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My parents taught me that love does not conquer all. That love ends – and begins again
—Dawson's best man speech

True Love is the finale and 23rd episode of Season 3 of Dawson's Creek.

Synopsis[]

LOVE CONQUERS ALL IN CLIMACTIC SEASON FINALE – After an emotional day filled with love, tears and wedding vows, Joey (Katie Holmes) ultimately must choose between her love for Dawson (James Van Der Beek) and her new feelings for Pacey (Joshua Jackson). Across town, Grams (Mary Beth Peil) talks about love and regret with Jen (Michelle Williams), while Jack (Kerr Smith) and Andie (Meredith Monroe), and Grams make a decision to drive all night so that Jen can see Henry (guest star Michael Pitt) one last time and for Jack to see Ethan.[1]

Starring[]

James Van Der Beek as Dawson Leery
Katie Holmes as Joey Potter
Michelle Williams as Jen Lindley
Joshua Jackson as Pacey Witter
Kerr Smith as Jack McPhee
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
Special Guest Stars
Dylan Neal as Doug Witter
Michael Pitt as Henry Parker[2]
Adam Kaufman as Ethan Brody[3]
Obi Ndefo as Bodie Wells
Guest starring
David Dukes as Joseph McPhee
Co-Starring
Harold Bergman as Elderly Reverend
Burgess Jenkins as Brad
Chuck Kinlaw as Bus Driver

Quotes[]

I know there's people around, but I don't care. That's the point, I finally have the courage to do this
—Jack to Ethan
Jen – We’re not in Capeside anymore, Toto. This is some alternate reality where our intellects are sharper, our quips are wittier and our hearts are repeatedly broken while faintly in the background, some soon to be out of date, contempo pop music plays
Dawson – So, why does it hurt so much?
Andie – Because our pain makes us real, Dawson

Locations[]

Trivia[]

  • Dawson lets Joey go to explore her feelings with Pacey.
  • Joey finally admits that she is in love with Pacey and she asks to sail away with him.

BEHIND THE SCENES

  • The kiss between Adam Kaufman (Ethan) and Kerr Smith (Jack) was the first ever kiss between two men in network TV history.[4][5][6]
  • The scene where Dawson bursts into tears as Joey leaves became the Internet meme known as "Dawson's Crying Face".

BROADCAST

  • The episode was watched by 4.83 million people upon its original airing on the WB.[7]

Films[]

WATCHED
REFERENCED
The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Music[]

jealous | SINEAD O'CONNOR[8]
episode start; later when dawson and joey dance
sleepless | JANN ARDEN[9]
pacey and doug by true love
the riverside | JESSICA ANDREWS[10]
pacey's farewell party
promise me this | PANCHO'S LAMENT
ask me to stay
days like these | JANIS IAN
mitch and gale marry; later when joey and pacey sail away
walking in my sleep | BETTER DAYS
jen finds henry's bus
i will be there for you | JESSICA ANDREWS[11]
jack's father comforts him; dawson finds the gang in his room; joey runs to catch pacey

Photos[]

Videos[]

Media[]

The Day Dawson Cried - An Oral History of the Dawson Crying GIF and its Outsized Legacy (VOX • MAY 2021)

Notes and references[]

  1. "True Love" official synopsis archived from The WB on dawsons-creek.com
  2. Last physical appearance of Henry
  3. Last appearance of Ethan
  4. Kerr Smith On Jack McPhee From 'Dawson's Creek' & What It Was Like Playing An LGBT Character In The '90s (February 2015)
  5. 'Dawson's Creek's' Kerr Smith and Adam Kaufman remember their groundbreaking 'True Love' kiss (May 2015)
  6. Fifteen Years Ago, ‘Dawson’s Creek’ Gave Us TV’s First ‘Passionate’ Gay Kiss. How Far Have We Come? (April 2015)
  7. Ratings Ryan — Dawson's Creek (WB): Ratings Recap
  8. Replaced on DVD and streaming with "Solitude" by Jenifer Aubry
  9. Replaced on DVD and streaming with "Say Goodbye" by Rose Ranger
  10. Replaced on DVD and streaming with "Do Or Die" by Jill Cohn
  11. Replaced on DVD and streaming with "In Between" by Quincy
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