the interrogations is Mitch Leery for reasons that are unclear to me other than we need something for Mitch to do because the actor is bored and wants more scenes. Jack is here because he was fingered by the dog, lol. Dawson is here because he could have access to the school's master keys through Mitch (uh, this kind of also paints Mitch as a careless and irresponsible employee but ok). Pacey is here because he would have had access to the storage shed where Principal's boat was stored since it's where Pacey also stored True Love before her untimely demise.
We start with Jack's account of his day. He is at Jen's house to excitedly tell her that he managed to swing her helping him coach the soccer team as her community service requirement after the ecstasy debacle. Sweet! Jen gets to hang out with Jack instead of stinky Drew. Jen is hesitant but agrees and then Jack runs off to meet Drew at the hardware store. Jen is as confused as I am but Jack says that it's a karma thing.
Next, the Principal grills Pacey on what he did all day. It turns out that Pacey was on a ride-along with his brother Doug who flip flops between being semi-supportive to awful. I think they're trying to reform him but I just really dislike him. Joey doesn't understand why he suddenly wants to go for the ride-along but Pacey sidesteps the question by joking about how he'd look in a uniform. He makes the requisite "lol my brother is closeted" joke that the writers seem to love giving him which is the one part of the character I don't like, and then they're off.
Next up is Dawson's turn to recount his morning. Mitch is looking at him suspiciously because he didn't see him the morning in question. Dawson mocks their NYPD Blue roleplay before going into his day. Just a quick side bar that it's funny how the last episode of Glee I covered featured a bit where a teacher was acting like an interrogator and I immediately follow it with an entire interrogation themed episode on Dawson's Creek. Teachers as cops is a theme now. Gail drove him to Mr. Brooks' house for his daily torture. He and Gail are talking about how he lost Mitch's car keys and needs to find them before he notices. Dawson is almost positive he left them here so off he goes to help Mr. Brooks. The old man wants Dawson's help cleaning out a room in his house but Dawson demands payment for this chore since he feels he already worked off his debt. Mr. Brooks tells him no but Dawson threatens to leave so Mr. Brooks agrees to pay him what he's worth, which is very little. I will never get tired of this man belittling Dawson. I love it.
We cut back to Jack's interrogation where he explains to the Principal and Mitch that he was working on a chemistry project with Drew Valentine and they had to pick up supplies at the hardware store. Jack asks Drew to go get some paint for their project and take their stuff to the checkout. Drew asks why Jack can't do it. Jack explains that he has to go find some soccer netting to fix the goal on the soccer field for the kids. Drew is surprised that Jack can be selfless.
Cutting back to Pacey's story, the Principal asks where he went with his brother. We scene change to a doughnut shop because of course. Pacey is equally surprised by the stereotype but Doug assures him that they are in for a way bigger day, filled with stuff way more interesting than any Cops episode. Pacey isn't buying it though.
Dawson's POV: He explains that he spent the rest of the morning alone in Mr. Brooks' study going through old files. He comes across an old yearbook where he finds Mr. Brooks' picture with the caption: Arthur Isaac Brooks, Newspaper, Track and Field, Aspiration to become a famous Hollywood filmmaker. Oh boy, Dawson and Mr. Brooks have something in common.
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| Get ready for this to be a plot point |
Mitch asks Dawson about his 9th grade senior pact which Dawson brushes off because it was 4 years ago. The Principal's interest is piqued though so Dawson explains that when he was in 9th grade, the seniors pulled a lame prank and so he and Pacey made a pact that when they were seniors, they would do it right. They would do the prank to end all pranks. The Principal immediately jumps to the conclusion that Dawson did it but Dawson says he was busy all morning, as he said. Plus, he and Pacey aren't on speaking terms right now but then he says that he can't say that Pacey wasn't responsible.
Back in Jack's POV: he explains that he picked up Jen around 12:45 and they got to the soccer field around 1:35-ish. He and Jen are setting up the new net that Jack bought. He also calls the little girl, Molly, over to talk. He offers her the goalie position since the old goalie broke his arm but she declines. Jack is confused but Jen says Molly reminds her of her at that age, they go for the position that offers the least amount of embarrassment rather than seek glory. She then says that if she got pissed off, she might want to take up the challenge. This makes Jack think.
We cut back to Pacey's interrogation. The Principal points out that his boat was removed from the warehouse sometime between 12:30pm and 5:15pm and Pacey is the only senior with access to that facility. Pacey asks what records but the Principal is asking the question here, ok? Pacey offers to talk but says it's going to be extremely boring. He explains his day with Doug where they are sitting in his car on the side of a road. Pacey asks Doug if he feels like he wasted his life becoming a cop to just sit with a radar gun, writing speeding tickets for people. Doug is obviously insulted. That's it, that's the scene.
Back to Dawson, the Principal asks if he was still at Mr. Brooks' house at 12pm. Dawson confirms and says that by 12:30pm, he was anxious to get out of there. Cut to Mr. Brooks' house, a car horn honks and Dawson grabs his jacket to leave. Mr. Brooks asks him where he thinks he's going and Dawson explains that he's done for the day and is going home. Mr. Brooks argues that he's not paying him to spoon his girlfriend, Dawson only denies that she's his girlfriend but Mr. Brooks don't give a fuck about Dawson's romantic life and demands he return in three hours or he won't be paid. Point Mr. Brooks.
Jack voice-overs that Jen's advice on young girls seemed valid and so he decided to put it to practice. he calls Molly over and asks if she got any orange wedges. She says she only got one because some kid named Billy smashed the other one. Jack says that Billy sucks and she agrees, saying that he'll regret it when she's 17 and hot. Jack tells her that she doesn't have to wait that long, she can make them respect her now by showing how tough she is. Molly asks if the goalie position has been filled yet and then asks if she can have it. Jack agrees. Molly makes it clear that she knows that Jack manipulated her but still wants to be goalie. I know she's a precocious kid trope but she's much more charming and likable than Buzz was so I'll allow it.
Back to Dawson's story, Gretchen drops him off at home where Drew is waiting for him. She says he gives her the creeps and I totally agree but Dawson says he's making an effort. Gretchen asks him why and he says it's a karmic thing. She drives off and he goes to see what Drew wants. We find out that Dawson went to the movies last night and bought Drew popcorn and they sat together. Drew was touched by Dawson's welcoming and hands Dawson Mitch's lost car keys. Apparently, they were left in his car from last night. Dawson thanks him for saving him from a huge lecture and Drew says that what goes around comes around, since Dawson was nice to him, he returned the favour. Guys, I think Karma is a huge theme this episode because they are really drilling it in right now.
Pacey is telling his story again and is with Doug when he says they have to look for a stolen dog. It's obviously the Principal's dog but they never mention this. Pacey is incredulous that a lost dog is "the excitement better than an episode of Cops" that Doug promised. Doug is done with Pacey's snide comments and tells him off in an incredibly harsh way and also threatens to beat him so good thing a man with a short and violent fuse is an officer of the law.
Mitch points out that Pacey was looking for the very dog he's suspected of taking and Pacey asks why he's still here since it's obvious he didn't do it. Mitch tells him that there is new details that came to light that points to Pacey's guilt. Pacey asks if he is referring to his pact with Dawson. The Principal is like "oho! you remember this pact too?" thinking he has his man but Pacey points out that he and Dawson are not friends anymore and he could've implicated him to draw suspicion away from himself. Not going to lie, this is a totally plausible thing for Dawson to do based on previous evidence of his behaviour towards Pacey even when they were friends. The Principal insists that they'll nail whoever is responsible no matter what.
Back to Dawson's time in the hot seat and he is incredulous that he's still here. Principal Crustypants (yes, I gave him a made up name now. Deal with it.) points out that there was no forced entry into the school which would imply an inside job and since he would have access to keys, he's a main suspect. Dawson says that he was home but Mitch says he only saw him at 10 so he needs to account for the previous 5 hours as the school was broken into sometime after then as that's when the cleaning crew goes home. Mitch promises he'll be done with this after he tells them where he was that afternoon/evening. Principal Crustypants says they'll be done when he has his man.
Dawson says he went back to Mr. Brooks' house only to find that he's fired because Mr. Brooks was tired of dealing with Dawson's shit. Honestly, that's fair. I think we're supposed to feel bad for Dawson here but we all know I don't care about him so I'm just nodding along with all of Mr. Brooks' insults towards him.
Back to Jack, Principal Crustypants asks him where he was after 5pm. Jack says he was at the soccer field because they had a game. Cut to the field where Jen points out some approaching soccer dad's to Jack before scurrying away which is totally fair. Sports parents are the worst. To prove my point, these dads are pissed because Jack is putting Molly in for goalie and one dad says, I kid you not, "I'm afraid we can't allow that." I don't know why I laughed at that line but I did because now all I can think is that these dads are robots. Dad 9000, if you will.
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| Pictured: Angry Soccer Dad |
Dad9000 tells Jack that if he puts the girl in for goalie, they will lose and if they lose, Jack is fired. This man sounds cartoonishly evil and I kind of love his brazen-ness. His big deal is that Jack is gay but the fact that he's using this as the excuse to fire him is really weak. Jen asks Jack what he's going to do and we're left to wonder for now because we cut back to Pacey.
Principal Crankypants is confused about Pacey being put into the back of the squad car because he couldn't find the dog and it's funny to me that he's incredulous about this fact when he is also accusing him of being a perp this whole episode. The car is parked outside a store and Doug comes out with some guy and his groceries. The guy gets to sit in the front while the groceries go in the back with Pacey, who Doug explains to the man is not a perp but his little brother. Pacey is annoyed at this development until they get to the guy's house. The guy gets out and takes out a collapsible cane. Doug helps him carry his groceries inside and Pacey feels awful.
Meanwhile, Dawson is explaining that an hour later, he's gone back to Mr. Brooks' house despite the fact that he was fired. He confronts Mr. Brooks about the yearbook entry and shares that he has the same ambition. He then tells Mr. Brooks that he doesn't want to end up like him and also he can't get rid of him and won't be pushed away no matter what he says. So, Dawson bullies an old man into hiring him again, is basically the end to this story.
Back to Jack's story, his team has won the game so Dad9000 can stuff it. Except that he says that hypothetically they could tie next game and if they do then the three goals Molly did let through will count against them and is this a thing? I know nothing of sportsball but this sounds really dumb for a peewee league. I thought ties were broken by overtime? This is dumb but it's the excuse Dad9000 needs to effectively terminate Jack. He does this all in front of the kids too, who were just happy that they won but now have lost their coach. Molly thinks it's her fault and runs away crying. Good job, Dad9000, you're such an efficiently evil robot that you fired a coach on a hypothetical situation and crushed a child's spirit in one swift blow.
Pacey recounts that they got the call about the stolen boat around 9pm and went to the shipyard to check it out. Pacey offers to enter in the code since he knows it from when he stored True Love there and opens the gate. Drew is inside waiting for them. Doug asks him what he's doing there and he says he got an anonymous phone call. Doug calls bs because they also got an anonymous phonecall 20 minutes prior. Drew asks Doug if he sees a boat on him and snarks that he can frisk him if he wants. Instead, Drew gets to leave and Pacey wants to leave too so he goes after Drew. Doug reminds Pacey that he hates Drew but Pacey says it's just a ride and a karma thing. Get it, guys? Karma? What goes around comes around? You picking up the subtle hints yet?
Principal Crustypants asks Pacey where they went. Pacey says he was just dropped off at home so they let him go home. Before he leaves, he puts in a good word for Dawson, saying that he'd never pull off this prank without Pacey's bad influence because he's too good.
Dawson actually puts in a good word for Pacey too saying that Pacey would never jeopardize his academic future for something that was hardly the prank to end all pranks. Mitch and Principal Crustypants let Dawson go and Mitch asks if he's done. Principal Crustypants is indeed done as he has figured it out, by jobe! Mitch is confused but the Principal is an expert since he watches Inspector Poirot on A&E.
Drew is now in the hot seat and Mrs. Valentine is pissed. Principal Crustypants explains how he knows that Drew is the guilty party and proceeds to explain the timeline he compiled. I'm just gonna let him explain it:
Principal: At 10:30 yesterday, your son was in Harry’s hardware store purchasing a canister of white paint identical to the kind that was used to scrawl the words "class of 2001" on the sail of my boat. At 1:30, he was at the leery residence returning Mitch’s keys, keys that could have easily have been copied earlier that day at the hardware store, giving Drue access to my school. At 9:30, he made one final appearance, this time at the storage warehouse behind the yacht club, under the pretense of having received an anonymous phone call. Your son was conveniently present at all the necessary moments, he acquired the means and resources to do the job, and he had the time to pull it all off... Without a hitch. Anything I left out, Mitch? Hey, that rhymes!
Mrs. Valentine is now pissed at her own son. She asks the principal if one week's suspension is enough but Principal Crustypants counters with two weeks and probation for the rest of the year since Drew seems to have a reputation that is following him. Mrs. Valentine agrees and drags Drew out.
Drew sees Joey and calls her over for a quick chat. He tells her that if she sees the boys, to tell them touche. Joey is super confused and asks him what's up. Drew answers that Karma caught up with him. Oh! You see? All that build-up was because they were enacting karmic revenge on Drew!
Outside the police station, Pacey is waiting for Doug with a box of "please forgive me" doughnuts. Doug is still not super in the mood but Pacey goes into a speech about how much Doug does for the people of the town and that his job does matter. Pacey thinks maybe someday he could ride in the front seat with Doug but Doug doesn't think so. I was going to be mad but Doug clears things up by telling Pacey that he's a daring original, that he was made to break the rules, not enforce them, and that he admires that in Pacey. It was a very sweet scene which is something you don't often see between these two.
Dawson is in the office at the restaurant looking something up on the computer when Gretchen comes in and sees that he's looking up Mr. Brooks and coming up short. She suggests that maybe he used a nickname or something. Dawson thinks that's silly but then an idea strikes him and he searches A.I. Brooks and boom, a bunch of movie titles pop up that he directed.
Molly's sister (the weird one that hit on Jack when he first became coach) is at Jack's house but thankfully, not to hit on him. She's brought Molly because she wants to apologize for getting Jack fired. Jack tells her that she was not the reason he got fired, the crazy robot dads just disagreed with him as a coach. Molly admits that her sister said it wasn't her fault too but she didn't believe her because she can't understand why they would fire him. He tells her that they are confused by him and that it scares them but they can't get mad at them, they just have to keep on being the best people they can be. My heart breaks, this is way more heartwarming than the Pacey/Buzz storyline.
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| I hate that Molly got hurt by evil Dad9000 but look at Jack making it all better |
Joey goes to Dawson's house and Mitch answers the door. As she goes up to Dawson's room, he tells her to let him know that he knows and to say congrats. Joey goes up to Dawson's room to find him and Pacey putting stuff into a garbage bag and asks them for an explanation. Before they can say anything Jack comes in through the window and Joey finally gets that they put the whole prank together. They tell her they have air tight alibis but if they wanted to pull it off, they could have easily had Jack swing by Principal Crustypants after meeting Drew at the hardware store (where Drew bought the white paint). Jack could have then left the dog and the paint at a rendez-vous point (leaving the dog some food and water, of course).
Pacey could have gotten into the storage facility around 1:30 when Drew dropped off the keys.
Dawson could have gotten the code from Pacey and driven the truck with the keys to the rendez-vous point to leave the boat there. Pacey would ask Drew to drop him off near the point where he'd pick everything up and drop it off to the school to finish the job. Jack chimes in that the real truth is that Drew is the real mastermind behind the whole thing because he's the worst and Joey agrees that it's karma. Everyone is happy and it's nice.
However, there is one more scene between Dawson and Pacey as they bury the remaining evidence. Pacey thinks somethings been right that hasn't been right for a long time and he can't remember why they're not friends. Dawson says he does know. Pacey explains that Dawson saying he could never trust him again was one of the top five worst moments of his life. Dawson shoots back that seeing him and Joey together was his number one worst moment with a bullet. Pacey asks if he could ever trust him again and Dawson says he'd like to believe it's possible. Pacey says he's willing to try because he's not ready to give up on him yet. I don't know, Pace, I'm really not sure you want to try so hard for a friend like Dawson. He sucks and treats you like garbage but it's your call.
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| Friends again? Not until Dawson says so |
This was a nice light episode that was surprisingly satisfying after the last depressing episode. I did like that episode but it was nice to get the gang working together again, keeping their promise to Andie. Also, as much as it was hammered in, I loved that they took Drew down a peg. That was insanely satisfying because he's just the worst. I realize now that they brought him in to probably make Dawson look way better and it's honestly working, kind of because I super hate Drew. However, I do still hate Dawson too but he's mostly been tolerable so far this season. Let's see if this continues in the next episode, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.
speaking as one random person from the States, we didn't have a pool onsite, but the rec center was literally across the street and had an indoor pool, so that's where our swim team practiced etc.
ReplyDeleteso long as they don't try to redeem stupid Drew (I genuinely don't remember) this is all fine I suppose
Oh dear god I hope they don't try to reform Drew. I don't remember either but I know he sticks around for most of this season, if not all. I hate him so much though.
DeleteWhere I grew up in the US almost all high schools had swimming pools.
ReplyDeleteI am officially jealous of both of your schools. We occasionally got to go to a rec centre but it was a field trip that didn't happen often, maybe once a year? How do your schools afford their own pools?
ReplyDelete