Two tragedies rock Dawson's world. First he learns the awful truth about his parents marriage. Than at the Homecoming dance, he witnesses a heated moment between Joey and Jack, setting of a chain of events that shatter a lifelong friendship and a new found romance. The big night also gives Jen a chance to use Joey's mistakes to get with Dawson. Pacey tries to open his heart to Andie, but breaks hers.

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.

Joey's ""semi-date"" with Jack prompts a resentful Dawson to join Jen at a bash where he saves her from doing some things she'll regret. Pacey proves his worth when Andie's mom has a psychotic break during their study session. Mitch cannot understand Dawson's views on their divorce.

Andie's run for student council lands her on a campaign trail of tears when Abby and Monica began advertising her family situation. Jen helps Dawson take steps to deal with his powerlessness over his parents divorce. Jack shuts out Joey after a family crisis.

The filming of Dawson's new movie brings back memories for the filmmaker and for Joey who grows to dislike the actress playing her.

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.

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.

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.

With Joey's father back in town, Bessie and him decide to expand the Ice House to also cater weddings. Needing help they enlist Andie, who says she hate's weddings but doesn't and Pacey who loves them. Joey who doesn't think her father recently out of jail should be seen in Capeside and Dawson, who is angry when his parents arrive separately. Jack and Dawson battle to help a scared bride, while Andie and Pacey scramble to fix the cake. Making Gail sad, Mitch shows up to the wedding with Mrs. Kennedy. Jen and Abby's sneaking into the wedding leads to tragedy.

Abby is dead, and all of Capeside is attempting to "whitewash" her life. But all the hypocrisy is making Jen crazy, in a spiritual discussion she denounces God and gets Grams angered. When eulogizing Abby she further embarrasses Grams by announcing that Abby taught her the falseness of God. Abby's mom also asks Andie to eulogize her thinking they were friends and memories of Andie's brother are brought up. Andie's actions scare Pacey. Joey is scared to go to the funeral, being that she hasn't been to one since her mother, at the graveyard she and Dawson decide to go visit her mother for the first time.

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.

All of the gang's lives go through changes. After Andie begins seeing her dead brother Tim in the last episode, Jack and Pacey agree to call Mr. McPhee not realizing that he'll want them to be treated in Providence, not Capeside. All are stunned at the new changes and Andie and Pacey must decide if Andie's mental wellness is more important than being together. Jack also must decide whether or not to go with Andie or stay. Dawson while helping Mr. Potter extend the Ice House interviews him for a film project about his changed life, but has it changed? Jen decides to make a change so she calls her mother and inquires about returning home or visiting and is told it is inconvenient right now.

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.

Joey is looking for a new job and gets one at the Yacht Club pretending to know a very affluent family. She is tricked by her boss's son, Dru, who discovers her lies. Mitch (no also a counselor at the school) tells Pacey he's not going to graduate unless he makes up for his bad grades. Pacey doesn't want Joey to know, but Mitch tells Dawson, who tells Joey, showing that he still cares about Pacey. Pacey and Joey have a fight, and Pacey admits he need help.

Pacey is happy for his good grades, and decides to sail for celebration. Dawson, Joey and Drue are assigned for a work and Joey can't go with him. Instead, Pacey takes Jen with him. What they didn't know is that a huge storm was coming, and suddenly they have to face it. Andie is having an interview with Drue's mom for college, but her medical records get in her way. Mrs. Valentine worries about Andie's mental stability and denies her the spot. When the storm get bigger, Andie takes control of the situation and guides everybody to rescue Jen and Pacey, who admit to each other their biggest regrets in life. Jen regrets never being in love, despite her feelings for Henry, and Pacey regrets the destruction of his friendship with Dawson. Dawson and Joey go on a small boat to rescue them, and Dawson saves Pacey's life. He apologizes to Dawson for all his attitude over the past months.

Everybody starts to think about their future, and how they are getting into college. Joey's concerned about Pacey not having grades good enough to get into college. Drue makes everybody think it's Jen's birthday so he can make a party. Andie takes over Jack's applications and drives him crazy with her obsession over it. Gretchen is applying for a job as bartender at Mrs. Leery's restaurant, and doesn't exactly tell what happened (or what will happen) with college.

Gail drops a bomb at Dawson saying that she might be pregnant. Joey seeks advice from Jen, now that she has the feeling sexual intimacy with Pacey is approaching. Jen tells her to go to the clinic as prevention. Jack is in an awkward situation when a girl is making moves on him, and he feels pressured to tell her he's gay.

Andie gets accepted into Harvard in advance, but accomplishing what should be the biggest thing in her life doesn't exactly makes her happy. She decides to explore different paths in her life by going to a rave. In the party, Drue gives Jen drugs, and she gives it to Andie. She tries ecstasy, which has a reaction with her anti-depressives and makes a disastrous combination, which almost leads her to death. Mitch and Gail decide to keep their baby, and things get awkward during the celebration when Gretchen brings Pacey and Joey with her.

While Andie is recovering from her near-fatal drug overdose at the party, Jack blames Jen for the whole incident and is not talking to her. Jen blames the deranged Drue for her life falling apart when he turns Grams and the whole town against Jen by telling everyone that they intentionally gave Andie the drugs. After Andie comes home from the hospital, her dad tells her it would be better if she went to spend the rest of the year in Italy with her aunt, since she already has the credits required to an early graduation. Andie decides to go and plans a goodbye dinner with the whole gang. She tells them how important life is, and the valuable time they might be wasting with useless fights between natural best friends. Jack and Jen get things straight, and Andie plays a little trick to bring Dawson and Pacey together.

Dawson, Pacey and Jack are all prime suspects in the masterful senior prank against Principal Peskin, but after their interrogations reveal seemingly air-tight alibis, another culprit surfaces.

Joey can't find a moment alone to study or deal with her feelings. Dawson's collaboration with Brooks begins, rejuvenating his film making spirit. Jen takes Jack to a "Gay-Straight Coalition" meeting but she seems to fit in with the crowd more than Jack does.

Pacey and Dawson finally start hanging out together again when Dawson tells him that he has feelings for his sister, Gretchen. Pacey doesn't like the idea, so when he and Gretchen go on a road trip to her ex boyfriend's house to pick up her truck, Pacey tries to get them back together. However, after being there for awhile, Pacey realizes that the guy he's trying to get back together with Gretchen is not who he thought he was. Back in Capeside, Joey has her fair share of problems when she gets locked in a storage closet at the Yacht Club with none other than the loathsome sociopath Drue Valentine, which is later revealed that he set the thing up to avoid going to New York to visit his estranged father. Meanwhile, Dawson observes the feelings growing between Mr. Brooks and Grams and fears that Grams will get hurt when she finds out that Mr. Brooks, like her last husband, is terminally ill.

Joey decides to help throw a surprise birthday party for Pacey with his mother, not knowing about Pacey's 'birthday curse'. The party goes haywire as Pacey's family makes everyone feel uncomfortable, and Pacey a loser. Dawson becomes upset when he feels that Gretchen doesn't want anyone to know about their relationship and postpones their first real date to go to the party.

The senior trip is coming up and Joey needs to get the time off from work -not an easy task seeing that Drue's mom is her boss. However, she decides to give her a few days off.... if she agrees to go on a double date with Pacey to accompany Drue and a wealthy girl named Anna Evans and make sure that Drue behaves himself. Of course this isn't an easy thing to do, and during their night out, Joey starts to get concerned over all the attention that Anna is bestowing on Pacey. Dawson has his own problems when he and Gretchen go out with her friends and he realizes the span in between their ages. Jack also (finally) gets some positive attention from Tobey.

While the rest of the class is on the ski trip, Dawson stays behind to care for a near-death Mr. Brooks, but he's overwhelmed when he's asked to make an impossibly hard decision. Dawson is given the responsibility to decide whether to cut off Brooks' life support. Meanwhile, there's a lot more than skiing going on when the senior trip doesn't go exactly as planned. The evening takes an unexpectedly romantic turn for best friends Jack and Jen... After spraining her ankle Jen gets drunk and nearly sleeps with Jack. while Pacey and Joey find their own ways to keep warm on the cold, snowy night, taking their relationship to the next level.