#307 - Escape From Witch Island
In many ways, I thought that this was one of the best shows of the new season, for the simple fact that we finally saw some real interaction between the four original main characters, something that was lacking throughout much of Seasons Two and Three. I also thought it was good that we also got to see Dawson and Joey finally reflect on the damage that their relationship has sustained. Obviously, in line with the "thematic" shows the writers seem to love, this entire episode was, to quote Principal Green, a tad derivative in the wake of the whole Blair Witch phenomenon, but lest I be accused once again of being too negative, ;) I’ll simply take this episode, and the show itself, at face value, and enjoy my escape from reality once a week.
In the opening scene, I thought it was interesting to note how Dawson and Joey knew so little about each other’s lives, and Joey seemed hurt that Dawson hadn’t included her in his plans to film a documentary at Witch Island. I liked Pacey’s allusion to Dawson and Joey as Kevin and Winnie from The Wonder Years, because it was comically ironic how true that statement was. I was sorry to note Jack’s absence once again, and I find it puzzling that he was excluded from this little sojourn. I have grown to really like Jack’s character, but I guess the idea was to reunite the four original main characters in this episode, and it also didn’t seem that Jack was in that particular class. One character I would have enjoyed seeing absent from this episode was Andie. I don’t know how they could possibly make her character more annoying! Thankfully, her presence on the show was minimal, but just enough to induce me to once again fast forward through any scene she was in when I was reviewing my tape of the show to write this episode commentary, once I suffered through actually watching her the first time "live."
The differences between Dawson and Joey’s attitudes and outlooks on life was very evident in this episode, especially as the tragic tale of Mary Walldeck and William Bennett unfolded with obvious parallels to their relationship. Dawson, as clueless as ever to someone else’s feelings, applied his idealistic but self absorbed view towards this story, and Joey had a typically cynical and melodramatically fatalistic view towards this chronicle. I’ve come to the simple conclusion that both Dawson and Joey are very self absorbed characters, too focused on their own hurt feelings to realize the hurt they’ve inflicted on one another. We can all argue, and we all have argued (Lord knows, ;)) over who is right and who is wrong in this "star crossed relationship," but the simple fact is that Dawson and Joey have both behaved very selfishly at times, like most people do, and until they both acknowledge this simple truth, as they seemed to do to a degree at the end, can they hope to rebuild their friendship and their romantic relationship. I did agree wholeheartedly with Joey that you can’t just "will" a friendship, but at least she recognized that something was lost between them, and they needed to start rebuilding what had been lost.
I was glad to finally see Jen and Joey relate as friends in a way that was unforced and natural, and that Joey, for once, didn’t react harshly when Jen gave her some advice. I was also glad to see Pacey tell Dawson that he hadn’t made a mistake by distancing himself from Joey because he was following his heart.
Finally, I found Pacey and Jen’s discussion of the merits of sex vs. love to be very amusing and in line with their characters, and Jen’s concocting a "love potion" to stir up something between them to be really funny. I thought their "pact" to simply have sex without any commitment or feeling was quite far fetched, but amusing. I especially enjoyed seeing their mutual discomfort at the end as they discussed the "arrangements" for this "pact," and I thought that Jen’s comment that "Roswell is on in five minutes" was really funny! Boy, these writers love to plug other WB shows this season! ;)
Overall, I enjoyed this show, and I hope we can see more episodes where the original four main characters truly relate to one another in the future.
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