Episode Report Card Sars: F | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Baby blues
By Sars | Season 4 | Episode 19 | Aired on 04.24.2001
Nighttime at the Witterschloss. Gretchen hears the Potter pickup outside and goes to the door; Joey gracelessly says that she had nowhere else to go, but Gretchen just nods and nicely invites her in. Joey slumps inside; spotting the suitcase, she asks if Gretchen's "leaving the country." Gretchen gives Joey the lowdown on the job interview, and asks how Joey's "holding up." Joey says that, considering that she's "turned into this crazy person" that she doesn't even know, she's fine. Gretchen nods sympathetically as Joey puts a hand to her tear-stained face and says she can't believe how "ill-prepared" she is for all of this, and then whispers damply, "What was I thinking?" Gretchen: "You fell in love...you had sex...even if you take every precaution, it's bound to change your world completely." Joey sniffles, then tries to laugh it off, asking if Gretchen can imagine Pacey with a baby, and I really think Pacey would do just fine with a baby, better than Joey would, but the girls bat it back and forth for a bit before Gretchen says that Pacey "just can't deal with Pacey." Joey says she knows, and she doesn't want to make things harder for him, but she really needs him right now. Gretchen asks if she's told Bessie. Joey cringes and relates that she kind of did, right after telling her that Bessie's life "disgusts" her, and Gretchen urges her to lean on Bessie, because "being pregnant, whether you choose to stay that way or not, is ultimately about family," and Joey needs "that support system." Joey hears something in that and raises a brow: "You sound like you're pretty familiar with the situation." Gretchen tells Joey about the miscarriage; Joey, to her credit, looks genuinely horrified and says she's sorry. Gretchen sighs and sits down next to Joey on the couch, saying that that's why she "came back here" -- to deal with it, to deal with "everything that [Joey's] dealing with now." Joey thinks that Gretchen's "been successful" in that regard, with a new boyfriend and maybe a new job, and asks if Dawson's going to Boston too. Gretchen says that she and Dawson "are in very different places" in their lives, and abruptly gets back up to continue packing. Joey sweetly tells her that Dawson would "lasso the moon for" Gretchen. Aw -- I've always loved that expression. Gretchen, eyes filling, says she knows, but he's about to leave. Joey basically tells her to go with the flow, concluding that "you never forget him." Because he'll live on in your nightmares for the rest of your days on earth. Glycerin rolls down Gretchen's face.
Expectant Estates. Dawson and the Flash flip through a product-placed TiVo screen, looking for something to watch. Weirdly, the dates on the TiVo all read "3/22" -- my birthday. Shout-out? Oh, who am I kidding? It's "fishcakes" or nothing at all. Gale comes downstairs, in labor yet again, but the men ignore her, figuring it for another false alarm, until Gale drags the Flash off of the couch by his ear and screams at him to get his ass in the car. "That hurts!" the Flash unwisely says, and Gale shrieks at him not to talk to her about pain. The Flash thinks she means it this time. Dawson browses for movies, unconcerned. My sides? Not aching. My knee? Not slapped.