Episode Report Card Sars: C- | 1 USERS: A+ YOU GRADE IT Future Shock
By Sars | Season 6 | Episode 23 | Aired on 05.13.2003
The triangle is left alone. Pacey says he has to clean up, and Joey's going to head home; Dawson offers her a ride, but she'll walk, as it's not far and it'll sober her up. She hugs them both and takes her leave, and the guys watch her go. "My God, that woman's amazing," Pacey muses. All right…seriously? What's so amazing about her? She's not particularly smart, she's not particularly funny -- she's not particularly anything, except pretty, and Pacey and Dawson's respective obsessions with her say more about them than about any defining traits Joey might have. Pacey then tells Dawson that "that girl you cast on your show? Cannot hold a candle to her." Dawson shrugs, but says that he did "nail Petey, though. Perfect casting," and Pacey jokes that Fake-cey does have "the certain requisite roguish charm." Dawson observes him for a moment before saying condescendingly, "A lot's changed. You've changed." "Yeah, well, life happens," Pacey shrugs, and asks Dawson if he's happy. Dawson's not-really-an-answer is that he knows he should say he's happy, because otherwise he'll sound spoiled and ungrateful (yeah, go figure), but he hasn't actually given it much thought. In other words, he isn't happy, really. He turns the question around on Pacey, and Pacey shrugs again: "Oh, you know me -- I'd be miserable if I was happy." Dawson cocks a brow at him, but Pacey ducks any further discussion and says he'll finish cleaning up, and they share a long hug containing many manly back-slaps, and Pacey tells him it's good to see him. See you tomorrow, blah dee blah -- Pacey heads back into the kitchen, and Dawson stands there, gigantic brow furrowed thoughtfully.
At the Potter B&B, Jack crabs about having to change a diaper while Jen gobbles pills and tells him he's doing fine. As he messes around with the diaper bag, he finds a prescription bottle and asks Jen about it, and Jen lies that they belong to Grams, and she just keeps them around in case Grams forgets them. Jack expositions that he didn't know Grams still took painkillers: "She looks like she's in good health." "Looks can be deceiving that way, huh?" Jen smiles sadly. Okay, I never thought I'd say it, but…nice one, writers. Sincerely. Initially, I thought they'd set it up for Jen to OD on Vicodin and Grams to suffer a relapse or something, but now that I know the upshot of the plotline, it still works. Well done. Jack asks Jen if she ever wonders if she could survive without Grams: "You think you could really do this alone?" "I used to think I couldn't," Jen says absently, looking down at the baby, "but really, I don't feel that way anymore." Aw. Nice work by Michelle Williams here, too. Jen says that "it's really wonderful -- parenting," and she can't program her TiVo (shout-out?), but she can take care of a child. Jack tells her she's changed the most out of all of them. Well, except for Andie, who's a stripper in Milan now. Okay, not really, but they could have at least mentioned her even if Meredith Monroe wouldn't come back for the finale. Mentos residuals pay a pretty penny, I guess. Right, the episode. So, Jen responds that the change didn't come from her, but from Amy. Jack sighs, and wonders what he's doing in Capeside: "What sane gay man of this era moves back to a suburb?" Jen correctly diagnoses this as about Doug, not Capeside itself, and when Jack continues to grump about going back into a closet that's not even his, Jen says he needs to give Doug some time. Jack disagrees, saying it's not his fault his boyfriend "lives back in the Stone Age," and Jen understands that, but says that Doug is "so scared." "What's there to be scared of?" Good question, KERR. "Of what's real," Jen tells him. "It terrifies us, all of us," and yes, she's changed, but she didn't do so willingly. "And if you think that anything of any value comes at an easier price, you're wrong." That kind of doesn't make sense, but it sounds good, so let's just go with it. "Your wise sage superpowers have increased with motherhood," Jack snarks good-naturedly. "I think I might have to buy you a cape pretty soon." Jen appoints him her sidekick, her "Boy Wonder" (heh), and Jack smiles, "Any time," and kisses her hand.