Top 10 Times Dawson Was the WORST on Dawson's Creek
#10: Being the “Nice Guy”
Top 10 Dawson's Creek Moments That Make Us Yell At Our TVs
In the 21st century, we’ve become accustomed to the perils of the “nice guy.” But back in the 90s, Dawson Leery basically INVENTED this trope – and to this day might be one of its worst offenders. Dawson could never believe it when a woman picked another guy over him, choosing to think there must be something wrong with the woman rather than examining his own flaws. At one point, he says this about Jen: [broll: “She rejected romance, honesty and respect.”] You can’t make this stuff up. Dawson was so blinded by himself he couldn’t see that in reality, he was the disrespectful one who constantly treated women like crap. Honestly – no wonder Joey chose Pacey.
#9: Entering the Boat Race to Spite Pacey
In the aftermath of Dawson finding out about Pacey and Joey’s feelings for each other, he handles everything pretty poorly – to say the LEAST. But he takes things too far when he enters the Capeside Regatta at the last minute to try and one-up Pacey. Pacey’s been signed up for the race for months, but Dawson only enters in some misguided attempt to “win” Joey back. During the race, he almost crashes his boat into Pacey’s and ends up getting disqualified. All this and Joey wasn’t even impressed. Gotta say, Dawson – treating a girl like a trophy? Not the quickest way to her heart.
#8: Taking Mary Beth on a Double Date to Make Jen Jealous
Top 10 Shark Tank Products the Sharks Regret Taking
We’ll see a lot of examples of Dawson hurting his so-called friends on this list, but in this entry, he hurts a poor unsuspecting soul. Mary Beth is a nice girl, and for some reason, actually likes Dawson. In typical Dawson fashion, he uses this for personal gain. He takes Mary Beth on a double date with none other than Jen – his ex-girlfriend – in a feeble attempt to make Jen jealous. We feel bad for Mary Beth, but this should have been a giant red flag. The worst part is that once the jig is up, Mary Beth isn’t even that mad. But that’s par for the course on this show – someone’s always forgiving Dawson when they shouldn’t be.
#7: Sleeping with Joey & Then Dumping Natasha Over Voicemail
The show spent a lot of time building up the inevitable moment when Dawson and Joey would sleep together. But, as usual, once they did, Dawon messed things up pretty quickly. Turns out, he was dating someone out in L.A. After he and Joey slept together, Dawson called his girlfriend and broke up … with her answering machine. When Joey finds out, she’s understandably upset. But Dawson spends their whole conversation gaslighting her, telling her it’s not that big of a deal and then blaming her for looking for an excuse for things not to work between them. Call us crazy, but we think turning someone into the unwitting other women without their knowledge is a pretty good reason not to date them.
#6: The Infamous Cry Face
Top 10 Times Dawson's Creek Tackled Serious Issues
Ah, the scene that spawned a thousand memes. If you’ve never watched “Dawson’s Creek” before, you still know what I’m talking about. At the end of Season Three, Joey correctly chooses Pacey over Dawson. After she breaks his heart, he breaks out into one of the ugliest cry faces that has ever graced our screens. Apparently, the moment wasn’t scripted – James Van Der Beek just burst into tears organically. Ah, the magic of TV! If you feel bad about poking at Van Der Beek’s cry face, don’t – he’s admitted he finds it pretty hilarious too.
#5: Guilting Joey Into Turning Her Father Over to the Police
For someone so selfish, Dawson sure has a problem with getting too involved in other people’s family business. Joey’s relationship with her father is strained from the beginning – he starts the series off in prison for dealing drugs. But when he’s released, things start to heal between father and daughter and it seems like he’s making an honest start. Spoiler alert – he’s still dealing drugs. And of COURSE, Dawson is the one who finds out. He tells Joey and, despite her telling him to butt out, he guilts her into going to the police. Dawson completely disregards how this could affect Joey moving forward, and acts surprised when Joey can barely look at him. Just stay out of other people’s business, man!
#4: Filming His & Jen’s First Kiss Without Telling Her
Top 10 Craziest Keeping Up with the Kardashians Filming Rules
Right from the beginning, Dawson’s infatuation with next-door neighbor Jen is completely creepy. He does a lot of stalker-ish things – including spying on Jen using binoculars like Jimmy Stewart in “Rear Window” – but this moment takes the cake. As we know, Dawson is obsessed with movies and believes real life should be like a movie. This delusion leads him to try and secretly film his and Jen’s first kiss. Without telling her. Besides the fact that this probably breaks multiple laws, it’s just plain scary. The fact that Jen keeps dating him after this is ludicrous. Run for the hills!
#3: Guilting Joey Into Not Going to France
As with Jen, when Dawson dates Joey in Season Two, he engages in a lot of bad boyfriend behavior. Besides reading her diary (and then getting mad at HER for what she wrote), Dawson is the main reason Joey gives up the chance of a lifetime. Joey has the opportunity to go to France over the summer, but ultimately decides not to because Dawson would miss her too much. Girl, you are 15 and he is not worth it! Always pick France!
#2: Getting Drunk at His Birthday Party
Top 10 Times Pacey Was the Best Character on Dawson's Creek
Alright – who hasn’t gone a little overboard on the drinks on their birthday? Happens to the best of us. But, most of us don’t completely obliterate our friends and family in the process. After getting wasted at a jazz club (pretentious, much?), Dawson ruins the party Joey threw for him. He’s rude to Joey, he makes fun of Jack for being gay and he airs his parent’s dirty laundry in front of everyone. But if he’s mean to them, he’s downright cruel to Pacey. He tells him, more or less, that Pacey’s only importance is to make Dawson feel better about his life because Pacey’s sucks so much … If that's how Dawson feels about his friends, I would hate to meet his enemies.
#1: Treating Jen Poorly When He Finds Out She’s Not a Virgin
As we’ve covered extensively on this list, Dawson Leery has no idea how to treat women. Nowhere is this more apparent than when Jen opens up to him about her sexual past. After she tells him that she’s not a virgin, he completely freezes her out. He’s consumed by jealousy – even though all of these relationships happened before he ever met Jen. Talk about a fragile male ego! The worst part about all of this is that Dawson’s not really mad because Jen has slept with other guys – he’s mad because she wants to take things slow with him. It’s unbelievable to Dawson that Jen wouldn’t want to sleep with him. Why wouldn’t she? He’s such a “nice guy!” Give us a break.
