Anyway ... I just LOVED this scene, the TV is on, showing an infomercial for a sausage maker, it's obviously pretty late at night, and I was thinking "why on earth are they watching this?" then the camera pans over to the bed, and it's made pretty clear pretty quickly that they certainly aren't watching TV. Dawson's lying on top of Joey and hoo-boy, are they going at it! (If I didn't know better, I'd swear James & Katie had a "thang" for each other off screen ... the chemistry in this scene is just explosive and altogether too believable -- very, VERY convincing!). Hands are everywhere, clothes are dishevelled, mouths are open, eyes are closed ... unfortunately, the last bit there means they neglect to see a hand snaking across the TV screen and turning it off abruptly. Suddenly, they come up for air, momentarily distracted by the lack of noise from the TV, and there's Gail & Mitch, half-shocked, half-angered, mouths agog, just staring at the two of them. Then Dawson goes something like, "Um ... mum, dad ... you remember Joey, right?" Fade to opening theme & credits. (I laughed so hard at this line, it was CLASSIC!)
Cut to the next day, where Pacey has unfortunately failed his driver's ed exam by one lousy point. The poor kid just can't seem to get a break, he tells the instructor it's his birthday and could she please just cut him some slack, but of course, she doesn't.
Dawson's in the kitchen rummaging around in the fridge for breakfast and trying hard to ignore his father, who's suddenly a wealth of information and stats on teen sex and pregnancy. Dawson points out how hypocritical this is considering how active his father's sex life is, or something to that effect, and how he and Joey aren't having sex (yet!!).
Joey comes up to the house to pick him up for school, and Gail is on the porch. When Joey sees her, she just says "Uh, hi Mrs. Leery" in a quick, hyper-embarassed voice. Gail calls her over and plays surrogate mum, she gives her this book on sex and responsibility along with a mini-lecture about pregnancy. Dawson comes out then, thankfully, and saves the day, with Mitch in tow still spouting platitudes about teen sex. In one of the funniest lines on the show, Mitch pipes up "Remember, no hat, no glove!" You can just FEEL Dawson & Joey squirming ... I did, just watching it! Gail looks at him and says "Uh, honey, that's 'no glove, no love.'" Mitch chides the two of them (who are well down the lawn by this point, trying to put as much distance as they can between them and the Leerys as quickly as possible) to "play safe!" And again, you just squirm uncomfortably as a viewer, feeling sooo embarassed for them! It's also a cute scene considering last season, when Dawson went on his first date with Jen, Mitch started up with the sex talk then and Dawson got all embarassed, saying "it's a little premature for the condom chat, dad." Not any-moooo-ooore (say that in a sing-song voice!). You get the feeling Mitch has been waiting Dawson's whole life to have this talk with him ...
At school, Dawson sees Pacey and goes over to him to fill him in on the morning's events, and Pacey is completely disinterested. He's waiting for Dawson to acknowledge his birthday, which he doesn't, and when he doesn't, Pacey gets pissed (and rightly so). Dawson doesn't understand why, he brushes off Pacey failing his driver's exam as no big deal, cause he can just take it again in a couple of weeks. Pacey says yeah, but he REALLY wanted to get it TODAY ... again, Dawson flashes his patented clueless face and just doesn't get it. Poor Pacey stalks off in disgust.
In fact, Pacey stalks all the way over to Jen, who, after being roused out of bed by Grams singing a Christian hymn no less (this is the only time I actually felt sorry for Jen so far this season!), has decided to skip part of school, and is sitting by the pier somewhere. Pacey and Jen get into this great conversation about Dawson & Joey ... Josh and Michelle played off each other really well, I thought. Pacey says he's having a "Molly Ringwald" moment (again with the John Hughes references -- the Breakfast Club episode In the first season was originally done by Hughes, I head Kevin Williamson is a big fan of his). Jen asks what kind -- in "Pretty in Pink" she was stood up before the prom, in "Breakfast Club" she got detention and in "Sixteen Candles" everyone forgot her birthday. Pacey acknowledges it's the third one, and that he kind of expected his FAMILY to forget, but that every year, Dawson planned something cool or weird to make up for it, and that this year, he's so consumed with Joey, he just blew it off.
Jen agrees that Dawson is blowing everyone off, not just Pacey, to which Pacey states don't get him wrong, he IS happy for Dawson & Joey. Jen says "me too" in the most unconvincing tone, which doesn't escape Pacey's ears -- he replies very pointedly "no, you're not!" Jen says that if Dawson and Joey blew him off, he should do the same to them. She says he should just throw himself a big party and not invite them, which he likes the idea off. In a very tongue-in-cheek line, he says "I'm sick and tired of being Dawson Leery's sidekick, I'm gonna get me my own storyline!" (clever dialogue!) and stomps off all excited and energized. Jen just sits there moping glumly and says "yeah" after he goes, as if she can't quite follow her own advice of blowing Dawson off and getting her own life.
Andie approaches Joey on the steps of school like a hyperactive puppy on speed, and basically fawns all over her, which irritates Joey. Joey wants to know how Andie knows her name, she replies that Pacey Witter told her, and that Andie knows Joey works at the icehouse, and that she's eaten there twice and just loves it (to which Joey replies "You don't get out much, do you?") and that she has this brother named Jack and he needs a job so she thought she would put in a good word for him and he'll do anything -- waiting, cleaning dishes, bussing tables -- and that he's a really great person, a little shy, but once you get to know him, really sweet, and she was just wondering if the Icehouse needed any extra help?!?! (the reason I wrote it as one run-on sentence, is because she SAID it as one run-on sentence!!). Joey said they did, actually, and to send him in and tell him to ask for her.
Jen has decided to go to school, but isn't bothering to attend classes really. She's in gym class, on the bleachers (sp?), picking up towels and stuffing them into a white laundry bag. In her season two debut, one Miss Abigail Morgan, bitch supreme, is perched on the top row, watching Jen. Jen is rude to her at first, in deference to her experiences with her last season, no doubt. Abby chides Jen about using the old menstrual cramps routine to get out of gym, and what a lame excuse it is, because Jen still couldn't get out of clean-up duty. Jen defensively asks Abby what HER excuse is for skipping the class, and Abby reads from a doctor's note that she is to be excused because of a pelvic something-or-other (sorry, I rewound the tape 3 times and still couldn't make the word out!), to which Jen says in amazement, "isn't that an STD?" Abby looks at her disgustedly and sighs disdainfully "I made it up. Last time I was at my doctor's office, I stole a bunch of letterhead. It's been invaluable to me." (classic, I love these little humourous touches the writers add in to keep it light!)
Abby then chides Jen about her friends and her life in New York, and how Abby wants to move there after she graduates. She intones that Jen's life in NY was probably as boring as her life in Capeside, to which Jen replies "the things and places I've talked myself into and out of would blow your mind." Abby doubts this, and wants details, she asks Jen if she's ever been to these two clubs, the Curtain and the Retro Room (or something like that). Jen says she dated the doorman at the Curtain and the Retro Room was "so five minutes ago." (how very "Clueless" of Jen to say that!!). Abby is instantly impressed and wants all the dirt and details on Jen's sordid little past from her newfound best friend.
Cut to my favourite romantic D & J scene so far, out of all the episodes ... they're on Joey's bed (little continuity note -- I didn't think she had a bedroom, I thought she slept on the couch in the living room, but anyway ...) and she's wearing this pretty white top and jeans, she has her hair up in a butterfly clip and no makeup on, just natural and really, really pretty. Dawson looks good too, can't remember what he's wearing, something blue I think, because I remember thinking how much it brought out his eyes. He's going on about Mitch and Gail and how grateful he is that it was Joey who they caught him with and not just some unsuspecting random date. Joey laughs and says she has to write down Mitch's "no hat, no glove" line in her journal, and she reaches across Dawson to get it, he grabs her and pulls her to him (I can't describe it properly, but this particular moment, to me, was just soooooo romantic!) and they touch foreheads and each says "hey" really, really softly, and Joey winces, that strange little half-smile half-frown she has, and Dawson kisses her, this breathtaking, amazing kiss (I remember those ... sigh ...), and when they pull apart, he's smiling that idiot grin from the first episode, and he says "think about it, you and me together, it's perfect. I already know all there is to know about you, we already spend most of our waking and sleeping hours together -" and she interrupts and says "No, you don't know EVERYTHING there is to know ... the stuff you don't know about me could fill a book." (clever foreshadowing, you'll see what I mean in a sec).
They kiss softly again, and then Alex cries from his room. She sighs and goes out to look after him, Dawson waits and looks around her room, smiling. There's a picture of Katie Holmes and (I'm guessing her real mother) some woman, we assume it's Joey's mum, taken when Joey was about 11, Dawson picks it up, then picks up her perfume bottle and smells it, then he sees her journal, and hesitantly picks it up and flips through it. The expression on his face and the music indicate he's not at all pleased with what he saw, and when she comes out, wanting to resume their make out session, he's abrupt and cold and gets up to go. She says she thought he had a lot of reading to do this afternoon (presumably, they were supposed to be studying?) and he replies that he's read enough for today and walks out.
Then there's Pacey, distributing fliers for his Pier Party. Dawson approaches him (I think this is the next day, at school) and asks what's up with the party. Pacey replies that he's "getting older" and wants to expand his horizons, do different things. Again, Dawson doesn't catch on to what Pacey is hinting. Instead, in a purely selfish display, he gets all pouty and goes on about how he read Joey's journal and she wrote all this stuff about how she didn't like his movie, and how she thought he was talentless and the movie was stupid and putrid. He whines that it's like he doesn't even know her, and he wonders what else she thinks of him. Pacey is absolutely furious by this point that, again, Dawson has missed the boat on Pacey's clues and is dithering on about himself and his problems. In a really nasty, vicious tone (Josh was really, really convincing here, truly horrible!) he tells Dawson that his life "isn't that interesting. Get over yourself. Deal." His tone is completely icy. He storms off and Dawson just stands there, looking dumbfounded.
Dawson approaches Joey, who is walking home from school, and askes her what she really thought of his movie, under the pretense that he found the costume she wore in it in his closet last night, and it got him thinking about the movie. She replies that she loved it, and he already knew that. He is silent. He drops some more hints about he thought that maybe she thought the film was "stupid and putrid" (exactly what she wrote in her journal) but now it's Joey's turn to be clueless and she says no. Dawson gets really insecure here (convincingly) and says "it's just really important to me to know you think I have talent." All of a sudden, the light goes on in Joey's head, she shouts at him that he read her journal. He replies that he wonders what else was written in there and what else she thinks of him, she replies "right now, you don't want to know" and storms off. Dawson just stands there, looking dumbfounded yet again. (Only 15 minutes into the show and he's already screwed up twice -- is that a new personal speed record?)
On to Mitch, who was down at the harbour looking for space to rent out for his aquatic themed restaurant (remember that from last year?). He bumps into an old friend, and laments the problems he is having with Gail. The friend suggests they don't divorce and should avoid it at all costs, but that they try an open marriage, after all, it works for him and his wife (okay, this is just my moral, personal opinion, but ... bleargh! Yecch! Gross! Eeeeeew! That's just disgusting!! Why even bother getting married in the first place?!?), and that if everyone did that, the divorce rate would be non-existant. (oh sure, what about spousal abuse? Money problems? Alcoholism? People DO get divorced for other reasons, how totally ridiculous of him to say that!!)
This scene is intercut with a scene of Gail doing a great Martha Stewart impression gardening. Mrs. Ryan approaches and thanks her for the casserole from last episode, and returns the dish. Gail must really be at the end of her marital rope, because she asks the woman for advice on what she and Mitch should do. Mrs. Ryan urges Gail to do everything in her power to keep the marriage afloat. Gail sighs and replies that she's talked until she's blue in the face, maxed out her Victoria's Secret credit card and cleaned out the marital aids section at the Pleasure Palace (I'm assuming it's an adults-only store). The look on Mrs. Ryan's face is just PRICELESS! She's flabbergasted, and stammers that what she was thinking of was more along the lines of renewing their wedding vows!
Pacey's back to chopping down a forest to advertise his party again, he is sticking those flyers everywhere, including under the windshield of a certain Saab owned by a certain newcomer to Capeside. Andie gets out of her car and angrily tells him how she hates it when people do that. He has no time for her, he's still seething from his encounter with Dawson. He calls her "McPhee" (it's cute, actually, he doesn't even realize he's attracted to her, but we can see it. I think everyone's had at least one person in their life who they fought with incessantly but it just masked an attraction -- think Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew" -- sorry, I'm digressing!). She reads the flier and asks something about the party, to which he replies snidely, "Oh, I'm sorry, are you under the mistaken impression that you were invited?" She looks like she's about to cry when she replies "it says 'come one, come all'" and he says "Ah, but read the fine print -- 'spoiled trust-fund casualties from Rhode Island not invited.'" He storms off. She makes a face, but we get the feeling her feelings are hurt.
Next we have Jen and Abby, bonding on Jen's bed. Jen's showing Abby photos of ghosts of boyfriends (and one night stands) past, and Abby is truly star-struck. She's developed this whole new respect for Jen, in a sick sort of way. She marvels that she would "throw (my) mother off a bridge to go out with someone like that!" Jen is impressed that Abby is impressed, after all, she's feeling neglected and unwanted, she'll take what she can get. Abby suggest that since Jen isn't "hanging out with Forrest Gump and company any longer" (one of my favourite lines of the episode, I laughed out loud for about 2 minutes!), they should do some partying of their own. Jen smiles, but asks what Abby has in mind, if it's stealing cigarettes from the 7-11 and smoking them, she'll pass, thanks. Abby suggests they crash Pacey's party, and pulls out a bottle of champagne to help get them in the mood. Jen's eyes light up. (uh-oh ... she's baaaaaaaa-aaaaaack!)
Dawson has followed Joey to the icehouse, where she tells him he invaded her privacy and betrayed her. He doesn't seem to get it (making the Forrest Gump comparison all the more hilarious) and rants on about how he doesn't know her anymore, and he can't believe she would trash his movie like that. She replies "How I feel about your quest to become Speilberg junior is not the point." (another hilarious line! This episode was great for those!) Over comes this lanky guy with a bad hair cut and beautiful eyes, he asks if she's Joey, to which she replies "yeah" very rudely. He introduces himself as Jack. She doesn't understand why he's doing this, and waits, with an impatient, irritated expression. "Andie's brother," he prompts. Still no clue for Joey, who clearly thinks Andie is a guy. She just wants to get back to her fight with Dawson and is rude to Jack again. He refreshes her memory and tells her he's here for an interview, and she goes "oh, right. Can you wash dishes?" "Uh ... no. But I can learn." "Great, interview's over. You're hired. Go over to the kitchen and my sister Bessie will tell you what to do." She pushes him in the direction of the kitchen, then returns to Dawson -- "The big deal isn't what you read, it's that you read it." Jack comes back out and asks if Joey will please go tell Bessie he works here now, because she won't let him into the kitchen. She sighs and pushes past Dawson. Bang. Argument over.
Now it's the party. Hundreds, (well, maybe tens) of scantily-clad teens bopping about on boats, the pier and docks. (Just as a continuity note again -- what the hell time of year is this supposed to be? They made references to their "midterms" earlier, and the new season is supposed to pick up where the last season left off, but they're all dressed like it's the height of summer! What-ever ...) Pacey is stringing up lights, when along comes Andie. He doesn't really want to talk to "McPhee" again, and suggests she go harass someone else. She says she can't, because new people make her nervous and when she's nervous, she can't talk. He questions why he couldn't have the pleasure of making her nervous, because ever since he's met her, she hasn't shut up. She replies that he doesn't make her nervous, he makes her mad. "Mad beats nervous," she says with a shrug. He shakes his head and says in this cute little tone "why don't you go mingle now, yeah?" and gazes wistfully at this bikini clad girl on a boat. Andie says the girl was checking him out, and that she's a senior cheerleader. He replies he's had enough of senior cheerleaders. Andie says something about how sometimes older women like younger men (another veiled reference to last season) and he should go over there, after all, what does he have to lose? He replies "dignity, face ..." she points out that he never had those in the first place.
Just then, Dawson pulls up in that ridiculous speed boat again. God, I hope this doesn't become a regular feature of every episode, it just looks so cheesy. Get a car, already!! Jen and Abby are completely sloshed up on the deck. Both Michelle and Monica do "drunk" really well, totally convincing! I remember being 15 and being drunk at beach parties (I used to live on the shores of Lake Ontario) ... I'm sure I acted JUST as annoying and silly as that. Abby bets Jen the rest of the champagne that she won't kiss the next guy that comes along, and Jen goes "you're on, sister-friend" in this hilarious voice (you have to hear it). Well, guess who the next guy that comes along is? Jen, who is literally hanging out of this black dress, staggers over and plants one on him. Dawson doesn't respond, he's totally disgusted, and he asks her what the hell she's doing. His harsh tone snaps her back to reality for an instant, and she backs away, ashamed of herself and horrified at what she's done. Abby tosses a "nice going, Romeo" at Dawson before going over to comfort Jen.
Dawson spots Pacey and they start arguing. Pacey says that Dawson doesn't really know him at all -- he doesn't know how Pacey got the scar he has on his cheek, or the real reason his father hates him (I hope this is foreshadowing, cause I heard they're supposed to delve into Pacey's family life this season) ... hell Dawson doesn't even know when Pacey was born. Ding, ding, ding. The light goes on. Dawson realizes Pacey's been trying to tell him all day long that it was his birthday, he's all apologetic, but Pacey will have none of it. He replies that they were supposed to go to Maine, just the two of them, on a road trip, but they didn't because Dawson forgot. Pacey continues that everyone writes him off as somne kind of loser, but he can't believe his best friend in the world sees him the same way. Dawson insists he doesn't, but Pacey just will not let him off. He finishes with the famous "you've got Joey, and our friendship can't compare to what you got" quote.
Back at the icehouse, Jack & Joey are cleaning up. Joey's bitchy and miserable. Jack watches her silently. She snaps at him. "What?" "First fight?" he asks gently. You get the feeling he's developing a "thang" for her. She replies "Hardly. Well, yeah, as a couple. We fought as friends all the time. But it's different now." He points out that they haven't had their first make-up yet, then. She smiles. He tells her to leave, that he can lock up. She says no, he insists he can handle it. He stares at her. (I've heard a lot of negative stuff about his character and the actor who plays him. All I have to say is his eyes are gorgeous, but the rest of him does nothing for me. He's too ... pretty. A bit effeminate. Maybe that's me being prejudiced because I heard they were supposed to make him, um, question his sexuality later in the season, I don't know. But in this scene, as of this moment, he just looked beautiful and pouty.) Anyway, as Joey leaves the restaurant, she heard the sound of breaking glass. Oops ...
When Joey reaches the party, there is the CHEESIEST scene with her and Dawson ... I mean, get out the flipping crackers, this was just sooo hokey! I squirmed watching it. Ugh!! (you probably won't think it was that bad, I tend to be a bit dramatic, in case you hadn't noticed). Okay ... they're both at the party but at opposite ends of the pier. The camera keeps cutting back and forth between them for about 3 seconds for each clip. They spot each other, smile, then walk towards each other slowly, smiling, in the rain, while this ridiculous song (cliche upon cliche) comes on about kissing in the rain. When they meet, mercifully they don't kiss (that would have been just too much, totally over the top, melodrama), this part wasn't too bad, they just smile at each other and Dawson puts his head down and kisses her shoulder, and they stand there, embracing. Then they stare up at the rain falling down -- that was cheesy, too! (note to editors: It would have worked just as well without the slo-mo close ups and DEFINITELY without the rain shot.)
Cut to Mitch, who tells Gail (much to her relief) that he doesn't want a divorce, then asks her (much to her ... horror? The scene cuts before she can reply) about the possibility of an open marriage. He states in the conversation that the problem they are having isn't about sex, it's about honesty. This is an interesting parallel to the conversation between Dawson and Joey at the end of last season, where she tells him all she wants is to be honest with him, and it's also interesting considering Dawson and Joey are having their own "honesty" problems in this episode, too.
Back to the dynamic duo themselves, who are talking about Pacey on a bench at the party. I like this, because there's no kissy-huggy stuff here, they're back to being best friends who are just discussing a problem. Joey asks if Pacey's okay, and Dawson says no, he's really hurt and angry and that he doesn't blame him. Joey smiles sympathetically and says sorry. They then start to discuss their own problem, and Dawson says he's so insecure, that he thinks his dreams are bogus, and that he's sure there will be people lined up from Capeside to Hollywood telling him he's no good, he just never thought Joey would be one of them.
I like that Joey's tough here. She doesn't go all girly and soft and give in to him. She tells him she isn't going to let him off the hook, that it was wrong of him. And that while she doesn't owe him an explanation, she does owe him the truth, because she promised to always be honest with him (that word again!). She explains that back when she developed all those feelings for Dawson, she got so frustrated with herself that she had to unleash it somewhere, so she vented in her journal. It was her way of coping, to trash life like that and she didn't necessarily believe what she wrote, it was just the way she was feeling at that moment. In a classic line from the season two promos we've been seeing all summer, she tells him "I've always believed in you. I'm your biggest fan." He responds that he's glad he doesn't know everything about her, because every day, she continues to amaze him. She grins and goes "good!" in this stern tone -- I loved this, because everyone was expecting this big mushy kiss, and she just burst the bubble by bringing us (and Dawson) back to earth. Something tells me that maybe Katie ad-libbed that line, she was just being silly with it, because James' reaction when she says it is too genuine, he seems surprised and starts to laugh, they both do (maybe it's just a testament to his acting abilities, or maybe I'm just reaching ...). Anyway, they do kiss and make up. All is well with our favourite supercouple ... for now.
A few scant yards away, Abby and Jen are puking it up - initially I thought, at Dawson & Joey, but no, in a subtle perils-of-underage-drinking-subliminal-public-service-announcement, they've overindulged. They DO see our lovebirds, which prompts Abby to pipe up with "they won't be the poster couple for abstinence much longer" (my sentiments exactly, wait until this season's cliffhanger!!!!) Jen gets defensive and says "She'll hold out, he'll get fed up ..." Abby doubts this. Jen continues "No, they're like brother and sister (eeeew, that is NOT a nice image!) he told me, he doesn't think of her sexually." (Ummm ... Jen? Newsflash? Have your wine goggles deluded you to the fact that in the background at that very moment, Dawson is thoroughly examining the back of Joey's throat with his tongue?) Abby laughs and says "Maybe they're pretending they're in Kentucky?" Jen gets really hurt and tells her she is NOT helping (personally, I thought it was worth a chuckle). Abby snorts and tells Jen she has more style and sex appeal in her little finger than (nodding at Joey) that white trash loser. Jen looks very sad, and tells Abby she wants Dawson back. "God ... why?!?!" is Abby's response (the way she says it is so funny). Jen states simply, because she loves him. Abby is ready to dismiss it as the booze talking, but Jen firmly reiterates that other famous line from the season two promos: "I love him ... and I want him back." Abby, in what is probably the least selfish thing she's ever done in her life (even if it's still malicious), says "well then, we're going to get him back for you." Jen smiles happily, but very drunkenly still and simply says "Kay." Yikes. Watch out, Joey ...
Party's over. Pacey is brooding on the dock, feet in the water. Andie comes over with a present that she was supposed to give to her brother for Christmas, but she forgot, and it was in her car, so she thought she'd give it to Pacey instead (okay, assuming this is supposed to be just after the Christmas season and mid-February or March midterms -- my high school didn't have semesters, so I don't know when they would be, but I'm guessing around this time) -- then what the hell is she doing in an orange bikini top at this time of the year?!?). It's a magic 8-ball. Pacey asks he will get his licence, it says yes. He asks what his future is, it says it can't predict that at this time. He hands it to Andie, who promptly drops it in the water. Oops. She apologizes and says she's always been klutzy, it never changes. Pacey says everything changes, everybody changes, except him. He's always going to be Pacey Witter, the guy who fails bio and his licence, just a year old. She says softly that maybe he's just Pacey Witter, the guy who's still trying to figure it all out. After a reflective pause, he turns to her and says "Wow. We ... are ... so ............ deep," then starts to laugh. (I liked how the writers are tongue-in-cheek here, they don't make it too sombre and lesson-learning).
Dawson and Joey are back at it, making up for 15 years of non-kissing again. When they finally come up for air, he asks her if she can get home okay, because he really needs to talk to Pacey. She says she'll be fine, and kisses him softly on the forehead, like a friend would, a completely innocent gesture. Sigh ... they're just soooo cute together.
Quick cut to Jen, in her bedroom, who is staring at herself in the mirror. We get the feeling that she doesn't recognize who or what she sees there. Michelle's face conveys all this really well, from the smeared mascara to the trembling lips. I can't remember the song here, but it fits perfectly, something about a sad girl looking in the mirror. We also get the feeling that Jen knows she's slipping out of control, but she feels that it's beyond her control to stop it. The downward spiral begins ...
Last scene -- Dawson goes to find Pacey and has the big mano-a-mano, make-up, male bonding conversation. He admits that he'e been a lousy friend, but not because he's written Pacey off, like Pacey thinks, it's because this whole thing with Joey is just so confusing and complicated (so much for him saying it would be "so simple" at the end of the last episode). Pacey says he is happy for the two of them, God knows it took them long enough, but that there are just certain things he is going to miss. Dawson insists nothing is ever going to change so much that Pacey is not going to be his best friend. In another poking-fun-at-themselves moment, Pacey breaks the bonding by asking Dawson "Are we having a moment here?" to which Dawson replies "I think we are." And they both laugh. (There was a lot of self-depreciating wit like that in this episode and I really enjoyed it, it makes the show a little lighter and less melodramatic).
Dawson commiserates with Pacey about not getting his licence, and says he just needs more practice. They climb into the stupid power boat that Dawson drove up in. Pacey jokes that he's been breaking that state law for at least three years now. Dawson says simply "You, me, Maine, right now" referring to the road trip they were supposed to take. Pacey thinks he's joking, but Dawson smiles and says he knows where the keys to the Mitchmobile are. Pacey says no way, that Dawson's father would never let him, and that besides, things between the two of them are cool now, they don't have to do this. Dawson tells him to shut up, that maybe he wants to. Pace starts to drive the boat away, and Dawson finally tells him Happy Birthday, to which Pacey simply replies, "Thanks, bro."
Fade to black ...