Dawson's Creek: True Love (3.23)

Hahahahaha! The face that launched a thousand memes. As soon as Dawson and Joey hit the dock, the realization suddenly hit me that True Love was the source of that infamous image up top. Oh, Van Der Beek. Who knew your face could contort like that? Gah. True Love is actually a really wonderful finale, pulling together all the themes of the season and featuring an ending which pushes most of the cast into absorbing new directions. Dawson, Jen and Jack all grow, and Joey and Pacey finally run for the hills together. It's a happy ending, not that you would guess it from that picture. It never gets old, right?

Dawson's Creek: The Anti-Prom (3.22)

Dawson's Creek never disappoints, always cycling back to characters trying to salvage friendships despite all the awkward baggage that you can't forget, no matter how much you want to. It's really the last barrier that Dawson and Joey need to break through. You can understand why Joey would want to remain friends with Dawson, but any rational person would realize that it's an impossible task. It sucks, but you either choose to be with the person you love, or pursue a friendship with someone who is clearly infatuated with you. It's sort of lose-lose for Joey, but it's a decision that she needs to make to protect everybody's sanity. Including ours at home.

Dawson's Creek: Show Me Love (3.21)

Show Me Love instantly increases the melodrama, Dawson's petulance surfacing in an overtly "TV show" form with the regatta rivalry and the boat race; but the honesty of the show's major love triangle keeps things intact for now. All three parties have gone their separate ways since the events of last episode, and they all spend most of this week trying to get back into the groove, so to speak. Joey tries to stop her guys from feuding, Pacey goes crazy over Dawson's arrogance, and Dawson tries to act as if nothing has happened. Three guesses who comes out of this the worst.

Dawson's Creek: The Longest Day (3.20)

While it was always fun seeing Joey and Pacey gradually come together, it's quickly become clear over the last couple of weeks that this is Dawson's story, too. Dawson and Joey's saga was such a huge deal for this show, a romantic relationship built on years of friendship, an unrequited crush that grew into what should have been perfect romantic happiness. But it didn't really work out. They fought a lot, they could never rectify their friendly history with the intimacy romance naturally brings, and they seemed to spend more time talking about themselves than actually enjoying the ride. Even though they went their separate ways over and over again, certain feelings still linger and, unlike Joey, Dawson hasn't yet found another outlet for them. So, unsurprisingly, there's a lot of hurt there when everything is exposed.

Dawson's Creek: Stolen Kisses (3.19)

It's no surprise that the show is once again playing up the love triangle vibe. Just as Joey and Pacey finally get together, Dawson's feelings for Joey surface once again, and he begins to think there may be mileage in them yet. Thanks a lot, crazily invasive Julie Bowen! Stolen Kisses tosses the main cast together in the same location and features another previously-unheard-of character meddling in their personal lives, this time Bowen's ambiguous 'Aunt Gwen', a wacky bohemian artist type who doesn't know when to keep her mouth shut. Her inappropriate machinations grant Dawson motivation to pursue Joey again, even when it's perfectly clear that Joey's attention is elsewhere. It's all a little annoying in its predictability, but the bones of the arc continue to be wonderful.

Dawson's Creek: Neverland (3.18)

Heh. And instantly it's icky and gross. I guess they're saving the big Joey/Pacey get-together for the finale. But the show did a great job of handling such a problematic event, even when the two characters in question barely play off each other this week. Because, you know, it is a big deal. Both of them are aware of the ramifications of a potential coupling, and the writers ensure that they both debate it before totally jumping in. Joey confides with Jen about the kiss, while Pacey turns to his brother. There are a ton of hoops to navigate through before they can finally make it official, but the outcome of the episode (with both happy and un-awkward about it, despite not pursuing anything just yet) is ridiculously mature.

Dawson's Creek: Cinderella Story (3.17)

Oh, God. Kids. Specifically wise-cracking, over-articulate asshole kids that we've been conditioned to consider 'cute'. I'm not advocating child abuse, but Jonathan Lipnicki's bratty nine year-old is the most annoying thing to happen to this show since Eve knocked her knockers through Capeside at the start of the year. His story with Pacey tries to be charming and adorable, particularly Pacey's emotional growth coming about as a result of a poor kid in foster care, but it's such a generic, hatefully overused plot device that you can't help but violently dislike every minute of it. Which sucks, since the rest of Cinderella Story is excellent.

Dawson's Creek: To Green, with Love (3.16)

There's always been something overwhelmingly 'white' about Dawson's Creek. It's set in a quiet, traditional small town, religious values are of high importance, everything's safe and moral and conservative. Everybody seems to know each other, and the class divide, while present, isn't a major distinction that tears individuals apart. And everyone's pretty perfect, outwardly. To Green, with Love expertly acknowledges the white-bread charm of Capeside, while finally exposing the lingering social prejudices that sit quietly for the most part, but become ever-present whenever something actually rattles the town to its core. It's that horrible realization that there's still a lot of hate out there, or at least a belief that a certain type of person is "less than".

Dawson's Creek: Crime and Punishment (3.15)

In a lot of ways Crime and Punishment is something of a book-end to the To Be or Not to Be... two-parter in season two, with Pacey supporting one of his friends after they're victimized, but going about it in a polarizing, aggressive way that only leads to personal upset. In both cases, you can totally understand Pacey's outrage, and you entirely support him when he rallies the troops and makes the incident a personal issue, but you also cringe at how reckless he becomes. It's heroic and noble, but it's Pacey uncomfortably putting other people above his own well-being, both episodes ending with him punished and feeling lousy.

Dawson's Creek: Valentine's Day Massacre (3.14)

There's an awkward sense of the show revisiting the plot strands of early season three this week, particularly with the whole "Let's go and party -- woo-woo!" vibe. With that, the show travels down inevitable routes, particularly with the whole "eww, be responsible, can't down a shot, not on this network" thing. I'm probably using air-quotes way too much. Gah. It's all kinds of lame. Thankfully, most of this is incidental in the end, writer Tom Kapinos eventually navigating events around and pushing Joey and Pacey closer together again, which is always great.

Dawson's Creek: Northern Lights (3.13)

I have no idea how it happened, and I can't explain why I'm feeling this way. It's scary and uncomfortable and I'm not sure it's at all rational... but I'm actually liking Dawson Leery right now. Aaaaggghhh!! Damn. That feels strange. He's currently stuck in this life-block, where he's calling into question everything he thought he knew about himself, notably his filmmaking credentials. But, unusually for Dawson, he isn't all panicked and neurotic over it -- instead he's remarkably calm, like he's more excited than anything else at the potential of self-discovery.

Dawson's Creek: A Weekend in the Country (3.12)

Oh God, the corn! While Dawson's Creek is superficially all about over-angsty teenagers who obsess over every little detail of their lives and talk like the televisual equivalent of being beaten over the head with a thesaurus, it only rarely exploits the sentimentality which is so readily at hand. A Weekend in the Country unfortunately overdoses on the maudlin, whole rafts of embarrassing dialogue handed to the ensemble as they reminisce about their favorite smells (??) and remember the good times. There's then a horrible Big Chill pastiche with everybody dancing in the kitchen, which is about as fun as being flayed alive. Granted, this episode isn't a total crock but, boy, is it hard to love.

Dawson's Creek: Barefoot at Capefest (3.11)

Identity plays an important part this week, primarily when it comes to the idea of who you should be, versus who you actually are. It gets a little confused in the Dawson story, as he's inspired to abandon his movie aspirations by Nikki, but the principal still rings true. Nikki, who is turning out to be a surprisingly engaging love interest, talks about her own perception of film as a medium to express stories, while claiming that Dawson's love for filmmaking comes from his love of film itself. There's definitely a difference there, and it's no surprise that Nikki's work holds greater artistic merit. But it's a story that angers Joey, since she views Dawson's decision as him compromising his identity. Isn't it just natural evolution though? Dawson being inspired by his peers?

Dawson's Creek: First Encounters of the Close Kind (3.10)

When I was a teen, I remember finding it interesting that certain people I knew had these varying emotions about growing up and moving on from high school. There were people who were desperate to escape their parents and find their own way in life, while others were terrified at the thought of suddenly having responsibilities and being a real adult. For me, I totally resonated with Joey here. College for many automatically equals a form of escape and release, but we only realize the full social potential of college once we actually spend some time there. Joey articulates those feelings so well in that final scene, in which she talks about her perception of college the day before the tour, versus her appreciation of its potential once she had actually glimpsed Harvard.

Dawson's Creek: Four to Tango (3.9)

Dawson's Creek has always been about those four protagonists. Even when they drift apart and get involved with additional characters, the show always comes back around to Dawson, Joey, Pacey and Jen and their various entanglements. What's pretty astounding is that, three seasons in, the show is still getting mileage out of that foursome. Sure, the Dawson/Joey on-again/off-again saga is like the Ann Veal of romances, but the way Four to Tango was able to engineer new developments in all four characters made it easily the strongest episode this season, and the first time in what feels like forever that I really, really enjoyed an hour of this show.

Dawson's Creek: Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (3.8)

Season three is getting better, but I'm still thrown off during moments in which it's patently clear that there's an entirely different writing staff this year, none of whom seem to have ever watched the show. It would explain why Gale somehow recognizes Jen's mother at a grocery store, or why Joey is being written as a sympathetic bearer of remarkable wisdom, floating through the episode like she's Oprah. It also explains why Bessie is supposedly a single mother now, seeing as Bodie has entirely dropped off the face of the planet. Despite it being Thanksgiving, he's not present with his family, nor is he at all mentioned. Like I said, this new team of writers seem to be unaware of the historical dynamics of the show's ensemble.

Dawson's Creek: Escape from Witch Island (3.7)

And a bunch of kids head to a mysterious island, shooting an amateur horror movie about its cursed past... While this was another stunt episode, the Blair Witch knock-off was absurd enough to work, and I liked that the writers acknowledged the improbability of it all and offered two easy suspects who were more than likely behind all the hauntings. Additionally, the show references a famous movie while insisting on making the episode itself, more than anything, a character piece. While the other film pastiches this year were very much style over substance, here we have a story that makes sense from a character standpoint, and finally allows members of the ensemble to grow.

Dawson's Creek: Secrets and Lies (3.6)

I think we've all those moments where we wished we could go back to a specific place in time, a time in which your life was in a better state, or if your prospects were brighter, or when you were happy in a relationship. It's a relatable story, and considering how hard she's fallen, it's understandable that Andie would want to get back together with Pacey and act as if nothing bad had ever happened. But because of all the damage the writers have done to Andie over the last four episodes, everything she does in Secrets and Lies is pretty ugly... even if her instincts are believable.

Dawson's Creek: Indian Summer (3.5)

It's becoming clearer as time goes by that the show had no idea what to do with Eve. Thankfully appearing for the final time, Eve is once again depicted as a different person this week. A girl who started off as a porno movie caricature is now this knowing, self-aware stereotype aware of how ridiculous she is. In Indian Summer, Eve's levels of insanity inspire an elaborate film noir pastiche -- all awkward camera angles, moody lighting and melodramatic dialogue. But thankfully it again explores the absurdity of her character, Gina Fattore and Tom Kapinos' script almost making her as batshit as possible to complete this lengthy form of satire. At least that's how it comes off.

Dawson's Creek: Home Movies (3.4)

It's no surprise that Joey and Pacey are all about the flirting lately. I've always been a firm believer that real romantic love comes from unexpected stumbling, not something lengthy and over-analyzed and historic. It's why Joey and Dawson never work out as a couple, since they're always falling back on old resentments and the very fact that they almost know each other too well. I'm not sure if Joshua Jackson and Katie Holmes were a real-life item by this point, but the two of them continue to be ridiculously endearing together. Their relationship is classic romantic comedy, the goofy, reckless guy and the uncomfortable, straight-laced girl who can't stand him.