Episode Report Card Sars: D | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Psychic Friends
By Sars | Season 2 | Episode 17 | Aired on 03.09.1999
Fade up on a Capra film. The man onscreen gets socked in the head with something as Mädchen "Nicole Kennedy" Amick -- sporting a look that strikes me as just a bit too "evening" for a teacher -- makes a pronouncement about great filmmakers always asking questions and taking risks, and about the truth making audiences squirm in their seats, or some pompous rubbish to that effect. As Dawson and Jen "Wilbur" Lindley write down what she just said, Miss Kennedy asks the class how the movie they just saw makes them feel. Jen calls Capra "too saccharine" and "unrealistic," but before she can finish the thought, Dawson butts in and dismisses Jen's observation as a misconception, saying that he finds Capra's work "pretty dark" and referring to Gary Cooper in Meet John Doe and "the plight of the common man." Miss Kennedy, who seems to find Dawson's pretensions to mastery of film theory amusing, says, "Good, Dawson," and asks what else Gary Cooper's character represents, and Dawson blathers on about the character as "an innocent" who believes "the future represents hope so -- the antagonist would be cynicism." Memo to the writers: in order to draw a successful parallel between Dawson Leery and the heroes of the films of Frank Capra, it might help if you made Dawson Leery somewhat likable and sympathetic, which you thus far have failed to do. Addendum: we get it. Miss Kennedy says, "I agree," and Dawson smiles his "of course you do" smile as she talks about complexity, and ambiguity, and a bunch of other things that sound like they mean something but really don't.
Dawson and Jen walk out of class together. Dawson hates to see Mr. Gold go, but he has a "hero-worship" thing going on with Miss Kennedy. Jen doesn't buy it, calling their teacher "every sixteen-year-old boy's wet dream," but Dawson protests that Miss Kennedy is "the real deal," and reminds Jen that Miss Kennedy has come to Capeside on sabbatical to write "this major screenplay" for [product-placement alert! -- Wing Chun] TriStar. Jen comments, "Great -- so now you've got someone around whose opinion actually carries some weight, huh?" This seemed like a dig at Dawson's ego, but if so, he doesn't get it, nodding and saying, "Yeah." Jen asks if Dawson has showed Miss Kennedy his magnum dopus yet, and Dawson cringes and says, "No," and as Jen chastises him, Mitch "The Flash" Leery walks up behind them in a sassy sweater-and-tie ensemble. Dawson says, "She's gonna think it's amateur hour," and Jen orders him to show Miss Kennedy the movie because "it's ready," and The Flash greets them with a "hey," and Jen walks off shaking her head. "Hi, Dawson," The Flash says, and Dawson says, "Mr. Leery." The Flash tells Dawson that he can call him "Dad," and Dawson motions him into an empty classroom and tells him, "It's awkward enough to have you for my English teacher, but if people hear me call you 'Dad,' I'm gonna get beat up after school." As if his schoolmates don't have a hundred better reasons to beat him up.
Dawson then says in his most condescending tone, "It's great that you have a job that you enjoy, I just -- when we're in school, just pretend like you don't know me," and begins to yawn. Instead of beating his snotty son up himself, The Flash inquires, "Not sleeping?" Dawson tells him about the nightmares: "It's like I'm sitting alone in a dark theater watching my life go by onscreen and all the coming attractions are box-office bombs." The Flash wonders what happened to "my son, the eternal optimist." Dawson sagely intones, "People move on. The only person you can really rely on is yourself." He starts to leave the room but turns around to bore The Flash by talking about himself some more, saying that "this is it," that he's spent the last couple of weeks trying to change things he can't control, that he only knows for certain that he wants to become a filmmaker, and "no matter what, I have to make that happen." The Flash does not tell him to shut up. The Flash does not mention Dawson getting grounded. The Flash does not enlighten us as to the fate of the erstwhile Explorer with Jen's steamy hoofprint on the inside of one window.