Dawson's Creek: Boyfriend (1.8)

This is a weirdly disjointed episode, something that struggles to escape the trappings of contrivance while resurrecting old plot strands that were already laid to rest just last episode. It's a theme most clear in the Joey and Dawson saga, Joey's confession of her feelings for him entirely forgotten about and their lingering sexual tension once again pushed center stage. I don't know if this was intended to air before Detention, but it's an annoying turnaround in events, which stalls a lot of the forward momentum that had been building so successfully this season.

Having a literal representation of Jen's past arrive from New York is an interesting idea, but Boyfriend quickly succumbs to obvious genre tropes. Jen has to resist her lingering attraction to Billy, all the while with Dawson steaming in the background determined to knock Billy out of the picture. Because this episode is borderline psychotic, Jen asks Dawson to allow Billy to stay over in his home, something Dawson ends up agreeing to do. It's such an absurd plot development that completely throws you off track, lending the episode an annoying artificiality that feels at odds with the tone of the series so far.

What saves the episode is that final scene, in which Jen acknowledges that she threw herself into a new relationship way too fast, and that she needs time to be by herself. It of course leaves Dawson shrieking and petulant, but that's totally in character for him at this point. Jen, on the other hand, is the responsible party here. Sure, she makes mistakes, but also is aware of her own behavior and what she needs to do in her life.

Elsewhere, I liked the layering given to Joey and Pacey, Pacey in particular written as noble and protecting as he stops Joey from going home with some beach-party tool, and later takes care of baby Benjamin when Joey falls asleep in a drunken stupor. There's an interesting antagonism to their friendship, but underneath it all lies real affection. It's nice to see.

Boyfriend is a troubled episode with a horrible A-plot, but the character work towards the back-end of the hour heads into traditional Dawson's Creek territory with a bunch of winning story developments. C+

Credits
Guest stars Scott Foley (Cliff Elliot); Eion Bailey (Billy Konrad)
Teleplay Jon Harmon Feldman, Dana Baratta Story Charles Rosin, Karen Rosin Director Michael Fields