“Castaways”
-The sixth
season of Dawson’s Creek is one of the worst seasons in television history.
When it’s not filling out episodes with filler characters, filler
relationships, and filler drama, which comes from the aforementioned filler
characters and filler relationships, it’s an extended commercial for a product,
a band, a radio show; or it’s an extended PSA about the dangers of becoming
rich as a stock broker. I write of the sixth season as an entity removed from
the writers’ room. The writers filled out episodes with all that nonsense. It’s
a deplorable, dismal season that’s later, not redeemed because not even the
risen Christ could redeem Dawson’s Creek season six, ignored by Williamson’s
finale. He tossed out all the stupid wasteful plot devices disguised as
characters (Audrey’s not among the stupid wasteful things of the last two
seasons). Episode 8 of season six brings the gang to a No Doubt concert. 3/4s
of an act is devoted to No Doubt’s performance. Joshua Jackson directed the Dr.
Drew/Adam Carolla episode. “Castaways” is a giant-sized commercial for K-Mart.
-The only way to
make a giant-sized commercial K-Mart palatable is by returning to the
Joey-Pacey romance. Season five ignored their romantic past. The writers began
writing towards Pacey and Joey again in season six. “Castaways” establishes
that Joey and Pacey remembered their relationship during Pacey’s relationship
with Audrey. There’s so much around the Pacey-Joey dynamic in “Castaways” that
I don’t like. On its own, removed from the trappings of horrible story choices
and the total K-Mart product placement, it’s a good specific story about two
characters with a past together and uncertain future together. First thing in
their way is Pacey’s season six arc as a stockbroker. His friends and his
family don’t like the work he does, because money’s the root of all evil. His
goatee represents his newfound financial success, and Joey wants him to shave
it at the first chance she gets to do something that he otherwise wouldn’t do
(because he feels bad for their Act 1 fight ). Second thing in their way is
Eddie, an improvement over Chad Michael Murray’s Charlie but still only a
tertiary character with no purpose besides standing between Joey and either
Dawson or Pacey.
-Joshua Jackson
and Katie Holmes sparkle together. The series finale concluded with a montage
of the series set to the song “Say Goodnight, Say Goodbye” and it’s notable the
lone clips from season six come from “Castaways” and another Pacey-Joey centric
episode when she leaves him at a high school dance because gosh darn Eddie
returned to Capeside. Pacey has his Dawson moment in the store when he wonders
why Joey didn’t brood or despair after their break-up. Joey’s answer does not
include the fact that Dawson always attaches their parting with a megaton of
psychological trauma. The conversation is disappointingly restrained. The
writers didn’t get into the reasons why Pacey broke it off in season 4. Joey
mentions “valid reasons” for why they’re not together after they kissed post-goatee
shave. Pacey, in a way, refers to what’s changed in his answer about whether or
not he feels happy, which is that he has everything he wanted in his life for
the first time. Later, of course, he repeats what Joey said to him about ‘a
thousand reasons’ why they don’t work together. Creative writing teachers tell
students to show and don’t tell. “Castaways” tells us Pacey and Joey don’t work
and cite a thousand reasons though the only reason is that Pacey’s not her soul
mate, which means he’s not Dawson—that is a major reason why the series dragged
because of the Dawson of it all. I’d like to ask Kevin Williamson would he have
kept Dawson around as a looming figure of doom, darkness, and insistently there
whenever Joey almost moved on. The writers sort of move on from it in season
six after they have sex, but the triangle returns in the finale. There’s a great
late season six episode when Joey arranges Pacey and Dawson to meet after Pacey
lost his money in bad stock stuff. Pacey and Dawson recognize that the only
thing Joey wanted was for them to be friends again. Dawson or Pacey? It was
never a question. The shaving scene is more tender and intimate than any Dawson/Joey scene in six seasons.
-Pacey suggested
Joey use the words “postmodern” and “subjectivity” in her discussion about
Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in
Las Vegas. Joey complimented him for the suggestion, and Pacey is right. If any future English major
reads these words, be advised professors dig specific literary jargon
buzzwords. Gender identity in Shaw’s Pygmalion?
Your professor will give you a B at minimum.
-Among the items
displayed in “Castaways” for the K-Mart commercial element of the episode:
low-priced VCRs, TVs, blank VHS tapes, 25% off best sellers, a collection of
DVDs that can save you the hassle of reading an assigned book, camp equipment,
purple pajamas, big slippers, a Boston Bruins sweat shirt, razors, shaving
cream, video cameras, nachos, large cups for fountain sodas, popcorn, condoms,
automobile equipment, and low, low prices.
-Police never
free Pacey and Joey from the K-Mart. Freezing rain outside prevented police
from helping; however, they found all they needed inside a K-Mart. Blatant
native advertising is bad ending to any episode of television, especially when
it’s K-Mart. K-Mart is not ‘perfection.’ Yes, Joey Potter calls it perfection.
She promised to call the home office and say, “Don’t change a thing.” Season
six.
“The Wish”
-Anya describes
Xander as an “utter loser” before Cordelia makes her wish. Anya, of course,
asks Xander to prom. The following season they begin dating and then happiness
abounds until a season six episode.
-The episode
leans on binaries. Early in the episode Xander asked Buffy how she dealt with
Angel’s death. Buffy said, “I have you guys.” Her friends in Sunnydale keep her
from becoming Cleveland-based Buffy. Giles and Oz are binary-free. Larry
already changed from bully into lovable recurring character. Giles never ceased
believing in a better world. Anya’s line, “What makes you think the next world
is better than this?” which is a mere paraphrase leads to Giles’ memorable
“Because it has to be.”
-Every major
character dies in the wish dimension. The best is Angel’s sudden dusting. He
turns around, says Buffy’s name, and Buffy walks through his falling dust. It’s
a hell of a sequence that does not lose impact or affect after many re-watches.
-“The Wish”
happens after “Lover’s Walk”, a gem of an episode, and takes place in a unique
bubble for the show. Xander and Willow kiss for the first and only time in the
series in “Lover’s Walk” and deal with the fallout in “The Wish.” They never
come close to dating again. It was the first “ship” of the series. Leave it to
Joss to give the fans what they wanted when they don’t want it, because Buffy
fans loved Oz. I adore Xander and Cordelia together, and I would’ve liked a
Xander cameo after Cordelia died. Wish Willow returned in #316, an episode I
will bet a small amount of pepper on will air later this week.
-I’ll leave the
last words to Joss Whedon: “So, a lot of people upset that nobody learned
anything in this episode. But you know what I thought was cool? Nobody learned
anything in this episode! For Cordy to cause such a hideous disaster and be
totally unaware of it and not learn anything just totally makes me laff. On the
other hand, the audience learned (to be pedantic) the importance of Buffy's
support group, so it's not like everything is the same. Meanwhilst, Willow in
leather. Everyone seemed to have the same reaction I did to THAT.”
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