Episode Report Card Wing Chun: D | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Crime And Punishment
By Wing Chun | Season 3 | Episode 15 | Aired on 02.08.2000
Several establishing shots later, we end up at the PB&B, where Joey is asking, in a horrified voice, "You're not planning on taking pictures?" Bodie (yay!) tells her that it's Bessie's job to make a big, embarrassing scene since Joey's done something so special. Joey thanks Bessie for coming, since she knows that high school wasn't Bessie's favourite time, and Bessie replies that she's old, and things are different now. "Not that different," Bodie notes. "What are there, like, ten black kids in that school?" HA! "Eleven," Joey replies, and needles Bessie some more about her miserable high school years, and Bessie says that that's exactly why she's so glad that things are different for Joey: "You're talented. Everybody at that school knows it, they've known it for years, and today, they're going to see proof-positive that Joey Potter is a force to be reckoned with." Joey smiles shyly. Go, Bessie!
After a shot of the school exterior, we're treated to a mural of...a lighthouse. Heh. Some blonde chick is in the process of saying that she painted the picture she did to remind all Capeside High students of the "beacon of knowledge" their teachers shine on them every day. Cut to the assembled crowd of students, looking disgusted. Heh! A smattering of applause follows as Bessie rolls her eyes. Principatundé next calls on Joey to say a few words about her mural. As the camera pans across the crowd, we get shots of both Dawson and Pacey looking proud. Joey explains that Principatundé had instructed her to focus on what unites everyone at Capeside, "as a school," and that when she thought about it, she realized that there wasn't anything that unites them. Even their mascot, the Minuteman, alienates half the school's population. The crowd chuckles appreciatively at her wee joke. She goes on to say that when she thought about it, she realized that the only thing that does unite them all is they all start out in kindergarten thinking that they can be anything they want, but that over time, they become disillusioned and lose that feeling. Only she takes a much longer time than I just did to say so. She winds up by saying that the symbol on her painting means "Possibility," and that she painted it to remind them all that if they believe in themselves against all odds, anything is possible. Then, because she's Joey, she shrugs and half-smiles, and breathes, "So I hope you like it." Dawson nods sagely. Wing Chun retches. Principatundé pulls a rope, and a blue velvet curtain falls to reveal that, in the time since we saw it last, someone has defaced Joey's mural by painting broad, angry black slashes all over it. The crowd gasps. Joey's face falls. The camera cuts to the crowd, where everyone is shocked. Joey takes off, and Pacey, Dawson, and Bodie and Bessie watch her go, looking worried. Dude, that sucks. On the other hand, she just copied the symbol out of a book, so how hard can it be to copy it again?