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The Best Episodes of Dawson's Creek

Every episode of Dawson's Creek ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Dawson's Creek!

The Best Episodes of Dawson's Creek

Dawson's Creek is an American teen drama that portrays the fictional lives of a close-knit group of teenagers through high school and college.

Seasons6

  1. Background image for The Longest Day
    8.8/10(514 votes)

    #1 - The Longest Day

    S3:E20

    In a story that replays the same day's activities from three different perspectives (as in the 1999 movie ""Go""), Joey and Pacey vacillate on the ways to tell Dawson about their feelings for each other. But when the truth does come out, Dawson's reaction is the one they hoped they wouldn't get. Meanwhile, Andie, who thought she was over Pacey enough to date, accepts a date with Capeside visitor Will, but their first date is ruined when she also learns about Joey and Pacey.

    Director:Perry Lang
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  2. Background image for True Love
    8.7/10(625 votes)

    #2 - True Love

    S3:E23

    After an emotional day filled with love, tears and wedding vows, Joey ultimately must choose between her love for Dawson and her new feelings for Pacey. Across town, Grams talks about love and regret with Jen, while Jack and Andie make a decision to drive all night so that Jen can see Henry one last time.

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  3. Background image for ...That is the Question
    8.4/10(408 votes)

    #3 - ...That is the Question

    S2:E15

    On Dawson's advice, Joey attempts to heal the wounds of her new romance with Jack left shattered by rumor and innuendo, but when Jack confronts his innermost secrets, their lives and everyone's close to them will never be the same again. Meanwhile, for the first time in his life, Pacey stands up for what he believes in when he takes on an abusive teacher, but the consequences of his convictions are more than he could have imagined.

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  4. Background image for Stolen Kisses
    8.4/10(492 votes)

    #4 - Stolen Kisses

    S3:E19

    Dawson invites Joey, Andie and Pacey to spend Spring Break in the mountains at his aunt's home, but the trip is filled with tension as Joey and Pacey continue to battle about their feelings for each other and Andie becomes intrigued with the gang's childhood friend Will who is visiting. Meanwhile, back in town, Jen becomes surprisingly territorial when another woman flirts with Henry.

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  5. Background image for Detention
    8.3/10(604 votes)

    #5 - Detention

    S1:E7

    In what is said to be one of the best episodes, the gang, after committing various violations at school, gets stuck together for an 8 hour Saturday detention, where Dawson and Pacey turn against each another; and Joey offers a tearful partial explanation for her anger toward Jen.

    Director:Allan Arkush
    Writer:Mike White
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  6. Background image for Decisions
    8.3/10(517 votes)

    #6 - Decisions

    S1:E13

    In the season finale, Dawson and Joey confront their true feelings. Joey, visits her father in prison, and debates leaving to go to France.

    Director:David Semel
    Writer:Mike White
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  7. Trending NowTRENDING NOW

    The 20 WORST Episodes of Dawson's Creek

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  8. Background image for The Scare
    8.2/10(570 votes)

    #7 - The Scare

    S1:E11

    In honor of Friday the 13th, Dawson, plans a séance for the gang, they are all spooked by reports of a serial killer heading towards Capeside.

    Writer:Mike White
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  9. Background image for To Be or Not to Be ...
    8.2/10(412 votes)

    #8 - To Be or Not to Be ...

    S2:E14

    In a compelling two-part episode, the Capeside High School gossip mill kicks into overdrive after Jack bears his soul in a English assignment and is forced to expose his innermost secrets while reading the poem aloud in class, leaving Dawson, Joey, and Andie shaken by the implications of what it all means. Meanwhile, Pacey tries to defend Jack in the face of an adversarial teacher, and Jen finds her latest suitor Ty is full of surprises.

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  10. Background image for The Anti-Prom
    8.2/10(400 votes)

    #9 - The Anti-Prom

    S3:E22

    Dawson, Joey and Andie prepare their own unique prom when they learn that the committee has scrutinized Jack's selected date. Dawson, who has invited Joey to be his date, uses the special evening to try to win her back and make Pacey jealous; Andie persuades Pacey to be her escort but her evening ends by consoling him about his love life uncertainties; Jen becomes outraged with Henry when he reveals he is leaving Capeside for the summer; and Gail and Mitch celebrate their new found romance.

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  11. Background image for A Weekend in the Country
    8.1/10(407 votes)

    #10 - A Weekend in the Country

    S3:E12

    Joey's friends and their families work together to make sure that the opening of Potter's Bed & Breakfast is a success and that she and Bessie don't lose everything they have after Pacey surprises them with a visit from a prestigious travel critic. Throughout the weekend, Jen admits her concerns to Grams about getting close to Henry; Jack considers moving back home after hearing Andie's loving plea; and Dawson tries to understand the connection between his parents even after their divorce.

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  12. Background image for To Green, With Love
    8.1/10(368 votes)

    #11 - To Green, With Love

    S3:E16

    Joey relies on the support of Pacey and A.J. to rally the students in protest against the school superintendent after he forces Principal Green to resign for expelling the student who destroyed Joey's mural. Meanwhile, Dawson and Gail both go back to their respective places in back and in front of the camera to produce a piece about the ongoing school protest which ruffles more than a few feathers of the school board hierarchy.

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  13. Background image for Beauty Contest
    8.0/10(505 votes)

    #12 - Beauty Contest

    S1:E12

    Joey and Pacey enter a beauty competition; Jen regrets her breakup with Dawson.

    Director:Arvin Brown
    Writer:Unknown
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  14. Background image for Parental Discretion Advised
    8.0/10(355 votes)

    #13 - Parental Discretion Advised

    S2:E22

    As the WB commercial says... "Children must pay for the sins of their fathers." Dawson sees Mr. Potter dealing drugs and he is unsure whether or not to tell Joey or leave things looking good. Mr. Witter has to stake out the Ice House because the Capeside police department believes that Mr. Potter is back to his usual tricks. When the gang is studying in the Ice House, one of Mr. Potter's customers lights it on fire, making Mr. Witter more suspicious and Dawson's conflict greater. Gail tells Mitch about her new job offer in Chicago and her discussion to go for it. Pacey becomes depressed and his achievement level decreases, now that Andie is gone, which his father teases him for. Finally Mr. Witter does realize her importance and that he has been a bad father. Jack becomes worried that Jen is suicidal when she doesn't immediately leave the burning Ice House. But later, Grams and Jen reconcile, causing Jen to move back in taking Jack also.

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  15. Background image for Coming Home
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #14 - Coming Home

    S4:E1

    Pacey and Joey return from their summer vacation on "True Love". Now they have to deal with Dawson's feelings, who has been deeply hurt for the past months. At first, he doesn't want to talk with neither one of them, but Jen convinces him to talk to Joey. Meanwhile, Pacey's older sister, Gretchen, arrives in Capeside and moves in with Doug, making Pacey homeless. But he won't live with his parents anymore, and so he asks Joey to let him crash at her house for a while. Dawson tells Jack about Gretchen, for whom he had a secret crush a few years ago. Andie meets 2 foreign guys, and she is attracted to them. Dawson and Joey talk, and he says he'll be ok, but it takes one day at a time. Everybody is wondering if Pacey and Joey did it while on the trip, and they don't confirm or deny. But Joey secretly tells Dawson nothing really happened.

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  16. Background image for Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #15 - Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

    S4:E9

    Dawson asks Mr. Brooks' advice on becoming a director. Joey takes Pacey to a dinner hosted by an exclusive college.

    Director:Perry Lang
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  17. Background image for Promicide
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #16 - Promicide

    S4:E20

    As everyone gets ready for this year's senior prom, some bad news causes Gretchen to reflect on her life, and Joey worries about Pacey's odd behavior. Meanwhile, Jen and Jack meddle in each others' lives... resulting in some interesting prom dates. At the prom Joey and Pacey confront once unspoken issues, and the festivities cause conflict for Gretchen, as she questions her relationship with Dawson, while an unhappy Jen is rescued by an unlikely individual after she and Jack arrange dates for each other. Jen decides to drown her sorrows.

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  18. Background image for The Bostonians
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #17 - The Bostonians

    S5:E1

    Dawson is a freshman film student in Los Angeles, while Joey starts college at an Ivy League university in Boston. Instead of focusing on the new lives they have worked a lifetime for, they find themselves distracted by the distance between them and their unsettling last kiss.

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  19. Background image for The Kids Are Alright (1)
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #18 - The Kids Are Alright (1)

    S6:E1

    Dawson returns to Boston after working as an assistant director in Los Angeles over the summer and reunites with Joey who has spent a relatively angst-free summer in Capeside. Audrey and Pacey return from L.A. with a surprise passenger, Audrey's childhood friend Jack Osborne.

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  20. Background image for Joey Potter and the Capeside Redemption
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #19 - Joey Potter and the Capeside Redemption

    S6:E22

    When Dawson gives up his dream of making his film, a strong-minded Joey rallies the old group back to Capeside to help Dawson begin production before pursuing her dream of traveling to Paris. Jen, Jack and Grams must say their goodbyes and leave for New York.

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  21. Background image for Pilot
    7.9/10(828 votes)

    #20 - Pilot

    S1:E1

    Film-buff Dawson finds his best friend, Joey, growing jealous of his attraction to a neighbor's granddaughter. Meanwhile, pal Pacey falls in love with a mystery woman, who is really a teacher at Capeside.

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  22. Background image for The All-Nighter
    7.9/10(418 votes)

    #21 - The All-Nighter

    S2:E7

    Facing the scariest English test of their lives the gang has an all night study session at wealthy, horny Chris Wolfe's house. At this all-nighter secrets are revealed and friendships are altered.

    Director:David Semel
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  23. Background image for Sex, She Wrote
    7.9/10(382 votes)

    #22 - Sex, She Wrote

    S2:E11

    Abby and Chris find an anonymous note at school. Abby realizes the author and intended recipient had sex the night before and in true Abby fashion, she sets to expose the affair. Working from clues about Joey's night of nude sketching with Jack, Dawson's steamy stop over at Jen's and Pacey's bed and breakfast trip with Andie. Abby calls together her list of suspects and reveals the dirty secrets of Capeside.

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  24. Background image for Be Careful What You Wish For
    7.9/10(381 votes)

    #23 - Be Careful What You Wish For

    S2:E16

    On the eve of Dawson's sixteenth birthday, Pacey and Andie follow her therapist's advice and throw themselves into an unabashed night of recklessness and the blues. Meanwhile, back at the Leery house, Joey is organizing a surprise party for Dawson, but the longer the guest of honor is a no show, the more she is subject to surprises of her own; Jen and Ty face up to the their potentially irreconcilable differences; and Gale and Mitch come to decisions about how to raise their son in light of their separation.

    Director:David Semel
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  25. Background image for Hurricane
    7.8/10(521 votes)

    #24 - Hurricane

    S1:E5

    When a major hurricane moves inland, all take refuge in the Leery home, where Dawson rages at Jen about her past, and Mitch storms out after learning of Gale's affair. That leaves a tormented Dawson to deal with their fallout. Meanwhile, Pacey ruins his brother's chances to get with Tamara at her beach house.

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  26. Background image for Reunited
    7.8/10(340 votes)

    #25 - Reunited

    S2:E20

    Dawson and Joey are reunited for a while, so Dawson decides to take Joey out to dinner, also eating out tonight are Mitch and Nicole Kennedy. The restaurant, not realizing there are two Leery parties, only has one table available, forcing all four to sit together. Mrs. Kennedy, Dawson and Joey fight causing Nicole to leave. Also there are Jen, now living with Gale and Dawson, and Gale. Dawson, Joey and Jen attempt to reunite Gale and Mitch. Also reunited are Andie and her deaceased brother. Pacey and Jack catch on and realize she thinks he is with her, but is just a figment of her imagination as is Abby, who Andie also thought she saw at the end of the last episode.

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Best Episodes Summary

"The Longest Day" is the best rated episode of "Dawson's Creek". It scored 8.8/10 based on 514 votes. Directed by Perry Lang and written by Gina Fattore, it aired on 5/3/2000. This episode scored 0.1 points higher than the second highest rated, "True Love".