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All I know is that in November of 1999, four hyper-verbal teenagers wandered off into the woods on Witch Island to film some ridiculous documentary for history class and eight hours later, two of 'em started making out…
—Pacey

Escape from Witch Island is the 7th episode of Season 3 of Dawson's Creek.

Synopsis[]

AN HOMAGE TO "THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT" – In a bone-chilling installment, Dawson (James Van Der Beek) recruits Joey (Katie Holmes), Pacey (Joshua Jackson) and Jen (Michelle Williams) to be his guerilla crew on a documentary for history class about Witch Island, a local spot shrouded in mystery for its reputation for being haunted by witches. They are haunted by tall tales of witches and love lost that has Dawson and Joey questioning their own romance and Jen (Michelle Williams) and Pacey (Joshua Jackson) considering a new kind of friendship. Back at school, Andie (Meredith Monroe) takes her job on the school disciplinary committee a little too seriously when she tries to take back the halls of Capeside.[1]

Starring[]

James Van Der Beek as Dawson Leery[2]
Katie Holmes as Joey Potter
Michelle Williams as Jen Lindley
Joshua Jackson as Pacey Witter
Meredith Monroe as Andie McPhee
Mary-Margaret Humes as Gale Leery
John Wesley Shipp as Mitch Leery
Mary Beth Peil as Evelyn Ryan
Nina Repeta as Bessie Potter
Recurring cast
Obba Babatundé as Howard Green
Guest starring
Liz Vassey as Wendy Dalrymple
Vanessa Dorman as Belinda McGovern
Wayne Péré as Boat Guy
Co-Starring
Saycon Sengbloh as Conspiracy Theorist
Derrick Justin as Student

Quotes[]

You can't will a friendship into existence, Dawson
—Joey
The last year of my life has been like this wide-awake nightmare of conflicting emotions. And no matter how bad it got, there was always one thing that kept me going. That was us. Our bond, our connection, whatever you want to call it. It made me feel like I wasn't alone, that I was part of something special. So I'm not standing here whining about being friends or not being friends. It's just... for the first time in my life... I'm not feeling that connection, Dawson. It scares me.
—Joey
Jen – I'm sure that you score way high on some girls' Cute-O-Meter, Pace, just not mine.
Pacey – I'm a better catch than Ty the Bible Beater or that skirt-chasing neanderthal, Chris Wolfe.
Jen – This coming from a guy whose past two relationships have ended with a girl either leaving town to avoid prosecution or cool out in crazy camp for the summer.
Pacey – Ouch.

Locations[]

Trivia[]

  • Pacey and Jen decide to be friends with benefits.
  • Dawson and Joey rekindle their friendship as they realize that they are unaware of what has been happening in each others' lives.

ALLUSIONS

  • Homage to The Blair Witch Project, to which many meta-comments are made.
  • A poster for the film Idle Hands (1999), directed by Rodman Flender, is featured prominently in the background of scenes inside Screen Play Video. Flender previously directed the Dawson's Creek episode The Scare.

BROADCAST

  • The episode was watched by 5.26 million people upon its original airing on the WB.[3]

Films[]

WATCHED
REFERENCED
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
The Crucible (1996)
The Blair Witch Project (1999)

Music[]

puzzle girl | KIM STOCKWOOD[4]
andie's censorship
gone | THE TEA PARTY[5]
dawson shows his footage in class
if | DRAGMATIC
jen + pacey; dawson + joey in his bedroom

Photos[]

Videos[]

Media[]

Looking Back On the Scariest “Dawson’s Creek” Episodes (BLOODY DISGUSTING • APRIL 2018)
The Ultimate Ranking Of '90s Halloween Episodes To Take You Right Back To Your Youth (BUSTLE • OCT 2017)

Notes and references[]

  1. "Escape From Witch Island" official synopsis archived from The WB on dawsons-creek.com
  2. Jack (Kerr Smith) does not appear for the second episode in a row
  3. Ratings Ryan — Dawson's Creek (WB): Ratings Recap
  4. Replaced on DVD and streaming with "Mercury Is Clearly Opposing Neptune" by Paper Moon
  5. Replaced on DVD and streaming with "Losing You" by Havalina
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