Jerry D

A Story of Soulmates: The Legend of Dawson and Joey

In each one of our lives, we encounter people that will touch us in some type of special way, whether that person is a friend, a love interest, or just someone who’ll have a profound influence on us as a person. It’s also true that many people will come and go out of our lives, and that some people that we once held dear to our hearts will become, with the passage of time, simply a cherished memory, that we’ll look back upon with a mixture of fondness and regret. A few fortunate people, however, will encounter someone who transcends the normal definition of a friend, or a love interest, or any other word that defines an ordinary relationship between two people, but who falls into a very special category that is defined by one very special word, soulmates. Soulmates. To me, soulmates is a term that describes an extraordinary connection between two human beings, a connection that can’t be broken despite the changing circumstances in their lives, and to me, on the television show know as Dawson’s Creek, we’ve been given the opportunity to meet two very special people whose story encompasses the very idea of soulmates, Dawson Leery and Joey Potter.

Right from the very start of the first episode of Dawson’s Creek, it was very obvious that the childhood friends Dawson Leery and Joey Potter shared a special bond with one another that transcended a normal friendship, and was really something way beyond any friendship depicted on a television show about teenagers. To me, it set the show apart from anything I had ever seen before, and I was immediately enthralled by this wonderful couple. We got to witness how Dawson and his family had become a second family to Joey, who had endured terrible tragedy in her young life, and who had been shunned by virtually everyone in the provincial town of Capeside Massachusetts, except Dawson, with whom she often shared a bed, but more importantly, she shared her life. Dawson had accepted her unconditionally, and together, they lived in a special world, safe in Dawson’s room, as they centered themselves around his passionate interest in film, and they argued in a good natured way about the merits of whatever film they were watching. In that magical season, at the start of every episode, Dawson and Joey shared a “Movie Night” in his room, and in their banter filled discussions in these wonderful opening scenes, Dawson always showed himself to be a dreamy eyed idealist, and Joey always showed herself to be a cynical realist. These differences in their views of life obviously stemmed from the differences in what they had seen in their lives, but even as they argued passionately and vehemently, the affection between them was very obvious, and their discussions were a true delight to watch, and their scenes together simply sparkled with witty and intelligent repartee that showed the special connection that they had. These two characters would analyze and discuss everything under the sun, and each character tempered the extremes of the other character’s point of view in a way that showed the deep attachment that they had to one another. I had never really heard of the term soulmates before watching this show, but if any two characters were soulmates, it was Dawson and Joey. They truly could look into each other’s souls and make sense of everything that was happening to them. I also felt that they balanced each other out in a truly wonderful way, and that they had a spark between them that was sweet, endearing, and simply loaded with magical potential. I recall the scene in “Escape From New York,” Dawson, talking to a sleeping Joey, and tenderly brushing the hair out of her eyes, told her: “This is probably the wrong time to tell you this but umm well, maybe it's the perfect time. I realize how incredibly confusing things are between us. I can't even begin to explain our relationship. You probably can't either. But umm, I just want you to know that umm, if you ever need me, I'll always be here for you. All you ever have to do is ask,” and waking momentarily, Joey kissed Dawson in a tender and beautiful way that touched my heart so much, that I downloaded that scene onto my computer, and I’ve watched it over and over again. I also recalled the first kiss that Dawson and Joey ever shared, the “Truth Or Dare” kiss, in the Breakfast Club, and I’ve never seen so much passion expressed in a simple kiss between two friends that were so much more than friends.

Throughout Season One, we had the pleasure of witnessing how Dawson and Joey’s feelings for one another had changed from simply being friends that had a special connection with one another, to the realization on both their parts that they loved each other, and this realization was brought home to us in a wonderful way in Pretty Woman, when Dawson focused his camera on the newly transformed Joey, and the look on his face conveyed the amazement of a young man seeing his best friend in a whole new light, and it was a moment filled with romance, with wonder, and with magic. We then got to see Dawson tell Joey’s father that Joey was his best friend, but, as it dawned on his face as he spoke the words, he realized that she was more than that to him, she was, as he so eloquently put it, everything to him. And Joey truly was everything to Dawson, and when he finally took action and kissed her in the most wonderful season finale ever, we all cried tears of joy as this couple was finally united. I’ve watched my tape of that moment countless times, as Joey’s initial expression of shock changes to one of sheer joy, and this magical season faded out with their two silhouettes passionately embracing.

Since that magical moment, we’ve seen Dawson and Joey’s relationship change a great deal, as they made the ultimately ill fated attempt to become a romantic couple, and they encountered a great deal of heartache along the way, as Joey initially broke up with Dawson because she felt overwhelmed by her feelings for him, and she set out to find her “something,” so she would know where Dawson ended and she began, and then, after Joey and Dawson reunited, tragic outside circumstances, involving her father’s foray, once again, into the world of drug dealing, tore them apart again, and since then, their connection seemed to have been severed, especially when Joey became romantically involved with Dawson’s best friend, Pacey Witter, breaking Dawson’s heart once again in the process, but somehow, despite all the circumstances which had affected their relationship, Dawson and Joey’s soulmate connection remained unchanged, which we saw countless times this season.

The special connection that Dawson and Joey still have with one another was really brought home for me this season in the episode “Self Reliance,” as Joey, following Pacey’s edict to achieve closure with Dawson by talking to him, instead was moved to tears by the magnanimity of Dawson’s beautiful gift to her, and more importantly, the meaning behind that gift, which was a framed picture of Pacey and Joey embracing, a meaning filled with acceptance, kindness, and unconditional love and forgiveness. By giving Joey that gift, Dawson was letting her know that he was accepting the fact that her and Pacey were together, and that he was letting go, which was as noble a gesture that I’ve ever seen from a young man who had his heart broken so badly. I was moved to tears when I saw the emotion on Joey’s face when she opened her present. I also thought that the unspoken feelings between them when she told Dawson “that’s not what I mean,” and he answered “I know what you meant,” spoke volumes about the emotional connection that they still have with one another, and the undeniable bond that they still share. Like Joey said, despite everything that they’ve been through, and despite all the pain they’ve inflicted on one another, Dawson and Joey still, somehow, have a very special friendship that manages to transcend all that heartbreak, and they can still touch each other’s hearts and see into each other’s souls, like no two characters ever could.

I also got to have the pleasure of witnessing the unconditional love that Dawson has for his soulmate Joey in “Admissions,” when he offered Joey the money he had inherited from Mr. Brooks so she could achieve her dream of attending Worthington, because he knew that she wouldn’t be happy anywhere else, and he let his offer stand even after she had revealed to him that he had lied to him about sleeping with Pacey. Dawson wanted, with all the kind generosity that he possesses in abundance, to “fix the one thing he could fix” for Joey, because to him, her happiness meant everything, and he made this gesture expecting nothing in return, and to me, that gesture proved, now and forever, that his relationship with Joey transcends every definition of friendship and romance, and it truly does fall into the realm of soulmates.

Dawson Leery and Joey Potter are very different people from the two inseparable 15 year olds that we met in “Emotions In Motion,” but one thing that has never changed, and I’m sure, never will change between them, despite all the challenges that the changing circumstances in their lives have brought before them, is their special soulmate connection. This connection, I’m sure, will sustain them through the rest of their lives, and I hope that some day, they’ll both realize that their hearts truly lie with each other, and they’ll reunite to recreate a truly transcendent love, emanating from a transcendent friendship, that will last until the end of their days.

Dawson and Joey’s soulmate relationship has touched my heart like no other couple on a television show ever has, and my love for them as friends, and as a romantic couple, has sustained me throughout the many dark days that I’ve seen my favorite couple be apart from one another, and my friendships with so many wonderful people who share my love of Dawson and Joey’s soulmate connection has also helped me keep hope alive for this very special couple, and so, it’s been a labor of love for me to write my thoughts telling the story of these two soulmates, who we all love so much.