Episode Report Card Jessica: B- | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Highway To Hell
By Jessica | Season 5 | Episode 17 | Aired on 04.02.2002
Inside the car, Charlie looks over at Joey and makes a crack about having a dream about meeting her in the back seat of a car. Joey grouses that this is "strictly business." Charlie cocks a brow. "All my back seat transactions are," he purrs. Did he just admit that he occasionally engages the services of a hooker? Joey makes a face. They drive off.
La la la, road trip! Joey asks Charlie about the bar they're playing. "I knew you'd embrace the life of a rock star!" Charlie crows. Yes. Next, she'll be making flunkies blow smack up her ass, and then she'll crash her car in a fiery alcohol-induced accident, making Audrey a paraplegic. Pacey makes some snide comment about how Charlie's really "roughing it old-school." Cue more stupid macho banter that doesn't do either of the boys any favors, including Charlie asking Pacey how much "his ride" set him back. At last, Charlie tells Joey that the bar is called "The Drunk and The Dead" and it's wicked awesome! Dude! Then he says some other stuff that I can't understand because Chad Michael Murray talks like he's got a mouthful of pebbles.
Jen and Jack sit on the dock of the creek. She tells him that "things are coming into focus," and she was wrong to jump into a relationship with Dawson so quickly. And it's just so "safe." And then she tells him something about…I don't even know. I think the writers are just trying to set up the inevitable Dawson/Joey reunion, and they have to find some way to get Dawson out of this thing with Jen, and the only thing they can think of is this crap about how Jen misses "deciding yes or no, with only [herself] in mind." Because I don't even know what that means. Jack's all, you really need to talk to Dawson. And also to your stylist, because your hair looks like ass on a stick.
Casa Leery. Nathan tries to make nice with Dawson (including pulling out the line, "What about that Matrix movie?"), but Dawson will respond only in tersely polite monosyllabic grunts.
Car. Charlie asks Pacey to put the pedal to the metal, and then calls him "Granny," all of which leads to Pacey pulling over and the boys indulging in some shoving and name-calling, including Pacey telling Charlie to hitchhike, and a "You don't think I can take you?"/"Are you challenging me?"/ "Should I bother?" exchange which culminates in Audrey jumping into the fray, dragging Pacey off to the woods and then either having sex with or blowing him in order to calm him down. Yes. I'm not making that up. It's that classy. While Audrey and Pacey are off getting it on against a tree, Charlie leans against Pacey's car in his girly cropped tee and bitches and moans about Pacey while Joey rolls her eyes some more. "He totally overreacted," Charlie yelps. "That's a moot point," Joey says, advising her traveling companion to ignore her ex.