Three teenage boys embark on a fishing trip with two fathers. Mr. Witter and Mr. Leery are the resident fathers of the boat. Dawson and Pacey are their sons. Jack is the outcast, the loner, and only received an invite because Andie worried about him not having any friends. The episode gets its name from the fact that the show never dealt with father-son relationships in the way the episode does. Pacey's family has been absent because their absent from his life. The only things we know about the Witters is through Pacey, and none of his stories are flattering. Dawson, the best friend, doubts the Witter family treats Pacey as badly as he reports they do. Dawson's Creek is comfortable with storylines between teenagers who are in love, not in showing how a character's been shaped by sixteen years of bad relations with his father.
Dawson Leery loves to draw parallels between his life and other lives. His parallels never hold firm. Each episode of the series seems to shatter a piece of Dawson's world-view. The series begin through his eyes: he had the perfect life with the perfect parents. The perfect life shattered when his mom cheated on his dad. Dawson's idea of the romance of the world bent when he heard about Jen's New York past, and his idea of the world nearly broke when Joey left him for, in his head, Jack McPhee. Pacey repeats his dread of the fishing trip, citing past instances of bad times between him and his father. Dawson smiles and assures his friend it can't be all that bad, but Dawson views his relationship with Mitch as worse than Pacey's with his own father. No one is allowed to experience something worse than Dawson nor something better.
The fishing trip gets worse and worse with each nautical mile. A fishing line breaks and Mr. Witter blames his son. The fish keep swimming right on by the boat. Once, Mr. Witter decides to have Jack help him catch fish and tasks Pacey with the menial tasks of running a boat. Pacey can't catch a break. The boat docks. The men go to a bar and grill to eat food and play darts and billiards. Dawson criticizes his father. Before the docking, Dawson had a conversation in which he told Mitch to get a job and be someone Gail would be proud of. Mitch apologized for being a disappointment. Pacey hears the criticism and flat out tells Dawson to appreciate Mitch for being a good man and a good father. Dawson tries to argue that his relationship with Mitch is worse than Pacey's with his dad; however, Pacey dismisses it, so Dawson then bitches about not being consulted about Jack's presence on the boat. Pacey replies, "Screw you, man." Pacey's dejected and alone on the trip; as always, Dawson, his best friend, is nowhere to be found.
The tensions between father and son explode on a beach outside of the bar. Tensions reached a fever point inside of the bar when Mr. Witter bullied his son into throwing a game of darts. Pacey throws the game in hopes his father will like him for one second. Pacey tries to carry him to the boat, but he's drunk and unstable and too much of a weight for Pacey to carry. The weight is both literal and metaphorical. Father and son drop on a beach. Pacey imagines a conversation in which his dad asks about his life and Pacey responds with all of the positivity of his life. He lashes out and wonders when his dad gave up on him because he's just sixteen years old: how could he give up on him so soon? No magic reconciliation happens afterwards. Mr. Witter didn't hear his son's pleas to be loved as he lay on the beach. The next day, Pacey catches a huge fish, but his father reminds him to appreciate the moment, because he won't experience many more. Pacey's the ultimate underdog in Dawson's Creek: he's in the shadow of his brother and in the shadow of Dawson. Andie's made him a better man, someone who likes himself when he wakes up, but he'll need to learn to love himself without anyone else around.
Dawson witnesses what Mr. Witter says to his son after the presentation of the fish and decides to assure his father that he's proud of him. Dawson was mad because Mitch left. Stupid teenagers hold onto grudges. It still hurts when Mitch drops Dawson off and drives off. Jack McPhee helped Dawson gain perspective, too. One night, sick to the stomach, Jack opened up to Dawson about his father; he left his family to live in Providence, wanting to disappear and not deal with the fallout of Tim's death. For anyone wondering how compelling characters are without romance, "Uncharted Waters" shows who these characters are without women. Dawson's the same; Pacey and Jack, though, have depth.
I don't have many thoughts on the story involving the women of Dawson's Creek. Gail gathered the teenage girls together for a report on what actual teenage girls think about stuff. I dislike the story for employing one of the laziest devices in TV. The TV platform allows the girls to communicate openly in ways they wouldn't normally. Joey's able to admit why she's resentful towards Jen; Jen's able to understand Joey's not a bitch. Abby, in one of the stranger monologues I remember hearing, admits she creates drama because her life's so boring and undramatic. An episode about fathers and sons is book-ended by a little moment between mother and surrogate daughter. Joey feared Jen took her place in the Leery's life. Gail assures Joey of her place by admitting she always felt like Joey was a surrogate daughter.
Other Thoughts:
-Dawson's reaction to a sick Jack is typical: he cracks a smirk at the dude's misery.
-Abby's fantastic throughout the girls-only party. The insults she throws about made me laugh out loud.
-Dana Baratta and Mike White co-wrote the episode. Scott Paulin directed.
UP NEXT: "His Leading Lady"--Rachel Leigh Cooke finally appears, which is the only incentive one needs to watch the episode. Watch it on Netflix or Streampix or YouTube.
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