I think the title says it all. As you probably have guessed, this episode is about saying goodbye
to everyone's favorite bitch. Abby Morgan will be sorely missed, I mean, who else is going to aggravate the Capesiders
to the breaking point? I am not being insensitve or anything, I am just stating a fact.
Okay, so, the episode opens with Dawson and Joey outside of his house. They are coming back from the wedding (see previous episode)
and approach the ladder that leads to Dawson's window. He says something about finalizing something (just guessing, but I think he means some
sort of making out) and they climb the ladder. When they reach his room, they are still kissing, but then Joey notices something. What on earth is Jen
doing there? She is sitting on the bed and it is clear that she has been drinking and crying. What could be wrong? Dawson and Joey question her and she tells them about
Abby falling off the dock and drowning. Joey hugs her and Dawson sits there, staring into space over their heads.
The Monday afterwards, Joey is sitting at her house, looking at some photos of her mom. Mike comes out and says good morning to her. She tells him about what happened and Mike
tries to talk about her about her mom's death. But Joey avoids it by saying that she has to go to school and leaves.
In Capeside High, a grief counselor has been sent in to talk to the students (Pacey, Andie, Jack and Jen are the only ones I recognize out of the crowd) about Abby. This part makes me sick. I mean, the Girls' Servie League and their stupid armbands? How hypocritical can you
get? Well, apparently, Jen doesn't like it either and it doesn't really help when Andie speaks. She sort of says Abby was a good friend of hers or something and Jen can't take this blatant hypocrisy and storms out. The scene cuts to the cafeteria where Dawson and Joey sort of dance
around the whole question of their re-forming relationship. Dawson just wants to avoid it right now because of all that's going on surrounding Abby's death. Which is perfectly fine for Joey. She mentions that she didn't really like Abby. Which is good. Most of the time I don't really like
Joey, but the fact that she is honest about how she feels is good. Certainly better than some other people in Capeside. Dawson asks why she isn't going to the funeral and they get into this whole thing involving Joey's mom and how if she went to the cemetary, she would be shattering her little
girl illusion of her mom not really being dead. Very unhealthy, but it's her choice.
Anyway, we cut to Andie and Jen in the bathroom, where Jen has been crying again. She is incredibly angry at Andie, and the rest of the school for making believe Abby was a good person. "Abby was a bitch," she tells Andie. Sure she was, but Andie tells Jen that she would feel terrible if she were to
malign the dead. Jen is distraught over the whole mess and tells Andie that Abby's death was her fault. Andie can't believe this, but then thinks some more about it and it haunts her for awhile.
Meanwhile, we cut to Dawson, who has just come home from school. His mom meets him at the door and she has some news for him. She has been offered a job in Philidelphia. Uh-oh, is Dawson moving? Nope, just Gail. And if she does go, Mitch will be moving back in. but I don't think Dawson could cope with that.
He wonders what will happen to their marriage if she goes. I mean, how will they be able to reconcile if she is in Philly? "What happens if I miss this opportunity and lose my marriage anyway? What will I have then?" she asks (or something along those lines). Dawson of course tells her she will have him. Awww.
From "Awww" to "Uh-oh" now. Jen is having a hard time dealing with Abby's death and her Grams comes in to talk to her. She tells Jen that God has a plan for everyone, which is not something Jen wants to hear. She snaps at Grams, but good ol' Grams reassures Jen that she is there when Jen needs her. Hmm...I smell the scent
of foreshadowing...
Cut to Pacey and Andie in some sort of restaurant. Andie told Pacey about what Jen said and he telling her she is not to blame for Abby's death. Which she isn't, in a way. I mean, you could blame anyone for it. If you wanted to get crazy, you could even blame Joey's dad. If he hadn't come back and the Icehouse hadn't started catering...
well you get the picture. Anyway, Abby's mom comes in and she and Andie talk a bit. During the course of this conversation, it comes out that Abby was "fond" of Andie. Fond? Hmm...well, Abby's mom asks Andie to give a eulogy and she accepts.
The scene shifts to later in the day, when Pacey and Andie are in front of Abby's house, which neither of them has seen before. Pacey jokes, "I was halfway expecting this gothic castle, you know? The gargoyles leering down on you from the spires..." They enter the house and Andie wants to go up and see Abby's bedroom. Pacey jokes about a few things,
but it is pretty obvious he is worried about this whole errand. Here the scene shifts again and shows Jen getting drunk at the dock where Abby took her fateful tumble. There is a bouquet of flowers there and suddenly, Jen picks it up and hurls it into the water. Andie and Pacey are in Abby's room, looking at her things, and Andie finds Abby's diary. She goes to
open it, but surprise, surprise, Pacey is upset about that. He tells her that a person deserves their privacy even when they are dead (and even if that person is Abby). Andie tells him that she just wants to get a clearer picture of the Abby they didn't know so she can give a good eulogy. Unfortunately for Andie, her searching is in vain. The Abby in the diary is just
like the Abby who flopped off the dock. Except for a bit meaner. She calls Jen a bleached blonde hosebag and her mother a dried-up old wench, and Andie is a psycho, and as for that boyfriend of hers, well, we never find out because Pacey takes the diary away before Andie can read it. Good job.
We then cut to Mitch and Dawson. Mitch tells Dawson about his first brush with the death of a young person. "It just makes you want to grab onto those you love" or something like that. Dawson tells him about Gail's job offer and Mitch says he'l call her to congradulate her. To which Dawson replies, "That's it? You're going to call up, say congratulations, and just let her walk
out of your life. Grab on to those you love, huh?" and walks out, in true Dawson "I have to have the last word" Leery fashion.
Meanwhile, the Julia Roberts and Rupert Everett of Capeside (Joey and Jack) are in the Icehouse. Jack asks her what is going on with her and Dawson, to which she replies "Nothing," with a smile. He teases her about it and then the conversation turns to Abby. (Who didn't see that one coming?) Jack feels a little weird because of the kiss he and Abby shared at Dawson's birthday party.
(see here) Joey tells him, "At least she went out with a bang!" And she is then embarrassed she said that about Abby when she's well, you know, dead. But she and Jack get a good laugh out of it anyway.
We leave them happy and joyful and cut to Dawson, who is editing hismovie. He is watching a scene between "Kim" (Abby) and "Sammie" (Devon). Pacey comes in and they remark on how weird it is to be watching one of Dawson's leading ladies, who is no longer. Which, in turn leads to discussion on how hard it is for Pacey to steer Andie clear of the emotional minefield surrouding her decision to give
the eulogy for Abby.
Jen is walking the fine line between disrespectful and just plain mean with Grams. She comes in, drunk off her rear, while Grams is finishing dinner. Grams notices (how could she not? Jen breathes right in her face) and pleads with Jen not to do this to herself. Alcohol, as we all know, doesn't solve anything. But oops, Grams brings God into the discussion, which Jen, of course, doesn't want to hear. Grams
tells Jen to remember the good times with Abby, because that's how Abby would want to be remembered, to which Jen replies, "Well then you obviously didn't know Abby too well! She's probably down there with the devil(?), doing tequila shooters and laughing at all of us!" Then they get into it about God and Jen tells Grams to face up to the fact that there is no God and all, then Grams asks her why she is always
trying to shock and offend her and Jen gets angrier and says maybe things would be better if she just moved out.
Cut to the next morning and Joey, who is at her house and is eating breakfast with her dad. She tells him she is worried. She has been thinking of her mom, but she can't get a clear picture of her in her mind. Uh-oh. Could she be forgetting her mom? But Mike tells her that her mother is not fading away, in fact, she is still alive in Joey. Joey is comforted to hear this and then we cut to Pacey and Andie who are walking down the
beach before the funeral. Andie still has no idea what she is going to say about Abby without disrespecting her and still maintain a shred of integrity. Pacey tells her to lie, but she rejects that, so he offers to do the eulogy for her to spare her any pain...and a nervous breakdown. She tells him she is not going to have a nervous breakdown, and he tells her he just figured she might be, since he is about to have one living through her.
Uh-oh. Them's fightin' words to Andie, who tells Pacey she doesn't want their relationship to end up like that between Andie and her mother. Well, what is Pacey supposed to do? Just sit there and watch her agonize? How could he do anything but try to help her? Andie concedes the point, saying, "Well, if I'm drowning in the ocean, yes, throw me a lifeline but...don't let our roles become etched in stone. I mean, me the helpless lunatic and you, the hero on
horseback. I need to take care of myself. I'm going to deliver this speech, I'll think of something."
And now, the funeral. Andie will do the eulogy, even if it kills her. to which Pacey jokes, "Well, if that happens, we can always slip you in the coffin with Abby." Andie is Not Amused. And who should be coming down the aisle but Joey Potter. She slips in next to Dawson. He is surprised to see her and I think she is just as surprised. "Just hold my hand," she tells him nervously. Grams walks in and sits next to Jen. She tries to apologize about the scene between
the two of them the night before and offers her forgiveness. But Jen doesn't want her forgiveness, just her understanding. "And that's something that [she's] never been able to provide."
Okay, the moment of the eulogy. Deep breaths. Can Andie do it? But, to our surprise, Andie isn't the one who gets up to approach the podium. It's....Jen! Hmm...what kind of eulogy will she give? Wonder not, my friends. Here it is: Naturally, the mourners are shocked by this truthful image of Abby, her mother perhaps most of all. As Jen sits down, she comes face to face with Grams, who looks her straight in the eye and walks out of the church. Andie to the rescue. She takes her place at the podium and says... Okay, so the mourners found Andie's approach to the eulogy more acceptable. Why? Well, probably because, while Andie was honest, Jen was brutallyhonest. Do you see the distinction? Anyway, we come to the grave, where Pacey, Andie, Jen and some other people lay yellow flowers on the casket. The service breaks up
after that and we join Dawson and Joey, who are walking through the cemetary. Dawson tells Joey how he realized how fleeting life is and how he is happy about their kiss at the wedding. She is happy too (like you didn't know that), but tells him that she needs to go somewhere. Whre is she going that she would need Dawson to walk
her there? Her mother's grave, of course. Joey is facing up to the fact that her mother is dead, which is good because now she can start healing.
Joey is not the only one with unfinished business. Pacey and Andie are talking and he tells her how proud of her he is. Andie sees Jen sitting by the coffin and leaves Pacey to go talk to Jen. Jen apologizes to Andie about blaming her for Abby's death and blames herself instead. This makes Andie nervous and she tells Jen it wasn't
her fault, but Jen isn't listening. She is too distraught over the whole thing and asks how she could have said the things she did to her Grams, Andie and that eulogy. What was she thinking? to which Andie replies, "I'm a people pleaser. And sometimes in order to succeed in that, you have to be phony. Abby was the exact opposite. She put her truth above
everything. And that's what you did. It was a memorial for Abby and you were just being truthful to her spirit." Jen says sometimes it's better not to tell the truth and Andie tells Jen about the diary and makes her plan to go grab it before Abby's mom sees it.
Joey is at her mother's grave now, hoping she is happy. Dawson assures her that she is and things are ending happily.
Or so it seems. Jen has returned to her house, where Grams is packing a bunch of things into suitcases and such. Jen asks what she is doing and Grams goes off about what Jen said at the funeral and all the time in between their argument and then. Jen tries to apologize, but Grams won't hear of it. She orders Jen to find somewhere else to live and shuts the door in
her face.
At the Morgan's house, Andie has retrieved the diary, but, as she grabs it, she sees Abby in the mirror behind her. Startled, she turns, but Abby is gone.
Where will Jen go? What's Andie going to do about her vision? Find out next Wednesday on Dawson's Creek.
"My name is Jen Lindley. And I was friends with Abby, as much as anyone could be because Abby had a toxic personality, in fact it was almost bordering on radioactive. Abby could be cruel and Abby could be spiteful, and Abby could
certainly be petty. She spent her days mischieviously stirring up trouble, and creating calamity, and generally, taking pleasure in other people's pain. You know, in Sunday School, they teach us that God made man in his image. Well, if God made
Abby in his own image then what does that say about God? God has always been such a mystery to me. I mean, what kind of deity creates a world that is so full of suffering and so full of pain. I tell you what, Abby taught me a lot. She taught me how to
do a tequila shooter with one hand tied behind my back, and she taught me to live life by my own set of values, and not follow the crowd, in hopes of winning some phantom popularity contest. But most of all, what's most important, is Abby taught me the sadistic
nature of our God and as much as that knowledge is disturbing, it's true. And it's real. And for a world that is so saturated with phoniness and lies, for that small amount, for that little bit of honesty, I will always be grateful to her."
"Um, there are people who give me comfort in my life...who when the going gets rough, which it unbearably does, I can count on them for a shoulder to cry on. And they will pick me up when I fall, and hold me in their arms while I cry and tell me that everything is going to be alright.
I am so thankful for these people, they are priceless. But there's another group of people, just as important and just as priceless...they're the people who challenge me, who push me to my breaking points, and who force me to muster courage that I never thought I had. Abby Morgan was one of those people.
In her own truth-telling way, she gave me strength. I'm a much stronger woman because of her. A woman who I never thought that I could be. She gave me that gift. She was one of a kind. There's no one like her and she will always hold a special place in my heart."
