Dawson's Creek - 419 - Late

 Original air date: April 25, 2001

Guys, prepare yourselves because this is the last episode before the prom where everything implodes and our good ship Pacephine sinks. Sorry if this actually spoils things for you but come on, we all know it's coming. Couples never last on teen drama shows. Last episode was strong but wholly depressing and things aren't getting that much better for our gang in this one because if I've learned anything from rewatching this season, it's that everything is bleak and depressing and not fun. I know I'm repeating myself and you're all sick of hearing this but I cannot wait for the college years. We are going to have so much fun, I promise you. Just hang in there with me.

We start the episode with Mitch impatiently waiting for Gail to come down so they can go out for their last date before the baby. We learn that Gail is two weeks overdue and oof, I've been there and it's hell. Dawson jokes that there's more of Gail to dress now which is why she's taking so long and Gretchen, who's also there protests so Mitch chimes in that you should say that you've never seen a woman with a 65" waist look so hot. I know they are being jokey but I kind of want to punch them both. Gail comes down and announces that they have to go and Mitch is like duh but Gail doesn't mean because they're late for dinner but that they need to get to the hospital because the baby is finally coming. They rush out the door as Dawson and Gretchen look on happily.

My mom is in unbearable pain and discomfort right now, so much fun!

Unfortunately for Gail, she's been experiencing the dreaded Braxton Hicks Contractions and so it was all a false alarm. The doctor tells her that the baby might not show for a few days but that if it doesn't, they'll have to induce and that could lead to more complications at her age. Gail is frightened about needing a C-section but it's not really the end of the world. I had to get one to bring my babies into the world and they're both doing fine, however, it is really annoying to heal from so I get it. The doctor suggests talking to the baby and asks what the name is but Mitch and Gail haven't picked one yet. The doctor then writes her a prescription but the paper just says "Name your baby". 

Meanwhile Tobey is tutoring Will, the kid from a few episodes again. The show remembers these characters exist, cool. I almost forgot all about Tobey to be honest. Anyway, Jack comes in and they banter for a bit before the kid calls them out and demands he get the tutoring he showed up for. Good for you, Will. Get that fourth grade credit.

Joey is leaving a message for Pacey and Bessie calls her a neurotic girlfriend which tells us, along with Joey's message, that she's been calling him a lot. Joey protests a bit saying that it's weird but Bessie says there's nothing weird about going on a fishing trip with his brother. I mean, there's something weird because Dougie sucks and Pacey normally wouldn't voluntarily spend time with him but other than that, sure. Nothing weird. Bessie bought a onesie for Gail's baby and asks Joey for help wrapping it but Joey nopes out of the situation to go over to Pacey's. Girl, he's not there. It's already been established.

Dawson is talking to Gretchen about a naming shower. Apparently instead of gifts, people bring name suggestions. I honestly can't think of anything worse than listening to other people tell me what to name my kid but I suppose, if you're stumped anyway this could help. Gretchen agrees but let's him know that the day after she's heading to Boston to interview for a magazine. Dawson is shocked that she wants to go away but Gretchen points out that he's about to go away too. They talk a little bit about long distance relationships or joining each other but ultimately decide to just have dinner together by candlelight. Well, Gretchen decides, Dawson looks like a deer in headlights.

Tobey is still teasing Jack about being late so Jack tells him to take off early and he'll lock up for him. Tobey is hesitant but jack insists he'll wait for Will's mother to pick him up and lock the place up. Tobey leaves and goes to the bus stop where some guy is sitting there. Tobey tries to make small talk but the ominous music tells us the man is in no mood to talk. He stands up and another man shows up behind Tobey before fading to black. Uh oh. But seriously, tell me he doesn't look like the guy from Semisonic it's uncanny.

You don't have to go home but you can't stay here...
because you'll get beat up by a homophobe

Joey turns up at Pacey's house at night and thus I completely lose track of the timeline for this episode. I swear she told Bessie during the day that she was heading to Pacey's but now Joey's just showing up after Dawson left after dinner. Weird. Anyway, Joey wants to know where Pacey is and Gretchen, sick of all the lying going around breaks down and tells her about the drunken arrest while she was away in New York. Gretchen insists that they have to make things a little easier on Pacey but Joey still wants to know where he is and how she can get hold of him. Gretchen gets super pissed at her selfishness but then Joey confesses she might be pregnant. Gretchen wants to help but Joey shuts it down saying she just wants to talk to her boyfriend. Gretchen promises to get Pacey to call when he gets in touch or comes home but still tries to offer Joey some advice. Joey doesn't want to hear it and leaves but like Gretchen suggested she take a test and that's honestly a good idea. Like, Joey is freaking out about a late period and she never thought to confirm it with a test? That's like the first thing you do. I get she wants to talk with Pacey first but damn, just do it. 

It's naming day and all the Capeside ladies have turned up with gifts. Gail is ecstatic and also cooking like crazy because she's apparently nesting. Dawson finds Gretchen and talks to her about Boston again but he gets distracted helping his mother carry trays of food. Joey show up and Gretchen immediately tries to talk with her but Joey is in her season 1 surly snark mood. Mitch wants to get things started but Grams insists everyone play by the gender roles assigned, no men at showers. Showers are for ladies. I'm glad this is dying out a bit as men want to be more involved with everything but also the gender reveal shit needs to stop. 

There's a brief scene at the library where Jack is by himself looking after all the kids and asks them where Tobey is but no one has seen or heard from him. Very curious. Did they kill him off? No, no, I'm pretty sure he goes to prom with Jack but still, it almost plays like he got killed off

At the naming ceremony, Bessie gives her name suggestions. Sophie, perfectly adorable but her boy name Satchel is awful. I know it's a name but for the life of me, I will never understand why people want to name their child after a piece of luggage. Thank god they went with Alexander for their baby. 

Meanwhile Dawson and Mitch are sitting together with unlit cigars (a gift from one of the guests) and having a heart to heart about the impending baby. I really hate this moment because it's very gross to me? I don't know maybe this is a thing for guys but it sounds very patriarchal and old fashioned. Basically Mitch admits that having a newborn is hell and it is, I can attest to that. There is no sleep or peace some days or weeks but then he says that it's true unless you have a breast. Um, fuck you. It's actually worse if you have a breast because you're the one expected to be up at all hours feeding the baby, it's the easiest cop out for guys when your child is breast fed. Oh, honey, yeah I'm tired too but the baby wants you. No, fuck that shit. It's not easier on the mother at all. Just when I thought I was pissed at him for insulting women, Mitch goes and insults men for good measure too by claiming that men don't really love their baby the way a woman does at first. Fuck you again, that is so much bullshit. Are you kidding me? I have seen men beaming with joy at the sight of their new born. I have seen men pick up the slack with their babies to help their wives out when they're tired. I've seen men play with their babies and read to them and bond with them. Mitch, just because you have no heart does not mean men as a whole are like you. In fact, Mitch blatantly admits that he only started loving Dawson when he could talk and say "daddy". Mitch, you suck. Dawson isn't put off by this little bit of knowledge about his father not loving him for a whole year of his life but instead consoles his dad about not having a name yet because it holds too much importance to them to pick the right one.

Jen's name suggestions are Emma and Jackson which are nice names. I'm biased on the second one as it's my son's name though I spelled it different because apparently I became one of those parents that I detest but mainly I wanted to be sure his nick name would be Jax and not Jack. Gretchen's suggestions are Kurt (as in Cobain) and Isabella (a call back to the story she told in the episode about Pacey's birthday). Gram's suggestions are Rose, the most beautiful flower in the garden according to her, and Thomas (This was another neat call back to when Grams confessed to loving another man before Jen's Gramps). I see you, show. Good job on the cute little call backs.

Dawson talks to his dad about Gretchen getting a job in Boston and how he's bummed because he wants to be happy for her but obviously this will spell the end of their relationship. Mitch points out that a year ago, he and Gail divorced and now they're more in love than ever and about to have another child together. And who knows where life will bring you, they could divorce in another 15 years when Gail gets bored again. If you think that's mean of me, wait til you see what the show actually does.

Joey couldn't think of a name so instead she gifts Gail with a necklace that Dawson gave to her because she thought his younger sibling might like to wear it. I think there's some significance here and that would be neat but it involves Dawson and Joey's relationship and we all know I barely paid attention to that nor did I care for it. Sorry, not sorry. Jen jokes that at least Gail doesn't have to give birth during a hurricane but Bessie pipes up that her mother had it worse than her because she was in labour for 36 hours after her water broke. Gail mentions how strong Lillian was and how much she loved her before Bessie says that her mother started calling out Joey's name and saying that everyone wanted to meet her and out she came. Joey gets up to leave after this story because of obvious too much baby stuff reasons and Bessie follows her.

How dare you speak about babies at this baby shower when I might be pregnant
but refuse to take a test just so that I can be a snarky shit to everyone!
(Oh crap, am I hating Joey again? Reminds me of season 1)

Jack goes to Tobey's house to find out what's up and surprise! He's not dead but he did get beat up really bad by those guys. He says it was a mugging but then alludes to the fact that it may have been because he was gay. Jack wants to report it to the police but Tobey is not having it and shuts him out. I'm still stuck on the fact that he reminds me of the lead singer from Semisonic. Remember them? They were hella good and no, they did not just have Closing Time, they have so many good songs. 

Bessie asks Joey what her major malfunction is and Joey tries to brush her off but Bessie is too observant and finally clues in to the fact that Joey might be pregnant. Joey is not likable here, she is very callous to her sister and Bessie is 100% right to call her out on her bullshit. Joey doesn't want to end up like her but Bessie shoots back that she at least has someone in her life who is willing to take care of her and his family and asks her if she does. Oof, that's a low shot to Pacey. 

Meanwhile, Gail is now in labour so the naming ceremony did the trick. Gail begs for drugs and Mitch says he wants some too, probably because he's not going to love the baby coming out of Gail until they can talk to him.

Jack goes to his very best friend and soulmate, Jen for advice on Tobey. He tells her that he won't go to the police even though Jack thinks Tobey was attacked for being gay. He wonders if he's being paranoid but Jen assures him that's healthy. I don't know about healthy but I agree that Tobey was probably beaten up by bigots. Jen asks what Jack would do if she were attacked and he says it's not the same thing since Tobey doesn't want his help. Jen says that the only difference is that the victim is just like him. Jack ponders this.

Dawson and Gretchen talk and he confronts her about Boston and the fact that they were maybe almost certainly going to have sex on the beach but then she changed her mind. He asks her what changed her mind and she says that it just wasn't the right time but we all know it's because he couldn't stop talking about Joey, right? Like major mood killer to have your boyfriend talk about how much he wanted to lose his virginity to another girl but ah well, now I've got you so lets get on with it. Right? I'm not alone in this thinking, right? Anyway, Gretchen isn't ready to have sex with him because getting closer will just make things harder when they split up and she's not ready to make a huge commitment like moving across country to LA for him. She has to do things for herself and get on with her own life. Very reasonable and mature. Also, you can do so much better than Dawson Leery. Anyone can. Mitch comes out just then looking super annoyed because apparently Gail had another false alarm. 

Joey turns up at Gretchen's house to talk and snarks about how she's just as surprised as she is that she's here. Girl, not the best demeanor when asking someone for help but this is progress, I guess. Joey admits that she's scared and how much she wants to talk to Pacey but understands how much support he needs right now. Gretchen thinks that Pacey would love the idea of a baby but he needs to take care of himself right now. Gretchen asks Joey if she told her sister and Joey has to admit how awful she was to her so Gretchen tells her to make amends with her. Being pregnant is huge and she's going to need her family around her, no matter what she chooses to do. Is this show bringing up abortion as an option again? Honestly, that would have been pretty cool if Joey had an abortion so as to go to college, it might have been really cool for them to explore next year but you know they aren't going to sully Joey's sanctity, right? You all know what's going to happen, right? Anyway, Joey asks Gretchen if Dawson is going to Boston with her and she says that he's not because of USC. Joey then waxes poetic about how awesome Dawson is and how much he would do for the person he loves. Yeah, ok. I'm over here remembering all the crap he did to the people he loves, like snooping in their diary, shaming them for having sex before meeting him, ignoring their interests and hobbies...I could go on. 

The Leerys are sitting in the living room, trying to decide what to watch on their TIVO, remember those? I don't, I wasn't swanky enough to own one but they were a huge thing back in the days before streaming was a thing. Gail says that they don't have time to watch anything because this time, she's totally having the baby. For really reals this time. Mitch doesn't believe her but she demands they go because she's in serious pain and when he still ignores her, she grabs his ear and tweaks it. He complains that it hurts and she tells him not to talk to her about pain so Mitch knows this time it's serious. For sure, it's absolutely this time. 

I am not too proud to admit that I experienced vicarious joy witnessing
Mitch go through some amount of pain. It wasn't enough but it's a start.
Also, their faces in this freeze frame, *chef's kiss*

Jack shows up at Tobey's house with a police officer, they're white so I'm sure it will be ok but I have to say, I don't think cops have a great track record with lgbtq+ people either. Anyway, Jack is still trying to get Tobey to make a report in spite of his resistance. He still tries to kick Jack out but the officer suddenly spouts some stats at Tobey about the odds not being in his favour because gay kids are way more likely to have a knife pulled on them than straight kids and I don't doubt that but it just felt like a weird way to convince Tobey to talk but talk he does. He finally makes the report and he laments smiling at the guy and how he shouldn't have done that but all he did was smile at him and it's pretty heartbreaking. 

Mitch complains to Dawson about how long Gail has been in hard labour and that he doesn't like the way the doctors are whispering behind his back. Dawson suggests he go up there and demand to know how she's doing but Mitch says that he tried and they just told him to stay by her and help her breathe. Um, so shouldn't you be doing that instead of out here talking to your son? Why would you leave her side if you're worried about her? There's no leaving her side once she's delivering. Gail screams for him to come back and he has the gall to sigh like he's being inconvenienced and I just really hate Mitch this episode, guys. 

Joey comes up the steps to her house in the morning to find Bessie awake. She tells her that she was at Gretchen's all night but Bessie launches into a story about how she once crawled into Joey's crib and pushed her out. Joey asks if she hit her head because it would explain a lot. Bessie admits she hated her and Joey acknowledges all the reasons why and especially that she'd always have to take care of her. Bessie tells Joey that she really wanted her to have a better life but Joey finally tells her that she created such a great life here filled with warmth and love and had the strength to raise a baby and her little sister. She also says that she'd be lucky to create even half of what Bessie has for her family. They make up and it's very sweet but Joey is still freaked out about the baby thing and cries as Bessie goes inside to check on Alexander.

Tobey and Jack banter about their experiences and he asks why Jack went to bat for him. Jack admits that if he'd been the one to leave early, it would have been him and he wants to create a world where it's safe for him to be who he is. Tobey chides him for being late again but jokingly and Jack laughs with him so I guess their relationship status is changing? Maybe? Who knows?

We get a brief scene where Joey finally takes a freaking pregnancy test. Girl, you could have saved yourself so much stress if you just went to the store and got one right when you realized you were late. I mean, I get being freaked to do it alone but come on. She finds out, shock of all shocks, that she isn't actually pregnant. I know, no one saw this coming, right?

At the hospital, Dawson is still waiting to hear about Gail and the baby and Grams and Bessie are asking after her already. Joey turns up and asks Dawson how he is. She talks to him about Gretchen and tells him that she's crazy about him but Dawson says it isn't enough to keep her from going to Boston. Joey asks if there's a way to bridge the gap between them but Dawson doubts there is. Joey then tells him that sex isn't what she thought it would be and says that it's more like a magnifying glass where problems get bigger and closeness gets closer or something. I don't know, I don't get why she's telling him this, it's a bit weird. The doctor thankfully comes out to interrupt this exchange because the baby has finally come.

Dawson goes in to meet the baby and brings in Joey, Grams and Jen, and Bessie. Full room. They all swoon over the new baby, a girl. Gail says that she wasn't sure the baby wanted to come but she started to call out to her and reveals her name, Lillian. Joey is touched they named their daughter after her mother. Dawson holds her and Joey admires her as we fade out.

But we're not done yet because Pacey has finally entered the episode to call from his fishing trip. If you thought it was going to be cute and sweet, well it is but it's also very bitter and sad because they're both lying to each other. Joey doesn't tell him about the pregnancy scare and he doesn't admit to his drunken behaviour and pretends he's just on a fun fishing trip with his brother. God, all the signs were there and I was too blindsided to care that this break up has been a long time coming. Dare I say, the writers set it up well? I mean, a lot of their issues were stupidly Dawson related which comes with them trying to still convince us that he's the main character but still, they've been building to this point for a while. I hate it but it makes more sense to me on this rewatch. I think I missed a lot of season 4 because it was just...kind of boring or I had kind of gotten tired of the show by this point? I'm not sure. Still, he is sorely missed in this episode and seeing him is like a breath of fresh air even if it adds to the bleak storyline pile.

Please come back to us, Pacey! We miss you!

We end the episode with Gretchen and Dawson, she's opted to take a later train in order to spend a bit more time with Dawson. I don't get it but I guess whatever makes her happy. They banter about how they should just break up now and get it over with but instead they move closer and kiss. That's as much as I can muster for a Dawson related relationship. None of you should be shocked by this point. 

That's where we leave things until we get to the next recap, Promicide. Bring tissues because this season is getting even more depressing and heartbreaking. Oh boy...