Episode Report Card Sars: D+ | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Discovery
By Sars | Season 1 | Episode 4 | Aired on 02.09.1998
Cut to knuckles pounding on a door. Joey opens the door and Dawson tells her firmly, "I need to talk to you." In the backyard of the Bastard Barn, Dawson says he should tell The Flash, and makes a bunch of bitter comments about Bob's "ice-blue Aqua Velva," and Joey discourages him from that course of action. Dawson gets up and continues to rage, saying that he joked about Gail and Bob having an affair but never thought they actually would, and referring to "the rate of adultery in this town" and the fact that they both have parents who have had affairs; Joey cringes. Dawson asks, "Do you think people know?" Joey shrugs, but says sadly, "People always know." Dawson: "Well, we didn't. Right?" Joey doesn't say anything. Dawson presses her, "Joey? Joey, I didn't know. Did you?" She looks away as Dawson says accusingly, "You knew. You -- how could you not say anything?" Joey protests, "Why, so you could hate me for telling you? Because you know that's what would have happened," and she has a point. Dawson laughs in disbelief as she goes on, "Besides, I thought you would have seen it by now." Dawson, whose hair in this scene looks like a wig: "What?" Joey: "Well, you're a pretty perceptive guy usually, but I think we can agree that you've been a little preoccupied." Dawson, getting riled up: "What are you talking about?" Joey, sneering: "I'll give you a hint -- blonde hair, about the last stages of a B cup?" Dawson tells her not to turn this into a discussion about Jen and accuses her of lying to him, and when she says she didn't know how to tell him, Dawson accuses her of feeling threatened by Jen, which doesn't make any sense or have anything to do with anything, but whatever, Joey says she feels not threatened but bored by Jen, and Dawson splutters, "So you lie to me to curb your own boredom," and I still don't see what one thing has to do with the other.
Joey gets up and sighs, "I was trying to be your friend." Dawson, nostrils spread to full capacity, gets all up in his self-righteous shit and points his finger at her, thundering, "No, Joey, what you did was not the action of a friend. What you did, and let me make this perfectly clear, is [sic] disengage this friendship." Joey tries to explain: "No, Dawson, I was trying and -- I didn't, I didn't know how to -" Dawson sneers, "Struggling for something to say, Joey? At a loss for words? Don't worry. Your actions are far more articulate." He turns his back and stomps off, shouting, "Bye, see you later, have a nice life," over his shoulder as he flaps his XXXL-clad arms and Joey folds her arms and stares after him instead of turning cartwheels of exultation.