Sugz

Of all of the characters on Dawson's Creek Joey Potter was certainly the main focus and often the most controversial. The girl who went from extroverted to a complete prude and from strong to rather wishy washy, many people grew to dislike her character and the "IT" she seemed to wave over everyone who came into her midst. SO while a lot of the conversation on this board revolves around couples and which "guy" on the Creek is better this thread is about Joey Potter, a girl who usually gets pushed to the wayside or vewed as the "prize" of the show. But was she really a prize? Did you even understand what all of the men on the show saw in her? Was she your favorite character? Were you someone who despised Joey Potter but still wanted her with your favorite male character? Is she someone that would appeal to you as a friend in real life?

COOLCAT200

I loved Joey in season 1. I loved her back bone. It's easy to see what the guys saw in her she is pretty. But I started not to like her in mid season 2 when she broke up with Dawson of an odd reason. I also do not think she fully realized how much she hurt Dawson in season 2 with both breakups. In the later seasons (5,6) she kind of got on my nerves at times. I guess by the time the series was over I did not like her as much as I did when the show first started. Although any scene nice scene she had with Dawson I liked.

Sugz

I never hated Joey. Not in the beginning, not around the middle when she started to go soft and not even really in the end when she became very selfish. I always saw Joey as a very confused but stubborn and headstrong girl and that came through in many ways. Early on in season 1 and 2 she fought off her insecurities with words and wit but you could always see how vulnerable she was. In the middle seasons 3 and 4 you could really see how vulnerable she was when she made the transition to a different relationship and when she was getting ready to move on to a different school and life. Joey didnt often display that bite that she used to have and I really thought that she was overwhelmed with her life at the time. Although she was still a determined person she was less sure of herself aside from the occassional blitz of self confidence and assurance like True Love when she finally did what she wanted to do despite everyone else in her life. And last but not least was the later season 5 and 6 when Joey seemed like she knew what she was doing but it was only an act. She was where she wanted to be in life, at Worthington, but she was a softer Joey than in season 1 and 2. She had everything she wanted, she was on her way to accomplishing everything she wanted but she seemed very out of touch with what others wanted and needed, it become very much about Joey.

So really all in all I always felt like it was the same girl, just in different phases of her life. And I could never blame her for that. She was just trying to find her way through life. And it didnt seem to matter if she hurt a character I liked or if she made a decidsion I didnt agree with, I could never not side with the woman she was because it felt like it wouldve almost been like going against any young woman growing up who makes mistakes and hurts people and is insecure.

Over the years I've seen people refer to Joey as a lot of things. A ****, wishy-washy, a "used bicycle" (seriously), and often times in defense of a character that she did wrong that they liked, and I know there have been times when I myself wanted to just shake the girl and ask her "What is wrong with you?" I could never really understand those people, especially females who venemously despised Joey so much because to me it really was about understanding a womans point of view. THe perfect example was Joey Potters decision to not stay with Dawson after finding out that he cheated on his girlfriend with her. I was sort of appalled that so many people, so many females wanted JOey to forgive Dawson and stay with him, especially those who didnt understand why she didn't give him another chance. I think it's probably because Im a very outspoken and self assured person myself but I am always for the woman who sticks up for herself and when Joey did that in later seasons it was sucha rarity that not being on her side was ludicrous to me. I still wonder to this day why there were so many girls that would take Dawsons side over Joeys in that situation.

Another example was Joey telling Pacey that she "didnt feel it" in Love Bites. Although I despised that moment and what she did to Pacey I recall posting all over that I understood her. When your heart is not with someone you just cant go on in that relationship. Ive been in that situation and it SUCKS but you cant leave something that you want unexplored. So although at that particular moment onscreen I wanted to kill her, I understood her and I couldnt hate her.

So in all this rambling is my conclusion that I never disliked Joey even when she did the worst of the worst things (and she's done some horrible stuff, to both guys on the show) but only a few times did I not understand her motives and even those times I could understand because we all make mistakes. But it really is sort of a feminist issue for me just because she is, in some way, every girl growing up.



Anyway, I know that a lot of people dont like Joey but still wanted he with the leading male of their choosing, which interests me. How can you want a character you dont like with your favorite character? How can they be good enough? I mean, I remember in season 1 I didnt like Dawson, never have, but I didnt mind that he got with Joey at the end of season1 because I liked JOey and Joey wanted him so I figured she should get what she wants, whatever he sees in the guy. But thats different than some other people who seemed to have wanted JOey with whichever guy VEHEMENTLY, even though they ahted Joey. So if you're one of those I'd love to hear reasoning.

jopace1970

I wanted to shake Joey sometimes but I always liked her. I think she was often scared and confused. I also think she was running from herself most of the time. In Love bites I was mad that Pacey was hurt but I don't think she was ready for what he was offering. She also still had feelings for Eddie. There is no way that I would want her with Pacey if I hated her.

Great topic sugz!

GilmoreJunkie

I LOVED Joey in S1 she was a tomboy like me then in S2 she started dressing more girly but that's not the whole reason I started to dislike her, she got annoying. I think Dawson made her annoying to me, all her scenes with him were just argh!!

Jerry D

I loved Joey in Season One, but from the moment she broke up with Dawson to “find her something, alone,” but she almost immediately “found her something” with Jack and a host of other guys after that, I really despised her character, and I saw her as hypocritical, self-absorbed, and heedless of the feelings of the people that cared about her.

I never understood the adulation that Joey’s character received on the show, because to me she simply wasn’t a very nice person. I didn’t like the way she looked down on her sister, and I didn’t like the way she treated both Dawson and Pacey. I pretty much disliked Joey from Season Two on, and I hated the way that Dawson's Creek focused on her character more and more over the years. It really made my stomach turn to see so many of the characters bend over backwards to tell Joey how wonderful she was, because I felt that Joey Potter was one of the most self-absorbed and whiny characters ever presented on a television show.

If you objectively compare the Joey Potter of Season One to the Joey Potter of Seasons Two and beyond, the differences are quite astounding, and very disheartening. In Season One, Joey Potter was introduced to us as a young woman who, beneath her tough and seemingly cynical exterior, hid an endearing vulnerability that instantly made her the main focus of the show, and the character that everyone grew to love and root for. From that season on, however, in my humble opinion, Joey became “the heartbreak kid,” and I sometimes shook my head over how selfish she became, and how heedless she was of the feelings of other people, especially the people who cared about her the most, like her sister Bessie, and her best friend Dawson. I even thought she treated Pacey badly, who turned out to be the love of her life. I feel that Joey, throughout her entire relationship with Pacey the first time around, had no real sympathy for the difficult time that Pacey was going through, as she focused only on herself, and she seemed completely oblivious to Pacey’s struggles. Two episodes that really brought that point home for me were “Future Tense,” where Joey basically whined through the whole episode for “only” being fourth in her class, while Pacey was having to struggle with having to take extra courses just to be able to graduate, and “Admissions,” where she lashed out harshly at Pacey, who was still struggling to graduate, and who hadn’t been accepted into any college, and who, despite that, offered her his complete and loving support, simply because she didn’t get a full scholarship to her “dream college.” We saw Joey give lip service to helping Pacey in episodes like “Failing Down,” and “The Te Of Pacey,” but all she basically did was sweep any of Pacey’s honest concerns about their future together under the carpet, and she never had the ability, or the understanding of what Pacey needed, to inspire and challenge Pacey to succeed like Andie did. I also was incensed by the way that Joey led Pacey on in Season Six, only to dump him in a very hurtful way when Eddie returned, so I’ll never understand why both Dawson and Pacey continued to worship the ground she walked on, along with all of the other characters, like her roommate Audrey, who told her that “Because... you're beautiful and you don't know it. Because you're smart and you don't believe it. You're the kind of girl that guys never get over. Joey, you're the kind of girl that other girls get compared to.”

I think that Dawson’s Creek was basically ruined when it became “Joey’s Creek,” and I’ll never understand why so many people liked her character so much, because as time went on, I found it impossible to like her character.

goodbreakingbad

Omg, it's seriously like I could have said all that, especially those 2 paragraphs, lol. I only liked Joey S1, but could not stand her after that & yes "Joey's Creek" had to go! She was the most hypocritical character who everyone worshiped & I always thought Dawson could have done so much better, even though I am a huge D/Jer!

Sugz

Pardon me for jumping on this but I always wondered how that could be. Perhaps I can quote myself from my earlier post.


I suppose this could be for both you and/or Jerry to answer. Im just curious

goodbreakingbad

Because even though Dawson could have done MUCH better, to him, he couldn't have b/c Joey was his "One" & she's who he wanted the most & as long as he's not hurting, then it's great.

Sugz

Ok but what about the times that Dawson was happy with and wanted Natasha or Jen or Gretchen. He wasnt hurting and these were the girls that he wanted at the time so, were you still a D/J fan when he was with them or were you happy with those pairings because Dawson was happy?

goodbreakingbad

Omg, could not stand Natasha, Gretchen was ok, but still never got into that, Eve was fun, but eww, Jen was nice in S1, not S5....the only other one I really liked, that if it wasn't Joey, it should have been her, was Amy, the Film Critic in 2 eps in S5. But yes, I was & will always be a huge D/Jer!

Sugz

Ok but thats what I dont understand. Take Natasha For instance, you didnt like Joey but Dawson liked her and wanted her so it was ok.
And you didnt like Natasha but Dawson liked her and wanted her but... you still didnt like Dawson/Natasha.

So whats the difference between Joey and Natasha if you didnt like either, why was Dawson ok with Joey but not ok with Natasha?

goodbreakingbad

Because, w/me I look past just the people & get into the actual relationship. Dawson/Natasha had nothing between them, & she was just a big hoe! Dawson/Jen, I liked in S1 b/c she really helped in grow up. Dawson/Eve was just a fun-fling thing, but nothing more. Dawson/Grethen was a really mature relationship & she really did a lot for him. Dawson/Amy were so sweet & really got along & had chemistry for something that barely lasted.

But...Dawson/Joey, the relationship was had something all those others didn't, a connection beyond words. And I'm not talking the overplayed "Soul Mate" thing at times, I'm talking just in general, those two people no matter what could never get rid of each other on a great sense than any other two people. And I adore that relationship more than any other ever on TV!

It partially depends on how much I like the characters, but even moreso, the relationship as a whole...take P/J for instance. I can't stand Joey, Pacey, & despise P/J, but even though they did have chemistry (I will have to admit), to me, it wasn't exactly the healthiest of relationships.

COOLCAT200

I agree about the connection. One reason I could always stand a D/J scene no matter what was happening was the chemistry I saw between the 2. Some may not agree but I saw it through out the series and it was something I always enjoyed seeing.

Sugz

Ok, understood.

I also think it has a lot to do with what we simply just prefer, no explanations needed (although I did make you explain it )

Our points of view just differ. FOr example. You called Natasha, someone that was Dawsons girlfriend for more than a while and someone that Dawson obviously liked enough to be with even after he initially broke up with her, a ho, yet you describe Amy, a film critic that Dawson JUST met and slept with once, as a sweet girl. That seems a little off to me.
Was it just that you didnt like Natasha and the negative effect she had on Dawson and Joey, and that somehow qualifies her as a "ho"*? Whereas the film critic Amy sent Dawson back into Joeys direction even though she was just a Sketchers loving one night stand?



*Note: Im supressing my feminist urges to go on a tirade about how much of a no-no it is to refer to a woman as a ho