Props to Mister Patrick Leswick, Daniel, ragdoll, Glark, and Sars.
A kind of calm settles over me as I realize that this is the last wrap I'll have to write for a long time, and the last I'll have to put off until days after the episode airs. Sweet! Nothing says summer like the end of the TV season.
In the Sanctum Dawsonorum, The Age of Innocence plays on the TV -- a scene in which Michelle Pfeiffer as Ellen Olenska is asking Daniel Day-Lewis as Newland Archer if he intends to keep her as his mistress. Archer says he'd like to go somewhere no one uses that word. Ellen laughs ruefully: "Oh my dear. Where is that country? Have you ever been there?" I only include the dialogue from the lead-in mood-setting expository-shorthand movie because it's the best line of the episode. Anyway, after Pfeiffer delivers it, Dawson "Cream of Defeat" Leery peremptorily turns the tape off. Slightly peeved, Joey "Boomerang" Potter asks why, and he tells her he's had enough unrequited love for one evening. Joey muses about what "sick part" of her gets off on these kinds of stories. Dawson asks if she means "the kind that end unhappily?" She replies that she's thinking of "the kind that never end," and then opines that the love between Ellen and Archer, which has no chance whatever of thriving, is evidence of a real romance. Dawson disagrees, saying it's a "tragedy." (No it's not, and I could tell you why, but I'd rather Dawson just looked it up.) ["So could I, but I'll refer Dawson and Joey to the junior thesis I wrote on the book instead." -- Sars] Joey points out that "not all love stories have a built-in happy ending." Dawson says, "True, but why revel in the ones that don't?" Joey says that sad stories are more powerful, and that she prefers them. After a moment's hesitation, Dawson asks, "Do you think that that kind of preference has some kind of effect on your own love story?" Joey says it "absolutely does," but that it doesn't worry her because "the effect is positive. I mean, it's movies like these that remind me of how immovable and strong love can be." Dawson, determined to ignore what she's actually saying, insistently repeats, "But they don't end happily." Joey says, "It's not their fault. It's just the circumstances." Dawson says, "But what good is their love if it's not strong enough to overcome those circumstances?" Instead of saying, "Maybe if we watched the rest of the movie, we would know," Joey says, "Because in spite of the circumstances, they never stop loving." She lays back down on her back, artfully arranging herself in order to best accommodate Dawson. Ew. He leans over her and says, "So tell me, Joey Potter: will you always love me, no matter what the circumstances?" She kisses him and says, "It doesn't matter; we get the happy ending." They suck face some more as the opening credits roll. Boy, I sure hope nothing happens this hour to belie her! That would be so tragically ironic! And such a surprise, too! No wait. It wouldn't. It would be the opposite of that.
Less Khaki Country, more Khaki Soul.
Yeah, I believe Cuba Gooding Jr. as a psychiatrist about as much as I believed Cindy Crawford as a lawyer.
Over at the No-Fault Hacienda (where our slogan is, "Last One Out Gets the Kid!"), Dawson is telling Mrs. Flash that he needs "some 'father-son advice.'" Huh? Anyway, he asks what a person should do when "you know something really bad about someone really close to someone you care about? Do you tell the someone that you care about, or do you just try and [sic] forget that you know the bad thing?" Mrs. Flash wants to know how bad is "bad?" Dawson opines that it's beyond bad. Mrs. Flash, whose hair looks a lot better in this episode (which is more than can be said for her TV son, whose head, in this episode, looks less like a cereal box and more like a blond broccoli), says that he can either tell the person he cares about what he knows, or confront the person close to the someone he cares about, in the hopes that the confrontation will force the person who did the bad thing to tell the person he's close to. I'm sure there's a way that could have been more convoluted; I'm not sure how. Dawson says the Flash has got nothing on his Bride. Mrs. Flash says that, speaking of the Flash, she's decided to take the job in Philadelphia (only she makes the unfortunate decision to call it "Philly") and that she's flying down tomorrow [!] to finalize everything. Man, does she want to escape from Dawson or what? He asks whether this is what she really wants. She says that, in the absence of any dissuasion from the Flash, she doesn't feel she has a reason to turn it down. I don't blame her. You'd think she'd offer to take Jen with her.
Over at the Potter Halfway House, Dawson is picking up Joey, who says she'll need a minute, and kisses him. She goes back inside looking for a piece of her homework, as Mr. Pothead comes up behind Dawson and asks how he is and whether he's ready for exams. Dawson says he is, and asks how Mr. Pothead is. He says he's fine. Dawson pointedly adds, "And legal?" Mr. Pothead's jocular smile fades, and he says nothing as Dawson and his clenched jaw continue to stare him down. You know, given that Dawson doesn't know anything about Mr. Pothead other than that he's recently had occasion to look at a baggie full of some kind of drug, I would think he'd keep his largely unfounded judgments to himself. Anyway, at that moment Joey comes out of the trailer and comments that she hates exams. Mr. Pothead says that, as long as the Icehouse is closed for business during renovations, the kids are welcome to study there. Joey thanks him and bounces down the stairs; Dawson guardedly agrees that it sounds like a good idea. Before leaving, Dawson gives Mr. Pothead his best Village of the Damned icy glare and says, "See you later, Mr. Potter." Mr. Pothead watches him go, looking stricken.
On the campus of Capeside High, Jen "Wilbur" Lindley and Jack "Matt" McPhee stroll toward class drinking coffee and wearing COATS. In what is presumably MAY. Okay, do they live in AUSTRALIA now? What the hell? Jen makes some comment about the coffee helping to get her through the day. Jack says that she'll need more than that after the all-nighter she pulled working on her paper, and asks what it's about. "Teen suicide," she says, in a poor approximation of breeziness. Jack says, "You have a lot to say about teen suicide? Should I start to plan the intervention?" Jen stops walking and kind of glares at him, then chuckles and says she's "not on the window ledge -- right now." Oh geez. Jack says, "'Right now'? This conversation just took a decidedly gruesome turn." Jen says, "No, it's just realistic." Jack says, "Realistic to who?" Jen says, "To most teenagers," and explains that "the materials" said that "a high percentage" of teenagers had considered suicide at least once. Stop the presses! "Come on," she says. "Haven't you, ever?" Jack gets flustered and says, "Maybe -- one time -- yeah, but since I've been dealing with everything it hasn't really crossed my mind. The world doesn't scare me as much as it used to. What's your answer?" She looks taken aback, but before she can answer, the call of "Jennifah!" rings out across the quad and we cut to Grams "The Terminator" Ryan, looking lost among so many teenagers, and oddly cute with her alpine cardigan and her old-lady purse. Jen sighs loudly, and diffidently says hi. Grams asks how she is. Jen says, "Late for class," and walks right past her. If I were Grams, this conversation would be O.V.E.R., but Grams evidently has more cheeks to turn than I have, because she asks Jen to wait and says, "I've thought about how we ended things. I've given it a great deal of consideration, and despite our differences, I want you to come home." Jen glances in Jack's direction and says, "I have a home." Undaunted, Grams continues: "Jennifer, I know you want your independence, but this situation isn't right." Jen says, "Jack is used to taking care of himself, and that is something that I'm determined to learn how [sic]. Together, we're going to be fine." Grams observes, "Jack has no alternative. You do." Jen says, "You come here to welcome me home but you haven't even addressed why I left. And to be quite honest, I don't want to get into it right now." Uh, as I recall, the reason you left is that she kicked your ass out, honey, but way to get the last word. As she does the Jen stomp out of there, Jack turns back and nods awkwardly, but politely, at Grams.
Elsewhere at school, Sheriff John "Santini" Witter is dropping Pacey "Come To My Window" Witter off as the dispatcher announces an address over the radio. Pacey says, "That's the Icehouse. You guys staking it out?" The Sheriff says, "That's none of your concern." Exasperatedly, Pacey says, "Pop, if this means you're going to start harassing Joey's dad --" The Sheriff says, "I'm not harassing anyone. I wear a badge; I do a job." Bad boys! Whatcha gonna do? Pacey says, "Mr. Potter's finally putting his family's life back together. The guy deserves a break." The Sheriff says, "I'll be the judge of that. In the meantime, you've got a final to get to, now don't screw it up." Pacey considers this a moment, then says, "Is there any possibility that your advice will ever take on a positive tone?" The Sheriff says, "I'm positive that you better not screw it up." Hee hee! My dad isn't mean like the Sheriff, but he does say things like that. Pacey sarcastically says, "It's really great that we can have these talks every morning."
He starts to get out of the car, but the Sheriff grabs his arm and says, "Since your little girlfriend left, your attitude has gone from bad to worse and I don't approve of it. No girl is worth messing up your life over, you hear me?" Pacey stonily replies, "May I go now, sir?" His father says nothing, and starts the car. Pacey gets out and slams the door. Dawson stands on the sidewalk, squinting in a spectacularly unflattering way after the departing car. He asks if the Sheriff tried to run Pacey over. Pacey says he might as well have, "the bastard." Dawson asks if he's heard from Andie yet. Pacey says he hasn't, but casually says she'll call.
Inside, Mr. Milo proctors one of Pacey's exams. Pacey flips open his exam booklet, and listlessly lets it fall closed again.
Dawson enters the Icehouse as some Cobainnabe whines, "It's too late" on the soundtrack. Mr. Pothead is standing in what is evidently going to be the Icehouse After Dark, since it's painted red and has a strategically-lighted stage. "Dawson," says Mr. Pothead. "I suppose you want to know what the hell I think I'm doing." Dawson says, "No, not really. I'm just here to tell you that whatever it is, I don't believe it." At this point the director makes the unfortunate decision to cut to a tight close-up of Dawson's face, switched back to his Village of the Damned dead-eyed look. Why, WHY doesn't anyone in this town ever haul off and plow him right in his smug, judgmental face? Anyway, he says, in a tone informed by years of privilege: "I saw you in the back room with Pete the other day when I was returning your tools. I don't believe it. I don't believe that a man who claims to love his children with all his heart and all his soul would traffic cocaine through the family business." "Dawson," Mr. Pothead interjects ineffectually. Dawson will not be stopped: "I do believe that anyone engaged in such a blatantly criminal activity would put the well-being of his family ahead of his own selfishness and remove himself from that situation." Mr. Pothead says, "What if that man found himself stuck. Would you believe that?" Dawson says, "If that were true, a smart man would do absolutely everything in his power, for the sake of the people who love him, to un-stick himself. And he'd do it fast." With that, Dawson turns on his heel and struts out, well-pleased with himself. Let's just recall, once again, that Dawson DOESN'T KNOW ANYTHING about this situation and is basing his accusations on circumstantial evidence and wild conjecture. Let's also recall that Dawson is sixteen, and that he lacks the life experience to back up this kind of penis-waving display of bravado. Let's recall, finally, that there is more to acting the emotion "angry" than failing to move one's eyebrows, no matter how prodigious the size of said eyebrows may be.
You say Wild Wild West, I say Cutthroat Island II. Call me crazy, but I agree with Daniel that the world has not exactly been clamouring for a western movie with a rap soundtrack.
Flashes. Porch. She: "Dawson will stay with you." He: "What you're saying is that your decision is based on what's best for you and not what is best for our son." She: "I'm leaving tomorrow." Soundtrack: "Don't call me. Don't write."
Over at the Icehouse, the kids are all gathered at a table studying in total silence. The Sheriff enters and addresses Pacey, asking what he's doing. Pacey answers that they're studying. The Sheriff asks Joey if her dad is in. At that moment, Mr. Pothead emerges and says hi to the Sheriff. The Sheriff says "hi" back and asks to speak to Mr. Pothead in private. Joey watches them go, looking alarmed. Joey quietly asks Pacey what's going on. Pacey says that his father's crusades are "his own deal." At least your father's crusades have some legal authority backing them up, unlike yours, which lately seem motivated by vanity and fairly unoriginal teen angst.
Anyway, in the back room the Sheriff presents Mr. Pothead with a picture of Pete and asks if Mr. Pothead has seen him. Mr. Pothead says he's an old friend. The Sheriff says, "Yeah, with an alleged history in narcotics." Mr. Pothead says, "I wouldn't know, John. We have a strictly social relationship. He stopped by for a visit, catch up, is all." Joey bounds into the room and brightly asks, "Find everything you need, Mr. Witter?" The Sheriff says he sure did. She turns to Mr. Pothead: "Need anymore help back here, Dad?" The Sheriff says they're done, and tells Mr. Pothead that the place looks great. Mr. Pothead grins moronically and tells the Sheriff to come back week when they're open, and he'll give him a free dinner. Joey smiles her false front smile at the Sheriff's back as he goes, then squints suspiciously at her father and asks what's going on. Mr. Pothead says that the Sheriff was just giving him "an official welcome," and tells her to go back to her friends. Joey grouchily asks, "They're never going to leave us alone, are they?" Mr. Pothead says, "Not for a while." Joey shrugs and says, "Then we'll just have to ignore them!" Mr. Pothead smiles and walks away. Joey ruefully watches him go. Dawson walks in and asks if she's okay. Joey says, "Why is Pacey's dad doing this?" Dawson says, "Because that's his job." Joey says, "No, it's his job to serve and protect Capeside from criminals, not my dad! He doesn't belong in that category anymore." Dawson says, "Look, I know you're mad --" Joey pouts, "You should be mad too! You're part of the family now." Dawson coos, "Well, when you say it like that, I'm furious." Yeah, you go, Smoove B. They suck face. Ew.
In an even-further-back back room, Mr. Pothead unzips a gym bag full of cocaine-filled baggies. (At least, I assume it's cocaine, although Sars rightly pointed out that it could well be heroin.) Gareth Williams does his best impression of a man who has found himself "stuck" (which translates to his looking slightly nauseous), and then snaps the venetian blinds closed.
Over by the coffee maker, Jack is telling Jen, "You know, it sounds like she wants to reconcile your differences." Jen patronizingly says, "To the untrained ear, maybe, but to me it's just the same doublespeak. I'm not the girl she wants around." Jack says, "She did ask you back." Jen says, "I don't want to go back." Jack says, "No one's saying that you have to, but she is right; your situation isn't mine." Jen glares at him silently, looking betrayed. Jack adds, "What, you don't think that I've been under the same kind of scrutiny? [Indecipherable] rough hours, Jen." Jen says, "I thought we had developed a closeness." It's been, what? A week? Yeah, you work that sense of entitlement, piglet. Look, you owe Grams. Jack doesn't owe you shit. Anyway, he says, "We have." Jen demands, "So then why do you want me to go?" Jack says, "I never said that I wanted you to go." Jen, getting somewhat hysterical, says, "Yes you did! [No, he didn't.] I mean, bringing up my grandmother, talking about me moving back -- it's obvious where that leads." Jack says, "Is this what you did with her? You turned her words all around until you're convinced that she wants you to go?" Jen growls, "You don't have any idea what you're talking about." Jack says, "No, I think I do! You act like moving in with me is going to be some great salvation -- let me tell you something: it isn't, because my dad is going to have to sell the house soon, and then we're both going to be homeless." Jen claps her books closed and mutters, "Well, why don't I put myself out of my misery." Jack, rendered nearly speechless by this prize-winning display of petulance, can barely choke out: "Don't say that." Jen says, "Don't worry, Jack; statistics are on my side. But I'll be gone by tonight." She struts off to parts unknown.
In yet other parts unknown (how big is the Icehouse, anyway?), a Molotov cocktail flies through the window and shatters on the floor, engulfing whatever part of the restaurant it's in, in flames. No one seems to notice.
Pacey follows the Sheriff out to the squad car. The sheriff admonishes: "You stay out of this, Pacey; you and I got a whole other problem to deal with....You had a phone call at the house." Pacey says, "Andie?" The Sheriff says, "Mr. Milo. He's worried about you. He told me you've blown two of your finals." Pacey says he's got it under control. The Sheriff says, "Pacey, he says you didn't write word one on either exam. That true?" Pacey says nothing. The Sheriff spits, "What were you thinking?" Pacey yells, "I was thinking that it doesn't really matter, okay?" The Sheriff yells back, "The hell it doesn't. You get your things. You're coming home." Pacey says no. The Sheriff says, "I don't want you hanging out here, Pacey. Mr. Potter's a known felon; it doesn't make me look good." Pacey says, "Is that what this is about?" The Sheriff hesitates, then repeats, "Get your stuff." Pacey says, "I said no." The Sheriff grabs him and yells, "I said get your stuff!" Pacey grumbles, "Hands off me," and the Sheriff visibly hauls off and smacks Pacey in the face, hard enough to double him over. No, Sheriff: Dawson, DAWSON! Pacey cries a little and catches his breath. The Sheriff mutters, "I'll be in the car."
In the Icehouse, Mr. Pothead has noticed the fire. In a panic, his first thought (evidently) is not that his daughter is in the building and he has to get her out, but that there is a bag of drugs on his desk and he better get to flushing them down the toilet.
Out in the restaurant, the kids smell smoke. Joey whips around and says, "There's a fire," and goes running into the back to find her dad. Dawson runs after her.
Outside, Pacey calls his father's attention to the billowing smoke. Pacey runs in while the Sheriff radios for help.
Dawson and Joey pull open a door and plunge into a room filled with fire. Mr. Pothead, still flushing madly, hears Joey call him but doesn't move. Jen follows Joey and Dawson into the room with the fire and stands perfectly still, apparently hypnotized by the flames, until Jack drags her out bodily. Mr. Pothead comes to the window of his office and yells to Dawson to get her out, but makes no moves to leave the office himself. This causes Joey to go completely hysterical and start jumping up and down, requiring Pacey to push her out. Dawson stays inside with the Sheriff, aiming a fire extinguisher at the smaller fires, and then throwing the fire extinguisher through the window of the office, making a big enough hole for Mr. Pothead to climb out. Beams fall as Dawson, Mr. Pothead and the Sheriff make their way out; Jen, Joey, Pacey and Jack stand anxiously outside, waiting for them to emerge. (Man, it really has not been a good year for Jen!) When they get out, Joey runs to her dad and embraces him tearfully. As he hugs her, Mr. Pothead stares over her shoulder at Dawson, looking desperate. Dawson gives him the Glare of Unfavourable Judgment and coughs weakly. The Icehouse burns. I'm sorry, but, big loss.
Okay, look. If it's wrong to laugh at the Big Daddy commercials, I don't want to be right.
As firefighters put out the blaze in Mr. Pothead's family business, Dawson seizes the oh-so-opportune moment to break Mr. Pothead's balls: "Is this your idea of taking care of things?" Mr. Pothead says not, "Perhaps not, but I sure as hell don't need to hear it from your ass," but, "It's not that simple, Dawson." Dawson, with the clarity that can only come from having no emotional investment whatever in a decision, declares, "You have to go to the police and tell them everything you know." Mr. Pothead says, "I can't. It's too dangerous." Dawson says, "This is too dangerous." Joey joins them and lays her head on her father's shoulder, saying, "I'm all checked out." Mr. Pothead regards Dawson a little smugly, as if to say, "When it comes down to it, Joey will choose me." She says, "They asked for the hero ," and plucks at Dawson's shirt, saying, "That'd be you." Dawson says, "I'm not a hero, Joey." Mr. Pothead tells him not to be modest, since Dawson saved Mr. Pothead's life. Dawson squints at him and replies, "Some situations are too tragic to have a hero; this is one of them." He gives Joey a brief kiss on the cheek and strides off, leaving her to stare after him with some confusion. At that moment the Flashes come running up to Dawson and throw their arms around him. Bessie "Accessory After the Fact" Potter arrives with Alexander in her arms and gingerly hugs Joey and Mr. Pothead.
Inside, as a police team inspects the damage to the Icehouse, the Sheriff tells Pacey, "The bastard was lying to me. He's in it up to his neck and he knows it." Pacey scoffs, "Come on. You don't even know if this has anything to do with him." The Sheriff says, loudly enough to try to draw a nearby police officer into the conversation, "A random arson incident in the middle of Capeside? [Yeah, he's got a point there.] Let's consider the likelihood of that, Pacey. If God hadn't blessed you with my good looks, I wouldn't know whose son you were." It's true -- the casting director did do a good job of finding an older guy with Joshua Jackson's absence of an upper lip. The Sheriff holds up his keys and says, "Why don't you drive yourself home before you make another embarrassing comment." Pacey says, "I think I'll walk." The Sheriff mutters, "See if I care." Pacey replies, "No one would assume you did, Pop." The Sheriff raises his voice again to involve the whole room: "You'll have to excuse my son, boys; his girlfriend moved away and suddenly it's his time of month." The cop extras chuckle. Pacey says, "Screw you, okay?" The Sheriff goes to grab his arm again, but Pacey smacks it away, and yells, "Get your hands off me, all right? Don't touch me again, ever!" The Sheriff says, "Finally, my boy gets a pair! [Inappropriate!] And all it took was getting his heart broke by some little girl with a few screws loose." At this, Pacey snaps and punches the Sheriff in the face, half knocking him over. When the Sheriff straightens up, Pacey gets in his face and says, "Andie did more for my life in six months than you did in sixteen years, you rotten son of a bitch, so if you wanna make fun of me, you wanna bust on me, that's fine, but you so much as make one more even slightly disparaging comment about the woman I love, and I swear to God you're going to be policing this town from a hospital bed, you understand me? One more thing. Even if Mr. Potter was involved in all of this, he's still ten times the father you ever were." Pacey walks off. The Sheriff wipes blood from his mouth. Okay, that was a great speech Pacey gave, but as if he could have punched hard enough to draw blood, and as if the Sheriff wouldn't have punched back twice as much, witnesses or no. I'm just saying.
At the trailer, Joey has cleaned herself up and walks into the kitchen, where Bessie is making plans to get working on their insurance claim. Joey asks why the Icehouse is staked off, and why the police are involved. Mr. Pothead says that because the fire was arson-related, it's typical operating procedure for the police to be involved. Joey skeptically asks, "So there's nothing else going on?" Bessie says, "Joey, what are you saying?" Joey says she's just asking Mr. Pothead if he knows why the police are so interested in the fire or why there was even a fire in the first place. Bessie gets increasingly peeved, but Joey insists that Mr. Pothead swear he doesn't know any more than he's saying. Mr. Pothead swears that he doesn't know who started the fire. She melts with relief and hugs him. Careful, Joey -- there's a bridge washed out ahead!
At the No-Fault Hacienda, the Flashes are telling Dawson -- who evidently has just told them what he knows about Mr. Pothead -- that he has no choice but to go to the police. It must be said that he hasn't seen fit to take a shower or change his clothes yet. Dawson makes anti-cop noises to the effect that if he leaves him alone maybe Mr. Pothead will solve this stuff on his own -- a notable departure from his posturing throughout the rest of this episode. Mrs. Flash says that Joey's in danger and she needs Dawson's "strength," even if that strength comes in a form that will cause her to have to rat on her own father. The Flash tells him again that he has to go to the police, and that there's really nothing left to do. Dawson says, "There is one thing." Does it involve soap?
Over at Orphan Villa, Jack is telling Jen that he saw her standing and staring at the fire, and apparently refusing to move, and he wants to know why. She says she was in shock. He says he doesn't believe her. She says she doesn't remember what happened. He says he wants to know how much she means all her little suicide-themed comments. She says she's not the kind of person who would take her own life, but that when she was standing in the fire, she kept thinking maybe that was fate's way of deciding the issue. She said that she doesn't want to die, but that she didn't care enough to run. Jack says he understands what she's going through, and the pain of hating oneself, and the way it makes you want to push away the people who care about one the most, but that she shouldn't if she ever wants to be happy. I can't decide if her hair is flat in this scene because she's trying to take it in a new direction, or because her failure to go into product overload is meant to signal to the audience that she's too depressed to take care of her appearance. Either way, it does look a lot better, even if it is a lot more like Jennie Garth's hair a few years ago.
At the trailer, Joey is sitting out on a deck chair looking at the creek. Dawson approaches wearing the same clothes he had on in the fire. She greets him and observes that he's cold. He says, "What I have to tell you, you're not going to like, so I'm just going to say it really quickly. Joey, your father's dealing drugs again." Man, I really hoped that the plotline would be that he comes to this conclusion, tells Joey, and then turns out to be completely wrong. What an opportunity missed! Anyway, Joey looks horrified and says, "You don't know that," which, I will reiterate, HE DOESN'T, despite the fact that he answers, "Yes, I do; I caught him. And that's not all. This fire tonight was not all, but partially his responsibility. I talked to him about it, I talked to my parents about it. I didn't want to talk to you about it because I didn't want you to have to know, but now it's gone too far." Joey says, "He told me he had nothing to do with the fire. He swore to me." Dawson says, apparently deciding that sugar-coating it would only hurt them both, says, "He's lying to you." Joey says, "Well, I believe him." Dawson says, "I know you want to believe him." Joey says, "No, I do." Dawson says, "Joey, why would I lie about this?" Joey says, "Why are you doing this?"
Dawson says, "Because you need to know the truth. This is a very dangerous situation now, and your father can help apprehend the people who are responsible for this. If we went to the police, maybe you could work something out for your dad." With a look of naked horror, Joey says, "You want me to turn my father in? What kind of person do you think I am? Why are you doing this?" Dawson has the unmitigated gall to smirk as he says, "This isn't my fault," and that "There's no other option." Joey says, "You just couldn't leave well enough alone -- you had to get involved?" Dawson says, "Joey, I love you, all right? I'm not going to let you risk your life to protect someone who isn't protecting you." Joey says, "Dawson, this is my father. I am begging you. Please just stay out of this." Dawson pronounces, "I can't." Joey says, "Yes, you can. I mean, not just for me, and not just for my family, but for us. I am telling you, Dawson -- we won't survive this." Dawson says, "That's a risk that I'm willing to take, because I care about you more than I care about myself, and somebody has to do the right thing. If you can't, then I will." Joey shrugs, sits down, and starts to cry in earnest. I'm not saying Dawson is completely wrong, but declaring that he is going to sacrifice her happiness and her family's well-being because he cares about Joey more than he does about himself is pretty disingenuous, and is a pretty arrogant position to take. What a shock that Dawson's the one taking it.
In the Sheriff's office, the Sheriff is telling Joey that he doesn't have enough proof to arrest her father. Joey asks why, that being the case, she should go along with any plan to catch him. The Sheriff tells her that the people who told the Sheriff about Mr. Pothead's activities were his competitors, and that they're also the people who started the fire. If Mr. Pothead doesn't help the Sheriff get these competitors, they will continue to feed the Sheriff information until the Sheriff gets Mr. Pothead. Joey tells him (and the assemblage of the family Flash, including Dawson, who seems to have finally taken a shower) that they have no idea what they're asking her to do. The Sheriff tells Joey that her father is putting their entire family in danger. Joey says that it's her family, and that what benefits her family is being together and trusting each other. The Sheriff asks whether Joey thinks her father has betrayed that trust. Joey sits back in her chair and smugly replies that she trusts her father a lot more than she trusts anyone in the room. The adults look at one another, stymied by this display of feistiness and loyalty. Dawson asks if they can have a few minutes alone, and everyone else clears out. He turns to Joey and says, "He wants to help, Joey. He cares. We all do." Joey says, "I appreciate the concern, Dawson. What I don't appreciate is having the solution forced down my throat." Dawson says, "I tried to talk to him." Joey snarls, "Yes, that's just it, Dawson. You tried. But he's not your father, Dawson; it doesn't matter if he goes off to prison for the rest of your life, does it?" Dawson says, "That's why I came to you." Joey says, "Yeah, with the decision already made!" At this, Dawson LAUGHS with frustration at Joey's adorable yet frustrating stubbornness, and says, "I wish there was another option. There isn't! You have to understand that." Joey stands up and says, "I understand, Dawson, that in that black-and-white world in which you live, you didn't see any choices. But that's not my world. I see things in gray, and that's what makes us different, and that's what made me fall in love with you, and that is what is tearing us apart." Joey? Honey? It might be a little easier for the rest of us to get on your side if you were giving us any indication of what your shades-of-gray solution would be, mmmmkay?
The Flashes sit on top of a picnic table, to some artfully-arranged lobster traps. He: "We did well with our son." She: "Our one success." He: "We've had more success than that, Gale." Wing Chun: "God, I certainly hope so, or maybe you, and not Jen, should be out on a window ledge." He: "The past twenty-four hours have reminded me what I love so much about being part of our family....[on bended knee] Stay here with me." She: "You want what we had. We'll never have that again, Mitch....so I'm going to take the unplanned route for a little while in the hopes that whatever we lost, we'll be able to stumble upon again." He: "Does Dawson understand?" North America: "Who cares?"
Jen drags a carpet bag up Grams's front steps and watches Grams fold laundry on the porch. She opens the door. Grams turns at the sound, with a smile of surprise and relief. She starts to come toward Jen, but before Grams can say anything, Jen announces: "I have three conditions." Grams says not, "Yeah -- three conditions of my foot in your ass," but sort of murmurs some inarticulate noise. Jen continues: "One: that we address the reality of why this didn't work out before. I know that I made some mistakes, but even on my best behaviour I never felt like I was comfortable living here with you. I never felt that I was good enough." Grams starts to say, "Oh, Jennifah," but Jen cuts her off again: "Two: I need you to acknowledge that I've been through a lot in my life -- more than most girls my age, and what I need is your support, not your judgment, especially not Biblical judgment." Okay, "been through a lot" of what? I'm not going to sit here and argue that, based on the very little we know about Jen's parents, they don't suck, but no matter how many times Jen refers in the abstract to all the "hard living" and "fast growing up" she did in the big bad city, as far as I can tell all she's been through is a lot of guys. And actually, we don't even know that. Instead of calling her on this, a frustratingly docile Grams says, "I think I can manage that." Jen's voice starts to break as she winds up her remarks: "What you need to understand, Grams, is that I don't need a legal guardian to be able to survive, and that I can handle a lot more than you might think, but that what I want is to live here with you. I want a family. I want us to take care of each other. And I don't want to be alone anymore." Grams tears up and says, "Neither do I." They hug. Okay, I'll give it up for that: Aw. That's nice. Grams says, "Was there a third [condition]?" Jen says, "Yes. Somebody else who doesn't want to be alone anymore." They look outside, where Jack is sitting on a swing in the yard, his own sad little gym bag beside him on the ground. He looks up briefly at the window, then down again. Grams takes a deep breath and says, "Well. I've been meaning to clear out your grandfather's room for a while." Jen nods gratefully and they hug again. I know some people on the boards are saying that they don't buy this plot development, and that Grams, being a practising Christian, wouldn't consent to let a gay teenager live in her home. Frankly, that's about the only thing about this whole exchange that I can totally believe. People take in other people's troubled children all the time. Given Grams's forbearance with Jen, I don't think sexless Jack is going to pose much of a challenge to her moral code.
On the pier, the Sheriff joins Pacey, who is gazing desultorily out at the water. Pacey asks what he's doing there. The Sheriff says, "Well, for starters, you punched me." Pacey says, "If you came looking for an apology, you're barking up the wrong tree." The Sheriff says, "No, I don't need an apology. I deserved it. Good for you for doing it." Um, yeah. When is Pacey going to wake up from this little dream sequence? And what is with this bizarre dynamic between fathers and sons, where the only way (or, at least, the best way) for sons to get respect from overbearing fathers is to hit them? How screwed up is that? Anyway, Pacey, evidently waiting for the other shoe to drop, says nothing. The Sheriff goes on: "Got another phone call today, from Andie. We talked for a long time. She's kinda chatty, that one." Pacey smiles fondly: "Yeah, she is." The Sheriff says, "She sounded sweet as hell, Pacey. So, I'm sorry what I said yesterday; I really don't know anything about her." Pacey says, "Apology accepted," and starts to go. The Sheriff says, "I'm not done. As little as I know about her, I know even less about you, my own son. I realized as Andie was trying to fill me in on what you two had been through. I didn't know any of it. She said you were her hero." Pacey's chin starts to tremble. The Sheriff says, "It was nice to hear. Anyway, I called the school and I explained things to them; they're gonna let you make up your finals week if you feel up to it." Pacey says, "Thank you." The Sheriff says, "It's the least I could do." They stare at each other for a moment, evidently unsure of what will happen . The Sheriff says, "I'm sorry I haven't been the kind of father that you felt you could share your story with." Pacey cries a little more openly but tries to choke it back. The Sheriff clears his throat and says, "There is one more thing; Andie wanted me to give you something." Very, very awkwardly, he hugs Pacey, who looks a little scared. The Sheriff lets go quickly, but Pacey grabs him and hugs him hard, sobbing, "I miss her so much. I miss her so much it's killing me, Pop." The Sheriff says, "I know you do, son." Surely now would be the time that Pacey wakes up? How out of character was that? Oh well. It's nice for Pacey.
Over at the Potter Den of Iniquity, Mr. Pothead is looking at a framed photograph of a much younger Joey with her mother. Joey walks in, her entire body tense. "Dad," she says. Mr. Pothead asks where she ran off to this morning. Joey sort of sidles up to the doorway between the kitchen and the living room and says, "I was with the police." Mr. Pothead says, "Oh," without much inflection. Joey asks, "Are you dealing drugs again?" Mr. Pothead's face breaks, and he starts to sob, and says, "Yes." Joey starts crying too, and says, "Why?" Mr. Pothead says, "Joey, I wish I had an answer for you. I wanted to provide for my family -- not just survive, but provide! I thought if I just made a little extra money, to get ahead, then maybe there would be a chance for us." Joey yells, "Yeah, but you served your time! I mean, you were supposed to start a new life!" Mr. Pothead says, "I wanted to, Joey, but what you don't understand is the burden I felt." Joey says, "We were a burden?!" Mr. Pothead says, "Not you! You girls are my gift! The burden was self-inflicted! Ever since I moved back in here with you, I have been haunted by the knowledge that I have failed you!"
Joey walks toward him, saying, "Then why didn't you tell me about this? I mean, we could have found a way -- we could have done something!" Mr. Pothead gets up and chokes, "I was just too weak, Joey!" He reaches for her shoulders but she shrugs him off. Mr. Pothead says, "I have been up night after night after night, wondering what compelled me to take that road -- both times. And I just don't have any answer for it." Joey says, "But I trusted you, and you lied. And you ruined everything Bessie and I have worked so hard for. I mean, we could have died in that fire and it would have been your fault!" Mr. Pothead babbles, "I know, I know, I know, and I hate myself for it so much that I wishI had died in that fire! I just don't know what to do. I don't know how to fix this. All I know is that I am so, so sorry." Joey fixes him with a dead-eyed stare, and then says, "I'm sorry too." As the camera cuts to her waist, she pulls up her shirt, revealing a wire taped to her stomach. She says, "I took care of it for you." He looks at her as if to say, "Et tu, Joey?" or maybe "Ruh roh!" Starting to cry anew, she whispers, "I'm so sorry." He says, "Don't be."
Cut to the outside of the trailer. Mr. Pothead walks out with his head held relatively high under the circumstances. Joey follows a pace behind him. He looks behind her silently. She holds his gaze a moment, and looks away. At least three police cars are parked on the lawn, which seems excessive for just one guy. Bessie stands in front of one of them, holding Alexander. He looks at her with supplication, and then sort of scrunches up his lips as if to say, "I screwed up!" She turns away. The Sheriff leads Mr. Pothead into one of the cars and they drive off.
I feel I must interrupt here and ask, um, what Mr. Pothead is being arrested for? It can't be possession, because the cocaine presumably burned in the fire. It can't be trafficking, because they have no evidence that he sold any of what he had, except for the word of his drug-selling competitors (perhaps not the most trustworthy of witnesses) and of a taped confession obtained by his daughter, a minor, which probably wouldn't hold up in court given that they're related. As far as I can tell -- and I'm not a lawyer, but I watch Law and Order a lot -- the case against Mr. Pothead is very circumstantial and probably wouldn't go very far if this were real life. Which I know it is not. I'm just saying.
Anyway, as the cop cars pull away, Bessie holds Alexander closer and walks up to the house. At the steps, she stops and looks silently at Joey for a moment, then goes inside. Joey looks down the path and sees Dawson standing at the end of it, hands in his pockets, looking fairly unconcerned. Joey rolls her eyes, and they walk toward each other while the Tinkling Piano of Great Melancholy twitters on the soundtrack. Dawson aims the emotional switch at "Concerned" but can only get as far as "Constipated." Joey trains her thousand-yard stare at a point somewhere over his right shoulder. "How are you feeling?" Dawson asks, very sensitively. Except for the "sensitive" part. Joey stares down his ignorant ass and says, "Like hell." Like, DUH. Dawson tried his wounded puppy tone and asks, "Is there anything I can do?" Joey's dead eyes bore through him; "No thank you," she growls. Dawson says, "You did the right thing, Joey." MY GOD! What the hell is his problem? With palpable disgust, Joey says, "No, Dawson. You did the right thing. What I did, 'right' doesn't even come close to." Neither picking up on any of Joey's physical cues, nor on the words coming out of her mouth, Dawson chooses not to leave badly enough alone and assures her, "We both did what we had to do." The camera swoops in for a tight close-up on Joey's face, the better to broadcast her naked contempt as she says, "What I have to say, you're not going to like, so I'll say it quickly. I hope one day that I will be able to forgive my father for all this. And I don't know if I'll ever be able to forgive myself. But I know that I will never forgive you. You see, Dawson, there are certain circumstances that love cannot overcome, and from now on, I don't want to know you." Walking a lot straighter since the installment of her new spine, Joey goes back to the house, leaving Dawson to ponder her remarks. Yet even after such a scathing shutdown, Dawson is still physically incapable of letting someone else have the last word, and whispers: "See you, Joey." The camera pulls back, and he lets his head fall in a gesture of defeat. As much as I enjoyed watching, and transcribing, Joey's unambiguous dismissal of Dawson, it's somewhat tainted by my absolute certainty that they'll be back together before the snow doesn't fall on Capeside Christmas, and I dread the ludicrous plot contrivance the writers will come up with to make it happen.