As the ‘90s came to a close, TV audiences watched a group of teenagers come of age in the fictional town of Capeside. For Dawson’s Creek, those teens became so close they might as well have been family. Friendships gave way to romance and enemies became friends who could take a road trip together.
The relationship at the center of the story was that of Dawson Leery and Joey Potter. Friends since they were toddlers, they formed the foundation of the friend group. Within the main group of characters, however, there were a lot of surprising friendships that formed - and some were much better than others.
Worst: Joey And Jen
Joey and Jen begin the series incredibly antagonistic toward one another - competing for Dawson’s attention. Jen doesn’t want to compete, but Joey doesn’t understand that. While, over time, they do become better friends, that edge is always there.
Joey and Jen are not friends that can talk. When Joey first starts dating Pacey, she doesn’t tell Jen, despite knowing Jen and Pacey attempted a friends-with-benefits relationship. Likewise, when Jen starts dating Dawson again in college, she keeps it from Joey, despite the strained history amongst them. Neither of them are completely open with one another, though they clearly want to be better friends as Joey defends Jen against critics and Jen tries to keep Joey included every time she feels left out.
Best: Jack And Pacey
Jack and Pacey are not one of the epic friendships the series is known for. When Pacey first dates Jack’s sister, however, the two begin their tentative friendship.
Pacey is the first person in Capeside to accept Jack for who he really is. He’s the only person in their class to stand up for Jack when Jack is visibly upset, forced to read a poem that calls his sexuality into question in front of everyone. Pacey and Jack hang out, bond over practical jokes, and there’s never hard feelings between them when things don’t work out for Pacey and Andie. They have one of the most supportive friendships, even though the audience doesn’t get to see it in action much in later seasons.
Worst: Audrey And Jen
Busy Phillips and Michelle Williams might have formed one of the best and longest-lasting friendships in real life, but on the show, their characters did not. Audrey and Jen form a friendship when Audrey is assigned as Joey’s roommate. They hang out at the same parties and make a lot of the same friends.
Their friendship, however, is very superficial. When things get serious for Audrey, she pushes Jen away, and even sleeps with the guy Jen likes on her self destructive path. Jen and Audrey distance themselves from one another after that. Audrey doesn’t even return to Capeside for Jen’s final goodbye.
Best: Jack And Joey
Much like Pacey and Jack, this particular friendship is one the series loses track of over the years. Joey is the first person Jack connects with when his family moves to Capeside - and they date right up until Jack admits he’s gay.
While Joey is initially hurt, and it’s a strange situation for her, their friendship doesn’t suffer as a result of their imploding romantic relationship. Like Pacey, Joey stands up for Jack, and she’s there for him when he needs her. They give each other academic support in high school, but once Jack becomes closer with Jen, their friendship becomes more distant.
Worst: Dawson And Pacey
When the series begins, Dawson and Pacey have been friends for a decade. Pacey stars in Dawson’s movies and Dawson helps get Pacey out of trouble. As they grow up, however, there’s a cascading effect of obstacles between them that begins with Joey Potter.
Dawson can’t handle the idea of Joey and Pacey together. He also can’t handle the idea of Pacey beating him in anything. Any time he has a chance to knock Pacey down a peg, he takes it. When Pacey loses Dawson’s money in a bad investment, Dawson won’t allow Pacey to apologize or attempt to make it up to him. While Pacey is always expected to apologize, Dawson never is.
Best: Joey And Pacey
When the show begins, Dawson seems to be the only thing Joey and Pacey have in common. As a result of sharing a best friend, they often get lumped together for his movie projects, but spend most of their time teasing one another.
When Dawson asks Pacey to look out for Joey while the two aren’t speaking, Pacey takes it to heart, and finds that he and Joey really get along. While that blossoms into romance, even when the two aren’t dating, they find solid companionship in one another. Pacey is the person Joey calls for help, and Joey is the person who can help Pacey when he’s stuck in a rut. Even when they go their separate ways, they never turn their backs on one another.
Worst: Abby And Jen
Early in the series, Abby is clearly Capeside High School's mean girl. Her favorite pastime is stirring up trouble. She tries to make her life out to be more exciting than it really is, which often gets her into trouble as well.
When Jen is hurt as a result of being rejected by Dawson’s friends, she accepts Abby’s invitations to hang out. With Abby’s influence Jen very quickly falls back into the lifestyle she led in New York. Abby and Jen might have fun stealing champagne and making fun of everyone, but they bring out the worst in one another - and their partying costs Abby her life.
Best: Andie And Jack
Andie and Jack are born siblings, but they’re also genuinely friends. When Andie dates Pacey and Jack dates Joey, the two don’t decide to go their separate ways in high school and ignore one another. Instead, they continue hanging out with their same friends, helping one another through school as if they’re not going home and arguing about whose turn it is to wash the dishes.
If Andie and Jack hadn’t grown up in the same house, they might not understand one another as well as they do. Since they did, they look out for one another. While everyone else is making bad decisions, they have someone to help them without having to pick up the phone.
Worst: Dawson And Joey
Dawson’s friendship with Joey forms the show’s foundation, but also happens to be pretty awful once they start being honest. As children, they could play games, make movies, and talk about anything. As teenagers, a lot of that goes out the window.
Joey’s crush on Dawson causes her to be territorial. She doesn’t like it when he starts spending time with other girls. Likewise, even before Dawson realizes his feelings for her, he judges her when she spends time with people he doesn’t like. He also doesn’t have confidence in her making friends on her own, sending Pacey to keep an eye on her. Joey, for her part, holds onto her grudges when Dawson makes mistakes with her. Dawson is the worst part of this friendship though - he even guilts her into giving up her dream trip to France because he doesn’t want to spend the summer alone.
Best: Jack And Jen
When Jack and Andie move to Capeside, Jack first spends a lot of time with Joey and Pacey. Eventually, he and Jen begin to hang out, and he even lives with her when his father makes the decision to leave town. Jack and Jen have an open and honest friendship that allows them to tell each other some hard truths, hash things out, but come back to one another as friends.
They give one another family when they both feel a little lost. When Jack begins to struggle in school, Jen helps him through it. When Jen starts to shut people out, afraid of getting hurt, Jack convinces her to give people a chance. Jen even names Jack the guardian of her daughter when she knows she won’t live to see her grow up. The two have one of the best friendships in the entire series.