Date of airing: October 14, 1998 (WB)
Nielsen ratings information: 7.26 million viewers, 5.2/9 in Households, 2.8/8 with Adults 18-49
written by: Dana Baratta
directed by: Dennie Gordon
Jack McPhee has entered the Capeside stories of teenagers, which is a good thing, because his story has been one of the storylines of the season I always remembered, even though I most likely have not watched this season more than once, maybe twice. And still, his story arc this year has always been memorable, possibly because the story itself is objectively one of the more important ones broadcast television delivered to the audience during the late 1990s. Seeing Jack begin his journey in this episode gave me joy, and now I am going to have to get tissues ready because with the McPhees having established themselves in DAWSON’S CREEK and involving themselves in the lives of the Core Four (Dawson, Joey, Pacey, Jen), the writers were able to fire out of all guns and make the drama as worthwhile as possible. Plus, Andie was cute in this episode, as soon as I remembered that she is a 16-year-old girl played by a 28-year-old actress. DAWSON’S CREEK may be known for bringing adults into roles of teenagers, but I still think that takes the cake.
It’s not just Jack and Andie that made this episode intriguing in hindsight. It is also the way Abby Morgan was reintroduced to the audience, and how she might become a troublesome character already, considering she has already brought Jen to disassociate herself with her friends from the previous season and get drunk and puke all over the creek, waking up those memories of her about her New York lifestyle. And all this happened after only one episode with Abby back in the lives of the characters, so who knows what kind of chaos she will create by being around a lot longer than just a day of detention for a THE BREAKFAST CLUB remake. Besides, Abby’s involvement in Jen’s life could lead to some wonderful teen angst-y drama for Jen that does not even necessarily have to be all about the passing of Jen's grandfather. DAWSON’S CREEK and its writers have already seen what alcoholism can do to a teenager over at a competing network with PARTY OF FIVE, and this episode made it clear that the series was trying to attempt a similar storyline with Jen.
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| Let's celebrate a case of the Molly Ringwalds! |
Still, seeing Jen and Abby together was interesting in its own right. I am not necessarily talking about the “getting drunk” stuff, but the way the two quickly became friends due to certain circumstances and seeing their surroundings in a different light now. In addition, Jen makes for a deeply layered character after the death of a loved one and her realization that she is still in love with Dawson. These are two different storylines biting each other, and with Abby’s bad-girl attitude and involvement, Jen is very much destined to walk the edge of the line, making her friendship with Abby both intriguing and tense. Add a religious crisis to it (which may have been thrown out of the script after the previous episode) and your 16-year-old self is not going to be happy and most likely grab the bottle with Abby more often. Besides that, I want to see Abby trying to get Jen and Dawson back together and be the fifth wheel of the group. She is conflict material after this hour, and drama loves conflict.
Meanwhile, Dawson was a complete douche in this episode, which, again, is completely and utterly realistic when the purpose of the producers was to shoot for real teenage behavior. When he started reading Joey’s journal, I was rolling some serious eyes, but this is what kids do because they do not have an understanding of privacy yet. But when Dawson decided to be a bitch about Joey having lied about his directorial talents, all I could think of was slapping Dawson silly. The guy has been so pathetic and self-obsessed in this episode, my mind could not stop screaming and all I wanted to do was go through the screen and warn Joey about what kind of person Dawson is. Considering how easy it was for Dawson and Joey to get into their first fight (Dawson’s narcissism being the instigator), it can only mean that the two will not be together for very long, because Dawson will always be there for Dawson, and no one else. And that is what drama loves: more conflict!
Pacey and Andie were fine as heck in the meantime. Let’s forget for a moment that Pacey was driving a police cruiser into Andie’s car in the previous episode, but failed to pass the driver’s license test, which means he was illegally driving a government vehicle in the season premiere, because I love seeing the two together, bickering at each other, almost flirting at each other without the two noticing. While it looks like Andie was only created as a character to be there for Pacey and give him the storyline he was seeking at the beginning of the episode (the meta-references to storytelling always surprise me, but they are fun to experience here), it is still fun to note that Pacey can be a bit weird (but friendly weird) to another girl, make friends and maybe influence her romancing abilities. It is obvious by now that Pacey and Andie were made for each other for this season and that a romantic relationship is blossoming (especially after she gifted him a Magic Eightball that soon met its demise in the creek). It will help to continue keeping the friends separated for the experience of their individual storylines, because they cannot be all together all the time. Sometimes, life will take Dawson, Pacey, and Joey out of their enjoyed presence, so they can smell the reality of life on their own. Also, Pacey needs a couple more friends – he can’t just always hang with the same people. And Andie is good people for him.
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| Sweet Andie knows how to stick it up to Pacey. |
Finally, the Leery parents were talking about opening up their marriage, which is certainly a weird story. Mrs. Ryan talking to Gail about the idea of renewing the wedding vows seemed like a great one, but Mitch suggesting to have his wife allow him to sleep with other people came over a little silly, especially with the thought of “revenge” in mind, because Mitch thought that he is allowed to play the naughty game with other people because his wife did it first and she did not even ask beforehand. Then again, open marriages might save marriages here and there (or that is what I sometimes read on Twitter back in the day), and seeing Mitch and Gale try to be swingers might turn out to be a hilarious story under the watchful eye of a serious and dramatic and emotional divorce storyline. Suddenly I am not wondering anymore where that idea came from in THE O.C. to have Sandy and Kirsten visit a swinging group in the first season’s New Year’s Eve episode, only to leave for home together, because love and marriage are institutions you cannot disparage.
