Series Finale Recap: Dawson's Creek
I'm not a Dawson's Creek fan, infact when SABC 3 moved the show to a death timeslot, about 5 years ago- that being Sunday afternoons, I missed most of the series, but I however finally managed to catch the Series Finale that aired these past two Sundays on M-Net Series.
"All Good Things... (Part 1)"
Five years went by since the previous episode. The first scene we see is a plasma TV showing a scene that we all know from the first episodee of Dawson's Creek, but the actors are different. When the episode ends, "Producer - Dawson Leery" flashes on the screen Joey is seen watching The Creek, Dawson's TV show. Joey is now a sucessful editor living with her boyfriend, Christopher, in New York. From their conversation, it becomes clear he does not know the show is about her and her childhood friends. He compares her to Sam, the "Joey" character on The Creek.
Dawson is in a meeting trying to decide the finale for his show. He is trying to decide if Sam (Joey) should end the season with Colby (Dawson) or Petey (Pacey), but he evades the decision to pack for his weekend at Capeside for his mother's wedding. Dawson goes home to find his baby sister all grown up (she is 7 now) and realizes he's been gone a lot.
Pacey has reopened the Ice House, going back to cooking, and is secretly dating a woman who is 20 years older than him and also married. Doug comes by and tells Pacey his affair is becoming public and he has heard about it at the police station.
Jack, and English teacher at Capeside High, is now dating Deputy Doug Witter. Doug is still in the closet so their relationship is a secret. While Jack is teaching a class, Jen appears at the school, waiting for him at the door. When the bell rings and the students leave, she comes into the room with her baby daughter, Amy, Jack's goddaughter.
Later that day, Jack and Doug are jogging and Doug tells Jack he has made a reservation for a B&B out of town, and Jack argues with him about always having to leave town to be together. "Not all of us were fags at 15", Doug tells him. A very upset Jack turns to him and replies he was a fag at 15, he just didn't know it yet, and enters his house, alone.
They all gather at the Ice House that night to celebrate. They start talking about events of the past (Eve, Joey painting Jack nude) and mention people that were important (Andie, Audrey, Abby). When Jen turns to Dawson and asks "Remember when I devirginized you?", Jack picks her up and decides to take her home. Halfway to the door, a very drunken Jen stops him, turns to them and says, with a smile "God, I love you guys so much. You are the best friends I've ever had! That's all, goodnight," and leaves, carried by Jack and leaving behind Joey, Dawson and Pacey. They both offer her a ride but she refuses and leaves. Dawson asks Pacey if he wants help cleaning up, but Pacey refuses. Dawson leaves for home.
Back home, Dawson sits in front of his notebook trying to write the finale to his show, but does not type a single word. Suddenly, a relatively drunken Joey climbs in his window. Joey talks about Christopher and Dawson talks about his Hollywood life. When it becomes late, Dawson offers to drive her home, but takes it back and tells her to go to sleep right there. She does.
Leaving the Ice House, Pacey meets up his mistress' husband. Pacey tells him he deserves a punch. The guys does not answer. We see two very big men coming toward him. Pacey tries to run, but they hold him down as the husband hits him.
The next morning Dawson dreams he and Joey are getting married having written their own vows, mentioning their entire love lives among the last 10 years. They are pronounced husband and wife. They kiss. When they turn, they have become Sam and Colby. Dawson awakes nervous and reaches for Joey across the bed. She is gone and has left a note.
Later, at Gail's wedding reception, Pacey wears sunglasses to hide his black eye and bruises. Pacey sees Jen popping pills. and finds out they are painkillers. She grins at him and says, "I'm an anxious mother". He smiles back and takes off the glasses, asking for her to share some pills.
Gail goes in the house to find Dawson sitting at his computer working on his show. She contronts him about sitting inside and hiding behind work in order to avoid his friends, especially Joey, who she saw climbing out his window that morning. She encourages him to go outside and talk to his friends, especially Joey. Dawson sees Joey and starts to walk over to her but Pacey reaches her first. Pacey asks her to dance and she accepts.
Jack approaches Doug, who's sitting at a table and tells him that he can't be forced to hide and he can't force him to come out and ends the relationship. Doug tries to argument but it is in vain.
She asks him about the black eye. He changes the subject saying he forgot how much fun he has when he's with her. A very drunken Jen, who had been dancing with Dawson, approaches them and says, "Hey, let's switch. Dawson won't let me lead." While dancing with Joey, Dawson confronts her about leaving before he woke up that morning. Joey replies she had to get ready for the wedding. Jen interrupts them saying, "Let's change partners again. Pacey is stepping on my toes." "It's a conspiracy. New Shoes", he replies with a smile and takes Joey in his arms to dance. Joey, however, becomes uncomfortable when she sees an older woman starring at them from a distance. She tells Pacey about it and looks at his black eye and understands who she is. "Would you like to help me out here?" Pacey asks her. "How?" she replies, and he kisses her with passion. The woman leaves, upset. When they stop kissing, it is clear in her face that her feelings for him are coming back.
They hear Dawson crying for help. Jen has collapsed and is passed out on the floor. Grams comes to her and says Jen needs her pills. Pacey says he saw her taking them a while before. "This shouldn't be happening," Grams says. Dawson asks what is wrong with her, but the only answer he gets from Grams is, "Call an ambulance. Now."
"... Must Come To An End (Part 2)"
Joey, Pacey, Dawson and Jack and in the hospital with Grams while Jen is being examined. Grams tells them Jen has always had a heart condition but they only noticed when she got pregnant. The doctor comes out of Jen's rooms and calls out for Grams. She speaks to him from afar distance than comes back and tells them to go home and rest because it is nothing serious. Jack decides to stay, the triangle leaves. In the car, Pacey makes a joke about them as a love triangle when Joey's boyfriend, Christopher call her on her mobile. When she answers, Dawson wisely points out "And the triangle becomes a square". "Well put, my friend. Well put", Pacey replies.
Back in the hospital, Grams is called by the doctor once again. It is not heard what he says, but she turns back at Jack and cries in his arms. He then enters her room and she tries to chit chat but he is in too much of a chock to do so. He cries to her and she explains exacly what is wrong with her, and then tells him she needs their usual meaningless conversations to get past all that is happening. He lays in her arms and they talk about the male nurse he flerted with to get inside her room after visint hours.
Then, Jack goes over at the Ice House and gives Pacey the sad news, then to the Potter's B&B to tell Bessi and Joey and calls Dawson on the phone. They are all in chock. Dawson's doorbell rings. It is Joey. She looks at him with wet eyes. He holds her and they cry.
In the morning, Joey, Pacey and Dawson go over to the hospital to visit Jen and Jack tell them they are not supposed to cry or else they will be banned from the hospital because those are Jen's rules. They send Pacey - the clown - in first. He enters the room, smiles at her and says "Well, Jack tells me you're dying. Other than that, everything is just great". They laugh together.
In the waiting room, Deputy Doug shows up bringing her flowers. He asks Jack if they can put thing behind for the time being. Jack agrees.
Pacey comes out of the room and they all enter together. Pacey and Jen start joking about death, horrifying Joey and Dawson, but Jen tells them it is the only way she can go through those horrible things.
Joeys goes home and we see her avoiding her boyfriend's calls. Bessie tells her that she is not answering because she knows it is over but she is too much of a chicken to tell him that. She denies it a couple times but eventually agrees. Bessie than tells her she is still in love with her high school sweetheart. Joey denies it and Bessie corrects herself telling Joey she is still in love with her High school SweetheartS, Plural. We see her calling him back to say it is over, but not their conversation per say.
Joey goes to the hospital to help Jen get ready for a tape she is recording for ber daughter, Amy, and they start talking about Dawson’s show, The Creek, a conversation that develop to the subject that really matters: What is her pick, Dawson or Pacey. Jen tells Joey she will make her dying wish that she picks one of them. Joey tells Jen he always knew who she is supposed to end up with, but her quest was never about the boys, just about herself. Jen asks her who is it she always knew she was supposed to end up with and, as Joey is about to answer, Dawson enters the room.
It is a beautiful sunny day when Dawson takes Jen to the hospital’s garden and sets the camera for her. They are recording a tape for Jen’s daughter, Amy, so she can know how her mother feels about all the things that matter in life: Love, family, education, friends and God. She tells her daughter to make a lot of mistakes so she can learn from them.
Joey meets Dawson in the garden, they talk about his show, her career, and how they all have broken apart throughout the years. She tells him he should consider himself lucky to be a writer, because that way he can live life twice.
Pacey taken to Jen a videotape he “borrowed” from Dawson 6 years earlier with all of them goofing in front of the camera. Jen brings up his feelings for Joey and tell him that friendship can never be under or overestimated and she hopes the three of them can remain friends forever. She then has a nervous breakdown. “I hate this! I don’t wanna do this! I don’t wanna… die! Remind me to never do this again!”. She says she is scared and she doesn’t want to leave her baby alone. Pacey holds her and promises Amy will not be alone and he will spend every Saturday with her. She calms down but remains in his arms.
Night falls and Joey goes by the Ice House and tells Pacey she hasn’t eaten anything all day. They go into the kitchen and he is preparing her some Pasta. She tells him how proud she is of him and his restaurant and he says he is only this happy because he is with her. She throws a tomato on him and they have a food fight. Joey suddenly stops and asks him if it is ok for them to be laughing like this and he replies that it is, more than ever.
Jack is in the hospital with Jen and they bring up the matter of Amy, and he tells her he wants to keep her, as he is her Godfather. Jen tells him that is what she wants for her baby, but she wants Amy to belong. She says she always felt she was the instigator, as if she never quite belonged. Jack cries to her and tells her she always belonged with him. “You are MY soul mate”. They hold each other.
Everyone spends the following couple of days in the hospital, waiting for the inevitable. One morning, Jen is lying in her bed and Grams is asleep on the chair beside her. Jen awakes, looks at her grandmother and smiles. Her eyes shut once again. Grams awakes and looks at her. She takes Jen’s pulse to understand she is gone. Grams kisses her forehead and whispers “I’ll see you soon, child”.
Pacey hosts the funeral at the Ice House. Everyone is there. Jack and Grams hold Amy as Pacey and Dougie talk about him. The deputy looks at Jack with tenderness in his eyes. Joey and Pacey meet, alone, in the kitchen, and he tells her she is off the hook, that he loves her but that is just enough, he does not need for her to love him back. She tells him she loves him too, and she loves Dawson as well, and she can’t be let off the hook, “I might just get the notion it is ok to keep running”, she tells him. He asks what does that mean, but when she starts to answer Gale enters the kitchen and hold them both. When Joey is about to start speaking again, Bessie enters and requires her help. She leaves.
Jack is with Amy at the beach when Doug approaches them. Jack tells him he might leave Capeside for Amy’s best interests, because he doesn’t want her to be the only kid with a gay parent in a small town. Doug tells him that she will fall no matter where they go, because that is what makes a teenager, and that being a good parent is also knowing your kids are bound to fall down, and that he would like to be there for them. Jack says he doesn’t want his pity, Doug says it is not about that. They kiss. Jack points out an elder couple passing by and Doug tells them he was just kissing his boyfriend. They smile at each other and hug.
Dawson is sitting in his front yard, by the creek, trying to write an ending to his own show. He has a vision of Jen coming out of her cab 6 years earlier and grins. Joey comes by. She sits with him and they talk about the ending for his show. She asks him to make it a happy ending. They talk about their friendship until it brings tears to their eyes. They are sharing a very intimate look when they hear Lilly shouting at Alexander to climb up the stairs, just as Joey used to do when they were kids. They look at them, look at each other, smile and Dawson hold her.
In Joey’s apartment, back in New York, the TV is airing The Creek’s season finale, showing Sam (Joey’s character) and Colby (Dawson’s character) in a scene identical to Dawson’s Creek’s 1st season finale. She looks at him as says “I don’t wanna wait for my life to be over. I want to know right now what will it be”. Colby says “You and me. Always”, and they kiss the episode ends. Joey smiles at the TV: “Perfect. Just perfect”. She talk to the person beside her. That person is crying. She jokes about it. Then she leans toward that person and we see it is Pacey. They kiss. She picks up the phone and calls Dawson, back in his office in L.A. They congratulate him for the episode. He then tells them he has a meeting with Spielberg the next day. The camera shows that, in Dawson’s desk, a portrait shows an old picture of him, Joey, Pacey and Jen.