TeenDramaWhore

Part One, Part Two

Character: Joey Potter (Dawson’s Creek)

Style: Overly-analytical, cynical, philosophical

Examples: “I just think our emerging hormones are destined to alter our relationship and I’m trying to limit the fallout” (Pilot, Episode 1.1)

“I’m so tired of dancing around these big words… I just want to be honest with you… more that anything I want to be honest with you. But, do you think we’re ready for that honesty? Because honesty is a big word and it changes things, and it complicates things. Are you sure you’re ready for everything that goes along with telling the truth?” (Decisions, 1.13)

“Well, Principal Green said the mural should focus on what unifies us as a school. And if you think about it, nothing really unifies us. Even our mascot is divisive. The Minute Man – right there you’ve alienated half the student population. So, the only thing that I could think of that unites us all, that we all have in common, is that… well it’s that we all start off in kindergarten thinking that we can be anything that we want to be, and by the time we get here, we… we’ve somehow lost that feeling. We’ve all started to believe whatever our parents or friends have told us about what we can achieve and who we can be in life, and… and we’ve forgotten about that possibility we had when we were younger. And that’s what I think we all have in common, and that’s what the symbol on my painting means – possibility. I painted it because I thought we could all use a daily reminder that, if you believe in yourself, even when the odds seem stacked against you, anything’s possible.” (Crime and Punishment, 3.15)

“I stand here before you aware of the similarities that we share. I know that you’re feeling, outside of my incredible stage fright, the same things that I’m feeling– pride and accomplishment, closure and regret, and a hopeful outlook on the future. But I don’t think you need me to elaborate on those feelings. Instead I–I wanted to share something personal and tell you that… that people in my life who are gone now, people I miss very much and people who I am haunted by in different ways, but whether we’re separated by death or merely distance, I know that they’re still with me because I keep them in my heart. The truth is, in time, that’s all that we’re going to be to each other anyway, this population of memories, some wonderful and endearing, some less so. But taken together, those memories help make us who we are and who we will be. So whether you’re here with each other now or you’re merely in each other’s thoughts, remember each other on that road ahead. And I hope that no matter where your travels lead you in this life… you’ll always take Capeside with you.” (The Graduate, 4.22)

“I’m the worst kind of person because I suck these boys into my web, and then I make them give up their dreams until they’re left sad and dreamless and living in Boston.” (Separate Ways [Worlds Apart], 5.20)

“And now that this scared little girl no longer follows me wherever I go, I miss her. I do. ‘Cause there are things I wanna tell her… to relax, to lighten up, that it is all going to be ok. I want her to know that meeting people who like you, who understand you, who actually accept you for who you are, will become an increasingly rare occurrence. Jen, Jack, Audrey, Andie, Pacey, and Dawson. These people who contributed to who I am, they are with me wherever I go, and as history gets rewritten in small ways with each passing day, my love for them only grows. Because the truth is… it was the best of times. Mistakes were made, hearts were broken, harsh lessons learned, but all of that has receded into fond memory now. How does it happen? Why are we so quick to forget the bad and romanticize the good? Maybe it’s because we need to believe that the time we spent together actually meant something, that we were there for each other in a time in our lives that defined us all, a time in our lives that we will never forget. I can’t swear this is exactly how it happened. But this is how it felt.” (Joey Potter and the Capeside Redemption, 6.22)