That’s a wrap on season two.
Twenty-two episodes.
Where to begin?
Well, at the beginning, of course. We have a lot of ground to cover!
A lot of Joey and Dawson figuring out the next steps of their relationship…They give it a try, break up and try to decide how they can still be friends.
Joey really blossoms into her own and stops hiding in Dawson’s and her family’s shadows. She stands up for herself more and her family and the things that really matter.
Dawson’s parents separate, but not after trying an open marriage situation - which is really bizarre and unheard of for TV in the 90s.
Andi’s family rolls into town, and shows up with her brother, Jack, at Capeside High. She and Pacey get really serious really fast. He becomes a relationship person for her. There’s a lot of background and layers with her family that we see unravel during the season — Their mom isn’t in a good space, Andi has had a lot of psychological issues and she gets back on her meds - Xanax, and it’s just one of the storylines that doesn’t age well because of the strides we’ve made in the mental health space. Andi is reverting back to old ways - depression and anxiety rear their heads again. Her dead brother starts showing up and she’s having full on conversations with him. Pacey enlists Jack to help her, and they bring their dad into it.
Andi and Joey run for the student body presidency and of course Abby tries to sabotage and pulls out Andi’s dirty laundry. In the end, they decide to pull out and let the nerd kids take over.
Jen is tired of taking the backseat to Joey and not having attention, so she starts going back to her party girl ways. She and Joey are not seeing eye to eye, and starts hanging out with Abby…
The ‘Whodunnit’ episode - Dawson presents on the art of suspense/mystery in film, and it shows up in their day to day lives. Those ‘themed’ episodes are always fun!
Joey visits her dad in prison since it’s her year to visit (she and her sister rotate). Dawson goes with her the first time, because she just can’t handle it. Pacey goes with her the next time and talks the guard into letting her in after they’ve missed visiting hours.
Joey and Jack become an item until there’s a rumor that goes around Capeside that he’s gay after a poem he writs alludes to him being attracted to men. And it turns out to be true…It results in Joey and him being friends.
Pacey has started working on being a better man since he’s been with Andi. He’s tried to make more effort and put in more work to show his dad and others in town that he’s not just the lesser Witter brother and screw up everyone thinks he is. He stands up to a teacher who shames Jack and just generally harasses students in class for no reason. He takes it to the school board and essentially gets him to leave!
Dawson’s film project from the first season wins the contest and prize money that allows him to start his next film. It’s incredibly autobiographical to the last year of his life, including very personal moments of he and Joey’s relationship. Joey struggles to watch some of those scenes as she relives the hard moments all over again.
There’s another quintessential episodes from the 90s that brings the group of friends together to study for the biggest test of their high school careers thus far. It’s another one of those setups that gives perfect opportunity for a lot of heart to hearts with Joey and Dawson, Pacey and Andi, Jen, Joey and Dawson, etc. It’s a fun one.
Joey’s dad gets out of prison - Joey and her sister have a big catering event with the restaurant. Bessie invites their dad to help them, as he gets back into society. It’s a big deal and she doesn’t know that he should be there with so many important people. But, that’s the least of their worries on this night…
Jen and Abby try to crash the wedding, but Andi says they need to go as it’s invite only. So Abby grabs a bottle of champagne and they go to the pier to hang out and get drunk. Abby’s laughing and falls, hitting her head on the dock. Jen is laughing at her, then Abby tries to get up and loses her balance and falls in the ocean. Jen jumps in after her, but Abby drowns and dies. The scene jumps to Abby being zipped up in a body bag.
Abby’s death brings a complicated set of emotions - Many people didn’t care for her, but it brings up their own situations, like Joey being reminded of her mother’s death. Andi starts having those conversations with her dead brother to deal with the trauma, and others just come to terms with the brevity of life.
Joey’s father continues to help with the renovations of The Ice House. He seems to be making positive changes and is staying clean, but Dawson catches him buying drugs again. He ends up setting the restaurant on fire, and ultimately lands him in jail once again.
There’s a lot up in the air for the students and residents of Capeside.
I’m onto season 3 next! I need more Joey and Pacey moments. AH
That’s all for now,
Shelby
