Dawson’s Creek was a teen drama that focused on the lives of average teenagers. For the most part, all the main characters did not have a lot of money and lived an ordinary life. However, the show used their everyday existence to its advantage by making almost everything the characters go through relatable.
Following Joey, Jen, and Jack out of high school and into college while simultaneously following Dawson at a film internship and Pacey working proved that everyone had their own path. By the end, Dawson’s Creek had asked a lot of its characters, and the finale brings back some previous challenges to get closure. Unfortunately, not every character got the ending they deserved.
Updated On April 5, 2021 By Amanda Bruce: It can be difficult for a series with such a large cast of main and recurring characters to make sure everyone has a satisfactory ending. When storylines are dropped to make room for other plot threads, fans can get frustrated. Sometimes, the writers have to race to fit in a conclusion because they know a finale is on the way, and this means some characters can get shortchanged. In Dawson’s Creek, this happens even to characters who don’t make it all the way to the end of the series. Alas, by and large, the main characters did get their happy endings.
Deserved More: Bessie
Joey’s big sister Bessie has a larger presence in the show’s early seasons. She runs a restaurant with Joey as her main waitress. She’s also a new mom. Despite Joey and Bessie butting heads a lot, Joey continually goes to her big sister for advice, and she helps make her dream of running her own bed and breakfast a reality.
It’s not surprising that Bessie’s story drops off as the series progresses since she doesn’t go to Boston with everyone. She is, however, suddenly referred to as a “single mom” in later seasons, eliminating her boyfriend Bodie with no explanation. The audience can only hope her business continues to be successful since it’s not given screentime after Joey stops working there.
Fitting: Eddie
Eddie is a man of mystery when the group heads to their college years, and most of his storylines involve Joey. He barges into her life with criticism of her work in a creative writing class, dates her, then vanishes.
Eddie leaves the story just as he enters it. Unlike some of the other characters who get a similar treatment, however, it works for him. He struggles to connect with people and he’s still trying to figure himself out. Having the character left, and Joey get an explanation for his running away, allows the stories of the main characters not to be bogged down by his needs, but also allows fans to develop their own ideas about what happens to him.
Deserved More: Doug
Doug is the one member of the Witter family who appears consistently in the periphery of Pacey’s stories over the years. Pacey might talk about his other parents and his siblings a lot, but he actually spends a lot of time with Doug, even staying in his house at one point.
Doug is the butt of a lot of Pacey’s jokes when the latter is in high school. He gets teased about his sexuality, his taste in music, and his relationships. The audience, however, never actually finds out that Doug is gay until the series finale. Doug gets a happy ending with a relationship with Jack McPhee, but the audience never actually gets to see the two become a couple. How did they even connect?
Fitting: Todd
When first introduced, Todd isn’t exactly a nice guy. His ego is bigger than his career as a director and he constantly gives Dawson a hard time. However, Todd does grow up a lot in his short time in the show, eventually becoming Dawson’s mentor.
The last the audience sees of Todd is him taking a break from his own projects to help Dawson bring his own story to life. He directs the “movie” that will become the presentation that sells Dawson’s television series. Todd also starts a relationship with Audrey. He becomes the kind of person willing to help someone out instead of looking for the biggest paycheck on the easiest project.
Deserved More: Gretchen
Gretchen doesn’t appear much in the series, though she is supposedly Pacey’s favorite sibling. She takes some time off from college to come home after a bad breakup and a lost pregnancy. She also has a brief relationship with Dawson that really helps open his eyes to the world around him.
Gretchen gets one of the most emotional early storylines in the series, but she leaves Capeside just as quickly as she enters. Any future Witter family storylines, like Pacey’s dad ending up in the hospital, don’t feature her. It’s a shame since she and Pacey are supposed to be so close that the audience never finds out what else she’s up to.
Fitting: Evelyn “Grams” Ryan
Evelyn Ryan takes in her troubled granddaughter Jen when Jen’s parents no longer want her in their house. Evelyn is a strict woman and is often harsh on Jen when she first moves in. As they spend more time together, Jen and Evelyn bond, and Evelyn begins to look out for Jen’s friends as well. All of the main Dawson’s Creek characters end up in her care at some point.
When Evelyn moves out to Boston, she allows not only Jen, but also Jack, Joey, and Pacey to spend a lot of time in her home. Dawson is also welcome there when he is in town. Although Jen does not get a happy ending, Evelyn ends the series knowing her great-granddaughter will be well taken care of.
Deserved More: Audrey
While Audrey was not a long-time character, she did deserve a better ending. Audrey is the only main character excluded from Dawson’s Creek’s final episode. Although there is a brief mention of where she is, she deserved to be a part of the series finale.
Since the series finale takes place a few years later, it brings up questions regarding how in touch Audrey has stayed with the rest of the group if she was not asked to come out to the hospital to visit Jen.
Fitting: Gail
Making a mistake to cheat on her husband, Gail knows that she must work to regain the trust of her family. Slowly, Gail and Mitch rebuild their relationship and get re-married. Gail later gives birth to her and Mitch’s second child, Lily. Gail is a working mother and struggles after the tragic death of her husband.
Although it takes time for Gail and Dawson to pick up the pieces after Mitch’s death, they find ways to carry on. Five years later, Gail gets re-married to another man. It’s a fitting ending that Gail finds happiness again.
Deserved More: Mitch
A casual drive ends in tragedy when Mitch gets into a car accident on his way home. Mitch had been very supportive of Dawson, up until just before his death. When Dawson suggests not attending film school, Mitch argues with Dawson, believing he’s making a mistake.
Their argument is the last discussion they share before Mitch passes away. He never gets the opportunity to see what would become of his son. Mitch also dies when his daughter is too young to remember him. He deserved a longer life than the series provided for him.
Fitting: Pacey
Pacey’s life has never been easy, and the series finale gives one last testament to that before officially giving him a happy ending with Joey. Throughout his entire life, Pacey has struggled to determine where he fits in. With grades too poor for college, Pacey is excited to get a job at the end of high school.
He works on boats until given a job at a restaurant where things started working for him. Pacey enjoys working in the kitchen, and his passion shows itself again in the series finale as Pacey puts everything he learned into running his own restaurant.
Deserved More: Andie
Andie is Pacey’s first real girlfriend and a stable academic influence. However, her life isn’t perfect, and she needs help that her friends and family can’t provide. Her time healing introduces Andie to another boy, breaking up her relationship with Pacey.
When Andie leaves Capeside, she tells everyone that she would be back to attend college. However, she is not seen again except for in a deleted scene in the series finale. Given that Andie is also Jack’s sister, it does not make sense that Jack never mentions her after she leaves.
Fitting: Joey
For a long time, Joey wants to get out of Capeside and explore the world. She does get the opportunity to do that and become more than the small-town girl she’s scared she will always be. As an adult, Joey discovers how way to have the life that she wants.
However, Joey is once again placed in the middle of the love triangle when she returns to Capeside for Gail’s wedding. In the last minutes of the series, it is revealed that Joey chose to be in a relationship with Pacey, and they both keep a close friendship with Dawson.
Deserved More: Jack
Jack’s journey starts with him being unable to acknowledge his sexuality by saying it aloud. He eventually becomes more comfortable in himself. Sadly, Jack’s endgame relationship is more of a shock than a valid conclusion. After teasing if Pacey’s older brother Doug is gay or straight, the time jump shows that Jack and Doug are romantically involved.
Unfortunately, there is no build-up to their relationship. However, Jack’s close friendship with Jen has remained throughout the years. They’re close enough that they agree he will adopt her child.
Fitting: Dawson
All of Dawson’s life, the one thing he wants to become is a movie director. In high school, he makes numerous films starring his best friends. He later receives internships that place him on film sets and working with professionals. But when it comes to where Dawson would be a few years later, Dawson’s Creek took another approach.
Dawson had not become the film director he envisioned, but he remains in the industry, being at the helm of a successful television show based on his life. In the end, Dawson stays close with his best friends, telling them he will finally meet his idol, Steven Spielberg.
Deserved More: Jen
Jen has been through a lot by the time the series finale comes around. During the conclusion, she has given birth to her daughter and kept her friendships intact. Unfortunately, the ending throws her one last lousy hand when it asks her friends to say goodbye to her as she lies in a hospital bed. Jen did not deserve such a tragic ending to her story.
After having problematic relationships throughout her life, and not having the father of her child in the picture, Jen deserved to raise her daughter and be with her friends. However, that was not in the cards for her. Instead, Jen records a video for her daughter to watch in the future, preparing for if she does not make it.
