#303 - None of the Above
I found this episode to be disappointing on some levels, as Dawson allowed himself to be completely dominated by the manipulative Eve, and we got to see some disturbing aspects about certain characters on the show. At the same time, though, there were certain redemptive qualities exhibited by Dawson, as he finally realized how badly astray he was being led.
I enjoyed the opening credits, and I especially loved the irony of Dawson calling Felicity indecisive and paralyzed by some romantic notion of the way things are supposed to be, and Eve remarking that Felicity was him, but female and a college student. I thought that interchange represented a brilliant type of self parody, and I found it to be wryly amusing.
Tonight’s episode showed us some really disappointing characteristics in characters that we had previously thought so highly of, particularly Dawson and Andie. I was really disappointed to see Dawson, under the truly detrimental influence of Eve, doubt the integrity of the one person who has been as good and true a friend to him as anyone, Pacey. Pacey has stuck by Dawson through good times and bad, even more so than the mercurial tempered Joey, and to doubt and accuse him represented a new low for Dawson’s character. Pacey was clearly crushed by Dawson’s accusations, and Dawson was completely wrong to accuse him. I was glad to see Dawson somewhat redeem himself by walking out of the PSAT test at the end, and for Pacey to walk out with him, and for Dawson to finally see Eve for what she truly is, an evil, manipulative schemer. I see Eve causing real trouble for Dawson and his friends in the future, as Dawson’s apparent rejection of her will, I fear, bring out some truly malicious behavior on her part. One thing I did enjoy, however, is the realistic depiction of how even the best of friends can have deep seated resentments towards one another, resentments that can surface as they did when Pacey and Dawson had their fight. It was also good, however, to see Pacey and Dawson look past their fight, and move on as friends.
I found myself to feel extremely angry at the character of Andie. I thought she showed herself to be incredibly cold hearted and cruel to give Pacey back everything he ever gave her, and my heart broke for Pacey as he saw his memories of their relationship literally sink. She also proved herself to be a liar and a thief as her warped desire for perfection compelled her to betray the trust of all her friends and cheat on a test that she could probably ace on her own. I am growing to dislike her character more and more, and I truly hope that she plays less of a role on future shows.
I enjoyed the interaction of Joey and Pacey, as their friendship grows, and the way that Joey comforted Pacey after his fight with Dawson. I feel that her teasing remarks mask a growing sense of affection and respect between these two characters, which I find to be a refreshing development this season. I find the character of Rob to be truly despicable for the way he treats Joey, and I hope his character gets his comeuppance really soon. I also enjoyed the interaction between Jen and Jack, and it is truly wonderful to see the growth of both these characters through their friendship. I thought Jen’s "pep talk" to Jack rang of real truth, and I liked the way that Jack responded to her words of encouragement in such a positive way. I really like the character of Henry, and his infatuation with Jen is endearing, and his asking Jack to "put in a good word for him" with Jen was really funny, and it was one of the few realistic depictions of high school life that I’ve seen this season.
I also enjoyed how perfectly Joey called attention to the fact that Dawson was completely blinded by the charms of the wily Eve, as it is still obvious that no one knows Dawson better than Joey. Hopefully her words, while stinging, made Dawson do some thinking, something our hapless hero clearly needs to do.
Overall, I found this episode to have some redemptive qualities, but it was weak in general, and it was still a far cry from the Dawson’s Creek we all knew and loved the first season.
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