Dawson's Creek does The Breakfast Club tribute! And it's brilliant! It's not forced - the series was practically begging for it. But Dawson's Creek doesn't just go for lots and lots of reverential or parodical references to the subject of tribute like too many "tributes" do, it takes the same scenario and makes it its own.
Much of the excellence of the episode rests upon the wild card that is Abby, who stirs up quite a drama. Sadly, this is the Freddy vs. Jason lead actress's second-most longest recurring/starring role in a TV series, which is a shame, since Monica Keena is one of those underrated actresses who got somehow stuck with almost only guest starring roles. We need a QT career revival! Well, at least she can probably claim the title of Most Adorable Goth Girl Character Ever for herself - unless Neil Gaiman's Death somehow makes it's way out of Development Hell and finds the perfect actress.
But Abby is only the catalyst. The true star turn in this episode comes from Katie Holmes, whose performance is unbelievably convincing. This episode cemented her status as the most talented of the Dawson's Creek "founding members". The only thing that robs this wonderful episode its 10th star is Dawson's unbelievable thick-headedness. It takes an impossible amount of suspension of disbelief to accept a plot where Dawson doesn't understand what Joey is talking about. No one is *that* thick. Sure, in order for the series to *run as long as possible* - which is what the makers naturally wanted at the time, things need to be kept "in reserve" for future episodes. These kind of commercial influences sadly come with almost every successful show that doesn't have a Five-Year Plan like Babylon 5. And even those that do, like Lost, may get stuck at the midpoint because the studio wants to milk the show. Still, this is a classic episode, just not perfect.
Much of the excellence of the episode rests upon the wild card that is Abby, who stirs up quite a drama. Sadly, this is the Freddy vs. Jason lead actress's second-most longest recurring/starring role in a TV series, which is a shame, since Monica Keena is one of those underrated actresses who got somehow stuck with almost only guest starring roles. We need a QT career revival! Well, at least she can probably claim the title of Most Adorable Goth Girl Character Ever for herself - unless Neil Gaiman's Death somehow makes it's way out of Development Hell and finds the perfect actress.
But Abby is only the catalyst. The true star turn in this episode comes from Katie Holmes, whose performance is unbelievably convincing. This episode cemented her status as the most talented of the Dawson's Creek "founding members". The only thing that robs this wonderful episode its 10th star is Dawson's unbelievable thick-headedness. It takes an impossible amount of suspension of disbelief to accept a plot where Dawson doesn't understand what Joey is talking about. No one is *that* thick. Sure, in order for the series to *run as long as possible* - which is what the makers naturally wanted at the time, things need to be kept "in reserve" for future episodes. These kind of commercial influences sadly come with almost every successful show that doesn't have a Five-Year Plan like Babylon 5. And even those that do, like Lost, may get stuck at the midpoint because the studio wants to milk the show. Still, this is a classic episode, just not perfect.