Date of airing: October 21, 1998 (WB)
Nielsen ratings information: 7.75 million viewers, 5.1/8 in Households, 3.0/9 with Adults 18-49
written by: Mike White
directed by: David Semel
The economics project the students were given in this episode seemed quite interesting. It made me think of reasons why I never had such kinds of projects going on back during my school days, or why week-long projects always seemed to have been an alienating concept in the curriculum of my German high school. Granted, we had one week in a school year in which we could do whatever project we wanted for the entire week, as long as it had educational value (and were supervised by teachers running those projects), but that was pretty much it. It was like a week of various ball sports for the physically inclined; math stuff for the nerds; cultural stuff for those who did not quite know what they wanted to do; a week of photography sessions; a week of visits to various museums and all that stuff – that was the business my school offered its students, instead of the economics class that maybe should have been offered, since my finances are currently a nightmare. Watching this episode, I suddenly realized I would have loved to learn about economics in high school, even if I would have bitched and moaned about it during my teenage years, having to learn about something I would not be using anyway.
This episode was good. I thought crap would start to hit the fan after the figures were placed on the chessboard during the first two episodes and the characters were dropped in their individual storylines, but the writers still seemed to have been preparing, even if Jen’s move towards Dawson happened to be more direct by the end of this hour, making the audience see that she has reached her goal for now, even if her resting against the wall outside Dawson’s room almost looked like she needed to take a breather after this little stunt of hers. Her decision to go after Dawson almost makes her the villain in his storyline, ready to destroy his (and Joey’s) world and ruin the perfect feeling he achieved. It makes for an interesting character arc, and while it feels a bit weird that Jen has changed so much during the season break and seems to be getting worse with Abby Morgan’s influence, there is something about “dangerous Jen” and how she has turned away from being the sweet next-door neighbor girl. She lost someone dear to her, she cut her hair shorter, and she decided to be a rebel. Although some of her rebellious attitudes, like aggressively going after Dawson, are somewhat inconsistent with who she was during the first season. Still, this is potential for some serious drama, and I am all for that.
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| The girls are lusting for men. |
By the way, the change in Jen as a character is also noticeable in her looks. There was more than one obvious shot on her cleavage (especially during her alone time with Dawson, trying to woo him through her looks), and even Dawson did not *not* notice the change, looking at Jen’s cleavage at least once during their final study session. Now that she sexualizes herself in front of him, the chances that Dawson’s sex life, which he talked about gleefully with his father during the beginning, is going to mess him up instead of giving him the edge in life. He thought that he would collect some good experience regarding sex (or not having it) through Joey, but it turns out Jen is cutting him off here by throwing herself at him, almost literally. Dawson wanted to be more sexual in his teenage years, and now he is about to realize that the girls in his life are going to make it difficult for him to keep his composure.
Meanwhile, the economics projects were interesting to look at. Joey had all the fun in the world thinking about a career, even if the cliche of a single-career mother of two was just thrown into this episode without any thought, but at least the writers decided that it was a cliche that could end up well for a few people, including Bessie, who for some reason is suddenly a single mother running a restaurant. Does anyone know what happened to Bodie? Did the two break up, he left her alone with their baby, and is never to be seen again? Damn, the writers buried the lede here, and I would love it if they pump the breaks for a second here and go into Bodie's sudden absence. Joey was given this project about being a single mother in the world of economics and the writers just jumped past the premise of one of their principal characters being a single mother trying to stay afloat in a world where customers are not necessarily running into her restaurant? The writers clearly missed something here and I am kind of disappointed.
Pacey and Andie are still fun to watch when they are going on each other’s nerves, but boy, do I hope that the surprising return of Tamara Jacobs, built into this episode for the purpose of a cliffhanger ending, will lead to something in Pacey’s life, because seeing him constantly argue with Andie over nothing can be straining at times, especially when you are waiting for the two to become more than friends who bicker at each other nonstop. After Pacey learned from Jack that Andie is not only a rich socialite kid living the dream, this development could be used to further their friendship and lead to a romance. This is probably why the writers already figured out a plot to throw an obstacle course at Pacey and Andie, and it comes in the form of Ms. Jacobs. The woman should be in prison for having seduced a high school student, but here we are, about to relive that infamous storyline from the previous season.
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| This sibling rivalry is tiresome, which is why they always end with "I still love you." |
And finally, the lives and times of a couple in an open marriage, presented by Gail and Mitch Leery. I still like the story for reasons I cannot explain, which probably lies in the fact that I would not mind seeing Gale and Mitch slowly making their way back to become a married couple in love, having successfully fought away all the troubles that come after being together for almost 20 years. It is noticeable, however, that the story is very much alienated from the rest of the show. First of all, it is the only storyline involving the adults in the room, and secondly, Dawson does not seem to be interested a lot in his parents’ saga. Apparently, he already forgot that his mother cheated on his father and that their marriage was close to tanking. That also means Mitch and Gale have not talked to Dawson about any of it. So much for leaving your only child in the dark about what is going on in your lives when you openly feud with him about his wanted sexual promiscuity.
