With 128 episodes over six seasons, airing from 1998 until 2003, Dawson’s Creek is a popular and important teen drama. But while fans always wanted to see how Dawson Leery (James Van Der Beek) and his friends were doing, every episode wasn’t of the same quality. There were definitely some confusing plotlines and moments that didn’t seem logical.
While looking back on this juicy drama, it’s clear that some episodes weren’t winners and are pretty forgettable. Here are the 10 worst episodes of Dawson’s Creek, according to IMDb.
Rock Bottom (6.8)
“Rock Bottom” is the 13th episode of season six, which isn’t a big surprise since the final season of Dawson’s Creek is definitely not its most impressive. The two main storylines are a bore compared to the Pacey/Joey/Dawson love triangle of its former years.
In this episode, Joey Potter (Katie Holmes) and Eddie Doling (Oliver Hudson) are breaking up because he’s heading off to a fancy writer’s program in California. Instead of simply letting him go by himself, she and a random character named Bob drive Audrey (Busy Philipps) to L.A. to go to rehab. It’s a disaster…. and so is the episode. While Eddie is an okay love interest for Joey, he’s nothing compared to Pacey or Dawson. Sure, Seth Rogen plays Bob, but even that’s not enough here.
After Hours (6.8)
This season five episode is super messy, so the rating of 6.8 on IMDb seems fair. Pacey Witter (Joshua Jackson) may be dating Audrey but he’s got a thing for Alex Pearl (Sherilyn Fenn) who, oops, also happens to be his manager at work.
This isn’t compelling relationship drama and it just seems like a filler episode. Once Pacey leaves Capeside, his storylines are pretty bad. He seems to jump from love interest to love interest and from job to job. The loveable, charming, funny guy that he was in high school seems to be gone.
Everything Put Together Falls Apart (6.7)
Another season six episode, “After Hours,” focuses on Natasha Kelly (Bianca Kajlich), the actress who is Dawson’s love interest for a little while. She’s conceited and kind of irritating, and their relationship is way too dramatic (and not the good kind of drama that exists between Dawson and his soulmate, Joey). Dawson is jealous of Natasha and Max Winter, a famous actor who she has scenes with.
Something truly frustrating happens in this episode, which explains the low rating: Joey and Eddie sleep together and she doesn’t wake up in time for a big test. She receives an F. This behavior is so unlike Joey, who always has a good head on her shoulders. It doesn’t seem like something that this character would let happen.
Catch-22 (6.7)
“Catch-22” is episode 20 of season six, which means that the series was almost coming to a close. It earned its 6.7 rating as Pacey has another mistake of a plot: this time, he’s selling stock at his job, dating yet another character, and also punching his co-worker, Rich Rinaldi (Dana Ashbrook).
Joey and Eddie have kind of gotten back together, and after he wants them to backpack through Europe, he breaks up with her via a note because he knows that it’s not right. This isn’t exciting to watch since it was always clear that they were wrong for each other.
All The Right Moves (6.7)
Also getting a 6.7 rating from IMDb, this Dawson’s Creek episode is also from the sixth season. It seems like most of the final season’s episodes ended up among the worst-rated on the site.
This episode also involves the scheming and awful Rinaldi, who seems to be up to something. Pacey is trying to figure out what’s going on. Audrey also swears that she’s sober now but drinks too much while performing in the band she has with Emma Jones (Megan Grey), Jack McPhee (Kerr Smith) and Pacey’s roommate. It feels like another episode that is trying to buy time before a better storyline comes along.
The Importance Of Not Being Too Earnest (6.6)
This time, it’s the third episode of season six that is getting a 6.6 rating on IMDb. It’s actually a bit surprising that this episode got such a poor rating because some fans might say that it’s juicy, dramatic, and just what they love about watching Dawson’s Creek.
Everyone’s worst nightmare comes true: Joey sends an email to Dawson… but accidentally copies the whole college. Yup, everyone at the college in Boston gets to see what she thinks and feels about Dawson. Her mean teacher, Professor Hetson (Roger Horwath), literally talks about it in class. Yikes.
Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) (6.6)
Quite a few episodes got a 6.6 rating. This season five episode has Chad Michael Murray in it as Charlie Todd, a womanizing musician who cheats on Jen Lindley (Michelle Williams) in a previous storyline.
It doesn’t make any sense that sensible, smart Joey Potter would date him, which automatically makes this episode a bad one. She doesn’t think that going on his band’s tour is a great idea, and it’s a comedy of errors as he leaves the band to be with Joey, and she dumps him and wants him to follow his dreams. Maybe it’s surprising that this didn’t get a rating of less than 5 out of 10, actually.
Lovelines (6.6)
Episode 19 of season six is “Lovelines,” which is a truly awkward episode that really deserves its place on this list. The plot description is enough to make viewers squirm: the characters go on Dr. Drew Pinsky’s TV show to talk about their love lives.
Things get even more awkward when C.J. (Jensen Ackles) is asking for the reason that Jen ended their relationship and he does this on TV. No thank you.
Day Out Of Days (6.6)
The second to lowest rating episode of Dawson’s Creek is “Day Out Of Days,” which is the 11th episode of the sixth and final season.
In this episode, Joey spends time with Harley (Mika Boorem), Professor Hetson’s daughter. While it can be moving when a character acts like a mother figure to a kid, it’s strange in this case because the Professor is such an unlikeable character and his daughter is the same.
The Imposters (6.5)
Finally, we have “The Imposters,” which got a 6.5 rating on IMDb. In this season six episode, Joey finds out that Eddie is attending classes at the college that she goes to but he’s not actually a registered student. And the film that Dawson is working on could be totally ruined because the producer wants Natasha fired so another actress can step in, but Todd is freaking out as usual.
Todd Carr (Hal Ozsan) is a truly annoying character, a director who cares more about himself than anything else, so it’s not a big surprise that this is the lowest-rated episode of the teen drama.
