While surfing the web, I came across a list of “TV Couples That Should Have Never Gotten Together.” Included on this list was one my ultimate OTP’s, Dawson and Joey. And no. Just no. This is entire site is hereby discredited by this severe lapse in judgment.
Not only did this particular couple have the most epic love story (rivaled only by Brooke and Lucas of One Tree Hill), despite not ending up together, they got the most beautiful swan song of any star-crossed pair in television history. At least in my eyes they did, but I am rather biased. I admit it.
DJ are soul mates. Plain and simple. She pined over him for years before the lights turned on and he realized they’re meant to be. They see the best in each other when others don’t. She’s the stereotypical girl-next-door with a tomboy streak and he’s the aspiring filmmaker who lives in a fantasy world. Separately, I find them unlikeable and giant pain-in-the-asses. Together they are perfect. Greatest best friends turned lovers storyline ever? I think so.
I will never be a Pacey & Joey supporter. I would even hold up well under torture. PJ are oil and water. That relationship should have drowned to death in the creek as soon as it started. She’s too good for him and he’ll only weigh her down. They constantly had to reassure the other of their feelings. He made her feel like crap. She made him feel like crap. PJ were fine as frenemies, in fact, I found them wildly entertaining. But as a match made in heaven? Not in my world.
The other reason why I think I’m so vehemently against this pairing is because Pacey and Andie together was my favorite. And they rewrote a lot of history in season four to make it look like Joey was Pacey’s savior. Andie helped him get his first A. Andie made him feel special and loved despite his father’s misgivings. It was Andie who gave him a reason to get up in the morning. Ok. She cheated on him. I get that. But I really don’t believe that a group of talented writers weren’t able to find another purpose for Andie other than to hook her up with Dawson. Her mental illness? Estranged relationship with her father? Her extreme perfectionism? Sorry, but I’m not buying it.
Dawsons is my favorite show of all-time. DJ is my favorite couple of all-time. I am prepared to rant and bitch for hours on end. Bring it on, PJers, I’m not going down without a fight.
Witness the magic…
haha I blocked this show from my mind. I was like 8 when my sister watch the show religiously.
Let me preface this by saying that you are entitled youopinion, but that i think the article got it right. Joey and Pacey were not oil and water, nor were they “frenemies” after the truly became friends.
They were more alike and made more sense as a romantic couple than Dawson and Joey ever did.
I’m sure it’s your selective memory that prevents you from fully seeing what actually happened in the show as opposed to what you wanted to see happen. The “concept” of best friends turned lover is a fine one, seen many times on the big and small screen; however it was poorly executed on DC.
Are Joey and Dawson “” who knows, what I do know is that they are friends who weathered many storms and still managed to be a part if each other’s lives. I personally did noting them as friend however as a couple? Belch!!!! Didn’t work for me at all.
Joey was too good for Pacey? He would always way her down? That’s just laughable. Pacey had one of the better character developments in this teen drama, the Dawson I saw at the end was still “trying” to live his life instead if actually living it…still trying to orchestrate a fantasy instead if living in reality…still using his friends’ lives as a way to make his own look better.
Pacey wasn’t perfect, god knows he wasn’t. But he was real, and flawed and genuine and love Joey in a way that Dawson never could – without judgment, ultimatums, tantrums, jealousy…shall I go on.
I’ll
I could never be a Pacey Joey shipper because their relationship seemed so forced. I think a lot of fans romanticized their relationship because Katie and Josh dated in real life. To put it plainly Joey was a bitch. Ironically the only time she acted like a normal girlfriend was when she was with Jack McPhee.
Pacey and Joey would never work on account of Dawson; as Joey never truly let go of him. Every time she had a fight with Pacey she ran to Dawson. Dawson would always hover over that relationship.
During their year of so called bliss all they did was bicker and basically miserable all the time. It finally cumulated with the incident at the senior prom. Pacey had enough of her pity and disrespect. After that blowup I don’t think any girl would even think about going back to that boyfriend.
Pacey and Joey were never meant to be end game. She was a fling and nothing more.
The writers who took over after season two had a different vision to the series than Kevin Williamson, but even they did not see a lasting Pacey Joey relationship. I personally think that her boyfriend Eddie was to be her end game. He was just as bitchy as she was.I strongly suspect that the show ended a season or two before they had anticipated.
Why Joey was not really end game for Pacey till the last minute.
1. At the 100th episode celebration Joshua Jackson wore a picture of Meredith Monroe over his heart with “I love Andie” written across it. I think he made his sympathies well know by that action.
2. Kevin Williamson was originally going to end the show with Dawson / Joey Pacey / Andie.
Ironically Meredith Monroe who was forced off the show as her character would have been in the way when the broke up pacey and Joey could not return to the show for the two weeks Kevin Williamson needed her for. She was able to give him one day and they filmed the scenes that were cut from the TV series but are on the DVD.
At the very last minute Kevin Williamson decided to change his ending from Dawson / Joey to Pacey / Joey Without Meredith Monroe he could not write what he wanted and Meredith would have appeared to be a consolation prize for Pacey; which was not his intent. Like I said he needed her for two weeks. So he changed the ending to Pacey Joey with the logic Pacey got the girl and Dawson got his dream.
So to all the Pacey / Joey shippers; you were lucky Meredith Monroe was occupied. You would have had a very different ending.
Meredith Monroe and the character Andie were favorites of Kevin Williamson and did not agree as to why she was taken off the show. He was no longer attached to the show thus he had no input.
Season two was very early in the shows tenure and I think a lot of people forget the wonderful romance he wrote for Pacey and Andie. Those two characters were written to be end game
Pacey and Joey never radiated the love that Pacey and Andie did. Their scenes were magical
Indeed! I agree. I like Pacey and Andie love story. What they had was perfectly magical and seemed to be more real than any of the other romance in the T.V. series.
that whole thing with kevin wanting Andie and Pacey but couldn’t do it because she wasn’t there for the time he needed her is wrong, and if you are so dead set on it, i would love for you to send me some prove on that, with him saying it…. Now as for what actually happened, your right Kevin Williamson did change his mind at the last second, but only because he realized that Pacey and Joey were meant to be at the last second… when asked if he was aware of how many people wanted PJ he said, “by the way, i do too, but i’m a purist, i wanted Dawson and Joey to be together for all time.” So when the finale came he was going to do just that, make DJ end up together like it was always planned, but in the process of doing this, something didn’t feel right to him because he realized that, in the show Joey went on this Journey and by the end of it Kevin knew that she was in love with Pacey that she was meant to be with Pacey and putting her with Dawson would be completely betraying her character and her journey for 6 years. he said he changed his mind when Pacey and Joey were filming there reunion scene in the last episode, that’s when he realized that it was always them. But honestly I don’t understand how anyone can not see how much Pacey loved Joey and vice versa… in season 4 it was not all about them fighting at all and they were not miserable all the time, in fact i think season 4 is the happiest i had ever seen both of them, they had some of the best moments in the entire series.. and yes Dawson was hanging over there head but mostly because Pacey always brought him up because of how insecure he was. in 4×02 its proven when he talks about how Joey has completely wrecked him in the best possible way. I guess i can’t convince you that Pacey and Joey where clearly meant to be and the best couple on the show, the best couple in tv history in my opinion but i can tell you to not re-write history because Andie not being able to come film is not the reason.. and she did come back and film some scenes so if Kevin was really dead set on making them end up together, and truly believed that Pacey and Andie were meant to be, he could have done that with the time he did have with her.. But he didn’t do that because Pacey loved Joey he always had loved Joey and that is even said by Pacey numerous times over the course of season 6 so it just wouldn’t be right if all the sudden he was in love with andie and meant to be with her.I would actually take it as an insult to Andie’s character because I loved Andie, and I would just be so upset if her story ended with Pacey because after her development as a person and after everything that she had been through, Andie was a strong women who didn’t need a man to make her happy, and for her to just run back to Pacey after going to Italy and harvard and becoming a doctor, would be sort of betraying her character because she found her happiness, her story ended. We all know Pacey loved Joey way more than Dawson ever could anyways. Don’t get me wrong, i like Dawson and Joey, they are sweet and pure, and they are soulmates, just like Jen and Jack were and just like Pacey and Andie were, but soulmates doesn’t necessarily mean meant to be, it means best friends, someone your tied to eternally, someone who inspires you to be a better person, which is what dawson and did for joey, and vice versa and Andie definitely did for Pacey and vice versa, but this inspiration just made room for there romantic grown up love which is in the end Pacey and Joey. In the beginning i was all for Dawson and Joey, but in season 3 i realized that PJ were meant to be, i mean i’m sorry but its just the way it turned out, it sort of like life, the series took a unpredictable turn. You think your heading to one place, one destination (DJ) in the beginning but when you finally get to the end you realize these characters aren’t the same characters anymore and they aren’t meant for what you originally thought they were meant for, and in that persepect, it was a lot like reality, and not just like in other shows were two characters start off meant to be, and then at the very end they still are even though you know it just doesnt feel right because they aren’t the same people they were in the beginning, which is why Kevin changed it because Dawson and Joey didn’t feel right anymore, he knew that Joey loved and always will be in love with Pacey.. Pacey and Joey were true love
Listen to the commentary with Kevin Williamson and Paul Stupin on the final two episodes. Kevin Williamson relates how he came to the Pacey/Joey conclusion.
As far as your comments about Pacey and Joey being a great love, not true. All they did was fight season four. Every time they had a conflict Joey ran off to Dawson. That is not true love.
Pacey and Joey were done at Promicide. No couple comes back from what transpired there.
They had Meredith Monroe come back to the series at the end of season four after they let her go specifically to have a scene with Pacey Which they went to great lengths to get her back as she was not happy about being let go. (That’s on the commentary for that episode by Kevin Williamson) So at the end of season four you have Dawson and Joey kiss; Pacey finally admits his debt to Andie. So if the series ended there you would have had Dawson/Joey Pacey/Andie
But they continued the series. Now this so called great love was pretty non existent.. Joey had no problem with her roommate sleeping with Pacey, and Pacey had no problem with what Joey did.
Now you come to season six. Joey has a one nighter with pacey and promptly dumps him for Eddie.
It’s pretty obvious even late into season six no writer was even thinking Pacey/Joey they had their fling and they were done.
Now comes the final There was a reason for Kevin Williamson called an actress to come back to the show after she had been gone for 2 years.
Now I’ll jump to the ending. What you have is Joey who is living with a guy waltz into Capeside and go to Pacey who she has had nothing to do with for seven years and go “I choose you.” Pacey drops his life and goes off to NYC with her.
A very unrealistic ending. With out Meredith Keven Williamson could not write the story he wanted.
Also the network had been pushing Katie Holmes to be the next “IT” girl So being not able to write the story he wanted and the network on his butt, Kevin Williamson at the very last minute changed his ending to Pacey/Joey, as unrealistic as it was.
Even his mother was pissed and told him he blew it.
The ending however, did make a lot of teen fangirls very happy though.
Ironically since Dawson Creek is now on Netflix and the viewers are older; if you read the various message boards you will see a decided shift away from Pacey and Joey.
Here is a shot from the transcript of an interview with Stupin (source http://teendramawhore.com/2009/11/15/exclusive-executive-producer-paul-stupin-revisits-dawsons-creek/)
TDW: So if you had to answer the question, in your heart of hearts, do you think Dawson belongs with Joey in a platonic, friends soulmates sense and Pacey in the romantic soulmate way?
Stupin: In my heart of hearts, I think we ended it the right away. I think that what she did have in the romance with Pacey was as powerful as the friendship with Dawson. And I think that we were able to come up with a sense of satisfying closure for both of them……………….and in my mind, I like to think that Dawson and Joey are still out there in our alternate TV universe, still communicating with each other and still sharing the inner-most aspects of their hearts and still dealing with their friendship as adults, and that Joey and Pacey still have that romance. Because I feel like what we were able to come up with was, for me, an emotionally-satisfying conclusion for both stories which doesn’t let anyone down. And I know there are people who think Dawson and Joey should’ve been together romantically and I totally understand that point of view but I think we did the right thing.
TDW: Well, as a Joey and Pacey fan, I completely agree with you!
Stupin: Well, I can tell you this: that decision wasn’t made until the last hour was being shot and so if you look at the first hour of that final two-hour, I think at that point we were leaning toward her ending up with Dawson and so there are a few, I think, little cues–for the life of me I don’t remember exactly–that were set up to lead us in that direction and then, frankly, in the last hour, when the last hour was being shot–because it wasn’t shot as a two-hour; it was shot as two separate 1-hours–that when we came up with that conclusion, it caused us to shift things around a little bit. So I’ll tell ya, we were undecided up until the very last minute ourselves.
also Kevin Willaism interviewed, thinki its pretty clear he was happy with the result (source: http://insidetv.ew.com/2012/02/10/kevin-williamson-talks-love-triangles-dawsons-creek-and-the-vampire-diaries/)
When you wrote the finale of Dawson’s Creek, how aware were you that there were fans who wanted to see Joey and Pacey end up together?
KW: By the way, I did too, but I also am a purist. I wanted Dawson and Joey together till the end of time.
So, why didn’t you end the series with Dawson and Joey together?
KW: Originally, I really was going to go down that Dawson and Joey route and something didn’t feel right about it. One of the reasons I wanted to write Dawson’s Creek to begin with was to write my version of the teen drama. Back in the’90s when everyone was doing that whole self-aware thing, I was very aware of 90210. The characters in my show were very aware of 90210. They referenced it. They talked about it. This show was supposed to be the spin of the teen drama and if Dawson and Joey had ended up together, that wouldn’t have been the spin.
How did you make the final decision?
JULIE PLEC: This is my favorite Kevin Williamson moment of all time because we were working on a movie together at the time that he was making that decision. He had been agonizing over this because when he created the show it was [the] Dawson and Joey love story and then it came to the end of the show and he couldn’t decide what the right path for Joey to take was. He walked in and he was like, “I got it. I got it. Joey chooses Pacey because her childish love for Dawson has given way to her grown-up love for Pacey but Dawson still gets what he wants. Dawson gets what [he wanted when we] started the show, he gets to work with Spielberg. Dawson’s eternal wish, as a character, was delivered so Dawson found his happiness.” I got all teary-eyed when he said that because it made perfect sense because everything that you had [wanted] in the first episode was delivered on [and] then some in the end.
But what did that mean for Dawson and Joey’s relationship?
KW: In my mind, I know I’ve said this until I’m blue in the face, but Dawson and Joey are together. They are soul mates. He created a show about her. They are going to live forever. They are immortalized in Dawson’s world. It’s also my way of saying let’s look at the word “soul mate” and let’s redefine it. Dawson and Joey are soul mates forever [but] your soul mate is not necessarily your romantic love.
Andie and Pacey were great in Season Two… Dawson and Joey were too.. I loved all of them and from the start of season two I knew that Pacey and Joey were end-game (i saw the finale) and I thought.. OMG This is so lame. Then I started watching season 3 … And with every episode I started liking PJ a lot. By the end of the season I was head over heels inlove with them . And then Dawson came in the picture. I think that Pacey always put Joey first and Dawson never did it . Pacey is just the perfect guy for any girl. In the fourth season we saw the magic that True Love had and i really really loved them. I think that their break-up was lame because the writers made Pacey someone he isn’t. I mean when in the searies did you see him like this – jealous of Joey. I saw it coming because of the all college thing. And Joey-Dawson was forced because Joey should’ve greeve more about her break-up with Pacey. And I hated DJ in season 5-6. I hated them so much that i rewinded more than I wached 😀 PJ had the chemistry, the writing, best quotes, best moments – True Love. I was thrilled when I saw them in 6.14 and 6.15 they were great. And in the end True Love remains the same. After all the tears and whining that Dawson had to offer he finally backed off as a man with at least a little dignity 😀
I never liked Joey/Pacey, never, since I’m a deeply shipper of Andie/Pacey. I was very upset that they didn’t end up together, but after reading some posts above that actually they were meant to end up together I think I may rest in peace now, thank you very much !
Dawson Creek lost 1.4 million viewers per episode from season 2 to season 3. I believe a good number of them left on account of the destruction of Andie. I never understood it. The sweet innocent girl that worshipped the ground Pacey walked on became a cheating, lying, thief. I don’t think a lot of people understood that
PJ belong together. I’m not in the mood list the many reasons why PJ belong together and DJ do not. But will say this. Joey and Pacey are realist while Dawson is not.
PJ does not belong together. PA does. I’m also not in the mood to list all the reasons why.
LOVE THIS!!! JOEY AND DAWSON….ALWAYS! don’t care about pacey and joey fans, they just want to feel that perfectly romantic feeling they get from pacey, “tv’s best boyfriend”…nottt.
I’ve gone down with ships before (Brucas being one) so I know how that feels to not have the couple you want end up together. That being said I found D&J to be extremely boring lacking the necessary chemistry to sell a romance and they kissed like siblings. P&J gave the audience the “butterflies” that make a couple Phenomenonal and they still stand the test of time. Chemistry is everything!
I’ll start by saying that, for me, the series is divided into seasons 1-2, 3-4 and seasons 5-6 as I will later explain why.
The premise of Dawson’s creek was to showcase Dawson and Joey’s grand love story from childhood through school and, in the end, to all eternity; that much was clear, and DJ was always going to be end game. I would dare to say that it was so obvious that the focus of the series, originally, was not even on whether they would be together rather than to simply accompany them throughout their relationship as we were constantly being reminded that they were soul mates and belonged together.
I loved DJ; I really did. I loved their longwinded multi-syllable, hyper-articulate, overanalyzing debates. I loved the uniqueness of their close friendship, with Joey rowing down the creek, climbing up Dawson’s window, and their movie nights. I loved how Dawson was this great dreamer while Joey was an insecure cynic of a beauty that contrasted him very appealingly. I easily rooted for them throughout seasons 1,2, and it was impossible to think that they might not end up together.
Enter Pacey.
I felt very comfortable with how the Pacey and Joey’s friendship began and evolved in season 3. It was a season long build up, and a very sincere and natural one to my eyes. Dawson didn’t want to be with Joey at the time and sent his best friend and the only other person who truly ever knew Joey—as she later admitted prior to her and Pacey’s first kiss—to look out for her. Pacey and Joey have known each other pretty much their whole lives and were sort of friends (frenemies) via proximity to Dawson. Certainly believable.
I think the way Andy and Pacey ended and PJ started was, at the very least, believable; surely, it didn’t feel forced. Andy, although vulnerable and lonely, cheated on him after he had jumped through hoops for her. He was too hurt to forgive her. Sounds pretty reasonable. Dawson was too preoccupied with himself to see that Joey was slowly but surely drifting away and falling out of love with him, setting the stage for PJ in a very natural way.
Dawson didn’t evolve in season 3 and he was as self centered as was depicted from the first episode of the series. His influence on his friends was non existent, and he was constantly removed from any substantial storyline; on the other hand, Pacey had to deal with Andy and their breakup, Jen and their sex experiment, and, of course, Joey.
As I mentioned before, I was very much pro DJ; that is, until PJ. PJ was simply so much better in every way, which just emphasized how Dawson and Joey didn’t work as a couple all that well to begin with. PJ was pure magic and the chemistry and love oozed out of them. Watching Joey and Dawson kissing after witnessing her kissing Pacey was almost unfathomable. It did feel like siblings kissing. There was neither playfulness nor magic in DJ, and the chemistry and sexual tension were poor at best; it became very much evident after PJ.
It’s also worth mentioning that Pacey grew up and evolved greatly, and he really worked for and earned Joey (being for her, helping her with the B&B, teaching her how to drive stick, leasing her a freekin wall etc.) Pacey was all about Joey first and him second. Dawson never went out of his way to get Joey. She was simply his soul mate and the one he was destined to be with, and in his mind, that was suppose to be enough. I could never imagine Dawson staring all night at Joey sleeping.
The contrasts in their love for Joey further aggravated when seeing Dawson acting immaturely and selfishly to try win Joey back (ultimatums, almost crashing his boat into Pacey’s in the race, his behavior at the anti-prom etc.) Even Joey told him: “You don’t want me, Dawson; you said so yourself — you just don’t want to lose me.” In complete contrast, Pacey did everything for Joey to be happy. She always came first with him, and his love for her was pure and selfless.
PJ also had awesome romantic scenes together, such as coming home from their cruise episode (S4E1) with them kissing so lovingly and reading to each other on the boat in one of the most intimate and romantic scenes I have seen to date. PJ was magical and felt much more powerful in every way. So as boyfriends goes — Pacey trumped Dawson in every department, and Joey responded accordingly (repeatedly expressing her love for him, losing her virginity to him, etc.)
Fast forward to the end of season 4, Pacey’s insecurities were getting in the way, promptly demolishing their beautiful relationship, and in a very strained and bizarre plot development, Joey and Dawson rekindled their romantic love only weeks after, even though Joey was still clearly very much in love with and hurt by Pacey at that time.
For me, the series really ended here as seasons 5,6 were awful, lacking any originality and creativity, but mostly losing sight of what was special about the show: the setting of Capeside, the unique dialogues, and the true reason why people kept watching: the love triangle that it worked so hard to flesh out.
It was all completely abandoned, and insignificant storylines and uninteresting relationships sprouted out from the time DJ broke up again up until the last episode, giving us one of the most lost, boring, disappointing plots to date of once a refreshing and addictive series.
Season 6 gave us DJ’s first and last act of sex, briefly resurrected PJ toward the end of the series, and ended at episode 22 with Joey intermediating between once best friends and today alienated acquaintances only to forsake both as a not so subtle cue that she was never meant for either. She would be forever an attainable dream for them to pine for. Series was over.
Or was it?
Studios recruited Dawson’s creek creator, Kevin Williamson, for another series finale as they felt they needed to bring a tighter ending, because although the previously series finale was poignant and deep, it just didn’t deliver emotionally and was really not such a good ending for anyone: not for the characters and certainly not for the audience, but most importantly — Joey had to choose, as was evident from the very first moment the triangle took its first breath.
Consequently, a two hour special was created to, essentially, coerce Joey to pick once and for all between soul mate and first love, Dawson Lirry, and deflowerer and second love, Pacey Witter.
“At least you get to have sex,” Joey said.
“All I do is mope around and pine after Peaty, then Colby, then Colby, then Peaty…”
“Well… you never could make a decision,” Jen dug deeper.
“You know, that’s where you got it all wrong. I mean the eternal triangle? That’s based on actual events? It’s not about Sam choosing between Colby and Peaty; it never was. It’s about… Sam making a decision with herself.”
“Could we just use real names here? There’s no need to protect the guilty in this room.”
“It’s just sad it… took a TV show to make me see it.”
“What? To see what? I’m incredibly interested in all of this.”
“The only decision left is the one I need to make with myself: To stop running once and for all. I mean, I know who I’m suppose to be with. I’ve always known.”
“Really?!”
“Yeah, but then the fear takes over…”
In the aforementioned special, Joey
explains to Jen on her death bedding and to us viewers that everyone got it all wrong and that it was never, in fact, a two horse race. She’s always known who was meant for her but fear kept her running away from it. What did she fear of? That’s left unexplained. One could only assume the fear of being vulnerable and perhaps the fear of hurting the other vertex in this apparently never existed triangle.
The sad part? Jen asked who it was and Joey never got a chance to tell her. Jen died without knowing and no one noticed nor cared.
Although her soul mate and more than a lover, Dawson was not Joey’s love of her life. Pacey was. End of series.
This ending actually made plenty of sense with seasons 1-4. Pacey was conspicuously more suitable for her and they shared a much greater romantic love, affirming what everyone but Dawson could feel. That left Dawson to win her over on the TV show he had written about them only to forever pine for Joey in real life, which wasn’t that sad since Dawson’s first and greatest love had always been TV.
When started my lengthy analysis, I divided the show into three parts. Seasons 1,2 followed the original premise of Dawson and Joey. Seasons 3,4 strayed away from that definitive notion and presented Pacey as a possible contender for Joey’s heart, forming the triangle. Seasons 5,6 were incoherent garbage that abandoned both premises, so everything that happened there should be ignored.
The reason why Joey dumped Pacey for Eddie, even though Pacey begged her that this could be IT, was because the series was suppose to end with episode 22, when no one wins her, and that is the only reason; however, they rationalized it later on in the finale that she was scared of their love—as she admitted to Pacey—and it made her run, constantly moving, never ready for it, but that she doesn’t want to run anymore and can’t be “let off the hook”.
I read here someone saying that Pacey and Andy were destined to be together, and that Meredith was killed off the show to make Pacey available for Joey, but she later refused to come back to claim Pacey. In one word — false. Proof: Interview.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: When did you realize the Joey/Pacey relationship could be worth pursuing?
KEVIN WILLIAMSON: In the first season. You know that moment where they had to take their clothes off? It was in the science class. That was the episode where we first went, “Okay. There are sparks here. This is a storyline that we’re going to go down but we’ll have to wait.”
Why wait?
KW: We knew there was a storyline and that ultimately they were going to have to get it on. We knew that it was going to be a triangle. We saw it and we waited and we put a pause on it and [the writers] brought it in at the right time.
Furthermore, producer had admitted that without the Pacey/Joey love story the series would have been dead in water and that PJ breathed new life into the show. Both producer and creator had been quoted to prefer Joey and Pacey together rather than Dawson and Joey.
It is true that the decision of Joey ending up with Pacey was a last minute change, and occurred when the first hour of the two hour special had already been shot. It is also true that the creator envisioned the series when he had written it with Joey and Dawson ending up together, and when he came back for that single episode (he had left years before), he wanted to finish it the same way.
However, after reflecting on the misguided assumption that soul mate = romantic love, he decided that: “… Joey chooses Pacey because her childish love for Dawson has given way to her grown-up love for Pacey but Dawson still gets what he wants. Dawson gets what [he wanted when we] started the show, he gets to work with Spielberg. Dawson’s eternal wish, as a character, was delivered so Dawson found his happiness.”
Subjectively speaking, I grew to detest Dawson as well as James Van Der Beek. I thought that Dawson was one of the worse leading characters I’ve ever seen, and his presence in the show was burdening. If the show wasn’t names after him, writers might have killed him off. His romantic capabilities were non existent, he was boring to death, and of course — the crying/constipated scene didn’t do him any favors, but that’s for anther day…
@eyalang
Your post is interesting, but full of inaccurate statements
The following quote showcases your misconceptions of the series.
“I read here someone saying that Pacey and Andy were destined to be together, and that Meredith was killed off the show to make Pacey available for Joey, but she later refused to come back to claim Pacey. In one word — false. Proof: Interview.”
Meredith Monroe was never killed off. Michelle Williams was. Meredith never refused to come back and did twice; at the end of season four and again at the end of season 6. The way she was treated I don’t think anyone would have blamed her for refusing.
Pacey and Joey were never foreshadowed, nor were they meant to be a long term couple. When the writers wrote Promicide; that was the end of Pacey and Joey. It was thught that season four was going to be the last season. So the writers totally destroyed Pacey and Joey, brought Andie back where Pacey truly forgives her also acknowledged his debt to her.and the season ends with Dawson and Joey making out in Dawson’s room. The season one and season four scenes were identical down to the music. The only difference was that in the season four shoot there was no ladder against the house.
To the writers surprised the series was renewed, which was the reason for Audry. I also find it interesting that Joey had no problem with her best friend sleeping with her ex.
Pacey and Joey were the result of a writer making a last minute change. One theory for the change is that the network strongly suggested that Kevin Williamson was pressured by the network to change his outcome.
Originally the last scene in the series was to be Pacey and Andie walking to his car. to go to dinner, not neccessarily as lovers but as friends with maybe a hint of things could change.
Since Pacey and Joey were the fangirl popular couple the network forced that ending, anyway that is where my vote goes.
Lol
This article was all types of fallacious and biased. I respect your opinion but come on. Dawson was like one of the worst leading characters ever. And he was at his WORST with Joey. The world can’t be wrong. Every single poll I’ve ever seen of Dawson vs Pacey has Pacey winning by a landslide. PJ won. TV analysts, show writers and producers all noted that the PJ storyline invigorated the show. And I’ve yet to hear ANYTHING about the Andie later seasons angle. Nothing about this show even hinted at a PA reunion. I have those same box DVDs and have never heard that supposed commentary.
Facts: Dawson and Joey had NO chemistry. None. History, sure. But not even the best laid historical connectivity can evade lack of passion. Pacey had it. Hell, what no one is willing to admit is that Pacey and Joey have the same history! They’ve known eachother just as long as DJ, even though it was more frenemy based. I can respect your opinion but you kinda stretching the truth
Finally! Someone that agrees with me. Dawson & Joey SHOULD have ended up together. That simple. I was never a fan of Pacey and Joey. At all.
Dawson and Joey had no sexual chemistry, they had a childhood friendship like relationship through the entire series. It was all there on the television screen every week to be seen. I think it was that way because Dawson had a child’s mentality and imagination about love so everything for him had to fit into a perfect bubble that is not realistic. But that is not who Joey was as she was a realist and didn’t see love like Dawson did. His fantasized version of love made him a selfish character throughout the whole series as everything had to fit inside his imagined bubble and if it didn’t he would lash out. Here we go, Dawson doesn’t see her affection in season 1 as he infatuates about Jen until the end of season 1, but then season two the chemistry wasn’t there she goes to Jack and then Dawson makes her turn her father in. Then she offers herself to him in the premiere of season 3 but he rejects her and doesn’t want to be with her but he also doesn’t want anyone else to be with her either, pretty selfish Dawson. Then she develops feelings for Pacey and his true colors show. He does not care for her feelings at all, he makes her end it with Pacey and then decides oh now I want to be with her because she has found someone else. He is so selfish even when letting her go be with Pacey, he was not doing it for her feelings he was doing it for his because it hurt him to bad to know her heart was somewhere else. Then season four the whole did they or didn’t they have sex. Same thing he was fine up until the point she finally admitted her and Pacey slept together then the same selfish Dawson emerges which leads to the end of Pacey and Joey for the first time. Season 5 lets not talk about that, all the characters where so broken apart the love story kinda took a back seat until the end when Dawson and Joey look to rekindle their relationship in the finale. The premiere of season six selfish Dawson rears his ugly head again he finally consummates his relationship with Joey but at the same time has a girlfriend back in LA which he totally leaves out of his imaginary bubble,. That was the end of their romantic relationship as Joey being the realist could not get over the betrayal.
Now the other side starting in season three, the show was dying in the ratings and almost dead until they brought in the triangle and the ratings came back. Pacey and Joey had sexual chemistry it was very obvious from the first season – heck first episode when he goes to kiss her after the swamp man filming and she pulls away saying gross, they were the two underdogs in the story she poor and he neglected by his family and they related to each other in a more adulthood friendship in season three which built and built in a very real way to lead them to a romance that was built in real life not this fantasized bubble like Dawson would want. Pacey and Joey saw romance in the same way and season four showed that they worked even with Dawson looming over them the entire time until Pacey felt he was holding Joey back. He always felt he wasn’t good enough for her and she always felt they were equal because they were and her being the realist she always knew it. He was never selfish with Joey until the very end and he ended it because he was more upset with himself thinking he was useless then anything that she did. Season 5 again not much goes on with them but they having a relationship based in adulthood become friends again and care for each other without the bickering and selfishness. Now to season 6 the writers knowing that Pacey and Joey have chemistry steer them together towards the end of the season and the two admit that they still have feelings for each other but alas it was not to be at this point but since their relationship was built on adult things they ended it on good terms again, so Pacey grows up and Joey got to explore the world some more.
The finale was the right choice, Dawson and Joey had a relationship built in childhood that suffered from jealousy and selfishness where as Pacey and Joey had a relationship built in adulthood that was full of understanding and compromise.
I watched the finale again and its even more clear the right choice was made. When Joey and Pacey talk in the kitchen the adultness comes thru again where again Pacey is saying I want you Joey to be happy and Joey says but I want you to be happy as well, its yet another sign that they are compatible, At the end when Dawson and Joey talk its all fleshed out and makes perfect sense, they were childhood soulmates and their lives forever tied to together from their youth and they would always have that link but they grew up and changed and in the end wanted different things but that bond will always be there no matter what. Dawson got Hollywood and got to create that imaginary bubble of love with his show and he also got his true wish to work with Speilberg, Joey got to be with the person she always loved in a romantic sense in Pacey and got to explore the world outside of capeside which she feared would never happen, and Pacey was able to grow up and gain self worth and be with the person who made him feel alive and useful. The show evolved from the original end game of Dawson and Joey as the series went on and if Dawson and Joey ended up together well then sorry to say that would have felt forced as it contradicts everything the show showed over the seasons, Kevin Williamson when he came back for the finale wanted Dawson and Joey together because that was his original end game but being a good writer he saw that when creating the finale that was not the correct ending and fixed it to have a more natural ending based on the narrative the writers gave the characters.
I liked the finale and felt it ended correctly for everyone. I see people not counting the college years to make their own ending but you have to count the college years, they were not great but they really shaped these characters and flushed out what each really wanted in the end which made the final two minutes the most worthwhile ending for a series. All three together as friends (D and P), lovers (J and P), soulmates (D and J) and linked in their own way together followed by the montage to say goodnight not goodbye back to the first beach scene from season 1.
Dawson was in Hollywood directing his own show about his life where he could dictate how it would end as he saw life as a movie and was going to work with Speilberg his number 1 wish from the pilot, he was a dreamer and was bigger then Capeside and got away to Hollywood where he would find a great partner who matched his dreamer mentality. While he did not get Joey in a romantic sense he finally let go of her to live the life she wanted not what he wanted, and in doing so he grew up and accepted Joey (soulmate) and Pacey (childhood innocence friend) together as his family back home. Dawson became a man.
Joey made it out of Cape Side and past her poor upbringing, exploring the world that she never thought would happen, but in the process realized she never really left Capeside to begin with, she was still the small town girl who only wanted to be loved and found it in both Dawson (soulmate) and Pacey (romantic) in different ways. When her and Dawson finally accepted to let each other go in the finale knowing they were soulmates and best friends but wanting different things in life she was finally able to accept her true feelings. Now free to explore her true feelings, knowing Dawson would always be there for her, as she said to Jen she could stop running from the one romantic relationship that always felt right to her in Pacey, they had a bond as long as Dawson and her but the bond wasnt as innocent and when their feelings came out they both found it very real and as equals.
Pacey was always the neglected traumatized soul who used sarcasm and wit to mask it, he was put down his whole life and was always told your not good enough to go to college, get out of Capeside or get the girl. At the end after Jen’s death he tells Joey he will always love her but he is setting her free as he needs to be happy himself and just loving her was enough for him. He didn’t go to college or make it out of Capeside and was back to his old ways until Joey stepped back into his life,and by letting go of Joey who was the only good thing in his life thru the whole entire series he had grown up. Funny thing though Joey always wanted him but was too afraid to admit but, but she finally does so Pacey got the one girl who he trusted and loved in Joey as well an extended family back with Dawson the one childhood friend who knew the torment he had to endure.
They are all happy, all together and their lives forever intertwined. Greating ending in my opinion.
Pacey and Joey is perhaps the dumbest ending ever in a TV series.
They had a big build up season three against the background of Andie being destroyed. Changing Andie from a sweetheart to a villain, was a ploy to make Pacey a viable candidate for Joey. Here is the problem I have with the cheating scenario. Andie was in a mental institution. They admit people because they can not make sane rational choices. The Pacey we watched for two seasons would have figured it out. Plus Andie never had to tell Pacey and he never would have known, but unlike Joey, Andie was honest with Pacey.
Then season four arrived. Every episode was almost the same. Pacey and Joey arguing over Dawson, finally ending with the epic blow out at the prom. That was the intended ending of Pacey and Joey. Season four ended with Pacey admitting to Andie how much she helped him and how much she meant to him and Dawson and Joey snogging in Dawson’s room. In fact the end of season four was exactly the same as the ending of season one, down to the same music playing. The only way I could tell they didn’t just use the same film was; there was no ladder against the house season four. They didn’t know if they were going to be renewed after season four which is why they put Joey and Dawson back together.
The poster who stated season three was a mess is correct. All the writers, except one, including Kevin Williamson quit after season two. Season three was such a mess they stopped production to figure it out. Greg Berlanti was the one who came up with Pacey kisses Joey. As a show saver,; the kiss didn’t really save the show as the viewers per episode dropped 1.4 million. Many viewers walked away from the show in disgust. at the turn of events.
The ending was a joke that stretches the imagination. A girl comes to town (Joey), who is living with a guy and goes to a boy (Pacey) she has had nothing to do with for seven years except for a one night stand, where She tells Pacey shortly afterward; I don’t feel it and goes off with Eddie.
Pacey then drops everything and goes off to NYC with Joey, by the was as an assistant editor would not be able to afford even the TV on the wall; let alone the apartment she was living in.
Also look at it this way. At the end of season two Pacey was happy and doing well. At the end of season three Pacey was miserable and not doing well.
I can understand a viewer not wanting Dawson and Joey being together, but putting her with Pacey was an epic fail. Pacey belonged to Andie, and that is the way it was always intended to be; till Kevin Williamson changed his mind at the last minute and changed the ending to Pacey and Joey. Also that is the reason Meredith Monroe’s scenes with Joshua Jackson wound up on the cutting room floor. Kevin Williamson brought Andie back for Pacey. Officially the reason for changing his intended ending was that after watching several episodes after he had left, inspired him to change the ending. Unofficially the network and Paul Stupin put some pressure on him to change it to Pacey/Joey.
Ironically, Greg Berlanti, the writer who came up with Pacey kisses Joey, has stated the ending was wrong and Dawson and Joey should have been together. Also Kevin Williamson’s mother has stated he blew the ending.
Joshua Jackson summed it up perfectly at the 100th episode party. There is a picture of him wearing a picture of Meredith Monroe over his heart, with “I love Andie” scrawled across it.
Just because you liked Andie doesn’t mean you can change the fact that she did lie to Pacey about cheating on him and the only reason she told him was because he called her out on it, she was trying to lie about it and get away with it she did not come clean until he demanded it. On top of that she then tried to trick Pacey into getting back together when she claimed she was assaulted at a party knowing that Pacey being the guy he is would react the way he did. Mental illness or not she knew the repercussions of cheating on him.
Second point I think Joey, Dawson, Pacey should have ended up alone that is what I thought would be best but they went with what they did once Kevin did his finale. Season 6 episode 22 was going to be the series finale if Kevin decided to not come back to write the two part finale he did. The 6×22 ending was what Greg Berlanti’s wanted in which Joey in Paris which is what she always wanted as well as Dawson and Pacey reconciling which is also what Joey always wanted. But since Kevin came back that became in essence the season 6 finale. Here is what Greg said about the finale…
“Kevin had been away from the show and hadn’t been there for any of the Joey and Pacey stuff at all,” Berlanti said. “He had always envisioned the show as one thing — Joey and Dawson — and I think he always thought he had to write that. As we were breaking the story, Kevin felt like the rest of the show had happened without him, [and it] had gone in this [other] direction. There’s a scene in the end, where there’s a phone call and the three of them are all talking — Dawson is in his office in Hollywood, Joey and Pacey are together. [Williamson] decided in his own genius way to go that way.”
What was more important to Williamson, Berlanti added, was that Dawson be successful in his aspirations. “That’s what he chose to dramatize in the end. To him, they all got something they wanted, and in some way each didn’t get something they wanted, which was very poignant,”
Watch the ATX Dawson’s Creek writers reunion on youtube. Kevin clearly states again why he changed his original ending for two reasons he wanted Dawson’s to go against the norm of an expected ending as well as he wanted the three main characters to get something they wanted but each didn’t get something they wanted like Berlanti said. Kevin had cart blanche no one was dictating to him how to end the show as they wanted him to end his baby how he saw fit. On top of that you claim Paul Stupin made him switch it but he was team Dawson and Joey all the way again he says it in the ATX reunion on youtube.
To me Joey, Dawson, Pacey should have all remained best friends but with different lovers in the end, I was ok with the ending they gave it did make sense based on what they wrote but all in separate romances would have been better but in no way should Pacey have ended up with Andie after she cheated and then tried to trick him to get him back plus the fact she had been gone from his life for 8 years.
Just because you liked Andie doesn’t mean you can change the fact that she did lie to Pacey about cheating on him and the only reason she told him was because he called her out on it, she was trying to lie about it and get away with it she did not come clean until he demanded it. On top of that she then tried to trick Pacey into getting back together when she claimed she was assaulted at a party knowing that Pacey being the guy he is would react the way he did. Mental illness or not she knew the repercussions of cheating on him.
Second point I think Joey, Dawson, Pacey should have ended up alone that is what I thought would be best but they went with what they did once Kevin did his finale. Season 6 episode 22 was going to be the series finale if Kevin decided to not come back to write the two part finale he did. The 6×22 ending was what Greg Berlanti’s wanted in which Joey in Paris which is what she always wanted as well as Dawson and Pacey reconciling which is also what Joey always wanted. But since Kevin came back that became in essence the season 6 finale. Here is what Greg said about the finale…
“Kevin had been away from the show and hadn’t been there for any of the Joey and Pacey stuff at all,” Berlanti said. “He had always envisioned the show as one thing — Joey and Dawson — and I think he always thought he had to write that. As we were breaking the story, Kevin felt like the rest of the show had happened without him, [and it] had gone in this [other] direction. There’s a scene in the end, where there’s a phone call and the three of them are all talking — Dawson is in his office in Hollywood, Joey and Pacey are together. [Williamson] decided in his own genius way to go that way.”
What was more important to Williamson, Berlanti added, was that Dawson be successful in his aspirations. “That’s what he chose to dramatize in the end. To him, they all got something they wanted, and in some way each didn’t get something they wanted, which was very poignant,”
Watch the ATX Dawson’s Creek writers reunion. Kevin clearly states again why he changed his original ending for two reasons he wanted Dawson’s to go against the norm of an expected ending as well as he wanted the three main characters to get something they wanted but each didn’t get something they wanted like Berlanti said. Kevin had cart blanche no one was dictating to him how to end the show as they wanted him to end his baby how he saw fit. On top of that you claim Paul Stupin made him switch it but he was team Dawson and Joey all the way again he says it in the ATX reunion.
To me Joey, Dawson, Pacey should have all remained best friends but with different lovers in the end, I was ok with the ending they gave it did make sense based on what they wrote but all in separate romances would have been better but in no way should Pacey have ended up with Andie after she cheated and then tried to trick him to get him back plus the fact she had been gone from his life for 8 years.
Dawson and Joey caused me so much heartache, but I agree that they should’ve ended up together. Also think that Pacey is the best with Andie.
gosh coming back 5 years later to my comment and my opinion hasn’t changed
@TL22 Greg Berlanti wanted Joey to end up without Dawson or Pacey, he got his ending with episode 6 x 22 which was going to be the series finale if Kevin decided to not come back and write the two part finale 5 years in the future. In 6 x 22 Joey forces Dawson and Pacey to reconcile with each other without her there while she finally went off Paris alone which is what she always wanted and that was Greg Berlanti’s finale. That has been stated many times.
Everyone on here who doesn’t like the ending wants to discredit what Kevin did in the finale but he was the creator given cart blanche for the finale and he decided to end it with Dawson in Hollywood and Joey and Pacey together. He said he did it for two reasons, one he always liked to do the unexpected with Dawson’s and two he wanted the three Characters to be happy each getting something they wanted but also not getting something they wanted. He has admitted his original ending was going to be Dawson and Joey in the finale but he changed his mind while writing the second part and felt the ending he gave was better for the show as a whole. Here is a video of the Dawson’s writers with Kevin and they discuss everything Dawson’s – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qI-09ajD8Q and at the end they each say who they felt Joey should end up with and it was large majority Pacey. The writers felt the write ending was made.
As for all the Andie love on here I don’t get it at all. I did not like Andie and Pacey’s relationship as I felt she was always trying to change him and make him into what she wanted and not let him be who he was, he turned himself into a saint as she went crazy and it caused all kinds of pain for Pacey. I agree it was a cop out to have her cheat on him but he was a 1 woman guy when in a relationship so that was the end of them. Maybe if she didn’t cheat they might have had a chance but while the actress was great the character was kind of one note and that eventually led to them removing the character from the show.
Another thing I noticed on these comments people are so quick to dismiss the college years but those two seasons really fleshed out each character toward the finale.
For me I was Dawson and Joey all the way originally but re-watching the show later in life it was clear it was Pacey and Joey who make more sense. My reasoning for this is aside from the fact both have similar neglected childhoods unlike Dawson who had a dream childhood is that Pacey and Joey have an adult relationship and grow together throughout the series from season 1 for example the science project all the way thru the finale remaining friends and always supporting each other when together or not. Even in season 4 when they always had the Dawson issue over their head Pacey and Joey always talked thru the issues for the most part. Dawson and Joey only wanted each other when the other wasn’t available and when both were available they didn’t want each other so they never grew up in that sense and that is what Kevin says in the finale when they talk they are forever childhood soulmates, they could never get to a point where they were comfortable accepting a relationship it always reverted back to the same dilemma of overthinking things. The writers kind of ruined them ever being the end game with how they wrote the relationship.
I think the end all three still together and happy was a good ending.
They need to do a reunion film, where Dawson and Joey finally get together S5.23 “if we really mean to each other what we say we mean to each other.. Then there’s nothing to worry about. Everything will work itself out. I guarantee it..” They will find a way to be together again… They have followed and lived their dreams, now it’s time for them to finally be together!
At first I was really disappointed how the characters ended up together. But now I have learned to accept the fact since right now I am currently re-living dawson’s creek moments after work.
if I were to re-write it, I wanted Pacey to end up with Andie. I really wished Andie’s character never cheated on Pacey. Andie had her way in turning Pacey into the best man he could possibly be.
I’ve never seen that in Joey and Pacey.
And I believe that things are really better when you dont change the original plan, meaning Dawson and Joey ending up together.
I was also sad with the fact that Jen have to end up that way.
I think there is a better way of showing how soul mates mean and how they can push the growth of each characters.
Pacey and Andie were perfect for each other. They should have been end game. This show made such a fuss about Joey – it should have been called Joey’s creek. She was the most annoying character – always using her troubled childhood as an excuse for her behaviour. Michelle Williams and Meredith Monroe were extremely talented actors whose characters were constantly ignored for the annoying Joey Potter.
I’m watching the Promicide episode. I was in middle school when the show started. In my 30s now, my first thought is — why the heck is 22 year old old Gretchen going to prom with her high school boyfriend?? That was a weird pairing in retrospect.
I still can’t stand the Pacey/Joey pairing. Their break up made sense. Pacey says “he is Capeside” while Joey has always wanted to get out. He’s right! It doesn’t make sense for them to end up together, especially when he says all senior year he’s been unhappy in the relationship — this “great love” that P/Jo fans claim. NOPE!
But wow, looking back at was an awful love triangle. It’s probably why I still hate love triangle storylines today.. I feel like Pacey/Andie was much better couple and she was thrown under the bus so the writers could pursue P/Jo.
I’ll always be a fan of Dawson and Joey. Ironically, I didn’t watch many episodes after they went to college but I really liked the character of Audrey! Jen/Jack are BFF! Jen and Henry was a pairing I liked a lot too.
I am watching the series again after 20 years on HULU. I loved Andie and Pacey. Just loved them. Even now. I am just seeing this sight now.
Kevin Williamson stated in a recent E Online interview; if he was to write a movie script about Dawson;s Creek; Pacey and Joey would be divorced, and Dawson would find happiness or something like that. I find that very interesting.
I always thought I was on an island. I have and always will be a “ Pandie fan. “ I loved Pacey and Andie together they saved each other.
Pacey and Andie 💜 Always
You are correct! But Joey was awful to Dawson, she was always looking to break up with him. At the airport, she should have went with him to LA that summer, or when they slept together, the next day, she broke up with him bc she found out he was seeing someone…please, she knew he loved her and wanted only her. Dawson loved her but she stop loving him which makes me sad. Dawson knew it too- like her told her, he could never hate her, and it wasn’t for lack of trying…