‘Dawson’s Creek’: The 15 best episodes

“Pilot” (season 1, episode 1)

Pilots are always tough: They have to introduce a bunch of characters and make an audience fall in love with them, they have to set up enough story to make you want to keep tuning in, and they have to have enough of their own beginning, middle, and end to land as a piece of the story rather than just a flood of information.

The debut of Dawson’s Creek managed to do all of that. Three minutes in and it was clear that Joey was going to be everyone’s new TV BFF (and Katie Holmes Hollywood’s latest It Girl), and rooting for her to get together with Dawson (James Van Der Beek) was going to be our new favorite pastime.

“Beauty Contest” (season 1, episode 12)

Capeside’s annual Miss Windjammer beauty pageant drew a pair of unlikely contestants: tomboy Joey and actual boy Pacey (Joshua Jackson). While the latter’s entry was something of a joke (though some of the issues his presence brought up were exactly the opposite), it was Joey singing “On My Own” from Les Misérables — a song about a woman pining for an unrequited love — that forced Dawson to see her as if for the first time (and us to cry our faces off).

“Sex, She Wrote” (season 2, episode 11)

Episode 10 of season 2 concludes with the possibility of three couples having sex for the first time — Joey and Jack (Kerr Smith), Dawson and Jen (Michelle Williams), and Pacey and Andie (Meredith Monroe) — and this one kicks off with pot-stirrer Abby Morgan (Monica Keena) finding a handwritten note about the evening.

After Abby sends all six characters into a whodunit tailspin, it’s revealed that Pacey wrote the note to Andie about taking a step back because sex changes everything. Ultimately, though, this episode makes this list for a pair of iconic scenes in its final moments: when Pacey tells Andie he’s falling in love with her (and that he got an A!) and when Joey and Dawson — both relieved the other hasn’t yet lost their virginity — leave the school in the rain as Joey says, “I like the way you see me.”

“To Be or Not to Be…”/”…That Is the Question” (season 2, episodes 14 and 15)

When Jack reads a deeply personal poem in class, the rumor mill kicks into overdrive, translating it to mean that he’s gay. Though he denies it at first, Jack opens up about his sexuality after his nasty, homophobic father (David Dukes) says an awful thing after more awful things.

The pair of episodes also features the world’s worst English teacher (Edmund Kearney), who totally deserves it when Pacey spits in his face, and a killer monologue from Grams (Mary Beth Peil) about “love and tolerance.”

“A Weekend in the Country” (season 3, episode 12)

With Joey and her older sister, Bessie (Nina Repeta), investing every last dime into launching a bed-and-breakfast, the entire Capeside crew and company book rooms to bankroll a smooth opening weekend — especially after the well-intentioned Pacey invites a reputable travel critic (Tony Schnur).

“A Weekend in the Country” offers the rare pleasure of having everyone gathered in one place, opening the door to new revelations: Dawson’s parents (John Wesley Shipp and Mary-Margaret Humes) fostering a healthy post-divorce relationship; Grams sharing the true sign of love is contently watching someone sleep by the fire; and Pacey coming to terms with his feelings for Joey. No wonder Humes calls this episode one of her favorites. —James Mercadante

“Stolen Kisses” (season 3, episode 16)

The forced proximity trope does wonders for will-they-won’t-they ships. Every Dawson’s Creek fan remembers when most of the gang spent spring break at Aunt Gwen’s (Julie Bowen) mountainside home, a.k.a. the episode with the iconic PJo kiss.

Thanks to Gwen — who shares her life story about settling down too young and later finding “the One” — and Pacey’s forthrightness, Joey is finally pushed to meditate on what she wants. And what she wants isn’t Dawson; it’s the boy who makes her “feel alive.” —J.M.

“The Longest Day” (season 3, episode 20)

The Rashomon-style episode shows the reactions to Pacey and Joey’s blossoming romance from the perspective of each of the four main characters. It was a risk, format-wise, but it worked to show just how much the new coupling would change things forever.

In the last act, we pick up after Dawson sees Joey and Pacey, only for them to find out he already knew about them. Dawson’s devastation and anger ultimately make fans wait just a little bit longer for Joey and Pacey to get together officially.

“Anti-Prom” (season 3, episode 22)

The gang throws an “anti-prom” at Leery’s Fresh Fish after their classmates won’t sell Jack a ticket to take a boy as his date. Dawson hopes to rekindle his relationship with his date, Joey, who’s supposedly chosen her friendship with him over her budding romance with Pacey.

But when Joey and Pacey dance together, it’s clear there’s still a boatload (see what we did there?) of chemistry between them.

“True Love” (season 3, episode 23)

The season finale capped off an excellent run of episodes with a closer that was all about grand gestures for love. There was Jen, who was seeking out Henry (Michael Pitt) on his way to football camp to tell him — in front of his whole team — that she wanted to be with him. There was the milestone scene where Jack kissed Ethan (Adam Kaufman) in what was primetime television’s first gay male kiss.

But the most memorable moment of the episode is when Joey finally chooses to be with Pacey (does it get more romantic than the “Ask Me to Stay” wall?). And, lest we forget, the episode also spawned the greatest crying meme of all time after Joey ditched Dawson to go get her guy.

“A Winter’s Tale” (season 4, episode 14)

As Dawson must decide whether or not to take Mr. Brooks (Harve Presnell) off of life support, his friends are off on their senior ski trip, where Jack and Jen find comfort in each other during a drunk and lonely night, and Pacey and Joey have sex for the first time in a scene that’s romantic and sweet and a callback to that epic “Stolen Kisses” kiss.

“The Graduate” (season 4, episode 22)

Ending a chapter is never easy. As the Capeside seniors prepare to graduate high school, Pacey struggles to come to terms with the fact that everyone seems to have a plan while he’s unsure he even has the grades to get a diploma.

But when Andie returns from Italy, she — true to form — pushes him to embrace his full potential. Then, as Joey delivers an emotional speech (with Eva Cassidy’s “Field of Gold” playing in the background) during the graduation ceremony, Pacey walks through the airport, ready to take a summer job at a yacht club. The episode is an understated yet important reminder that not everyone’s path in life will look the same, especially after high school. —J.M.

“Coda” (season 4, episode 23)

As the high school chapter of the series comes to a close, the episode opens where it all began, in Dawson’s bedroom, but this time, he and Joey are watching the horror movie they made in season 1. Although the episode comes on the heels of Joey and Pacey’s earlier, devastating breakup, there’s an element of closure between the show’s other core relationship: Pacey and Dawson.

Pacey, who takes off for the Caribbean, says his goodbyes on the phone to Dawson, who is finally able to say, “I’m proud of you.” But the most pivotal moment comes during the finale’s closing moments with Joey and Dawson finding themselves back in his bedroom, watching ET the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) just like they did in the pilot, and then sharing a goodbye kiss with their song (Mary Beth Maziarz’s cover of “Daydream Believer”) playing in the background.

“The Long Goodbye” (season 5, episode 4)

The tragic episode opens with the shocking reveal that Mitch Leery has died. PSA: Never drive and eat ice cream!

Throughout the hour, each character experiences their own flashback memory of Mitch, and we watch Dawson try to grieve while believing he’s responsible for his dad’s death, which happened the night he and his dad were arguing over him dropping out of USC. It also features a standout performance from Mary-Margaret Humes.

“Castaways” (season 6, episode 15)

Joey and Pacey are locked in a store all night and come this close to rekindling their relationship after a fleeting kiss, reminding us why we love them together so much. (Plus, Joey did everyone the favor of shaving off Pacey’s horrific goatee.)

“All Good Things…”/”…Must Come to an End” (season 6, episodes 23 and 24)

The near-perfect two-part series finale brought us five years into the future, reuniting Dawson, Jen, Joey, Jack, and Pacey in Capeside for Gail’s wedding. While heartbreaking to watch Jen die (try not to be destroyed by her video for daughter Amy set to Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel”), the tragic event leads Joey to make her final decision.

Joey and Pacey get their happy ever after together, but so does Dawson, who reveals in the final moments of the series that he’s about to meet his forever idol, Steven Spielberg.