Dawson's Creek - 415 - Four Stories

Original air date: February 14, 2001

I'm sorry, I've shirked my blogging duties for too long yet again. I took a week off because it was hectic and fully intended to work on my Glee post but given the tragic events unfolding regarding Naya Rivera, I decided to pause my Glee recap and do another Dawson's Creek one. It just feels too weird to talk about Glee when someone passed away tragically and discovered on the anniversary of the death of another cast member. Jesus, that show is cursed. I will probably get back into Glee but I just needed a break because the story hit me really hard, not because I idolized her or anything but it's just the general mother solidarity. She's around my age and left behind a four year old son, it hits too close to home and I just can't properly process it right now. It breaks my heart and I wish that little guy and all her family and friends the best. 

Transitioning back to Dawson's Creek, my pure and very nostalgic escape from all things 2020 related (seriously, fuck this year) this episode serves to mostly piss me off. Every single time this show gives me some good Pacephine release, they insist on dousing me in cold water which is very rude. 

The episode opens at the ski resort which is where all the relevant, interesting, and likable characters were last episode. They are getting ready to board the buses home and we first join Jack and Jen. Jack wants to make sure she's ok after their little foray into ruining my favourite soulmates. Jen is cool but then freaks out about if they actually went through it and what if she'd gotten pregnant and they had to drop out of school to raise their illegitimate love child. Jack jokes that they'd have to sit their kid down and explain to them that mommy and daddy can't have sex unless daddy is thinking about Ryan Phillipe and Jen jokes that she would be thinking about him too. Best friends are back, baby. 

The worst teacher supervisor of the year is taking attendance and making sure all the teens he's been put in charge of are on the buses before departure. Jen asks what her punishment will be vis a vis, getting caught with a bunch of empties by said teacher and he promises her that it's not so much a punishment as something that she could really use. Foreboding. 

Teacher then addresses Drew who, I feel the need to remind you all, is the worst and I hate him. Teacher is mad because Drew is late for a 6:30am departure. What kind of heartless monsters book a bus to take people home at 6:30 in the morning? Ew. But he's not the only one holding things up, Pacey and Joey are also no where to be found. Because Drew is the worst, he points to a similar looking couple who are making out on the bus already and the teacher is just like ugh and doesn't actually confront them once he's on the bus and they just leave? A plus chaperoning skills. 

If you'll recall, we last left the Creek with Pacey and Joey getting it on and making mad passionate love (fucking finally) and we open this episode on them cutely nestled in post coital bliss.

Too bad this image will be ruined by the time the episode is done.
Because the writers hate me. Me specifically.

Of course, there is also some doubt on their faces because this is a drama so no one can ever just be happy after something like this, there always has to be something. We launch into the intro and come back to the first of our titular four stories.

About Last Night

This is the first of the stories that was designed to piss a massive Pacephine shipper, like myself, right the hell off as we open on them waiting for a bus ride home after having to buy bus tickets. They're short on cash and thus are enjoying vending machine breakfasts. Joey called her sister and Pacey's immediate question is if she told Bessie about them doing it. I really, really hate this. Why are you doing me so wrong, Pacey? I get he's nervous and wants to know that he satisfied her and it's good that he's worried about her enjoyment but it comes off more as worry about his own ego and sex prowess than Joey's actual enjoyment and that's really going to show. I hate it. Anyway, she obviously didn't because 1. there are more pressing things at stake here and 2. some people don't feel the need to tell every single person about their sexual exploits and that's perfectly ok. Pacey asks if she told Gretchen which is even weirder because (and I apologize because I'm gonna do the number thing again) 1. are Joey and Gretchen even friends?? 2. why would she want to tell her boyfriend's sister about having sex with him? and 3. Why the fuck would his sister want to know either? Pacey, my man, you are being super weird. 

He really wants to know about how he was in bed for her and, I'm just going to fill some guys in here but speaking as a woman, I'm not thinking in terms of prowess when I'm in bed with someone, I'm thinking about how the experience makes me feel, how the person is showing me they care about me and how I can show them I care about them. Can someone universally be good at sex for everyone? I highly doubt it because everyone has different wants, needs, and desires. I don't know, I think guys just need to relax a little and instead of asking "how great am I in bed?" ask "how can I make my partner feel great?" There's my sex advice for the week, dear readers. 

Pacey finally starts to redeem himself by offering her chocolate hearts but frames it as a thing he felt he needed to get her to commemorate losing her virginity which feels a little weird but his little smile when he holds out the hearts to her is sweet so I'll allow it. They banter back and forth and she ribs him for getting her a gift for losing her virginity and quips that if she'd known that she would've asked for a car. Pacey turns into a charmer again as he says he could spend the rest of his life bantering with her every morning. 

Pacey will not let up on getting Joey's opinion on their experience and I do get it but I really hate that when she finally offers her thoughts, he jumps down her throat about it. I mean, she gets this sweet smile and says that it was really nice and he just gets super butt hurt about this. I get the whole, nice is boring thing but nice means a lot of different things to people and she clearly enjoyed it. But he is so focused on how he measured up that Joey rightly points out to him that maybe she's feeling that a little more so considering she knows exactly how many people Pacey has slept with and knows he has a barometer where she does not. 

Pacey saves the day by saying that he thought she was amazing and everything he could have ever hoped for and that he wants to scream from the rooftops about what he did and who he did it with. This freaks Joey out because she doesn't want him to do that and I honestly can't get mad at Pacey for being upset about this much as I understand why she would feel uncomfortable about people knowing. Ok, so we know that the show is pushing this whole Joey doesn't want Dawson to know if she's slept with Pacey and that's why she doesn't want Pacey to tell people or tell people herself and yeah, that's fucked up and it is definitely something the writers are exploring. However, I think this is a case of men not quite understanding the female experience and I say this because I looked up this episode and it is written by a man. I'm not trying to shame him or cancel him or whatever, I'm just pointing this out, there is a vast difference in experiences of when men have sex for the first time (celebrated) versus women (shamed) to the point that it's ingrained in girls to generally be very shy about sharing their experiences sexually unless they are very close with a person and even then, that can bite you in the ass. I don't know if this guy realizes this but Joey not wanting to talk about having sex to a lot of people is not a Joey problem, but a near universal teenage girl problem. But of course, it's code for she doesn't want to hurt Dawson specifically which is such crap. I don't understand why they keep tying all her insecurities to Dawson when they shouldn't be. It's incredibly valid for a girl to not want her boyfriend to blast the news all over that she's had sex, it's also for her safety that you don't. There are shit people out there who make girls feel like shit for "being impure" or "giving herself away" and worse there are those that would see her choice to have sex with one mean she is "open for business" and that is a whole world of misogynistic grossness. It would be really nice if Pacey maybe acknowledged that Joey might not want people to know because of this than because of this really stupid insistence that she and Dawson are soulmates or some crap. 

So, Pacey and her argue over Dawson because of course and he asks her point blank if Dawson flat out asked her if she'd slept with Pacey, what she'd say. Joey insists she'd tell the truth and I really don't like this set up. Pacey moves past that and mentions that she hasn't touched him all morning (except for the kiss where he mocked her morning breath?) and she gets pissed off and ditches him. 

He comes to his senses and follows her. She is crying outside which is just the most heartbreaking thing to see happen after what should have been a happy night. I hate this. But Joey explains what her nice meant and that it was because he brushed her hair off her forehead and it made her feel safe and that she's not going to remember if she came or if they had great sex but she's going to remember his sweetness. You see? That's what I'm telling you guys, it's the little moments that matter and take up a special place in someone's heart. Joey then says she wants to go home so they can do it again and I'm all for that. Get it, Joey. 

The Big Picture

This is a Dawson-centric story and thus I am much less engaged. He and Gretchen are clearly driving back from Mr. Brooks' funeral to his home. Inside Grams is holding up a gun which takes them both aback but she lets them know it's a prop from one of his pictures and then adds that she might be able to use it to discipline Jen which I know is a joke a lot of people make but I expected better of you, Grams. She doesn't need to be kept in line, she needs help. Anyway, the room they're in is full of movie memorabilia and Mrs. Ryan admits that Mr. Brooks was very proud of his accomplishments despite how he acted and that he didn't want his stuff collecting dust. She suggests donating it but Dawson is unimpressed so she asks him what he'd suggest. I'm just going to point out that she didn't offer this same courtesy to Jen when her grandfather passed away but then, I'm a bitter Jen defender and think she was done dirty by everyone in this show. #JenDeservedBetter. Dawson storms out because he's a big baby and everything has to be about him when Grams might be hurting a lot too, you jackass. Anyway, she goes out to comfort him because he's the main character for some reason.

She apologizes to him because it must be hard on him (she was his goddamn girlfriend) and Dawson at least has the decency to admit that while it's hard, it doesn't give him the right to be rude. But you're still not acknowledging what Grams lost, you jackass. He doesn't understand why she wants to be here today and honestly sticking to pretty good character, this is the way Grams deals, she gets shit done no matter how quickly it seems to others. Her way of dealing with grief is to be productive. She offers Dawson the chance to spend some time in the movie memorabilia room so he can figure out how he wants to move on. 

Inside, Gretchen has found a screenplay that Mr. Brooks wrote when he was Dawson's age. They perform a bit of it together which is supposed to be cute and I'm trying to be impartial but guys, Dawson is so boring. They kiss. Gretchen thinks it was sweet but I don't really view a man calling a woman "a skirt" as sweet even given the time period but maybe I don't understand 40s lingo and it was an endearment. My modern self dislikes it immensely so this did nothing for me. 

Dawson is pissed because only 5 people showed up to the funeral and it wouldn't have been any if he never crashed his boat which he finds pathetic. Gretchen doesn't think Mr. Brooks needs his pity since he lived a pretty full life. Dawson's worried that he'll end up like Brooks since he lost the girl which is probably not the best thing to say to your current girlfriend so Gretchen is certainly a trooper. Gretchen admits that she started feeling more than platonic towards him when she watched Mr. Brooks' movie with him and saw him come alive and that in a weird way he got them together. Dawson tells her he likes her and lavishes praise on her. He wants to be alone for a bit and she gives him space because she's an awesome girlfriend but he corrects her and says she's an awesome skirt which again, does nothing for me but Gretchen likes it so to each their own, I guess? 

Dawson finds a movie poster for Turn Away My Sweet, the movie he and Gretchen watched together and gets teary eyed but he's soon interrupted by an estate lawyer. The guy apparently only came to the house to ask Dawson to come by his office...because a phone call just wouldn't do? This is an awkward way for the writer to be able to have someone ask Dawson who this guy was so he could then regale them with how Mr. Brooks was a pain in the ass but that he was a good friend and he'll miss him so I guess he's dealt with his grief. That was...boring. Sorry, Mr. Brooks, I dug you when you mocked Dawson relentlessly, that will be missed.

Excess Baggage

Now we get into Jen's story which is the one plot line I remembered from this season other than the great Pacephine Hookup so I'm pretty excited to see it start here. Jen is awkwardly going into a building and ringing a buzzer relentlessly to overly goofy music which is an odd tone setter for where this story will be going. I don't understand this choice. Tom Frost, invites her into his office. This is a therapy session and Jen is very nervous about it. She tries to sit in the stereotypical therapist couch thing but gets awkward and instead stands over him while he sits in a chair. Without missing a beat, he asks how she is and she tersely answers that she's fine. He asks her why she's here and she thinks he already knows since this is her "punishment" for being caught with alcohol at the ski trip. She goes into the story, explaining how she almost slept with Jack who is gay but stumbles over herself and repeatedly says gay and then asks if Tom is gay. He doesn't get flustered by this but asks her if it's important to her and she gets flustered instead. He asks about her drinking and she admits to doing it and liking it but that she's not addicted or anything and then she gets nervous about what he's writing. (I mean, legit I often wonder what doctors write about me. In my logic brain I know they are just making notes about my symptoms or reason for visit or whatever but in my stupid brain I imagine them writing what an annoying, overreacting whiner I am so I get her paranoia is what I'm saying). 

Jen then gets defensive and mocks him for taking a break between clients because he doesn't exert himself that much and this feels very dated and smug. Dealing with people's emotional trauma takes a huge toll and absolutely there would need to be rest between clients to make extra notes, calm yourself or whatever. It's hard mental work. Hell, being in therapy is hard mental work, it drains you of energy of course the person giving therapy would need a rest too. They're taking your emotional burden on and trying to help you work through it. Uncool, Jen. 

She asks where he went to school and he won't answer but sees his Boston diploma on the wall. She then straightens it out and cue the weird energetic tone shifting music as she knocks it off the wall so it breaks. He tells her to leave it and then she awkwardly says that he's younger than she expected which sets off an alarm bell in my mind that the reason they're writing her as so nervous is because she's supposed to have a crush on him which is worlds of gross. Also, this is what the guy looks like so please let this not be the case:

I mean he's young in that he's not a senior citizen or close to retirement
but young in this case is very subjective. A teen would not think he's young

He asks her about her parents and she mentions that she was a bit of a wild child and that they shipped her off to live with her grandparents which she says is fine but crappy but that she's over it. She thinks she won't benefit from therapy since she's so self aware and he tells her that teens often confuse knowledge with wisdom. They go back and forth on what he meant or if he was calling her stupid which he wasn't but I get why she was offended. They go back and forth on whether therapy is right for her and she says he's cold and then he finally tells her she should go. Jen can't though because she has been ordered to by the school or something but he offers to write a letter to her teacher saying that she fulfilled her obligation because legit, there is no point offering therapy to someone who isn't willing to try. They are adamant they will get nothing out of it and thus, they won't. She goes to leave but then asks him if he thinks she's really messed up with this desperate and frightened look on her face (Michelle Williams is the best actor on this show) and he rattles off an opinion that she masks her hurt with her sarcasm but is actually sad and lonely, abandoned by her parents and searching for love and acceptance in destructive ways, like latching on to a man who could never return her affections, since he's gay. This is enough to convince Jen to give it a shot which is good because I promise, as nothing as this segment was, we are going to get hit hard with Jen's past trauma and it is insanely heartbreaking. Stay tuned.

Seems Like Old Times

Spoiler warning, the last segment is really annoying you have been forewarned. I mean, not the whole thing, just the end bit, if you'll recall what happened in the first story. Get ready to be mad.

Joey is walking past the movie theater which is playing His Girl Friday and bumps into Dawson. They chat a bit about Mr. Brooks and the ski trip. He asks if he missed anything exciting on the trip and she tells him about how Jen bruised her foot. He then asks if she and Pacey had fun and she admits they did. This isn't the part that will piss you off, just wait for it. He invites her to see the movie with him but she asks if they could go somewhere to talk. They go to a diner where Dawson tells Joey that he was put in Mr. Brooks' will. She's shocked and asks if he got money. He admits he did and that he is required to do something great with it. He thinks he could use it to pay for his tuition and she suggests he make a movie. Oh girl, he's supposed to spend it on something great, remember? 

Dawson then mentions that Joey looks different and asks if she did something with her hair. This makes me super uncomfortable because it's this weird thing where people think sex changes you somehow? I don't get it. I think this is something people assume people think when they have sex rather than something people actually think because I can't recall as I've ever thought this about any one of my friends or whoever even when I know they've had sex. They still look the same to me. I don't know what this is but it's usually a thing that's said to female characters in shows and movies and it just feels...gross? I can't put my finger on it but it's something that's always irked me. Joey is also uncomfortable about this conversation and asks if they can leave.

They stroll down the street together and Joey apologizes because she feels she should have been there for him this weekend like he was there for her when her mother died. She's worried that she's been a bad friend but Dawson reassures her that she isn't. He even calls her his best friend again which is nice, I don't mind them being friends, I think that's kind of what they're better at...kind of. There's a montage of them hanging out which involves kicking each other (in the playful way), her shoving him off the pier but sadly not into water but just a bit lower of ground, and running into puppies? Also sharing coffee together. They end up back in front of the movie theater where they say good night but they both want to say something else. Dawson then asks her flat out if something happened to her on the ski trip and clarifies that she doesn't have to answer but then he asks the question, did she sleep with Pacey?

She gets defensive and says that it's a really personal question to which he agrees. She asks him how he'd feel if she asked if he slept with Gretchen but he quickly says the answer would be no so she's now trapped. He then tells her that she's right that it's personal and none of his business and that he shouldn't have asked. He also tells her that he's not holding her to any promises she made to him because he understands that even when you make a promise and mean it at the time, sometimes life gets in the way. I feel like he's trying to be nice here but I always just see weird manipulation where Dawson is concerned. It feels very shame-y to me. But you all know I'm super biased against Dawson. Sorry not sorry.

Joey tells him that if he'd told her two years ago they'd be having this conversation, she'd have told him he was crazy. That if someone asked her who the first person she'd have sex with was her answer would've been Dawson Leery without a shadow of a doubt and she especially wouldn't have said Pacey. Dawson gets a concerned face and asks her what she's trying to say. Get ready to get super pissed guys because here is her answer:

Joey: No. I have not slept with Pacey.

Bitch, you for real? Did you not just promise your amazing boyfriend that if asked point blank you would tell the truth? What the hell is this shit? Why is she doing this? Why are the writers throwing this big of a wrench in my ship? And why does said wrench have to be DAWSON? My god, in the choice between Dawson and Pacey, there is no contest and I know I'm biased but even with their fighting, Joey and Pacey are a way more functional couple than Joey and Dawson were. 

Dawson gives a smug sigh of relief which should be her first tell that he is not truly her friend but also that she should be ashamed of herself for lying to her amazing boyfriend. And we end this little story and the entire episode with these two assholes saying goodbye to each other. Sorry, I'm mad. This was what the writers decided to do with the aftermath of the most anticipated event between the biggest couple? Have Joey lie about it because they want to hint at her and Dawson again? 

So that was Four Stories and I must say, I was very disappointed. I do like the set up to Jen's storyline even if nothing really happened with it this episode but it is going somewhere, I promise. Everything else just disappointed me, even the first story because I hate that Pacey made Joey feel like crap for not praising him for his prowess. I know they made up but I hate that Joey had to explain herself but he didn't offer her an apology. Maybe next week will be better but I know how the season ends, so I'm pretty sure it's going to be downhill from here. Only the college years to look forward to now. Come on, college years, I'm counting on you to be as stupid as I remember they are. Next up is Mind Games and just reading the synopsis, I know I'm going to be annoyed. Can't wait.