JJH85

And we can't forget about the chemistry. The difference between the amount of chemistry between Pacey and Joey vs the lack of chemistry between Dawson and Joey.

Even though KW was only there for 2 seasons, he admits that when they paired Pacey and Joey (Josh/Katie) for the Double Date episode, it was clear then that there was something between them on screen that was lacking with Dawson/Joey and KW said that they would explore that later on. So even though KW wasn't there for S3, the other show runners were fully aware of the incredible chemistry between them and it made sense to use that, unlike Dawson/Joey who just seemed to lack any chemistry at all.