Dawson's Creek - 603 - The Importance of Not Being Too Earnest

 Original air date: October 9, 2002

So, I learned something interesting on the Twitters this past week and that's the reason this show became fully Joey's Creek this season. Apparently, James asked to be featured less because possibly he was just over it. I can't say I blame him, it must have been exhausting to be the star of the show where everyone else is more likable character than you. It seems that they listened, wrote in a quick sex scene to satiate D/J shippers and then burst that apart in flames because from here on out, he really doesn't feature much. You'd think this would make the show a vast improvement and...it should have but the writers were also out to lunch and didn't seem to understand the assignment they were given. This season feels very un-Dawson's Creek and it's not just that Dawson is around less because, let's face it, who cares? It's the feel of the show, the writing, the dialogue, it's all very off. With all that said, let's dive into the messy aftermath of the great pointless breakup over nothing, shall we?

Joey is attempting to write an email to Dawson. She is having a hard time and Audrey comes in complaining that she's still there which means she's been at it for a while. Joey wants to let Dawson know that she still cares but wants to hold on to her righteous indignation and...it's not that righteous, Joey. Like, you can feel hurt over his not telling you but it seems like he did everything to try to be with you and broke up with the girl so I don't see why you're so angry but it's her choice to be and if she can't get over the hurt then it is best they broke things off. Audrey thinks emails are dumb and she should just call Dawson and this is your friendly reminder that just 20 years ago, people thought emails were dangerous gateways and that calling was your best choice. How times have changed. Now, I hate calling people and would rather text or email. Joey says that emails are safer because she doesn't want to talk to Dawson, that would require James to be on set and he's completely checked out so email it is. Audrey relents and gives her encouragement about pouring herself into it. Joey thanks her and begins to write. It takes her a while but she finishes and then goes to hit send but then yawns and accidentally clicks the campus wide email and sends it to her whole school. So...this is a thing that happens a lot in tv around this time and I can't think of a single time this has actually happened. First off, who ever had access to a campus wide list? Maybe her whole English class I'd buy but even then, emails were still sort of new-ish and you weren't really given access to email everyone in your class. The only way I got anyone's email was if I knew them and they gave it to me. But, they needed some drama for this episode so here we are.

Next we go to the fancy two story apartment with a spiral staircase, to find Jack looking all schlubby, much to Emma's surprise. They bond over how NotLikeOtherGays and NotLikeOtherBrits they are when Pacey comes up to them. They tease him over his suit and gelled hair and I sigh because as Pacey tells them, we need to get used to this look. Emma reminds Pacey to put away his dishes and Jack to lock the door at night after all their bluster about live in security. Jack thinks that between the nagging and the suit they're sounding like a typical American family. I hate that word. I hate it with a passion because it is used against women so much and it's like SHE'S ASKING FOR PERFECTLY NORMAL THINGS!!! She's not nagging, she's telling you to clean up after yourselves because she's not your maid and doesn't want to live in a den of dirty and rotting dishes. Men are fucking fragile. "hey, can you pick up your clothes from the floor and put your dirty dishes in the dishwasher?" Men: OH MY GOD, YOU'RE SUCH A NAG!!! I hate it. Grow up and clean up after yourselves and you won't hear a peep out of most women.

Joey wakes up to check her email and see if Dawson has replied but instead finds hundreds of responses to her email. She checks her sent folder and sees that she sent the email out to the whole school. She wakes Audrey up in a panic but the most she can muster is that she told Joey it wasn't a good idea. Joey is upset and Audrey is still too tired and doesn't care:

We are all Audrey

Pacey shows up to work on time and is humiliated because showing up on time is late here. Rich, the smarmy guy gives him a file folder filled with very rich but very hard sells. Pacey asks if he's being punished but Rich just wants to get him to quit because he doesn't have enough desks. There's also a lot of weird thing with Rich bugging Pacey for looking pretty and I can't tell if it's veiled homophobia? I know Pacey isn't gay but Frat/Stock bro mentality was to always use being "pretty" or "gay" as a slur for men they deemed not "manly" enough. I don't like it but that's not a shocker as I hate this entire storyline. How good would this show have been if Pacey got to stay a cook at the restaurant? I'm still mad they torpedoed that storyline.

At Jen and Jack's college we actually get to see them in class again. It's the pop culture class with the "hot" professor. Jack is eager to sit on the inside so he has a better view of the blackboard but Jen knows that he actually wants to stare at the teacher. Audrey pops up because she's bored of Worthington and Jen mentions that she's already missed a week of classes. The professor wants them to go to the movies to check out a double feature on make over movies. Jen jokes that Jack is going to force her to watch Miss Congeniality again and excuse you, Audrey and I love that movie. Do not diss Sandy Bullock, you monster. But yes, the trop of the obvious hot woman being made to look ugly so that she may be made hot again is really silly. Yet, we all eat it up.

In Joey's class, Heston has decided to pull out reading that he thinks people have actually read and pulls out a printed copy of Joey's email. Ok, this is humiliating on another level but more than that, this is harassment and bullying. No, I'm not a snowflake, this is highly unprofessional and mean spirited for a grown ass man to do to a student. A teacher should not be involved in the bullying of students or they should be shit-canned. I don't feel like this rings true and I don't like where the story is trying to take us from here because the only place it should go is getting Heston fired for harassing and humiliating someone for fun. He reads a passage and then mocks Joey for writing herself out of sex which may be true but wholly uncalled for in this setting and the whole class laughs at her. I hate this for Joey but I just hate that this is going to be a story about earning this asshole's respect to better herself. Fuck that and fuck this guy in particular.

Pacey is trying to sell stocks over the phone and failing and Rich comes in trying to ruin the greatest character on TV ever by telling him not to be sensitive or caring and telling him to be all the toxic terrible things that loser men try to say all men are or should be, racist, sexist, ageist, probably ableist too. I hate it. Why did the writers think anyone wanted this? Guys, if you're listening, most girls want a Pacey, not a Rich. Rich will attract a very specific, very selfish, and very money hungry type of person that he will parade around as a trophy and she will gladly take his money and spend in exchange for. It's a transactional, hollow excuse for a relationship and if you want that, fine but don't pretend that everyone wants the same thing. Most people just want to make connections with people. Rich tells Pacey to come with him because they're taking a field trip and this feels very much like Wolf of Wallstreet even though I know that didn't come out until later so I guess it's trying to be like Wall Street but in that Bud is desperate to work for Gekko but this plays more like Wolf of Wallstreet where Jordon acts like he's naïve and slowly corrupted by the industry and the Matthew McConaughey character corrupting him. Anyway, it's weird and awful so let's move on.

I hate this guy so much I want to reach through my screen
and slap him across his stupid face

Joey is preparing to work at Hell's Kitchen again. Emma tells her she can't make drinks, especially when she's around because it could jeopardize her green card. Joey isn't worried because she waited tables at her sister's restaurant and at a yacht club. Emma looks at her like, oh honey, this is a dive. Joey goes over to a table that is full of her classmates and they are very clearly discussing her email. I can't tell if they recognize that she's the author and are doing this on purpose or they're super oblivious that she is. Joey gets defensive and says that the person might have sent the email as a mistake but the group just kind of laughs. I feel like they're trying to bring back old sassy Joey here but it falls flat because sassy Joey would have dumped a pitcher on these guys but kind of hard to do when your boss is watching.

Jack, Jen, and Audrey arrive at the theatre. Audrey is convinced they go to the more fun school but Jen assures them that they're not a party school either and Jack says that weekly keggers aren't all they're cracked up to be. Which reminds me, it's kind of sad we didn't get more development from Jack in that department. It's just...over for him and he's perfectly fine now. Could have been interesting. Jack wants to go talk to their professor even though Jen points out that he probably doesn't know who he is but Jack is certain he does because he answered a bunch of questions. He strides up to the professor and tries to joke with him but the professor doesn't remember him at all, not even that he's one of his students at first. Jack is bummed.

At the restaurant, Joey notices Heston come in and is obviously not happy about it. Emma leaves her to take care of it because she wants no part of the drama. Joey goes to take his order and they trade barbs before he orders a tuna melt. Joey is about to go place it but stops and confronts him about his humiliation of her. He's unapologetic and hides behind that "I'm just trying to toughen you up" and "grow a thicker skin" rhetoric that bullies love to spit out to avoid being decent people. It's not their fault that they're shitty but it is your fault that you got hurt by them, right? It's bs. As a writer, you do need to be able to take some criticism but that's normally about work you specifically hand in to your teacher/beta/editor or whatever, not an obvious personal email. What he did was not a hard lesson for her benefit, it was bullying plain and simple. What I do agree with him with is the fact that Joey talked herself up in his office about how smart she was and that he wasn't seeing it from her. I have to say, I'm not either. She shows up late to class and hasn't done the reading, yes he gave her a book to read the day of but the least she could have done is shown up on time? It still doesn't give him the right to utterly humiliate her in front of the whole class though. Joey seems to think his words are something to consider but I don't really think so.

Meanwhile, Pacey is driving Rich to a fancy car dealership. I'm not focusing on the cars, I could care less about cars but it's a big shiny car that all really shallow, really wealthy people, or people obsessed with being wealthy drool over. Rich insults Pacey's car and makes a big blustery statement about how it shows that he's immature and unable to grow up and get a "real" car. Cool, guess most of the world's population are just whiny, immature dolts who can't manage to get a "real" car according to this asshat. Can you tell how much I hate this story, nay this whole lifestyle? I can't stand people that view life as some sort of game with achievements that you have to unlock to have fulfillment. These people tend to be the most empty, least fulfilled people, by the way. Because a nice car is never enough. A house is never big enough. They always have to go bigger, flashier, get the newest most expensive things to prove they're big shots and I honestly find that way more pathetic than a guy who has a cool little car that he actually knows how to take care of and fix up himself. I'd prefer the guy who can fix his own car, tbh. Rich is projecting a lot here because he's hollow and pathetic and he just wants everyone to be like him so he feels better about being a weaselly little nobody with a big fancy car. Pacey seems to take this to heart though and I'm crushed.

Pacey is on the phone with the rich whale that they've never sold stock to and is now smooth talking up a storm. He closes the deal and goes to boast to Rich about it. Rich can't believe it but is happy and tells Pacey to go get them some drinks to celebrate. Pacey is all too happy to oblige and I hate seeing this. I hate that Pacey is so eager to please this loser and become like him. This isn't our Pacey.

Back with Jack, Jen, and Audrey, they are now leaving the theatre and Jack still wants to talk to the professor. He goes and gushes to Freeman, his professor, about how much he loves his class and honestly, Freeman looks uncomfortable. Jack gets awkward but they do end up walking off together since they're headed in the same direction. I don't know where they're going with this but it feels weird that they might be setting up another student/teacher thing.

And seriously, for him?
I'm just gonna say it, Google Neil Breen. I can't unsee it.

Pacey is on the phone again but this time, he can't close the deal. Rinaldi calls him a one sale wonder but Pacey fires right back that he wishes. Rinaldi gives him some money and tells him to get some lunch so Pacey goes to the vending machine where he overhears a few of the guys drooling over Rinaldi being a God for closing the Topper account. This is the account that Pacey closed and honestly, this should be his tip off to bail out right now. He's obviously disappointed and leaves the room because Rinaldi used Pacey's success to build up his own career. Rinaldi is that boss that treats his employees like crap and steals credit for everything and I hate him and his punchable face. I know we're not supposed to like him and mission accomplished, I hate him.

At Hell's Kitchen, Joey has to approach Eddie to ask him to make drinks. He gets annoyed that he has to babysit her and isn't that his job? Don't you have to be licensed to serve alcohol anyway and she is just the server who takes the drinks to people? Joey immediately goes to thinking that he has seen the email and lashes out at him but surprise, he didn't see the email and as she knew, he wasn't in class so he doesn't know what she's talking about and asks her to just serve the drinks. I like Oliver Hudson a lot but this character kind of sucks which sucks for me because I want to like him. It's not that he condescends to Joey here, she honestly kind of deserves it, it's just that it's hard to get a read for who he's supposed to be. He seems embittered and older but he's also her classmate. He seems interested in her but also seems annoyed by her very presence. This has been an episode where people are putting Joey in her place and even though I've been annoyed with Joey being portrayed as the most perfectest girl that all the boys want, there's something deeply weird about two men stomping her down in the same episode where she's honestly been a bit traumatized? I know I said that the email thing is stupid and would never happen but the fact that her professor took it a step further and read it out to her classmates to annihilate her publicly and then make it her fault, feels gross. Then you top it off with Eddie talking down to her about being full of herself when, given her whole day makes sense that she'd be a bit sensitive and hyper focused on people laughing behind her back to the point that she'd see it everywhere. I don't like this and I don't like how it's being presented as Joey needing to toughen up.

Pacey confronts Rinaldi about taking his win and he doesn't even try to hide that fact. He's actually pretty proud of stealing the credit and tells Pacey that the sale isn't his to have since he hasn't passed the test or whatever to trade stocks. I don't understand this industry at all but I hate it. You can call me dumb or sour grapes all you want. Mansions and riches and fancy cars is not the life I want. I don't care about stocks and everything I've seen about stocks makes me hate the industry and the people involved in screwing people over even more. An industry built on greed and selfishness that only rewards the people already at the top. Rinaldi says that the same thing happened to him so it's just an endless cycle of finding the next sucker, I guess. I'm sorry, this is the storyline I think I hate the most. It's right up there with Tamara. 

The gang is now hanging out at Hell's Kitchen. They're trying to make Joey feel better about her very bad, terrible, no good day. Audrey doesn't take the hint at first but then offers to be her sponsor any time Joey wants to express herself again so she'll talk her out of it. Pacey shows up and Audrey smothers him with kisses and asks him never to go to work again and while this is clingy behaviour, I actually agree with Audrey here. Never go back there, Pacey. Please? He leaves to go to the bathroom which prompts Joey to ask if he's ok. Audrey only knows it isn't her fault. Jen notices Eddie working at the bar and asks Joey about him. Jen thinks he's ruggedly dreamy but Joey thinks he has a chip on his shoulder that only rivals hers in size and that he's just ok. 

Pacey comes back and asks if he can talk with Audrey. They go outside where he tells her about the whole Rinaldi stealing his credit thing and Audrey thinks he should quit. Again, I agree with her but Pacey wants to succeed and he wants respect. It's sad that he's been fooled that the only way to make it in this world or get respect is to be an asshole and buy expensive cars. Blah. He wants to go home and sleep and Audrey agrees to go home with him as long as they don't have to sleep right away.

Jack and Jen leave for the night but Joey is still stuck at the bar/restaurant thing. Eddie hands her the tips they made that night. He asks her if he missed anything from class today but she's still kind of upset so he drops it. A song comes on the jukebox but because they didn't spring for it you can't understand why it upsets Joey. It's supposed to be the same song that Dawson and Joey danced to which upsets her. Eddie notices and says he hates the song too and goes to turn it off. Joey chuckles and they continue cleaning up together, clearly seeming to make amends. 

Emma thanks Jack for doing the dishes but surprise, Pacey did them before leaving for work at the crack of dawn. She's impressed. Jack is worried about going to class and confesses that he had an awkward moment where Professor Freeman thought Jack was flirting with him. Emma asks if he likes him and Jack admits that he does but says that Freeman is married. Emma thinks he should be flattered but Jack isn't so sure. He asks to try her smoothie but then hates it. They have a kind of brother/sister dynamic giggle fight over it. All I can think is, I want more of this with him and Jen.

Pacey is at work bright and early, the only one there so far, when Rich Rinaldi walks in. He looks shocked to see him and Pacey smiles with a bit of satisfaction at his discomfort.

Joey arrives late to class again which is honestly a bit annoying at this point. She knows when the class is. Heston calls her out for it but Joey snarks back that he usually uses this time to reveal how bitter he is, how moronic they are, and how literature is dead so she didn't think it was that important. She asks if they're going to have a more interesting topic today and Heston seems impressed. He moves on with his lecture and calls upon another target out of nowhere, signaling that he's moved on from Joey as a target and I guess we should be glad? Justice for Ms. Wilson who has to take Heston abuse because Joey, I don't know, proved she was tough? Eddie smiles and winks his approval at Joey. Why did he turn around on Joey? Like, he went from belittling her to suddenly being understanding and now is approving of her standing up to Heston like he gave her some advice? I don't get it. But whatever, that's the end of the episode.

You don't need this guy's approval, Joey

It sure was nice, catching up with the gang huh? Oh, wait. There's one last scene. Oh yeah, Dawson is in this show. Right. He's looking at a computer screen and is trying to type an email to Joey but can't seem to think of what to say. Todd calls him from another room and Dawson leaves the computer having not sent an email. He says not a word. I love it. This must have taken him two seconds to film and he be out. Beautiful. Imagine if we'd just had mute Dawson the whole show? How great would that have been?

So that's the end of this episode. It's not bad but it's very hollow. I didn't like the conflict between Joey and Heston or how it was resolved like Joey needed to earn Heston's respect. Fuck that. I also hate Pacey wanting to prove he can be a soulless stock pusher. Jen needs to factor in more and I'm not super into Jack's storyline either. I wish that Pacey, Jack, and Jen got an apartment and we didn't get Emma. It's not that I hate her, she's fine but she feels a bit superfluous and is cutting into Jen's time. Eddie is kind of a boring love interest for Joey at this point and I'm not sure that improves because I think he goes from boring to just...bad. We'll have to see how this all plays out because this is a season I only remember a few really weird things about rather than any character driven things that happened, so it's like I'm watching something new but not. Next up is Instant Karma! Who will be getting said karma? We'll have to wait and see until my next Dawson's Recap.