How do you do.
Season Four (A season of beginnings and endings of an era)
Remember the classic Rocky films where after going through the first three films of simply Sylvester Stallone boxing with giant black men for the sake of respect, alot of people wanted to see more of Rocky in something that could pay off. This led to Rocky IV where Stallone is pitted against a Russian boxer and the climax takes place in the Soviet Union. That proved to be the big pay off in the series because it showed American spirit during the waning days of the Cold War and the possibility of everyone settling their differences.
The same can be said for Dawson's Creek. After three years of watching the Creek gang experience puberty we finally get the pay off as they go through their senior year and graduate from high school. As with Rocky, there is also showing of a possibility of differences being settled during this sort of miniature cold war.
Season Four begins with Joey and Pacey on the True Love, just returning from their summer trip. In a unique way, the two returning by boat is the metaphor for our return to Capeside after traveling the seas of being away. The two plunging into the water is us plunging into the season. In fact, Pacey even takes the time to tell us what is in store for the characters in the new season (without spoiling anything). Then they enter Capeside and experience a Rip Van Wrinkle effect: Joey finds the Potter Bed and Breakfast thriving in her absence, Dawson has taken up photography, and is working on painting houses with Jack. Pacey finds out that his until now unmentioned sister Gretchen has arrived. Gretchen is revealed to be taking a break from college and is living with Doug. A subplot for "Coming Home" has Andie fawning over two French dudes on the beach. Of course, the one thing that is not being fawned is the friendship of Dawson, Joey, and Pacey, who all come together in a boat filled movie outing with Jaws as the show of the night. This sort of thing continues in "Failing Down" where we see the Senior Syndrome being demonstrated: Pacey has flunked a few classes and is technically a junior, Joey has the marks but needs a job. Meanwhile, Dawson has met Gretchen and told Jack of his crush on her. This part would be awkward as he and Pacey are not speaking to one another. Yet Dawson tells Joey what he heard about Pacey and she argues with Pacey about it. "The Two Gentlemen of Capeside", which gets its title from the Shakespearean play Joey and Dawson are debating on, resolves the awkwardness when Pacey gets an A. The episode contradicts Season Two where Pacey got a few As and claims this as his first. He celebrates by taking Jen with him on a boat trip that Joey turned down. Jen got an email from Henry, stating that he was calling it quits (my guess, Michael Pitt decided to not return for this season), which sends Jen down into a spiral that will last the season. She goes on this boat trip to get her mind off it. However, just as they are out, they encounter a storm of near hurricane proportions (might be a nor'easter). Joey becomes concerned and rallies Dawson to rescue them. The only possible way is by taking a boat in the club and braving the storm. The effects may seem dated now but the scene is still tense. Pacey is rescued but True Love is lost at sea, possibly sunk. It's implied that Pacey and Dawson come to an understanding at this point.
This episode introduces Art Brooks, the owner of the boat, who accuses Dawson of stealing his boat for no reason and dented a side. There is a funny moment where he demands payment in his college money and Grams tells him not to and threatens to kick his shriveled old butt if she found out Dawson payed with his money. Instead, Dawson agrees to paying if off by painting fences. Other characters who enter are Drue Valentine and his mother. Drue, it turns out, knows Jen, as they once dated. This will lead to more drama in the season as Drue goes through being the new antagonist at times.
"Future Tense" is a filler with everyone thinking about the future. The same is with "A Family Way" where Gail discovers she is pregnant. During this, Joey visits the doctor for advise should she and Pacey have sex. Yeah, it turns out they did not do it on the boat, as she said in the first episode. The visit does lead to the awkward moments of hearing those person questions followed by the same "sex can be exciting" from the nurse before Joey is given some condoms and pills. Of course, Bessie finds out by finding them and the two have an argument about responsibilities and consequences. Meanwhile, Jack is hurt in a football practice and is thus benched. He then takes up being coach to a children's soccer team. A girl hits on him and finds out he's gay. Word reaches out but the show points out that by law, the parents cannot remove him based on his orientation. So they wait for an excuse, which comes in "The Unusual Suspects" where he puts a girl on the place of goalie and the soccer dads disapprove and use her mistakes (that we don't see) against him. Jack is fired after winning a game and is apparently exiled from coaching children's teams.
Andie, meanwhile, finds out she has the credits to go to Harvard. In "Great Xpectations", she decides to go to a rave in order to feel happy. During this, she and Jen bond and she takes some of Jen's ecstasy, which came to her through Drue, and becomes very happy during the rave, until she goes into shock. Andie is sent to the hospital and Jen is blamed for the accident by Jack. It gets worse for Jen in "You Had Me At Goodbye" when Drue comes clean to the school on the drugs, which upsets everyone and turns them on Jen. Even Grams is disappointed in her. Meanwhile, Andie learns she has the credits to graduate and doesn't need to go through the rest of school. This so she can head to Italy and be with an aunt. Andie uses this bring everyone together and get everyone to reconcile. Andie gets her wish and everyone reconciles. Then she says a few things with Pacey, just like with old times, and then she departs, technically leaving the show.
Meredith Monroe, it seems, was wanting to leave the show at some point and was willing to agree to a number of episodes and return at the finale before she could written out. That's a guess on why Andie McPhee was written out of the series. However, I cannot find an excuse for Meredith Monroe to still be in the opening credits of episodes where she is not in. Another departure was the death of David Dukes, in 2000. This caused Joseph McPhee to also be written out. The sad thing is this happened after his character had become nicer and more lovable, too.
With Andie gone, life goes on as usual. Dawson serves out his debt to Art Brooks and learns that the latter was once a film maker. Brooks critiques his photos, bad mouths his mannerisms, acts grouchy around him, but gradually warms up. In "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang", Brooks suggest he go back into directing and the two begin a project on Brooks. Not only does this make Dawson go back into making movies but it also makes Dawson a much better character, a nice reparation from the way he was in Season Three. His friendship with Pacey improves and they are hanging out again in "Tao of Dawson". It takes awhile but by then, he accepts that Dawson and Gretchen are together and approves of it. Dawson and Gretchen share their first kiss in "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang", largely as they were under the mistletoe.
Both "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" and "Self-Reliance" can be considered Christmas episodes, as they both feature decorations and wishing of "happy holidays" (the PC variant of Merry Christmas). I would say that this has been long over due for Dawson's Creek, after having a Thanksgiving episode in the last season and neither in the first two. It seems the one positive of Williamson's departure is the inclusion of holiday themed episodes.
Jack's love life takes another turn with the introduction of Toby, head of a "Gay-Straight Teen Coalition" set up in Capeside. For the first time since Season Three, we find out there are other gay people in Capeside and not all are men. Toby and Jack take an instant dislike of each other, with the former being something of a Malcolm X and Dr. King sort of gay while Jack is just the silent majority when it comes to gay guys. However, Jen exposes underlying feelings between the two. By "Hopeless", the two become a couple. It has some ups and downs but in "Late", the relationship is further defined when Toby takes the bus and gets beaten up by thugs. Jack has to find out about this and he brings in the police while Toby has pride issues faced before telling the story. This cements the relationship for the remainder of the season.
Of the relationships in the season, the longest lasting among the Creek gang is Pacey and Joey's. Joey and Pacey under go the normal teenage coupling during the season with hang outs with friends, celebrating each other's birthdays, babysitting, having a double date, and going on trips. The question of if they are going to do it is brought up a few times, like with "The Family Way" but sex doesn't really take center of any episode until "A Winter's Tale". In "A Winter's Tale", the Capeside students go to a ski resort (this is a similar set up to "Heartbreak Cory" in Boy Meets World) where everyone plans on getting laid. Drue makes it possible by giving Pacey and Joey a room, along with Jack and Jen in another. Joey watches as many girls go by and Pacey doesn't partake in the rituals. During one night, Joey insists that not all guys carry condoms in their wallets and is proven wrong when the guys in the restaurant pull them out of theirs. When Pacey is asked outside, he reveals he has one too. About the scene, the sexism is brought up when Drue says "girls have it way easier than guys...when they want to, all they have to do is ask." I don't believe either sex has it easy and girls are already having their own type of condoms as well as the pill. Drue's statement implies only boys do and they shouldn't have to. I'll also add that if I was in the scene, I would have been the only guy to not have a condom in his wallet because one, I don't do premarital sex, and two, as a Catholic I am morally opposed to contraceptives. Those are also the reasons why I find it awkward to share the series with friends or family because hardly anyone in the show saves it for marriage. Of course, after a phone call with Dawson, Joey weighs all the choices, sees Pacey refuse to get action, and rewards him by giving herself to him. Yup, after so many episodes of teasing us and then telling us nothing happened, Joey finally loses her virginity in this episode. During the moments that end the episode (and they forgot to shut the blinds, also) Joey lists all the reasons she loves Pacey and why she is giving this gift to him. They kind of sound like the things she would say when they are getting married or being said on a wedding night. Even while I object, it is far better than most occasions of teens doing it in television or movies.
Of course, sex causes Joey and Pacey to oversleep and miss the bus ride home. So they have to go home the hard way in "Four Stories."
As to Dawson, the one remaining virgin on the show, he continues his relationship with Gretchen and study under Brooks. Brooks softens and even goes on a date with Grams. In "The Tao of Dawson", Brooks is revealed to be terminally ill and spends his time now in a wheel chair. He makes Dawson sign some papers, which are revealed to be a legal waver to end his life. Aside from the fact that a minor is given this responsibility, I am aghast that Dawson's parents wouldn't bring up the moral side of it and Grams doesn't speak in the scene. Ultimately, they don't do euthanasia (thank God for the writer being pro-life enough to avoid that) and Brooks instead dies naturally in "A Winter's Tale." More important than this, and Joey's deflowering, is the cameo of the late Andy Griffith, who seemed to have worked with Brooks and may have been the guy who took his girl. The theme of death is done well in Brooks, as it hangs over him like a cloud. He keeps looking tough but is slowly being eaten away by it. He softens up and passes on wisdom to the younger generation before he finally dies. This is different when Gramps and Abby died. On both occasions, we saw a person we hardly knew pass away and another person who was a thorn in our sides. Their deaths just happened without warning, however. Yet, with Brooks, we see a character we had grown love die in a matter of episodes. Thus it makes it more tragic.
Dawson handles his death in "Four Stories", which has Pacey and Joey return home, Dawson and Joey reuniting at a movie, and Jen's therapy sessions, also. The last is because Jen was found in a compromising position with Jack in "A Winter's Tale" and everyone believes something is wrong with Jen. Jen's troubles have there from the start yet in efforts to focus on Dawson, Joey, and Pacey, as well as Andie and Jack, Jen's drama got put on the shelf for awhile. By now, it was decided they should take it off the shelf, blow off the dust, and resolve it. Her sessions reveal a troubled past concerning her father (despite her mother causing the most trouble). It is finally revealed in "Eastern Standard Time", where she takes Joey with her on a trip to New York City, that she saw her father have sex with another woman, an under aged woman. So, this makes her father to be a hypocrite for sending her off to Capeside after catching her in bed with a boy. But, it seems it is what scarred Jen, made her lose her faith, lead to her losing her virginity, get into a fast girl's style, and all before she is sent to Grams. Once Jen confronts her father, she seems to get better, though she still has a few episodes with the bottle and with Drue, who seems to become more caring since "A Winter's Tale." Pacey, meanwhile, takes exams while everyone ditches school, in "Eastern..." and then goes on a road trip with Drue to Rhode Island where he gets drunk and picks a fight with someone. When Doug picks him up, Pacey is devastated to learn that he failed his exams. Doug decides to take him out for a heart to heart in "Late" which is also around the time a change comes over Pacey. He starts to feel inadequate since he doesn't have the marks to go into college or the motivation and since Joey is going to college, that makes their relationship doomed to fail. Thus, one could argue that the main turning point in their relationship was when Pacey and Joey did the deed.
Joey feels she is pregnant in "Late" as her period is, well, late. Of course, it turns out false. Plot wise, this is a close call because if Joey got pregnant than she is following in her sister's footsteps and it would open Dawson's Creek to another season where Joey is a single mom. By this point, most people want to see Joey go to college, not become a single mom. It is also against her character to have a child out of wedlock. Also, this is the episode we see the birth of Dawson's new sister, Lily.
Finally, the rites of senior high swing through. Senior ditch day happens in "Eastern Standard Time". Then we have prom in "Promicide". Dawson goes with Gretchen, Pacey with Joey, Jack with Toby, and Jen with Drue. The prom goes well until Pacey and Joey have a little spat on their future that signals the end of their relationship. This sort makes "Promicide" an inverse of "Anti-Prom" where Dawson saw Joey dancing with Pacey and argued with her, now it's Dawson dancing with Joey and Pacey does the arguing. Gretchen feels conscious of the semester ending and of her age and it puts her relationship with Dawson on the rocks. Jack and Toby make it through while Jen and Drue go through an awkward date. Of course, no one does any after prom sex. "Separation Anxiety" follows where everyone starts to fade away. Gretchen goes back to college and gives Dawson a well wish in his yearbook, Pacey is offered a job, and Jen gets to go to college, though that means Grams will be moving from her home. Finally, we come to graduation in "The Graduate". All but Pacey qualify and it's tense to see Pacey go through the episode wondering if he will. It turns out he does graduate but he decided to not attend the ceremony. "The Graduate" has the feel of a season finale, if not a series finale, as it has everyone returning, especially Andie McPhee. When the series airs on television, this episode is the last of Season Four to be aired instead of the following "Coda". A good reason because "Coda" is hardly much but just Jack, Jen, Joey, and Dawson debating their final night together, with no plot development except for Joey and Dawson kissing at the end. It even returns to the standard plot formula of starting and ending the episode in Dawson's bedroom with Dawson and Joey inside.
Season Four may not be the best season but it is my favorite. The acting is better than ever, the dialogue is more intelligent, the stories are better, and the characters are more human and loveable. It doesn't try to be a social commentary like Season Three, which is a relief. One apparent cause is in the executive producers: Paul Stupin is sharing reign with Greg Prange and Tom Kapinos, the latter would even direct a few episodes. The season is also the season for Pacey / Joey team as out of the twenty-three episodes in the season, only in three of them are they not a couple. From this number, their relationship has lasted longer than anyone else on the show, with Bessie and Bodie's relationship being longer as well as Mitch and Gail. Sex and the talk of is decreased more, practically brought up in one episode, with another having issues of responsibilities that come with it. The show is still secular but there is a scene in "A Winter's Tale" where Dawson joins Grams in the hospital chapel. One could argue that Dawson's faith in films is symbolism of his faith in a higher power and it makes it a journey to find God. Another reason why it's my favorite, is it gives me nostalgia for my senior year.
There is a theme of an end to an era in the season. This is the last time we see the Creek gang as teenagers and the last time Capeside takes up as the center setting of the series. Examples of the end of an era feel happen as Grams sales her home to pay for Jen's college tuition (her parents decide not to pay). Her home has had such a feel of an old fashioned home and one could feel like visiting that sort of home every time we have a scene there. To see it sold and its occupants moving now removes its essence. The break up of Joey and Pacey can also end an era: their relationship which has lasted long, enough to make Season Four, and the later parts of Season Three, be edited into a television movie called "The Love Affair of Pacey and Joey." One could liken it to Zack and Kelly, or Cory and Topanga. With its ending, Pacey / Joey fans have now nothing to look forward to until they reunite, which will take a long time before happening. At least the friendship between him and Dawson has recovered and it seemed that the love triangle thing has been buried in the sand by "Tao of Dawson." So basically, Brooks and Gretchen are a God-send in making Dawson a better character if you couldn't stand him before.
Another way it ended an era is noticed in the start and end dates. It began in 2000 and ended in 2001, essentially making the end of the 20th Century and the start of the 21st. This I can see why it resulted in the first three seasons placed in one section of the Complete Series box while the last three take up the other. It separates what I can call "90's Creek era" from "2000's Creek era". The fact the season ended in the spring before September 11, 2001, is another reason it seems like the end of an era.
Season Four begins with Joey and Pacey on the True Love, just returning from their summer trip. In a unique way, the two returning by boat is the metaphor for our return to Capeside after traveling the seas of being away. The two plunging into the water is us plunging into the season. In fact, Pacey even takes the time to tell us what is in store for the characters in the new season (without spoiling anything). Then they enter Capeside and experience a Rip Van Wrinkle effect: Joey finds the Potter Bed and Breakfast thriving in her absence, Dawson has taken up photography, and is working on painting houses with Jack. Pacey finds out that his until now unmentioned sister Gretchen has arrived. Gretchen is revealed to be taking a break from college and is living with Doug. A subplot for "Coming Home" has Andie fawning over two French dudes on the beach. Of course, the one thing that is not being fawned is the friendship of Dawson, Joey, and Pacey, who all come together in a boat filled movie outing with Jaws as the show of the night. This sort of thing continues in "Failing Down" where we see the Senior Syndrome being demonstrated: Pacey has flunked a few classes and is technically a junior, Joey has the marks but needs a job. Meanwhile, Dawson has met Gretchen and told Jack of his crush on her. This part would be awkward as he and Pacey are not speaking to one another. Yet Dawson tells Joey what he heard about Pacey and she argues with Pacey about it. "The Two Gentlemen of Capeside", which gets its title from the Shakespearean play Joey and Dawson are debating on, resolves the awkwardness when Pacey gets an A. The episode contradicts Season Two where Pacey got a few As and claims this as his first. He celebrates by taking Jen with him on a boat trip that Joey turned down. Jen got an email from Henry, stating that he was calling it quits (my guess, Michael Pitt decided to not return for this season), which sends Jen down into a spiral that will last the season. She goes on this boat trip to get her mind off it. However, just as they are out, they encounter a storm of near hurricane proportions (might be a nor'easter). Joey becomes concerned and rallies Dawson to rescue them. The only possible way is by taking a boat in the club and braving the storm. The effects may seem dated now but the scene is still tense. Pacey is rescued but True Love is lost at sea, possibly sunk. It's implied that Pacey and Dawson come to an understanding at this point.
This episode introduces Art Brooks, the owner of the boat, who accuses Dawson of stealing his boat for no reason and dented a side. There is a funny moment where he demands payment in his college money and Grams tells him not to and threatens to kick his shriveled old butt if she found out Dawson payed with his money. Instead, Dawson agrees to paying if off by painting fences. Other characters who enter are Drue Valentine and his mother. Drue, it turns out, knows Jen, as they once dated. This will lead to more drama in the season as Drue goes through being the new antagonist at times.
"Future Tense" is a filler with everyone thinking about the future. The same is with "A Family Way" where Gail discovers she is pregnant. During this, Joey visits the doctor for advise should she and Pacey have sex. Yeah, it turns out they did not do it on the boat, as she said in the first episode. The visit does lead to the awkward moments of hearing those person questions followed by the same "sex can be exciting" from the nurse before Joey is given some condoms and pills. Of course, Bessie finds out by finding them and the two have an argument about responsibilities and consequences. Meanwhile, Jack is hurt in a football practice and is thus benched. He then takes up being coach to a children's soccer team. A girl hits on him and finds out he's gay. Word reaches out but the show points out that by law, the parents cannot remove him based on his orientation. So they wait for an excuse, which comes in "The Unusual Suspects" where he puts a girl on the place of goalie and the soccer dads disapprove and use her mistakes (that we don't see) against him. Jack is fired after winning a game and is apparently exiled from coaching children's teams.
Andie, meanwhile, finds out she has the credits to go to Harvard. In "Great Xpectations", she decides to go to a rave in order to feel happy. During this, she and Jen bond and she takes some of Jen's ecstasy, which came to her through Drue, and becomes very happy during the rave, until she goes into shock. Andie is sent to the hospital and Jen is blamed for the accident by Jack. It gets worse for Jen in "You Had Me At Goodbye" when Drue comes clean to the school on the drugs, which upsets everyone and turns them on Jen. Even Grams is disappointed in her. Meanwhile, Andie learns she has the credits to graduate and doesn't need to go through the rest of school. This so she can head to Italy and be with an aunt. Andie uses this bring everyone together and get everyone to reconcile. Andie gets her wish and everyone reconciles. Then she says a few things with Pacey, just like with old times, and then she departs, technically leaving the show.
Meredith Monroe, it seems, was wanting to leave the show at some point and was willing to agree to a number of episodes and return at the finale before she could written out. That's a guess on why Andie McPhee was written out of the series. However, I cannot find an excuse for Meredith Monroe to still be in the opening credits of episodes where she is not in. Another departure was the death of David Dukes, in 2000. This caused Joseph McPhee to also be written out. The sad thing is this happened after his character had become nicer and more lovable, too.
With Andie gone, life goes on as usual. Dawson serves out his debt to Art Brooks and learns that the latter was once a film maker. Brooks critiques his photos, bad mouths his mannerisms, acts grouchy around him, but gradually warms up. In "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang", Brooks suggest he go back into directing and the two begin a project on Brooks. Not only does this make Dawson go back into making movies but it also makes Dawson a much better character, a nice reparation from the way he was in Season Three. His friendship with Pacey improves and they are hanging out again in "Tao of Dawson". It takes awhile but by then, he accepts that Dawson and Gretchen are together and approves of it. Dawson and Gretchen share their first kiss in "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang", largely as they were under the mistletoe.
Both "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" and "Self-Reliance" can be considered Christmas episodes, as they both feature decorations and wishing of "happy holidays" (the PC variant of Merry Christmas). I would say that this has been long over due for Dawson's Creek, after having a Thanksgiving episode in the last season and neither in the first two. It seems the one positive of Williamson's departure is the inclusion of holiday themed episodes.
Jack's love life takes another turn with the introduction of Toby, head of a "Gay-Straight Teen Coalition" set up in Capeside. For the first time since Season Three, we find out there are other gay people in Capeside and not all are men. Toby and Jack take an instant dislike of each other, with the former being something of a Malcolm X and Dr. King sort of gay while Jack is just the silent majority when it comes to gay guys. However, Jen exposes underlying feelings between the two. By "Hopeless", the two become a couple. It has some ups and downs but in "Late", the relationship is further defined when Toby takes the bus and gets beaten up by thugs. Jack has to find out about this and he brings in the police while Toby has pride issues faced before telling the story. This cements the relationship for the remainder of the season.
Of the relationships in the season, the longest lasting among the Creek gang is Pacey and Joey's. Joey and Pacey under go the normal teenage coupling during the season with hang outs with friends, celebrating each other's birthdays, babysitting, having a double date, and going on trips. The question of if they are going to do it is brought up a few times, like with "The Family Way" but sex doesn't really take center of any episode until "A Winter's Tale". In "A Winter's Tale", the Capeside students go to a ski resort (this is a similar set up to "Heartbreak Cory" in Boy Meets World) where everyone plans on getting laid. Drue makes it possible by giving Pacey and Joey a room, along with Jack and Jen in another. Joey watches as many girls go by and Pacey doesn't partake in the rituals. During one night, Joey insists that not all guys carry condoms in their wallets and is proven wrong when the guys in the restaurant pull them out of theirs. When Pacey is asked outside, he reveals he has one too. About the scene, the sexism is brought up when Drue says "girls have it way easier than guys...when they want to, all they have to do is ask." I don't believe either sex has it easy and girls are already having their own type of condoms as well as the pill. Drue's statement implies only boys do and they shouldn't have to. I'll also add that if I was in the scene, I would have been the only guy to not have a condom in his wallet because one, I don't do premarital sex, and two, as a Catholic I am morally opposed to contraceptives. Those are also the reasons why I find it awkward to share the series with friends or family because hardly anyone in the show saves it for marriage. Of course, after a phone call with Dawson, Joey weighs all the choices, sees Pacey refuse to get action, and rewards him by giving herself to him. Yup, after so many episodes of teasing us and then telling us nothing happened, Joey finally loses her virginity in this episode. During the moments that end the episode (and they forgot to shut the blinds, also) Joey lists all the reasons she loves Pacey and why she is giving this gift to him. They kind of sound like the things she would say when they are getting married or being said on a wedding night. Even while I object, it is far better than most occasions of teens doing it in television or movies.
Of course, sex causes Joey and Pacey to oversleep and miss the bus ride home. So they have to go home the hard way in "Four Stories."
As to Dawson, the one remaining virgin on the show, he continues his relationship with Gretchen and study under Brooks. Brooks softens and even goes on a date with Grams. In "The Tao of Dawson", Brooks is revealed to be terminally ill and spends his time now in a wheel chair. He makes Dawson sign some papers, which are revealed to be a legal waver to end his life. Aside from the fact that a minor is given this responsibility, I am aghast that Dawson's parents wouldn't bring up the moral side of it and Grams doesn't speak in the scene. Ultimately, they don't do euthanasia (thank God for the writer being pro-life enough to avoid that) and Brooks instead dies naturally in "A Winter's Tale." More important than this, and Joey's deflowering, is the cameo of the late Andy Griffith, who seemed to have worked with Brooks and may have been the guy who took his girl. The theme of death is done well in Brooks, as it hangs over him like a cloud. He keeps looking tough but is slowly being eaten away by it. He softens up and passes on wisdom to the younger generation before he finally dies. This is different when Gramps and Abby died. On both occasions, we saw a person we hardly knew pass away and another person who was a thorn in our sides. Their deaths just happened without warning, however. Yet, with Brooks, we see a character we had grown love die in a matter of episodes. Thus it makes it more tragic.
Dawson handles his death in "Four Stories", which has Pacey and Joey return home, Dawson and Joey reuniting at a movie, and Jen's therapy sessions, also. The last is because Jen was found in a compromising position with Jack in "A Winter's Tale" and everyone believes something is wrong with Jen. Jen's troubles have there from the start yet in efforts to focus on Dawson, Joey, and Pacey, as well as Andie and Jack, Jen's drama got put on the shelf for awhile. By now, it was decided they should take it off the shelf, blow off the dust, and resolve it. Her sessions reveal a troubled past concerning her father (despite her mother causing the most trouble). It is finally revealed in "Eastern Standard Time", where she takes Joey with her on a trip to New York City, that she saw her father have sex with another woman, an under aged woman. So, this makes her father to be a hypocrite for sending her off to Capeside after catching her in bed with a boy. But, it seems it is what scarred Jen, made her lose her faith, lead to her losing her virginity, get into a fast girl's style, and all before she is sent to Grams. Once Jen confronts her father, she seems to get better, though she still has a few episodes with the bottle and with Drue, who seems to become more caring since "A Winter's Tale." Pacey, meanwhile, takes exams while everyone ditches school, in "Eastern..." and then goes on a road trip with Drue to Rhode Island where he gets drunk and picks a fight with someone. When Doug picks him up, Pacey is devastated to learn that he failed his exams. Doug decides to take him out for a heart to heart in "Late" which is also around the time a change comes over Pacey. He starts to feel inadequate since he doesn't have the marks to go into college or the motivation and since Joey is going to college, that makes their relationship doomed to fail. Thus, one could argue that the main turning point in their relationship was when Pacey and Joey did the deed.
Joey feels she is pregnant in "Late" as her period is, well, late. Of course, it turns out false. Plot wise, this is a close call because if Joey got pregnant than she is following in her sister's footsteps and it would open Dawson's Creek to another season where Joey is a single mom. By this point, most people want to see Joey go to college, not become a single mom. It is also against her character to have a child out of wedlock. Also, this is the episode we see the birth of Dawson's new sister, Lily.
Finally, the rites of senior high swing through. Senior ditch day happens in "Eastern Standard Time". Then we have prom in "Promicide". Dawson goes with Gretchen, Pacey with Joey, Jack with Toby, and Jen with Drue. The prom goes well until Pacey and Joey have a little spat on their future that signals the end of their relationship. This sort makes "Promicide" an inverse of "Anti-Prom" where Dawson saw Joey dancing with Pacey and argued with her, now it's Dawson dancing with Joey and Pacey does the arguing. Gretchen feels conscious of the semester ending and of her age and it puts her relationship with Dawson on the rocks. Jack and Toby make it through while Jen and Drue go through an awkward date. Of course, no one does any after prom sex. "Separation Anxiety" follows where everyone starts to fade away. Gretchen goes back to college and gives Dawson a well wish in his yearbook, Pacey is offered a job, and Jen gets to go to college, though that means Grams will be moving from her home. Finally, we come to graduation in "The Graduate". All but Pacey qualify and it's tense to see Pacey go through the episode wondering if he will. It turns out he does graduate but he decided to not attend the ceremony. "The Graduate" has the feel of a season finale, if not a series finale, as it has everyone returning, especially Andie McPhee. When the series airs on television, this episode is the last of Season Four to be aired instead of the following "Coda". A good reason because "Coda" is hardly much but just Jack, Jen, Joey, and Dawson debating their final night together, with no plot development except for Joey and Dawson kissing at the end. It even returns to the standard plot formula of starting and ending the episode in Dawson's bedroom with Dawson and Joey inside.
Season Four may not be the best season but it is my favorite. The acting is better than ever, the dialogue is more intelligent, the stories are better, and the characters are more human and loveable. It doesn't try to be a social commentary like Season Three, which is a relief. One apparent cause is in the executive producers: Paul Stupin is sharing reign with Greg Prange and Tom Kapinos, the latter would even direct a few episodes. The season is also the season for Pacey / Joey team as out of the twenty-three episodes in the season, only in three of them are they not a couple. From this number, their relationship has lasted longer than anyone else on the show, with Bessie and Bodie's relationship being longer as well as Mitch and Gail. Sex and the talk of is decreased more, practically brought up in one episode, with another having issues of responsibilities that come with it. The show is still secular but there is a scene in "A Winter's Tale" where Dawson joins Grams in the hospital chapel. One could argue that Dawson's faith in films is symbolism of his faith in a higher power and it makes it a journey to find God. Another reason why it's my favorite, is it gives me nostalgia for my senior year.
There is a theme of an end to an era in the season. This is the last time we see the Creek gang as teenagers and the last time Capeside takes up as the center setting of the series. Examples of the end of an era feel happen as Grams sales her home to pay for Jen's college tuition (her parents decide not to pay). Her home has had such a feel of an old fashioned home and one could feel like visiting that sort of home every time we have a scene there. To see it sold and its occupants moving now removes its essence. The break up of Joey and Pacey can also end an era: their relationship which has lasted long, enough to make Season Four, and the later parts of Season Three, be edited into a television movie called "The Love Affair of Pacey and Joey." One could liken it to Zack and Kelly, or Cory and Topanga. With its ending, Pacey / Joey fans have now nothing to look forward to until they reunite, which will take a long time before happening. At least the friendship between him and Dawson has recovered and it seemed that the love triangle thing has been buried in the sand by "Tao of Dawson." So basically, Brooks and Gretchen are a God-send in making Dawson a better character if you couldn't stand him before.
Another way it ended an era is noticed in the start and end dates. It began in 2000 and ended in 2001, essentially making the end of the 20th Century and the start of the 21st. This I can see why it resulted in the first three seasons placed in one section of the Complete Series box while the last three take up the other. It separates what I can call "90's Creek era" from "2000's Creek era". The fact the season ended in the spring before September 11, 2001, is another reason it seems like the end of an era.
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