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Throwback Thursday - Dawson’s Creek - All Good Things…/…Must Come to An End

May 21, 2015

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Throwback Thursday, a weekly article in which we look back at our favorite TV episodes from over the years.



I’m not sure where it would rank in the all-time annals of series finales, but for a show centered around a romantic conflict, the final episode of “Dawson’s Creek” – “All Good Things…”/“…Must Come to An End” – found a wonderful way to have its cake and eat it too.

A little backstory. Originally, the series was going to end with “Joey Potter and Capeside Redemption,” a fitting enough cap on the more Joey-centric college years. But then The WB reached out to series creator Kevin Williamson (“Scream,” “The Vampire Diaries”), who had left the show after the second season. Together, they crafted a finale that flung the characters five years into the future (a less common TV trope then), reuniting in Capeside for the wedding of Dawson’s widowed mom Gail.

But while the gang had grown up, they were still stuck in some familiar patterns. Jack had found purpose as a teacher at Capeside High, but continued to face hurdles in his personal life as a gay man. Jen had matured, but her historically crappy taste in men had left her a single mother. Pacey had become a respected restaurant owner, but hadn’t been able to shed that last scrap of bad boy (his affair with a married older woman – randomly played by Virginia Madsen – is a deliberate echo of his teenage fling with Ms. Jacobs). Dawson had found success in Hollywood, mining his high school years yet again to write and produce a hit teen soap (opening the door for lots of fun meta humor), but immersing himself in the past had him feeling out of touch with the present. And Joey had a dream job and a dreamy boyfriend (hey there, Jeremy Sisto!), but watching Dawson’s show, she clearly still felt connected to and conflicted about both her exes.


And then Jen collapses at the wedding and everything changes. Later, Jen explains that she’s always felt like the instigator, that her stepping out of that cab and onto the creek in the pilot “rocked the delicate emotional balance of Capeside.” And history repeats itself here in the finale as the news that she’s dying – from a heart condition discovered during her pregnancy – sets off another seismic shift among her friends. They’re suddenly faced with the harsh reality that time isn’t unlimited, that they don’t want to wait for their lives to be over (heh, sorry, had to!) to figure out how to be happy.

Jen dying is an undeniably sad ending for her as both a young woman and a mother, but it’s a stellar showcase for Michelle Williams. The scene where Jen, with Dawson’s help, films a video message for her daughter Amy, advising her to “love to the tips of your fingers,” is heartbreaking. As is the silent, still moment when Grams realizes Jen has passed away and (in one of many amazing moments Mary Beth Peil acted her heart out on this show) tearfully promises that she will see her soon. And given Jen’s journey was often one of feeling unloved, her having found true love with her child is at least something of a silver lining.

Losing Jen is obviously hardest on Jack, but he doesn’t end the series alone. It’s revealed early on that Jack is dating Pacey’s brother Doug, a rather clever twist tying back to teases from the first three seasons. Their relationship is in crisis because Doug is resistant to coming out of the closet and, after all he’s been through, Jack doesn’t want to go backwards. But as Doug is forced to stand back and watch the man he loves suffer the loss of his best friend and struggle with what it means to be a father to goddaughter Amy, he realizes – as Joey will also – that there’s no time to waste on being afraid. And in a sweet scene, Doug swears to stand by Jack and Amy if they’ll have him, even calling Jack his boyfriend in front of an elderly couple who, amusingly, could not care less. It’s a development that feels real and right, even if it only exists in these two episodes.


And then there’s the triangle itself.

In an interesting and important moment, Joey reveals to a delighted and surprised Jen that there was never a choice to be made, that she’s always known whether it was Dawson or Pacey she was supposed to be with. Instead, it’s fear within herself – perhaps of hurting the other guy, losing them from her life altogether, or even of ruining the boys’ friendship again – that’s kept her from acting, not indecision. It’s a distinction I really love. Jen’s dying doesn’t spark an epiphany for Joey; it just gives her the push she needs to stop running away and start running towards.

Going into the finale, I think most fans probably figured that the endgame couple on a show called “Dawson’s Creek” would be Dawson and Joey, especially with Williamson writing. They certainly toy with the idea, even dropping in a dream sequence wedding where Dawson and Joey hilariously list all the roadblocks the writers threw between them. When Joey, in their final scene together, tearfully tells Dawson, “You and me always,” it’s true. Their story echoes on, in Joey’s nephew using the old ladder to climb in Dawson’s sister’s window, in the season finale Dawson writes for his show that mirrors their first kiss. They’re soul mates.

But a soul mate and a romantic love aren't necessarily the same thing. Jen and Jack even give voice to that notion earlier in the episode, when Jack declares that she’s his. And as Joey explains, her love for Dawson is rooted in the innocence of childhood. But what she feels for Pacey is adult and scary and very real. Watching the episode again, the hints were threaded throughout. In reopening her family’s business, Pacey was with her even without her. Jen has heart-to-hearts with both Pacey and Joey about the triangle, but not Dawson. Pacey steals a swoonworthy smooch in real time while the kiss with Dawson takes place in his imagination. So when the camera finally pulls back to reveal Joey’s choice, it makes perfect sense that it’s Pacey on the couch beside her.


The finale ends with the three childhood friends the show started with moving forward, a new emotional equilibrium found. And with that, we say goodnight, but not goodbye to “Dawson’s Creek.”

Thanks for reading my Throwback Thursday share. Now it’s your turn. What did you think of “All Good Things…”/“…Must Come to An End?” Were you happy Joey ended up with Pacey? Or were you rooting for Dawson and Joey? Tell your tale in the comments section.

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20 comments:

  1. That was a great review! I haven't thought about that episode in years...it was so nice to be reminded of what an awesome series finale that was. And I was super glad it was Pacey on the couch!!!

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  2. Loved this show and the fact that either one would have been perfect with Joey. But in the end I was glad it was Pacey. Now if only certain other CW shows could write as convincing a love triangle as this!!!!

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  3. Thank you Susan! I remember when it first aired, I had gotten so disconnected from the show during the sixth season that I wasn't expecting much, but Williamson really did a great job with it. And rewatching it for this review, it still held up really well.

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  4. And thank you Winston for encouraging me to for it!
    Williamson has said in interviews that when he first came aboard to write the finale, he was convinced it should be Dawson and Joey (which makes sense given he left the show before season three), but came around on the idea of Pacey and Joey as he was writing.
    And yes, it sucks that Andie's scenes were only in the director's cut, which those of you who haven't seen it should definitely check out. I always thought it was a shame the way the show threw that character away.

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  5. I wouldn't have cried foul if she had ended up with Dawson, but I think the show was smart to go with the fresher, more unexpected choice.
    Thanks for reading!

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  6. Loved it! So glad that Pacey & Joey ended up togther

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  7. A great review! Really, really thank you. I realize how much I miss the show.

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  8. Yeah, the same with me. You really nailed it, although I have to admit when I saw the finale my shipper heart died a little bit at the end of the episode.

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  9. You're so welcome, thanks for reading!

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  10. Thanks Irina!

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  11. I teared up immensely when the show had ended. Great series finale though despite that Jen was killed off. :(

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  12. Even though the last few years of the show were casually and unenthusiastically watched by yours truly, I will own up to having sat through this finale ugly crying my way through it.



    I never fell in love the show, I don't consider it one of the greats, and IMO even though it does fit the bill it just barely passes the bar to be considered a classic, however I do consider this to be a really good finale.

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  13. I cried soooooo much with this finale. Oh man. I remember i couldn't stop. Every other scene was like....my eyes didn't stand a chance to see clearly. Balled like a baby. I remember it like it was yesterday. I lovedddd this show and i thought it ended perfectly. Loved that Pacey and Joey ended up together. Loved that Dawson was going to meet Spielberg, and my favorite line from the finale to date is when Jack was laying in bed with Jen and he says, "Don't you get it? You're my soulmate." omgggg that kill me. I adored Jack and Jen's relationship.

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  14. I remember there was a lot of buzz about one of the main four dying in the finale and making jokes that Jen would get hit by a bus or something. But the way they handled her tragic death was so well-done, /I thought, and definitely tear-inducing.
    Thanks for reading!

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  15. The show holds a special place for me. I was in high school when it started airing, I was into movies and pop culture like Dawson, etc. And my feelings about it are always going to more emotional than critical, you know?
    Also, alongside "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", it really helped shape the identity of what The WB would be.
    Thanks for the comment!

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  16. I really liked that moment of Dawson, Pacey, and Joey all talking on the phone about the Spielberg meeting, showing that the friendships were stronger than ever, even though Joey had made her choice.
    Thanks for reading!

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  17. I was in the sweet spot it's demographic when it started too, and a lot of what it had going for it when it first started appealed to me also.
    But the decline in quality during the later years and the fact that a huge chuck of the show is easily forgettable kinda has affected my opinion of the show as a whole. But I get what you're saying. Nostalgia is big thing.

    I know it was a signature piece for the WB, and objectively if anything manages to give it that "oomph" to be put in the "classics" category, it's that fact.

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  18. I will forever be a Joey pacey shipper. pacey will challenge her like no one else ever had or will, no one knows her like he did, and no one can ground pacey and stand up to his silly whims while still accepting who he is like Joey. They will forever be one of those great couples on tv. Yes, Dawson and her while cute would never be strong enoigh to survive the challenges that come with adulthood, they are too much the same.

    Will anyone ever forget when Joey first told pacey she loved him and wants to join his boat trip? Tgta she's no longer afraid? One of those great tv moments. Thanks for brining back those awesome memories.

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  19. ''In an enteresting and important moment, Joey reveals to a delighted and surprised Jen that there was never a choice to be made, that she’s always known whether it was Dawson or Pacey she was supposed to be with. Instead, it’s fear within herself – perhaps of hurting the other guy, losing them from her life altogether, or even of ruining the boys’ friendship again – that’s kept her from acting, not indecision. It’s a distinction I really love. Jen’s dying doesn’t spark an epiphany for Joey; it just gives her the push she needs to stop running away and start running towards.''


    Note: My english is bad, sorry.


    No, she refer to Dawson, because when the scene was shot Dawson & Joey had to finish togheter.
    Kevin Williamson wanted D & J toghter but he was forced to change it because network and PS favored P & J. It's a shame! He wrote S1 like a movie with a beginning and an end. Real Dawson's Creek is S1.

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  20. Kevin Williamson himself has said (and he reiterated that this past weekend at the ATX Festival) that he's the one who changed his mind and opted for Pacey and Joey.

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