Episode Report Card Sars: D | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT To Green, With Love
By Sars | Season 3 | Episode 16 | Aired on 02.15.2000
After the rally. Jen praises Pacey for sticking by Joey, and asks how he feels. He feels "like dogmeat," as it turns out, because -- to the surprise of exactly no one -- Joey "didn't even thank" him. "She will, one day," Jen says, and Pacey asks how she knows. "'Cause every duck has its day," she teases him. "Just ask Henry." Henry's still on the show? Crap. Jen claps him on the shoulder and heads out, and Pacey looks at Joey, surrounded by well-wishers.
Joey comes up to Bodie and he asks if she's ready to go. Bodie is cute. Just noting that for the record. "Think she'll let us in the house?" Joey asks, and Bodie says that if not, they can sleep in the car, and offers to let Joey drive. Joey says no thanks -- she doesn't want to deal with the stick shift -- but before she can explain, she trails off at the sight of Bessie and Alexander at the back of the auditorium. Bessie says something all mock-sternly about Joey not backing down from challenges, at least not the Joey she saw in front of all those people before. "You saw?" Joey asks, and Bessie says that Alexander insisted on coming, and how proud Alexander is of "his Aunt Joey," and how, when she's not around, Alexander "goes on and on about how talented you are, and how smart, and how brave." Aw. More Bessie, please. The sisters smile at each other; predictably, Joey changes her mind about driving home.
Sunset. Snowiness. Principal Green packs up his office. Joey knocks at the door and comes in, and Green says he hopes she hasn't gotten herself "in trouble." Joey says he still has a few minutes, he could still change his mind, and he asks if that's what she wants. "No," she scoffs, and then, "maybe, I mean -- I don't know." "Why is that?" he asks gently. Joey says she knows he's doing the right thing, but she feels like she failed him, because they couldn't stop what happened: "We weren't loud enough, or strong enough. And I'm really sorry." Green looks sad. Joey begins to cry. Green tells her he's never felt more successful than he does right now. He thanks her for fighting for him. She smiles a little: "You're welcome." "I guess it's time to go home," he says. "After you," Joey tells him, and they walk out of his office together and wish each other goodbye, and as he rounds the corner, he sees the hallway lined with students applauding him respectfully. An inspirational song plays as the writers of Lucas file for copyright infringement, and the Greens meet up about halfway down the hall and exit the school to the sound of clapping. All right, I confess: I got played by that scene. I misted up. I'm not made of stone, folks. Anyway, thus endeth the Greens, which does make me sad, because I liked both of their characters.
More snowfall. Gail is on the phone, and Dawson says that it "sounds like distinctly good news." Gail tells him the station is going to run their story that night, and also, one of the producers asked Gail if she'd like to do other special reports for them in the future. Dawson laughs happily and asks what she told them. "I told them I'd get back to them -- in about twenty years, if and when I'm retired from the restaurant business," Gail says, looking sheepish. "You're kidding," Dawson says, and he seems to think she really is kidding at first: "I thought this is what you wanted." Gail says she really just wanted the chance to say no and leave on her own terms, "and start fresh, with no regrets." She then thanks him for inspiring her, calling him the "quiet hero" and showering him with a bunch of other undeserved compliments in the same vein, none of which I plan to dignify by repeating. Dawson good-naturedly accuses his mother of "editorializing." Yeah, try "lying."