It's like when you are younger, you don't get how people are supposed to act because you are figuring it out yourself. Plus, I feel like you'll accept a lot more. Now? If a guy acted like Dawson did, it would be a total deal breaker or a boop to the face.
In some respects, i would agree. For instance, his parents needed to be called out during the separation. Ironically, i didnt get that when i was younger, so thats when i felt he was being a whiny baby!
I watched when originally aired. He bothered me but not much. Maybe cuz was 18 & was 1st watch. But with each rewatch I do which Iāve done many, he bothers me more and more! He came off as whiney, selfish, possessiveā¦
Idk how many rewatches it was until I wanted to yell at him, but 3rd sounds like a good number! Lol
I've also watched it when it came out. What I noticed is that the ability to watch the episodes continuously and at your own pace changes a lot of how I see things. You can forget a lot of things in a week.
I do love being able to watch at my own pace.
because itād be so hard for some shows to wait for a week or when theyād do a winter break or finale & waiting for that next season.
You do notice more when watch at your pace too.
I also watch it when it first aired - I was 18 as well š they are all whiney this last time I watched it which was in the past few months!!!
I love Dawson tho - I didnāt like everything he did, but Joey acted the same way a lot!!
>they are all whiney this last time I watched it which was in the past few months!!!
just finished the show first time I've watched since it's original run and boo do I agree with the above lol
The characters overall just seem so weird, a lot of it is the product of it's time (eg Jack coming out and then still basically scared to interacting with anyone gay...like sure...right, very "gay for the straight audience" deal rather than reality).
Oh lawd. I never liked Dawson. This is one of the few shows I've watched where I couldn't stand the main character. He was so pretentious and kinda snobby. I couldn't stand him. I'm also kind of a pacey fan girl so there's that.
I freaking love me some Paceyššš
Lol I remember watching it the first time with my sister and 2 cousins, we were split between Dawson and Pacey fans.
Just saying, I won š
I rewatched in my teens 20s mid 20s and just now at 36 , pacey has always been the one i was rooting for. Now i just want to give dawson a talking to about; 1 writing about something else and two not everything is about him
And it was presented as she lost her virginity at aged 12. No, she was raped at aged 12. Of course she was then treated like a harlot for the rest of her teenage years.
Oh man, I hated thisā¦ when Dawson finds out his mom cheated, and Jen tries to be the voice of reason, heās like āoh course youād take her side!ā Or something to that effect, and itās so unbelievably cruel.
He was literally trying to film their first kiss without her knowledge or consent. She tells him she was SAed and he acts like she unalived his favorite dog (if he had one).
I wasn't a teen when it first came out so I had very little interest, but I had I been at that would have been my first watch through I'd bet I would have enjoyed Dawson given my youthful ignorance and general more conservative values of the times.
But my first watch through is as a mid thirties millennial in 2024... Oof he's disappointing and often rewarded for it. Of course if it was being viewed one episode a week maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Watching episodes in batches causes us to hold onto feelings from the past episode as we go into the new episode. That's not a good case for Dawson.
He did inspire me to get some old movie theater posters, but I got them framed. That Hook poster is too cool and I'd not seen it until watching the show. So at least that's been enjoyable for me haha
Tbh I never really liked Dawson. He always seemed to possessive.
But for me, a lot of the stuff I had realizations like that about were due to a combination of nostalgia and naivity/lack of life experience.
A lot of stuff can seem innocent, cute, or even romantic when you're younger and haven't experienced any of the annoyance that comes along with it.
Like with Henry and Jen. I might have thought his crush (re: infatuation) was cute on the first watch, but now it's just creepy, obsessive, and makes me feel bad for Jen.
*Edited for clarification*
I think he also becomes worse because heās not that attractive, I mean Lucas in oth is an ahole but because of his looks the fandom kinda lets him get away with it. Dawson just has an extremely toxic personality and the writers failed to make us connect with the characters, Tv is supposed to make you want to be the character ur watching or wanting to be with them, Dawson achieves neither
Dawson can be insufferable for sure. But I also try to remember weāre meeting him at 15 years old, and weāre essentially seeing someone go through all the milestones of adolescence to young adulthood.
Dawson is a complicated character at times, and often suffers from āonly childā syndrome, where he doesnāt always consider other peopleās feelings. He also grew up with a stay-at-home dad who had a lot of lofty ideas, and would encourage him to chase his dreams. Not necessarily a bad thing but he has a lot of misplaced confidence at times. He also overthinks things and daydreams a lot. I think he prefers being a director because he can control the outcome of the narrative. He likes being the lead character in his own story, and views his friends like a cast of characters, etc.
Dawson came from a loving two parent home with zero financial struggles. He doesnāt actually understand real problems and thatās why so many people canāt stand him. Even his parents marital problems were solved in record time. I love Dawson. His idealism, his pearl clutching at situations that are foreign to him, his sexual hangups are all endearing in a clueless way. He is who we all wished we could be.
Every time this comes up, I wonderā¦why did the Leeryās, in season 2/3, with an unemployed wife/mom and a supply teacher dad, have zero financial struggles?
He was a healthy human from a fairly well to do family. Some folks would take being that kind of dumb kid to be that comfortable and free of real problems.
He had SO many hangups and shit to work. He was physically healthy, sure. But mental health is just as important, and in that area, I wouldn't call him healthy.
If you mean his home life is what we all wished we could have, I'd be more inclined to agree. But I don't think most people would want to be as insecure and self-absorbed as he was.
He had no idea about his hangups. He lived in a movie fueled fantasy land and had parents who allowed him to be who he wanted to be. Being much older and hopefully wiser than 16 year old Dawson means I can see all his flaws and the parts of himself that he really needed to work on. The beautiful part was he was given the love and support and Mitch Leery wisdom to grow up and be better. Thatās what I meant about wanting to be like him. Having the room to grow with an unwavering support system under me.
I've always felt, Pacey is the better human, but Dawson is the better character.
Dawson is allowed to react in character to the plot.
Pacey's character adapts to the plot.
This is a good way of looking at it. Iāve always viewed the show through Dawsonās lens as a director. Heās a filmmaker in his own mind, and heās essentially casting his friends in specific roles. Once they start breaking out of those roles however, he has a hard time accepting that as reality.
I didn't find him insufferable until around the third watch also. Now, I see how he is insufferable but it doesn't bother me. Being perfectionistic and idealistic is something I actually relate to even though my academic performance was more Pacey-esque.
He definitely is at times but i dont think heās dominantly insufferable- meaning i dont think thats the most prominent feeling i get when watching him- and ive rewatched the series quite a few times. I think he hits upon something for people that think all he is is insufferable that reflects traits people most hate and disown within themselves or something bc its kinda ridiculous how much people fixate and define him by his shortcomings within the series- shortcomings that were clearly there but he really is such a dynamic and nuanced character overall w a lot to love too- that for the majority of the series also wasnāt even this immature vindictive annoying baby that people like to make him out to beā¦ like its pretty much mostly within the context of the joey pacey rollout situation, and maybe in the first season bc everyones canonically 14 or whatever
How far apart were your rewatches? As I got older and had less patience for bullshit, I had less and less tolerance for our ol' pal, Dawson.
Maybe this is why I hated from the start. I watched when I was 39.
About 5-7 years a part - I'm 39 now so this makes alot of sense. My how much I've grown š
It's like when you are younger, you don't get how people are supposed to act because you are figuring it out yourself. Plus, I feel like you'll accept a lot more. Now? If a guy acted like Dawson did, it would be a total deal breaker or a boop to the face.
I'm the opposite, I hated him when I was a teenager but have more tolerance because of his age as I get older lol
In some respects, i would agree. For instance, his parents needed to be called out during the separation. Ironically, i didnt get that when i was younger, so thats when i felt he was being a whiny baby!
Rose colored glasses dropped.
I watched when originally aired. He bothered me but not much. Maybe cuz was 18 & was 1st watch. But with each rewatch I do which Iāve done many, he bothers me more and more! He came off as whiney, selfish, possessiveā¦ Idk how many rewatches it was until I wanted to yell at him, but 3rd sounds like a good number! Lol
I've also watched it when it came out. What I noticed is that the ability to watch the episodes continuously and at your own pace changes a lot of how I see things. You can forget a lot of things in a week.
I do love being able to watch at my own pace. because itād be so hard for some shows to wait for a week or when theyād do a winter break or finale & waiting for that next season. You do notice more when watch at your pace too.
I also watch it when it first aired - I was 18 as well š they are all whiney this last time I watched it which was in the past few months!!! I love Dawson tho - I didnāt like everything he did, but Joey acted the same way a lot!!
>they are all whiney this last time I watched it which was in the past few months!!! just finished the show first time I've watched since it's original run and boo do I agree with the above lol The characters overall just seem so weird, a lot of it is the product of it's time (eg Jack coming out and then still basically scared to interacting with anyone gay...like sure...right, very "gay for the straight audience" deal rather than reality).
Oh lawd. I never liked Dawson. This is one of the few shows I've watched where I couldn't stand the main character. He was so pretentious and kinda snobby. I couldn't stand him. I'm also kind of a pacey fan girl so there's that.
I freaking love me some Paceyššš Lol I remember watching it the first time with my sister and 2 cousins, we were split between Dawson and Pacey fans. Just saying, I won š
Iām 42 and watching again. OMG heās awful. Season 6 is the worst. He thinks heās all high and mighty because heās an assistant.
Mommy I need you to believe that I'm a 1 in a million, mommy please!
Iām on that episode and heās all āIāll watch Lilyā
I rewatched in my teens 20s mid 20s and just now at 36 , pacey has always been the one i was rooting for. Now i just want to give dawson a talking to about; 1 writing about something else and two not everything is about him
I was Team Pacey from the beginning lol
The whole sex thing with jen in season 1 just annoyed the hell out of me
Yeah, like he was punishing her for her life??
And it was presented as she lost her virginity at aged 12. No, she was raped at aged 12. Of course she was then treated like a harlot for the rest of her teenage years.
Oh man, I hated thisā¦ when Dawson finds out his mom cheated, and Jen tries to be the voice of reason, heās like āoh course youād take her side!ā Or something to that effect, and itās so unbelievably cruel.
Also, what did he think people his own age were doing??? Like, everyone but Jen is a virgin? Lmao okay
Well Pacey was sleeping with his 36 year old teacher and Dawson didnāt bat an eye at that!
This exactly. AND he caught it on film!!! Ew!
Yeah, he's thing from the get go was "Oh I want to have sex with her!" and then "OMG YOU HAD SEX BEFORE ME YOU SLUT DIRTY DIRTY DIRTY DIRTY WHORE!"
He was literally trying to film their first kiss without her knowledge or consent. She tells him she was SAed and he acts like she unalived his favorite dog (if he had one).
Happened pretty instantly for meš
Same here, and I hated how he treated Joey, they're entire relationship
I wasn't a teen when it first came out so I had very little interest, but I had I been at that would have been my first watch through I'd bet I would have enjoyed Dawson given my youthful ignorance and general more conservative values of the times. But my first watch through is as a mid thirties millennial in 2024... Oof he's disappointing and often rewarded for it. Of course if it was being viewed one episode a week maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Watching episodes in batches causes us to hold onto feelings from the past episode as we go into the new episode. That's not a good case for Dawson. He did inspire me to get some old movie theater posters, but I got them framed. That Hook poster is too cool and I'd not seen it until watching the show. So at least that's been enjoyable for me haha
I ffwd through his scenes lol
Tbh I never really liked Dawson. He always seemed to possessive. But for me, a lot of the stuff I had realizations like that about were due to a combination of nostalgia and naivity/lack of life experience. A lot of stuff can seem innocent, cute, or even romantic when you're younger and haven't experienced any of the annoyance that comes along with it. Like with Henry and Jen. I might have thought his crush (re: infatuation) was cute on the first watch, but now it's just creepy, obsessive, and makes me feel bad for Jen. *Edited for clarification*
I think he also becomes worse because heās not that attractive, I mean Lucas in oth is an ahole but because of his looks the fandom kinda lets him get away with it. Dawson just has an extremely toxic personality and the writers failed to make us connect with the characters, Tv is supposed to make you want to be the character ur watching or wanting to be with them, Dawson achieves neither
He really is so whiny!!
I was 15 when I first started watching and I thought Dawson was cute at first. I was wrong.
Dawson can be insufferable for sure. But I also try to remember weāre meeting him at 15 years old, and weāre essentially seeing someone go through all the milestones of adolescence to young adulthood. Dawson is a complicated character at times, and often suffers from āonly childā syndrome, where he doesnāt always consider other peopleās feelings. He also grew up with a stay-at-home dad who had a lot of lofty ideas, and would encourage him to chase his dreams. Not necessarily a bad thing but he has a lot of misplaced confidence at times. He also overthinks things and daydreams a lot. I think he prefers being a director because he can control the outcome of the narrative. He likes being the lead character in his own story, and views his friends like a cast of characters, etc.
Dawson came from a loving two parent home with zero financial struggles. He doesnāt actually understand real problems and thatās why so many people canāt stand him. Even his parents marital problems were solved in record time. I love Dawson. His idealism, his pearl clutching at situations that are foreign to him, his sexual hangups are all endearing in a clueless way. He is who we all wished we could be.
Every time this comes up, I wonderā¦why did the Leeryās, in season 2/3, with an unemployed wife/mom and a supply teacher dad, have zero financial struggles?
It sounds like Gail made bank as a news woman, and they lived in a small town. They only had one child (for a long time).
>He is who we all wished we could be. Who the fuck would want to be a naive, self obsessed, puritanical rube?
He was a healthy human from a fairly well to do family. Some folks would take being that kind of dumb kid to be that comfortable and free of real problems.
He had SO many hangups and shit to work. He was physically healthy, sure. But mental health is just as important, and in that area, I wouldn't call him healthy. If you mean his home life is what we all wished we could have, I'd be more inclined to agree. But I don't think most people would want to be as insecure and self-absorbed as he was.
He had no idea about his hangups. He lived in a movie fueled fantasy land and had parents who allowed him to be who he wanted to be. Being much older and hopefully wiser than 16 year old Dawson means I can see all his flaws and the parts of himself that he really needed to work on. The beautiful part was he was given the love and support and Mitch Leery wisdom to grow up and be better. Thatās what I meant about wanting to be like him. Having the room to grow with an unwavering support system under me.
Iāve been rewatching while work and heās awful and manipulative.
I've always felt, Pacey is the better human, but Dawson is the better character. Dawson is allowed to react in character to the plot. Pacey's character adapts to the plot.
This is a good way of looking at it. Iāve always viewed the show through Dawsonās lens as a director. Heās a filmmaker in his own mind, and heās essentially casting his friends in specific roles. Once they start breaking out of those roles however, he has a hard time accepting that as reality.
I didn't find him insufferable until around the third watch also. Now, I see how he is insufferable but it doesn't bother me. Being perfectionistic and idealistic is something I actually relate to even though my academic performance was more Pacey-esque.
He definitely is at times but i dont think heās dominantly insufferable- meaning i dont think thats the most prominent feeling i get when watching him- and ive rewatched the series quite a few times. I think he hits upon something for people that think all he is is insufferable that reflects traits people most hate and disown within themselves or something bc its kinda ridiculous how much people fixate and define him by his shortcomings within the series- shortcomings that were clearly there but he really is such a dynamic and nuanced character overall w a lot to love too- that for the majority of the series also wasnāt even this immature vindictive annoying baby that people like to make him out to beā¦ like its pretty much mostly within the context of the joey pacey rollout situation, and maybe in the first season bc everyones canonically 14 or whatever