Joey Potter
Encyclopedia
Josephine "Joey" Lynn Potter is a fictional character portrayed by Katie Holmes
in the American television drama Dawson's Creek
.
since they were very young. She lives with her older sister, Bessie
, Bessie's son Alexander and (sometimes) boyfriend, Bodie. Her father, Mike, is in and out of prison for drug trafficking. Her mother, Lillian, died of breast cancer
when Joey was thirteen. She was given the name Josephine in honor of Jo March, the heroine from her mother's favorite book, Little Women
. Her middle name of Lynn can be seen on her passport shown in season 6. Joey is also the only character from the show to appear in every episode of the series.
arrives and steals Dawson away from her. She is intimidated by Jen, who grew up in New York, and doesn't know how to compete. She lives with her pregnant sister Bessie, and she works for her at the Ice House---the Potter family restaurant. She is frustrated with having to deal with work and taking care of her sister along with significant helpings of teenage angst. Nonetheless, Joey manages to be helpful with the birth of Bessie's son, Alexander, as does their critical neighbor, Evelyn Ryan. One day she is convinced to compete in the beauty pageant, which she does so that she can win the cash prize. But instead of winning the contest, she wins Dawson's heart, as he finally sees past his best friend image, and realizes that he has strong romantic feelings towards her. At the end of the season, she finds herself with the opportunity of going to Paris for the summer, but rejects it in favor of staying in Capeside with Dawson after her and Dawson kiss.
, kisses her. Dawson finds out during a school dance. After a huge argument, Joey decides to break up with him, even though for the first time they both say that they love each other. She says that she wants to "find herself", and so she breaks up with him.
Joey and Jack begin dating afterward but the relationship ends just as quickly when Jack realizes that he's gay. Joey's father is released from prison and comes back into her life. At first this change is uneasy, but they heal the rift between them and she gets back together with Dawson. However, Dawson finds out that Joey's father is dealing cocaine. After a fire at the restaurant which was started by rivals of Joey's father, Dawson tells Joey. He convinces her to wear a wire, and get a confession from her father so that nothing like the fire will happen again. She gets the confession from her father and shows him the wire. Knowing that she had betrayed her father, she is understandably heartbroken and angry with Dawson. She breaks up with him and tells him she doesn't even want to know him.
to keep an eye on her. As the season progresses, it becomes obvious that Pacey and Joey's friendship evolves into something deeper. Joey has a brief relationship with a college student, A.J. Moller (Robin Dunne
). This relationship makes Pacey jealous and forces him to confront his true feelings for Joey. After months of build up, Pacey finally kisses Joey after she confides in him that he and Dawson are the only ones to "have ever known her in a way that no one else does." Joey initially is angry when Pacey kisses her; however, later she comes to realize that she may also have feelings for him, as well.
During a trip to the home of Dawson's aunt, Gwen (Gail's sister), Joey and Pacey confront their feelings for one another. Joey confesses that being around Pacey makes her feel more alive resulting in Pacey kissing her again. Pacey tells Joey she needs to figure out what she wants and leaves. Joey stops him and pulls Pacey into a kiss, having made her choice. After this realization, they begin a secret romantic relationship.
When Dawson finds out about Joey and Pacey's relationship, he is furious, and the friendship between the three is never the same again. Dawson gives Joey an ultimatum- him or Pacey. Joey pulls back from Pacey in an effort to mend his and her friendship with Dawson. Dawson, however, sees Pacey as his enemy and opponent in winning Joey's heart. Dawson tries his best to win Joey back, including throwing an alternative prom with Joey as his date. However, Dawson witnesses Joey and Pacey share a romantic dance before the night is over.
In the season finale, Joey comes to realize that while she's just fearful of losing her oldest friend, Dawson, she has fallen in love with Pacey. With Dawson's urging, Joey rushes off to tell Pacey that she loves him before he departs for a summer at sea on his boat. She joins Pacey on his boat and the two then sail off into the sunset.
Joey and Pacey are chosen "Class Couple" and reaffirm their commitment to their relationship throughout the year, but insecurities threaten to overwhelm them as they begin to look to their futures beyond Capeside. Pacey has returned to academic probation while Joey dreams of admittance to the prestigious Worthington College in Boston
. On a ski trip with the senior class, Pacey and Joey finally sleep together for the first time. However, when Dawson questions her, she lies about losing her virginity. Pacey finds out about the lie and is unsettled. He is further disturbed when Joey accepts money from Dawson to attend Worthington.
After Joey returns from New York with Jen, she discovers from Gretchen that Pacey was arrested for public drunkness and that she also believes she may be pregnant. Bessie soon finds out that Joey believes she may be pregnant at Gail's baby shower, and Bessie argues with her about not being ready to have a baby, and having an immature boyfriend who would never cope with a child. Joey later defends herself by saying that whatever happens in her life will be different. Joey later does a test and finds out she is not pregnant, but the situation draws the sisters close together. When Joey finally reaches Pacey on the phone, she lies about the pregnancy scare and is disappointed that Pacey didn't tell her about his arrest.
Pacey soon begins to feel insecure about Joey's success and their relationship despite her insistence that her future lies with him, believes that he isn't good enough for her, and that their futures are worlds apart. At their senior prom, Pacey breaks up with Joey, who is devastated. The season ends with Joey headed to Worthington and Pacey to another summer at sea.
At the end of the season, as Dawson is preparing to leave Capeside for Los Angeles
, in a scene reminiscent of Season One's ending, Dawson and Joey share a kiss.
. Joey is studying English Literature, and for a time starts seeing her college professor, David Wilder.
She sees Pacey upon his return to Boston and the two share a friendly reunion, but do not interact much for the majority of the season.
Throwing everyone for a loop, Mitch is killed in a car accident leaving Gail, Dawson and baby Lily behind. Having been a witness to her mother's painful last days, Joey thinks that she can help Dawson through the process of grieving for his father. She attends Mitch's funeral, but is rejected when she tries to help Dawson deal with his whirl of emotions. Upon returning to her dorm room in Boston, a crying Joey is comforted by Audrey. While Jen convinces Dawson to go to counseling, Joey catches Jack in a 'bid' to get one of his frat brothers in bed with Audrey during the fraternity's Winter Formal.
Joey later joins the band, Aggressive Mediocrity, as lead singer with Jen's cheating ex, Charlie Todd (Chad Michael Murray
). They embark on a whirlwind romance before she tells him to leave to pursue his dream of being a touring musician. She has an unforgettable run-in with a mugger, who luckily for her, gets hit by a car shortly after robbing her at gunpoint. However, when she is requested to be at his side in the hospital, Joey discovers that the mugger is also a drug addict, and has a young daughter, Sammie, with his wife, Grace. When the mugger dies with Joey at his side, she returns to the waiting room, all of her belongings returned, including the money. Thinking of Sammie, whose situation reminds her of the relationship she has with her own father, Joey leaves all the money hidden in Grace's backpack.
At the end of the season she returns to Capeside, and Dawson confesses to her that he wants to be with her. She rejects him saying that all those feelings were in the past, but in the last episode she rushes to the airport, to declare her true feelings for Dawson. She catches him, and they kiss. Joey tells Dawson to go to Los Angeles as that is his destiny, and that they'll meet up after the summer. As she goes to get a refund, she is offered the chance to go to Paris, and the audience is left hanging.
). They both have a love for writing and literature, but it turns out that he is not officially a student at Worthington, as his family was too poor to afford the tuition.
After Christmas, Eddie disappears without telling Joey, going back to Worcester to live with his parents. In trying to find him, Joey gets some help from Harley Hetson---the 15-year-old, alienated, headstrong daughter of her snobbish and somewhat misogynist English professor, Greg Hetson
(Roger Howarth
), whom Joey clashes with several times during the entire season. Harley lies, telling Eddie that Joey was pregnant with his child in order to lure him back to Boston.
Joey and Pacey begin to rekindle their romance after sharing a kiss at his apartment. After being locked overnight in a K-Mart together, they discuss their past and current relationship. Each admits that they miss the other. They briefly reunite, but when Eddie reappears in Joey's life, she breaks it off with Pacey (ironically Pacey and Joey break up at another prom).
After Pacey and Dawson have another falling out after Pacey's stocks tank and Dawson loses his entire investment, Joey decides that it's time they worked things out for themselves without her in the middle because it "is not her fight" and that it never has been, and never will be.. After a heart to heart with Pacey on the dock, Joey brings everyone together to help Dawson make his movie. Joey finally goes to Paris and the final episode of the season ends with her standing before the famous Eiffel Tower.
). During this double episode, the five friends return to Capeside for Gale Leery's second wedding. Although she had originally planned to spend the weekend with Christopher, Joey runs scared after finding an engagement ring hidden in the couple's dresser while packing for the trip.
The five friends reunite at Pacey's restaurant to reminisce about the past. Afterwards, Joey drops by Dawson's house and the two reestablish their friendship. During Gale's wedding reception, Joey and Pacey kiss (reigniting still lingering feelings between the two) but the moment is interrupted when Jen suddenly collapses. It is later discovered that Jen has a deadly heart condition.
At the same time, Joey ends her relationship with Christopher and finally chooses between Dawson and Pacey. Though she loves Dawson, she acknowledges that he is her soulmate who is tied to her childhood. A love that is pure and eternally innocent. She also can not deny she is still in love with Pacey. A love so real that has kept her running away from it and never completely ready for it. She has always known Pacey is the one she is meant to be with and after Jen's death, she finally decides to stop running and confront her feelings for Pacey.
In the midst of their romantic entanglements, Joey, Dawson, Jack, and Pacey are all brought together at the Ice House, now owned by Pacey, to say goodbye to Jen, who dies from pulmonary congestion.
In the epilogue, Joey and Pacey watch Dawson's semi-autobiographical television series The Creek in their apartment, before calling up Dawson together where they discover he is going to meet his hero, Steven Spielberg
, we also learn that they have renewed their romantic relationship and the series ends with them as a couple living together in New York.
, during spring break of her senior year of high school in 1997. When the show was picked up by The WB, Holmes moved to Wilmington, where the show filmed.
Dawson's Creek ran from 1998 to 2003, and Holmes was the only actor to appear in all 128 episodes. "It was very difficult for me to leave Wilmington, to have my little glass bubble burst and move on. I hate change. On the other hand it was refreshing to play someone else", she said in 2004. Holmes confirmed that, as often happens on soaps, the character was a caricature
of the actor:
, for years had been climbing in Dawson's bedroom window and platonically sharing his bed. Joey's mother had died from cancer when Joey was thirteen and her father, Mike (Gareth Williams
), was in prison for "conspiracy to traffic in marijuana in excess of 10,000 pounds." Her harried, unmarried, and very pregnant sister, Bessie (Nina Repeta
), about ten years older than Joey,Dawson's Creek, Season 2, confirmed Bessie was in high school when Joey was in kindergarten was raising her while running the Ice House restaurant, where Joey worked as a waitress. GQ described Joey as "kind of an uptight fussbudget—one who's always twisted up over doing the right thing and bungling-up ways to hook up with her crush and across the creek neighbor, Dawson."
The tall brunette enchanted the press, writers of both sexes commenting how Holmes was the sort of girl one wants to bring home to meet the parents and to marry. "The Audrey Hepburn
of her generation", was one typical comment. Time
called her "impossibly lovely" and Entertainment Weekly
said she was "next up for idolhood." Variety
, reviewing the pilot, said Holmes "is a confident young performer who delivers her lines with slyness and conviction." Holmes made such an impression in Hollywood, The New York Times Magazine
claimed everyone was seeking to cast a "Katie Holmes type", who, the reporter claimed, "is a throwback to the 1950s: she is a smart girl next door (as opposed to the babe-o-rama blondes)"—the sort represented by her Dawson's Creek co-star Michelle Williams
. But her "type" was no less attractive, Arena magazine declaring her "the most coquettishly sexy woman on television. Anywhere."
Holmes was soon on the covers of magazines such as Seventeen
, TV Guide
, and Rolling Stone
. Jancee Dunn, an editor at Rolling Stone said she was chosen for the cover because "every time you mention Dawson's Creek you tend to get a lot of dolphin
-like shrieks from teenage girls. The fact that she is drop-dead gorgeous didn't hurt either."
Reviews were mixed. The Blade said the characters "just talk like they came from a planet ruled by Manhattan psychologists, one where small talk is punishable by death." Holmes herself needed help with the dialogue. "Sometimes before we read a script, I have to get my dictionary and call people to make sure I'm pronouncing some of the words correctly." The show brought her national attention and many fans back home; Toledo's Thanksgiving Day parade in November 1998 had record attendance when Holmes was named grand marshal.
"As Joey", said Life
magazine, "Holmes has had seismic influences on teen life... Through it all, Joey has managed to hang on to her integrity... The show—and Katie's character in particular—has touched a nerve."
Katie Holmes
Katherine Noelle "Katie" Holmes is an American actress who first achieved fame for her role as Joey Potter on The WB television teen drama Dawson's Creek from 1998 to 2003. Her movie roles have included the blockbuster Batman Begins along with art house films such as The Ice Storm and thrillers...
in the American television drama Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek is an American teen drama television series which debuted on January 20, 1998, on The WB Television Network and was produced by Sony Pictures Television. The show is set in the fictional seaside town of Capeside, Massachusetts, and in Boston, Massachusetts, during the later seasons...
.
Character biography
Joey has been friends with Dawson LeeryDawson Leery
Dawson Wade Leery is the central fictional character and the main protagonist of the American television drama Dawson's Creek. The character is portrayed by American actor James Van Der Beek.-Biography:...
since they were very young. She lives with her older sister, Bessie
Bessie Potter
Bessie Potter is a fictional character from the American television program, Dawson's Creek, played by Nina Repeta. She appears in all six seasons, but less frequently in seasons five and six.-Biography:...
, Bessie's son Alexander and (sometimes) boyfriend, Bodie. Her father, Mike, is in and out of prison for drug trafficking. Her mother, Lillian, died of breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
when Joey was thirteen. She was given the name Josephine in honor of Jo March, the heroine from her mother's favorite book, Little Women
Little Women
Little Women is a novel by American author Louisa May Alcott . The book was written and set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House, in Concord, Massachusetts. It was published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869...
. Her middle name of Lynn can be seen on her passport shown in season 6. Joey is also the only character from the show to appear in every episode of the series.
Season one
In season one, Joey is the "girl next door". She is confused by her growth into a teenager and her developing feelings for her longtime best friend Dawson, whom she also admitted is her soulmate. She immediately becomes jealous when Jen LindleyJen Lindley
Jennifer "Jen" Lindley is a fictional character on the American television drama Dawson's Creek. The character is portrayed by American actress Michelle Williams.-Season One:...
arrives and steals Dawson away from her. She is intimidated by Jen, who grew up in New York, and doesn't know how to compete. She lives with her pregnant sister Bessie, and she works for her at the Ice House---the Potter family restaurant. She is frustrated with having to deal with work and taking care of her sister along with significant helpings of teenage angst. Nonetheless, Joey manages to be helpful with the birth of Bessie's son, Alexander, as does their critical neighbor, Evelyn Ryan. One day she is convinced to compete in the beauty pageant, which she does so that she can win the cash prize. But instead of winning the contest, she wins Dawson's heart, as he finally sees past his best friend image, and realizes that he has strong romantic feelings towards her. At the end of the season, she finds herself with the opportunity of going to Paris for the summer, but rejects it in favor of staying in Capeside with Dawson after her and Dawson kiss.
Season two
At the start of the season, she and Dawson are a couple and things start out good, but Joey begins to think that she is losing her identity, as she can't see where Dawson ends and she begins. During a full moon, the new guy in town, Jack McPheeJack McPhee
Jack McPhee is a fictional character portrayed by Kerr Smith in the American television drama Dawson's Creek.-Fictional Biography:The son of Joseph McPhee, Jack is the shy new kid on the block when he and Andie begin their Sophomore year at Capeside High School. It is later revealed he and Andie...
, kisses her. Dawson finds out during a school dance. After a huge argument, Joey decides to break up with him, even though for the first time they both say that they love each other. She says that she wants to "find herself", and so she breaks up with him.
Joey and Jack begin dating afterward but the relationship ends just as quickly when Jack realizes that he's gay. Joey's father is released from prison and comes back into her life. At first this change is uneasy, but they heal the rift between them and she gets back together with Dawson. However, Dawson finds out that Joey's father is dealing cocaine. After a fire at the restaurant which was started by rivals of Joey's father, Dawson tells Joey. He convinces her to wear a wire, and get a confession from her father so that nothing like the fire will happen again. She gets the confession from her father and shows him the wire. Knowing that she had betrayed her father, she is understandably heartbroken and angry with Dawson. She breaks up with him and tells him she doesn't even want to know him.
Season three
After Dawson returns from visiting his mom over the summer, Joey offers herself to him but Dawson rejects her. Joey flees and Dawson asks Pacey WitterPacey Witter
Pacey J. Witter is a fictional character on the American television series Dawson's Creek, portrayed by actor Joshua Jackson.-Biography:...
to keep an eye on her. As the season progresses, it becomes obvious that Pacey and Joey's friendship evolves into something deeper. Joey has a brief relationship with a college student, A.J. Moller (Robin Dunne
Robin Dunne
Robin Dunne is a Canadian actor who is mainly known for having had numerous leading roles in sequels throughout his career, and lately for his role as Doctor Will Zimmerman in the cult Science fiction Television series, Sanctuary....
). This relationship makes Pacey jealous and forces him to confront his true feelings for Joey. After months of build up, Pacey finally kisses Joey after she confides in him that he and Dawson are the only ones to "have ever known her in a way that no one else does." Joey initially is angry when Pacey kisses her; however, later she comes to realize that she may also have feelings for him, as well.
During a trip to the home of Dawson's aunt, Gwen (Gail's sister), Joey and Pacey confront their feelings for one another. Joey confesses that being around Pacey makes her feel more alive resulting in Pacey kissing her again. Pacey tells Joey she needs to figure out what she wants and leaves. Joey stops him and pulls Pacey into a kiss, having made her choice. After this realization, they begin a secret romantic relationship.
When Dawson finds out about Joey and Pacey's relationship, he is furious, and the friendship between the three is never the same again. Dawson gives Joey an ultimatum- him or Pacey. Joey pulls back from Pacey in an effort to mend his and her friendship with Dawson. Dawson, however, sees Pacey as his enemy and opponent in winning Joey's heart. Dawson tries his best to win Joey back, including throwing an alternative prom with Joey as his date. However, Dawson witnesses Joey and Pacey share a romantic dance before the night is over.
In the season finale, Joey comes to realize that while she's just fearful of losing her oldest friend, Dawson, she has fallen in love with Pacey. With Dawson's urging, Joey rushes off to tell Pacey that she loves him before he departs for a summer at sea on his boat. She joins Pacey on his boat and the two then sail off into the sunset.
Season four
Joey and Pacey return to Capeside from their summer at sea in the fourth season, and are quickly brought back to reality when they must confront the events of the past year and the subsequent fallout. Joey is eager to mend fences, though Dawson is still hurt by what happened. Pacey's relationship with Dawson never quite recovers, though the two are civil and acknowledge a shared history and group of friends.Joey and Pacey are chosen "Class Couple" and reaffirm their commitment to their relationship throughout the year, but insecurities threaten to overwhelm them as they begin to look to their futures beyond Capeside. Pacey has returned to academic probation while Joey dreams of admittance to the prestigious Worthington College in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. On a ski trip with the senior class, Pacey and Joey finally sleep together for the first time. However, when Dawson questions her, she lies about losing her virginity. Pacey finds out about the lie and is unsettled. He is further disturbed when Joey accepts money from Dawson to attend Worthington.
After Joey returns from New York with Jen, she discovers from Gretchen that Pacey was arrested for public drunkness and that she also believes she may be pregnant. Bessie soon finds out that Joey believes she may be pregnant at Gail's baby shower, and Bessie argues with her about not being ready to have a baby, and having an immature boyfriend who would never cope with a child. Joey later defends herself by saying that whatever happens in her life will be different. Joey later does a test and finds out she is not pregnant, but the situation draws the sisters close together. When Joey finally reaches Pacey on the phone, she lies about the pregnancy scare and is disappointed that Pacey didn't tell her about his arrest.
Pacey soon begins to feel insecure about Joey's success and their relationship despite her insistence that her future lies with him, believes that he isn't good enough for her, and that their futures are worlds apart. At their senior prom, Pacey breaks up with Joey, who is devastated. The season ends with Joey headed to Worthington and Pacey to another summer at sea.
At the end of the season, as Dawson is preparing to leave Capeside for Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, in a scene reminiscent of Season One's ending, Dawson and Joey share a kiss.
Season five
In season five, Joey attends Worthington College in Boston, where she meets and befriends her roommate Audrey LiddellAudrey Liddell
Audrey Liddell is a fictional character played by Busy Philipps in the American television drama Dawson's Creek.-Biography:The only child of a former actress, Kay Liddell, Audrey is an 18-year-old girl from L.A. with an interesting, romantic past. She lived next door to the famed Osbornes...
. Joey is studying English Literature, and for a time starts seeing her college professor, David Wilder.
She sees Pacey upon his return to Boston and the two share a friendly reunion, but do not interact much for the majority of the season.
Throwing everyone for a loop, Mitch is killed in a car accident leaving Gail, Dawson and baby Lily behind. Having been a witness to her mother's painful last days, Joey thinks that she can help Dawson through the process of grieving for his father. She attends Mitch's funeral, but is rejected when she tries to help Dawson deal with his whirl of emotions. Upon returning to her dorm room in Boston, a crying Joey is comforted by Audrey. While Jen convinces Dawson to go to counseling, Joey catches Jack in a 'bid' to get one of his frat brothers in bed with Audrey during the fraternity's Winter Formal.
Joey later joins the band, Aggressive Mediocrity, as lead singer with Jen's cheating ex, Charlie Todd (Chad Michael Murray
Chad Michael Murray
Chad Michael Murray is an American actor, former fashion model and spokesperson. Murray is well known for portraying Lucas Scott in The CW young adult drama series One Tree Hill, in addition to the commercially successful films A Cinderella Story, Freaky Friday and House of Wax...
). They embark on a whirlwind romance before she tells him to leave to pursue his dream of being a touring musician. She has an unforgettable run-in with a mugger, who luckily for her, gets hit by a car shortly after robbing her at gunpoint. However, when she is requested to be at his side in the hospital, Joey discovers that the mugger is also a drug addict, and has a young daughter, Sammie, with his wife, Grace. When the mugger dies with Joey at his side, she returns to the waiting room, all of her belongings returned, including the money. Thinking of Sammie, whose situation reminds her of the relationship she has with her own father, Joey leaves all the money hidden in Grace's backpack.
At the end of the season she returns to Capeside, and Dawson confesses to her that he wants to be with her. She rejects him saying that all those feelings were in the past, but in the last episode she rushes to the airport, to declare her true feelings for Dawson. She catches him, and they kiss. Joey tells Dawson to go to Los Angeles as that is his destiny, and that they'll meet up after the summer. As she goes to get a refund, she is offered the chance to go to Paris, and the audience is left hanging.
Season six
In the beginning of Season Six, it is revealed that Joey didn't end up going to Paris, but went home to Capeside. After not talking all summer, she and Dawson meet up and have a one night stand in her dorm room. The next day it is revealed that Dawson has a girlfriend in California. Joey breaks things off with him. She takes a job as a waitress at Hell's Kitchen, with the help of aspiring drummer, Emma Jones. Joey eventually falls for the bartender, Eddie Doling (Oliver HudsonOliver Hudson
Oliver Rutledge Hudson is an American actor. He is the son of Goldie Hawn and Bill Hudson, and brother of Kate Hudson...
). They both have a love for writing and literature, but it turns out that he is not officially a student at Worthington, as his family was too poor to afford the tuition.
After Christmas, Eddie disappears without telling Joey, going back to Worcester to live with his parents. In trying to find him, Joey gets some help from Harley Hetson---the 15-year-old, alienated, headstrong daughter of her snobbish and somewhat misogynist English professor, Greg Hetson
Greg Hetson
Greg Hetson is an American guitarist. He was born in Brooklyn, New York and has lived in Los Angeles, California since he was 2 years old...
(Roger Howarth
Roger Howarth
Roger Howarth is an American actor. He portrays Todd Manning on the daytime drama One Life to Live, a character which became an iconic fixture in the genre's medium, and earned Howarth a Daytime Emmy Award...
), whom Joey clashes with several times during the entire season. Harley lies, telling Eddie that Joey was pregnant with his child in order to lure him back to Boston.
Joey and Pacey begin to rekindle their romance after sharing a kiss at his apartment. After being locked overnight in a K-Mart together, they discuss their past and current relationship. Each admits that they miss the other. They briefly reunite, but when Eddie reappears in Joey's life, she breaks it off with Pacey (ironically Pacey and Joey break up at another prom).
After Pacey and Dawson have another falling out after Pacey's stocks tank and Dawson loses his entire investment, Joey decides that it's time they worked things out for themselves without her in the middle because it "is not her fight" and that it never has been, and never will be.. After a heart to heart with Pacey on the dock, Joey brings everyone together to help Dawson make his movie. Joey finally goes to Paris and the final episode of the season ends with her standing before the famous Eiffel Tower.
Series finale
The final two episodes are set in the future, approximately five years after the season finale. Joey is revealed to be a junior editor living in New York with her writer boyfriend, Christopher (Jeremy SistoJeremy Sisto
Jeremy Merton Sisto is an American actor. Sisto has had recurring roles as Billy Chenowith on the HBO series Six Feet Under and Detective Cyrus Lupo on Law & Order on television and also starred in the films Jesus, Clueless and Thirteen.-Early life:Sisto was born in Grass Valley, California, the...
). During this double episode, the five friends return to Capeside for Gale Leery's second wedding. Although she had originally planned to spend the weekend with Christopher, Joey runs scared after finding an engagement ring hidden in the couple's dresser while packing for the trip.
The five friends reunite at Pacey's restaurant to reminisce about the past. Afterwards, Joey drops by Dawson's house and the two reestablish their friendship. During Gale's wedding reception, Joey and Pacey kiss (reigniting still lingering feelings between the two) but the moment is interrupted when Jen suddenly collapses. It is later discovered that Jen has a deadly heart condition.
At the same time, Joey ends her relationship with Christopher and finally chooses between Dawson and Pacey. Though she loves Dawson, she acknowledges that he is her soulmate who is tied to her childhood. A love that is pure and eternally innocent. She also can not deny she is still in love with Pacey. A love so real that has kept her running away from it and never completely ready for it. She has always known Pacey is the one she is meant to be with and after Jen's death, she finally decides to stop running and confront her feelings for Pacey.
In the midst of their romantic entanglements, Joey, Dawson, Jack, and Pacey are all brought together at the Ice House, now owned by Pacey, to say goodbye to Jen, who dies from pulmonary congestion.
In the epilogue, Joey and Pacey watch Dawson's semi-autobiographical television series The Creek in their apartment, before calling up Dawson together where they discover he is going to meet his hero, Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
, we also learn that they have renewed their romantic relationship and the series ends with them as a couple living together in New York.
Notable relationships
- Anderson Crawford
- Fling
- Beginning: "Kiss" (1.03)
- Broke Up: "Kiss" (1.03)
- Reason: Didn't continue because she lied about who she was.
- Fling
- Dawson LeeryDawson LeeryDawson Wade Leery is the central fictional character and the main protagonist of the American television drama Dawson's Creek. The character is portrayed by American actor James Van Der Beek.-Biography:...
- Boyfriend
- First Relationship:
- Beginning: "Decisions" (1.13)
- End: "The Dance" (2.06)
- Reason: After Jack kisses her she gets confused about who she really is and what she wants
- Second Relationship:
- Beginning: "A Perfect Wedding" (2.18)
- End: "Parental Discretion Advised" (2.22)
- Reason: Dawson convinced her to get her father to confess to a crime that burned down the ice house and his drug use.
- Third Relationship:Almost (they don't confirm this relationship)
- Beginning: Coda" (4.23)
- End: "High Anxiety" (5.06)
- Reason: Dawsons dad dies and Joey has a difficult time trying to get him to open up. So he goes with Jack to a party where he gets drunk and tells Joey that it was her fault because she convinced him to stay making Mitch go out to clear his head and die in a car accident
- Fourth Relationship:
- Beginning: "The Kids Are Alright" (6.01)
- End: "The Song Remains The Same" (6.02)
- Reason: After they sleep together she finds out he had a girlfriend
- First Relationship:
- Boyfriend
- Jack McPheeJack McPheeJack McPhee is a fictional character portrayed by Kerr Smith in the American television drama Dawson's Creek.-Fictional Biography:The son of Joseph McPhee, Jack is the shy new kid on the block when he and Andie begin their Sophomore year at Capeside High School. It is later revealed he and Andie...
- Kissed
- Beginning: "Full Moon Rising" (2.05)
- Broke Up: "Full Moon Rising" (2.05)
- Reason: Didn't continue to be a couple because she was still with Dawson.
- Boyfriend
- Beginning: "The Reluctant Hero" (2.08)
- Broke Up: "...That Is The Question" (2.15)
- Reason: He finds out after reading a poem that he's gay
- Kissed
- A.J. Moller
- Boyfriend
- Beginning: "Northern Lights" (3.13)
- Broke Up: "Cinderella Story" (3.17)
- Reason: Didn't continue to be a couple because she finds out his best friend loves him and he loves her but not knowing it yet.
- Boyfriend
- Pacey WitterPacey WitterPacey J. Witter is a fictional character on the American television series Dawson's Creek, portrayed by actor Joshua Jackson.-Biography:...
- Kissed
- "Double Date" (1.10)
-
- Reason: She didn't feel the same way and he knew that she liked Dawson and Dawson liked her even though he was still hung up on Jen
-
- Kissed
- "Cinderella Story" (3.17)
- "Neverland" (3.18)
-
- Reason:She didn't fully realize that she liked him yet till she talks to Jen but still doesn't tell him till the next episode
- First Relationship:
- Beginning: "Stolen Kisses" (3.19)
- End: "The Longest Day" (3.20)
- Reason: She feels guilty when Dawson finds out about their relationship and ends things with him
- Second Relationship:
- Beginning: "True Love" (3.23)
- End: "Promicide" (4.20)
- Reason: They realize that they are different and it seemed like she had a bright future ahead of her while he felt like he was being left behind.
- Third Relationship:
- Beginning: Castaways" (6.15)
- End: "Love Bites" (6.18)
- Reason: Eddie comes back.
- Fourth Relationship:
- Beginning: ...Must Come To An End" (6.24)
- Note: Jen tells Joey as her final wish is for Joey to chose between Dawson and Pacey she chooses Pacey.
-
- Elliot
- Almost Fling but never kissed
- Beginning: "Sleeping Arrangements" (5.12)
- Broke Up: "Guerrilla Filmmaking" (5.14)
- Reason: After finding out he never slept with Audrey she gives him another second chance. But she later bails on a date with him to go to a thing with Wilder who she later kissed and the next day tells him she cant go out with him off-screen.
- Almost Fling but never kissed
- David Wilder
- Kissed/Almost Fling
- Beginning: "Something Wilder" (5.13)
- Broke Up: "In A Lonely Place" (5.16)
- Reason: Joey inadvertently stands David up after getting mugged. This gives him the time to reflect upon the relationship and he realizes that he can't have an affair with a student.
- Kissed/Almost Fling
- Charlie Todd
- Kissed
- Beginning: "Something wild" (5.11)
- Broke Up: "Something wild" (5.11)
- Reason: Because he cheated on Jen.
- Fling
- Beginning: "100 Light Years From Home" (5.19)
- Broke Up: "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" (5.20)
- Reason: She tells him to go off and fulfill his dream of being a musician
- Kissed
- Eddie Doling
- Boyfriend
- First Relationship:
- Beginning: "Ego Tripping At The Gates Of Hell" (6.07)
- Broke Up: "Rock Bottom" (6.13)
- Reason: He left with out telling her
- Second Relationship:
- Beginning: "Love Bites" (6.18)
- Broke Up: "Catch-22" (6.20)
- Reason: They didn't see a future with each other
- Boyfriend
Holmes' thoughts on Joey Potter
"I'm a lot like Joey", said Holmes. "I think they saw that. I come from a small town. I was a tomboy. Joey tries to be articulate and deny that she doesn't have a lot of experience in life. Her life parallels mine, which is all about new everything—relationships, personal perceptions—and about being guarded." Holmes filmed the pilot of Dawson's Creek in Wilmington, North CarolinaWilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington is a port city in and is the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. The population is 106,476 according to the 2010 Census, making it the eighth most populous city in the state of North Carolina...
, during spring break of her senior year of high school in 1997. When the show was picked up by The WB, Holmes moved to Wilmington, where the show filmed.
Dawson's Creek ran from 1998 to 2003, and Holmes was the only actor to appear in all 128 episodes. "It was very difficult for me to leave Wilmington, to have my little glass bubble burst and move on. I hate change. On the other hand it was refreshing to play someone else", she said in 2004. Holmes confirmed that, as often happens on soaps, the character was a caricature
Caricature
A caricature is a portrait that exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person or thing to create an easily identifiable visual likeness. In literature, a caricature is a description of a person using exaggeration of some characteristics and oversimplification of others.Caricatures can be...
of the actor:
Reception
"Joey Potter is a headstrong, vibrant, wily, sultry, and determined go-getter. And yet, in a gloriously contradictory manner, in spite of her tough-as-nails exterior demeanor, Joey's also a frail, sometimes uncertain, emotionally sensitive, in-need-of-love person", said the show's official book. Joey, named for Jo in Little WomenLittle Women
Little Women is a novel by American author Louisa May Alcott . The book was written and set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House, in Concord, Massachusetts. It was published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869...
, for years had been climbing in Dawson's bedroom window and platonically sharing his bed. Joey's mother had died from cancer when Joey was thirteen and her father, Mike (Gareth Williams
Gareth Williams (actor)
Gareth Williams is an American actor. He is probably best known from his role as Mike Potter, a recurring character on the television drama Dawson's Creek....
), was in prison for "conspiracy to traffic in marijuana in excess of 10,000 pounds." Her harried, unmarried, and very pregnant sister, Bessie (Nina Repeta
Nina Repeta
Nina Repeta is an American actress best known for her role as Bessie Potter on the television drama Dawson's Creek, which aired from 1998 to 2003....
), about ten years older than Joey,Dawson's Creek, Season 2, confirmed Bessie was in high school when Joey was in kindergarten was raising her while running the Ice House restaurant, where Joey worked as a waitress. GQ described Joey as "kind of an uptight fussbudget—one who's always twisted up over doing the right thing and bungling-up ways to hook up with her crush and across the creek neighbor, Dawson."
The tall brunette enchanted the press, writers of both sexes commenting how Holmes was the sort of girl one wants to bring home to meet the parents and to marry. "The Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn was a British actress and humanitarian. Although modest about her acting ability, Hepburn remains one of the world's most famous actresses of all time, remembered as a film and fashion icon of the twentieth century...
of her generation", was one typical comment. Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
called her "impossibly lovely" and Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
said she was "next up for idolhood." Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
, reviewing the pilot, said Holmes "is a confident young performer who delivers her lines with slyness and conviction." Holmes made such an impression in Hollywood, The New York Times Magazine
The New York Times Magazine
The New York Times Magazine is a Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of The New York Times. It is host to feature articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors...
claimed everyone was seeking to cast a "Katie Holmes type", who, the reporter claimed, "is a throwback to the 1950s: she is a smart girl next door (as opposed to the babe-o-rama blondes)"—the sort represented by her Dawson's Creek co-star Michelle Williams
Michelle Williams (actress)
Michelle Ingrid Williams is an American actress. After starting her career with television guest appearances in the early 1990s, Williams achieved recognition for her role as Jen Lindley on the WB television teen drama Dawson's Creek, which she played from 1998 to 2003...
. But her "type" was no less attractive, Arena magazine declaring her "the most coquettishly sexy woman on television. Anywhere."
Holmes was soon on the covers of magazines such as Seventeen
Seventeen (magazine)
Seventeen is an American magazine for teenagers. It was first published in September 1944 by Walter Annenberg's Triangle Publications. News Corporation bought Triangle in 1988, and sold Seventeen to K-III Communications in 1991. Primedia sold the magazine to Hearst in 2003. It is still in the...
, TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
, and Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
. Jancee Dunn, an editor at Rolling Stone said she was chosen for the cover because "every time you mention Dawson's Creek you tend to get a lot of dolphin
Dolphin
Dolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating...
-like shrieks from teenage girls. The fact that she is drop-dead gorgeous didn't hurt either."
Reviews were mixed. The Blade said the characters "just talk like they came from a planet ruled by Manhattan psychologists, one where small talk is punishable by death." Holmes herself needed help with the dialogue. "Sometimes before we read a script, I have to get my dictionary and call people to make sure I'm pronouncing some of the words correctly." The show brought her national attention and many fans back home; Toledo's Thanksgiving Day parade in November 1998 had record attendance when Holmes was named grand marshal.
"As Joey", said Life
Life (magazine)
Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
magazine, "Holmes has had seismic influences on teen life... Through it all, Joey has managed to hang on to her integrity... The show—and Katie's character in particular—has touched a nerve."