NDSU Spectrum: TV review

More love triangle drama on ‘Dawson’s Creek’

By JOHN HANSEN

Feb. 9, 2001

Picking up from last year’s stunning conclusion, the major plotline of “Dawson’s Creek’s” fourth season is the love triangle to end all love triangles, involving Dawson (James Van Der Beek), Joey (Katie Holmes) and Pacey (Joshua Jackson). No one knows how it will end, but I think it’s safe to say that the kids’ senior year at Capeside will end dramatically, and with a few tears.

So who will Joey ultimately choose? She certainly seems to be in love with Pacey now — the scenes of them trying to work up the courage to become more intimate have made recent episodes surprisingly intense, and much more real than any sexual escapades to be found on a certain Wednesday-night reality show.

Also, Dawson has now fallen for Pacey’s sister Gretchen; the scene at the end of “The Tao of Dawson,” when Dawson sends Gretchen a love letter he had written back in junior high, is extremely adorable.

But then there’s the soul mate issue. Dawson and Joey have been best friends their whole lives, and I just get the feeling that when the sun finally sets on the “Creek,” it will be Dawson and Joey who walk off hand in hand.

With the exception of Dawson’s budding friendship with a curmudgeonly old filmmaker (sort of an expanded version of “Finding Forrester”), the subplots and new characters have been rather dull this season. Drew is a diabolical manipulator who manages to saddle Jen (Michelle Williams) with community service, then purposely locks himself in a storeroom overnight with Joey so he can avoid a weekend with his dad. Drew’s characterization is a blatant rehash of Abby (Monica Keena), who gleefully messed with the main characters’ lives back in Season 2 before she drowned. And Gretchen has been rather dull beyond her relationship with Dawson.

This season’s best episode is also the most depressing. In “You Had Me at Goodbye,” Andie (Meredith Monroe) departs for Italy. Andie has always provided a combination of giddiness and sadness that spiced things up, and I hope she comes back soon.

What: “Dawson’s Creek” Season 4

When: 7 p.m. Wednesdays on The WB

Starring: James Van Der Beek, Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson, Michelle Williams, Kerr Smith, Meredith Monroe

Executive Producer: Paul Stupin, Greg Berlanti, Greg Prange

Grade (episodes 1-14): B+