Crime and Punishment

Crime and Punishment
Season	3
Episode	15
INFO
Aired	9 February 2000
Written by	Gina Fattore & Alex Gansa
Directed by	Joe Napolitano
EPISODES
Previous	The Valentine's Day Massacre
Next	To Green, With Love

❝

Can you honestly doubt for a second that he doesn't truly care about you?

—Dawson to Joey about Pacey

Crime and Punishment is the 15th episode of Season 3 of Dawson's Creek.

Synopsis

FACING THE CONSEQUENCES – Joey (Katie Holmes) is chosen to be part of a group of students to paint a school mural, but when hers is defaced before the unveiling, Dawson (James Van Der Beek) offers words of encouragement while Pacey (Joshua Jackson) takes action and risks suspension when he goes in search of the culprit. Meanwhile, when Andie's (Meredith Monroe) PSAT scores rank among the best in the country, she gambles with everything she has worked for and comes clean to Principal Green (guest star Obba Babatundé) about the previously stolen test; and Pacey moves in with Deputy Doug (guest star Dylan Neal) when their sister and her kids move back into the Witter house.

Starring

James Van Der Beek as Dawson Leery Katie Holmes as Joey Potter Joshua Jackson as Pacey Witter Kerr Smith as Jack McPhee Meredith Monroe as Andie McPhee Nina Repeta as Bessie Potter Special Guest Stars Dylan Neal as Doug Witter Obi Ndefo as Bodie Wells

Recurring cast Obba Babatundé as Howard Green Guest starring Michael Hagerty as Matt Caufield Co-Starring Andy Francis as Dude #1 Estes Tarver as Dude #2 K.C. Poe as Treacly Girl

Joey's Speech

Principal Green said the mural should focus on what unifies us as a school, and if you think about it, nothing really unifies us. Even our mascot is divisive — the Minuteman? Right there, you've alienated half the student population... The only thing that I could think of that unites us all, that we all have in common is that we all start off in kindergarten thinking that we can be anything that we want to be. And, by the time we get here, we've somehow lost that feeling. We've all started to believe whatever our parents or our friends have told us about what we can achieve, and who we can be in life, and we've forgotten about that possibility we had when we were younger. And that's what I think we all have in common. That's what the symbol on my painting means — possibility. I painted it because I thought we could all use a daily reminder that if you believe in yourself, even when the odds seem stacked against you, anything's possible. So, I hope you like it.

Quotes

❝

Jo, this is the U.S. of A. We're a very prosaic nation and when we have art in public places, we want it to be about as subtle as Godzilla.

❝

I feel like I'm declaring myself for the first time. I mean, what I really think about this place. With everyone staring at it, it's gonna be like they're all looking right into my soul.

—Joey about her mural

❝

Joey – Be honest. The only reason you've been hanging out with me is simply because Dawson told you to?

Pacey – Yep, that's the only reason.

Joey – Hm...you need to get a life.

— Joey and Pacey banter

Locations

• Potter B&B
• Capeside High School
• Doug's Apartment
• McPhee House

Trivia

• Pacey moves in with Doug in this episode, as their older sister, Kerry, takes over Pacey's room.
• Matt Caufield is the person who vandalized Joey's mural.
• Pacey tells Joey that Dawson told him to look after her at the beginning of the year.

BROADCAST

• The episode was watched by 4.41 million people upon its original airing on the WB.

Films

WATCHED

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REFERENCED

Crime and Punishment (1935)

Godzilla (1954)

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)

Music

believe again | SUSAN AGLUKARK

pacey sees joey finishing her mural

devoted | JULIE PLUG

dawson and joey chat about the mural

flower days | TRINA HAMLIN

andie empties her locker; dawson and pacey talk

one turn deserves another | SUSAN AGLUKARK

pacey and joey paint

Photos