Dawson's Creek: Season 4

Pacey and Joey return from their summer vacation on "True Love". Now they have to deal with Dawson's feelings, who has been deeply hurt for the past months. At first, he doesn't want to talk with neither one of them, but Jen convinces him to talk to Joey. Meanwhile, Pacey's older sister, Gretchen, arrives in Capeside and moves in with Doug, making Pacey homeless. But he won't live with his parents anymore, and so he asks Joey to let him crash at her house for a while. Dawson tells Jack about Gre

Joey is looking for a new job and gets one at the Yacht Club, a high-end restaurant, by lying to the proprietress, a wealthy and cynical Mrs. Valentine (Carolyn Hennesy), that she knows a very influential family. She then falls afoul of the spoiled and trouble-making teenage son of that family, who instantly sees through her lies... and is additionally revealed to be lying about his identity himself; he is actually Drue Valentine (Mark Matkevich), living here with his divorced mother. Mitch, now

The Yacht Club becomes the focal point as characters gather for various reasons: Andie interviews with Mrs. Valentine, Joey collaborates with Dawson and Drue last-minute, and boats seek shelter from an approaching storm. Joey panics when Pacey and Jen are caught in the storm while sailing to celebrate Pacey's good grade. Andie takes charge of the situation after being snubbed by Mrs. Valentine due to her mental health history. Dawson and Joey borrow a motorboat to rescue Pacey and Jen, aided by

Everybody starts to think about their future, and their higher education options. Joey is concerned about Pacey not having grades good enough to get into college and gets drunk to forget her worries. Drue makes everybody think it is Jen's birthday so he can have a party to get to know more people; his gift to her, rejected, is two tablets of ecstasy. Andie takes over Jack's applications and drives him crazy with her obsessive behavior. Gretchen applies for a job as bartender at the Leery's resta

Gail surprises the family with news of her pregnancy. Joey, feeling unsure about her physical relationship with Pacey, seeks advice from Jen and decides to visit a doctor for contraceptives. Jack faces discrimination when a parent attempts to proposition him, leading to some children quitting his soccer team due to homophobic parents. Dawson struggles to accept the idea of having a younger sibling, especially when Gail considers abortion. Seeking guidance, Dawson turns to Gretchen, who left coll

Andie has received an early admission to Harvard University, but accomplishing what should be the biggest thing in her life doesn't exactly make her happy. She decides to explore different paths by going to a rave, and ends up consuming one of the MDMA tablets Drue gave to Jen. The tablets react with her anti-depressants, a disastrous combination which almost leads her to death. Mitch and Gail decide to keep their baby, news that makes Dawson very happy.

While Andie is recovering from her near-fatal overdose at the party, Jack unfairly blames Jen for the whole incident and refuses to talk to her. Jen blames Drue for her life falling apart when he turns Grams and the whole town against her by telling everyone that they intentionally gave Andie the drugs. Drue goes even further by deliberately getting both himself and Jen arrested over the incident in a twisted ploy of his to further isolate Jen from her friends and bring her closer to him. After

A sailboat owned by Principal Peskin is found one morning in the Capeside High school swimming pool with 'Class of 2001' painted on the sail as part of a school prank with his pet dog on board. Dawson, Pacey, and Jack are suspected and interrogated by Mr. Peskin and Mitch due to their connections over the incident (Dawson had access to the school, Pacey had access to the boat yard where Mr. Peskin's boat was stolen the previous day, and Jack had access to Mr. Peskin's pet dog.) However, all thre

Dawson seeks advice from Mr. Brooks, a former movie director, for his USC film school application essay. Meanwhile, Joey takes Pacey to a dinner at Worthington College, missing the Leery Christmas party. Gretchen convinces Gail and Mitch to host the party. Jack learns Jen hasn't applied to any colleges and, with Grams, submits applications for her. Joey is concerned about Pacey fitting in at the dinner but realizes he's helping her network. At the party, Mr. Brooks shares his past and encourages

Joey can't find a moment alone to study or deal with her feelings concerning Dawson kissing Gretchen. Dawson's collaboration with Brooks -- a documentary of the director's life -- begins, rejuvenating his filmmaking spirit. Meanwhile, Jen takes Jack to a "Gay-Straight Teen Coalition" meeting, but she seems to fit in with the crowd more than Jack does: Jack is uncomfortable being reduced merely to a stereotype. This results in conflict with the coalition's leader, Tobey (David Monahan), who seems

Dawson confesses his crush on Gretchen to Pacey, who disapproves. When Pacey and Gretchen go on a road trip to retrieve her car from her ex-boyfriend, Nick (Christian Kane), Pacey tries to reunite them but soon realizes Nick's true colors. Meanwhile, Joey gets locked in the Yacht Club's storage basement with Drue, who has done this to avoid seeing his father for child support. Dawson worries about Grams getting hurt when she learns Mr. Brooks is terminally ill, but Grams reveals she already know

Joey helps organize a surprise 18th birthday party for Pacey, unaware of his "birthday curse." The party turns sour quickly when Pacey's immature and dysfunctional family; his alcoholic and abusive father, his weak and subservient mother, his self-loathing older sister Kerry, and even Doug, humiliates Pacey with stories about his childhood. It is there that Pacey has a mental breakdown and he admits to receiving no college acceptances. Dawson becomes upset when he feels Gretchen is hiding their

As the senior trip approaches, Joey and Pacey agree to double-date with Drue and his girlfriend Anna (guest star Sabine Singh) so Joey can get time off work. They help Drue navigate his feelings for Anna, despite his self-centeredness. Meanwhile, Dawson grapples with the age gap between him and Gretchen's college friends, particularly when they attend a club that stamps his hand 'under 21'. Jack receives attention from Toby, who has romantic intentions, but Jack declines. Pacey and Joey confront

As Mr. Brooks's condition worsens, Dawson remains in Capeside, skipping the senior ski trip. Joey and Pacey argue about sex after Drue and Anna challenge them and Joey realises Pacey carries a condom in his wallet. Jen sprains her ankle and breaks into the minibar. She and Jack get drunk and make out, but Jen stops it because she knows Jack is simply lonely. Dawson grapples with the decision of whether to honor Mr. Brooks's wishes to let him go. Meanwhile, Pacey opens up to Anna but rejects her

The episode deals with four different vignettes. * "About Last Night": Pacey and Joey discuss their feelings the morning after they had sex. Joey is defensive and Pacey pushes her for a verdict. They argue as per usual. Joey eventually convinces Pacey that, though she hasn't described the sex as great (it was 'nice' she says), she is worried about him comparing her to other women. She also says there was one lovely moment she will always remember and it is good to have her first time with a man

Secrets spiral out of control as Pacey begs Gretchen to find somewhere to overnight, so that he and Joey can have the place to themselves. As it turns out, the Leerys will be out of town, and Gretchen makes herself comfortable with Dawson; but, as they chat she learns that Joey lied to him about her virginity. She confronts Joey and advises her to come clean. Meanwhile, Jen enlists Jack to help her stalk Dr. Frost, whom she knows nothing about. Absent: Meredith Monroe

Joey and Dawson receive college news: Dawson is rejected by NYU, while Joey is accepted to Worthington. Despite Bessie's celebration, Joey receives a second letter offering financial aid provided her family contribute $15,000. Meanwhile, Jen tries to persuade Jack that college in New York no longer appeals to her. He says as long as they go to college together, where doesn't matter. Jen begins exploring the root of her estrangement from her father with Dr. Frost's help. Dawson offers Joey financ

As Senior Ditch Day arrives, Joey is excited to find herself on an excursion to her hometown of New York City with Jen. Jen is here to confront her father Theodore (guest star Don McManus). He takes the girls to lunch at a local restaurant but then leaves them. Later, Jen confronts Theodore at his office and it is here that she reveals the source of her trauma: when she was 12 she saw him in bed with a neighbour - a girl about age 17. Having confronted him with this event, Jen meets up with Joey

As Gail's due date approaches, the women in her life throw her a baby shower where they suggest names for the baby. Pacey is away camping with his brother. Meantime Joey is worried because her period is late and wants to speak to him. With support from Gretchen and Bessie, she takes a pregnancy test, which turns out negative. Meanwhile, Dawson grapples with the possibility of his relationship with Gretchen ending due to their upcoming long-distance moves. Jack supports Tobey after he is gay-bash

Senior Prom for Capeside High arrives which is held this year onboard a yacht, which causes every relationship to implode. Pacey has returned, but Joey is concerned about his lack of interest in anything remotely sexual (she did not tell him about the pregnancy scare). Jen lies to Tobey that Jack wants to ask him to prom but is too shy, leading Tobey to call Jack with a spontaneous Yes. Drue arrives to make the same speech to Jen. Pacey sets out to make Joey's prom special, but does poorly with

The school year draws to a close, and Joey and Dawson deal with their respective break-ups. Jen learns that Grams is selling her house to put Jen through college and plans to move to a retirement community. Dawson learns that Gretchen plans to return to college after a summer road trip. He offers to go with her and she agrees. Mr. Kubelik, the alumni rep from Worthington, asks Joey to bring Pacey with her to a party as he and the dean of admissions have an offer for Pacey. However, Kubelik merel

As graduation approaches, Joey has a tough time preparing her salutatorian speech, but is inspired by a surprise gift from her late mother. Pacey wonders if he's going to graduate at all, and studies hard for his last final. When his pencil breaks, the teacher makes a snide comment about his lack of preparedness, and Pacey talks back saying the teacher and school always focus on the honors students instead of the struggling under-achiever types like him. He then walks out. The teacher later goes

Accepted early to USC, Dawson finds his last night in Capeside has arrived much sooner than anticipated. While Dawson looks forward to spending the evening with Joey, Jack and Jen, Mitch wants to spend the evening with his son. He plans to buy Dawson a Pentium III laptop, despite Dawson's preference for Macs. Meanwhile, Dawson is not the only goodbye Jen has to deal with, as she and Grams bid farewell to the house they've lived in for the past three years. Pacey, somewhere in the Caribbean, borr