Dawson's Creek: Hurricane (1.5)

Taking a page from Buffy, this is very much the show using extreme phenomena as a metaphor for teenage hardships. Obviously, being Dawson's Creek, said phenomena is an out-of-control hurricane, but the message is clear. As the wind and rain arrives in Capeside, Gale's affair is finally exposed, tearing apart her family, destroying Mitch and alienating Dawson in the process. It's an interesting approach, especially when parental characters on these kinds of shows usually flail around on the sidelines with nothing to do. Call it 'the 90210 effect'. But here Mitch and Gale have real personalities and emotions, and that creates a welcome distinction.

Michelle Williams is given some strong material here, talking to Dawson about her sex life back in New York and how much it affected her. I give the show credit for making her past sexuality seem horrible but not at all preachy, Jen talking about being taken advantage of and being 'sexualized' at far too young an age. While it left her outcast from her family and stuck in Capeside, it's given her real perspective and maturity that you can really root for. Grams, too, becomes less of a one-note cipher, granted additional layers with her interaction with both Bessie and Bodie and later Dawson. She remains remarkably confrontational with her conservative beliefs, but they're not as thin as they once appeared. She claims to not have a problem with Bessie and Bodie being an interracial couple, and more with their maturity. Later, she advises Dawson to forgive his mother, using faith as something positive rather than something to provoke hatred or distrust.

Pacey has struggled to become much more than one-note so far, stuck in this annoying subplot with Tamara, but thankfully gets a little development here. His relationship with brother Doug is complicated, especially with Pacey's horrible insistence that he's secretly gay, but it helps open the character up a little. He needs to get further involved with Dawson, Joey and Jen, though. Right now he's too removed from anything to be particularly memorable.

The show also needs to avoid familiar soap trappings. There have only been a couple over the last four episodes (the hidden-camera, most noteworthy), but Gale's affair exposes a lot of contrivance. The PDA at the TV station last episode were bad enough, but the kissy-noises to Bob while on the phone in the middle of her home, where half of Capeside is currently waiting out the storm, was patently ridiculous. Of course this is a '90s soap on the WB, but some of the writing needed for characters to jump from point A to point B in the story needs a little work. Generally, however, this is another engaging episode. B-

Credits
Guest stars Dylan Neal (Doug Witter); Obi Ndefo (Bodie Wells); Leann Hunley (Tamara Jacobs)
Writers Kevin Williamson, Dana Baratta Director Lou Antonio