- Witter words of wisdom. Priceless.
- —– Will describing Pacey
Template:Infobox characterPacey Witter is a main character on Dawson's Creek. He is portrayed by Joshua Jackson.
Character
Pacey Witter is a high school sophomore in the Pilot (episode). He is an academic underachiever who uses humour and sarcasm to relate to people, as well as to hide his emotional pain stemming from his very unhappy childhood. Because of Pacey's underachiever status in school and jokester nature, he is constantly labeled by his family as a "black sheep" or "great embarrassment".
Both of his parents frequently call him a loser right in front of him, which has led to his very low self-esteem. Pacey's father is an alcoholic and domestic abuser, who either ignores or bullies Pacey every chance he gets. Pacey's late grandfather apparently died from alcoholism years before Pacey was born. Alcoholism and domestic abuse seems to be a pattern among the males in the Witter family.
Pacey's best friend isDawson Leery, and he appears in a few of Dawson's early films. Pacey is a romantic at heart, seeking from women the love and affection that he never receives from his parents. Some of Pacey's romantic interests were Tamara Jacobs (Season 1), Andie McPhee (Season 2) and Joey Potter – his true love.
Photos
Season 1
Pacey falls in love with and loses his virginity to his English teacher, Tamara Jacobs (Leann Hunley). Unfortunately for Pacey, Dawson accidentally films Pacey's first time with Ms. Jacobs during a getaway to the ruins with Jen.
Tamara and Pacey
When Pacey relays the details of his sexual encounter with Ms. Jacobs to Dawson in a school bathroom, the conversation is overheard by another boy smoking marijuana in the next stall. Rumors quickly begin to spread about the nature of Pacey's relationship with the 36-year-old teacher and the ensuing scandal eventually forces Ms. Jacobs end their relationship and leave town.
Pacey entering the Miss Windjammer Beauty Contest
Following his relationship with Tamara, Pacey spends most of his time hanging out with Jen, Dawson and Joey. Forced to do a biology project together Pacey and Joey spend the whole day together. Pacey feels some sort of a romantic interest in Joey. He realizes that maybe he could like her, but when he asks Dawson if he can ask Joey out, it forces Dawson to assess his own feelings toward Joey. Pacey and kisses Joey, but she turns him down. Pacey also comically enters a beauty pageant and performs a skit from Braveheart.
Season 2
Pacey talks to Jen in a meta moment in Crossroads
Pacey goes through a radical change when he meets and starts dating Andie McPhee, an academic overachiever who tries to help Pacey reform his study habits. She succeeds and Pacey begins to do well in school, achieving his first-ever A.
But Andie begins to suffer some psychological problems, which are due to the death of her eldest brother Tim, and the effect that it has on her family. This affects her relationship with Pacey. She suffers a nervous breakdown when she begins to hallucinate that she is seeing her deceased brother, and takes a leave of absence at the end of the season for a stay in a mental health facility.
Andie and Pacey say goodbye in Ch... Ch... Ch... Changes
"I know it's not the same, but there are people in you life who recognise and respect your talent and intelligence. One of them is standing right in front of you" – Dawson assuring Pacey after Mr. Witter lets Pacey down once again.
The strained relationship Pacey has with his neglectful and alcoholic father is further explored this season, as well as the effect Andie has on that relationship. When Andie leaves for the mental health facility to get better, Pacey misses her terribly and his abrasive father makes a snide comment about Andie being crazy, for which Pacey hits and scholds him. Near the end of the season, Andie tells Pacey's father over the phone to give Pacey a hug for her, and his father does. This ultimately leads to a touching moment — it seems that they can start to put their past behind them and, for the first time, Pacey looks for some support from his father and actually gets it.
Season 3
Pacey breaks up with Andie for good in Secrets and Lies (episode)
After a summer apart, Pacey is anxiously awaiting the return of Andie. After Dawson rejects Joey's advances, he asks Pacey to look out for Joey. Wanting to surprise Andie, Pacey brings Joey with him to pick Andie up early at the facility where's she has been treated over the summer. Andie acts very distant from Pacey from the moment she sees him and eventually tells him that she had an affair and, devastated, Pacey breaks up with her.
He buys and works on restoring a wrecked boat, occupying himself with the project to get over Andie. Heartbroken, Pacey is looking for consolation so he and Jen agree to attempt a friends-with-benefits fling. After realising they are better of as staying friends, and as Jen suspects Pacey's burgeoning feelings for Joey, they decided to end it.
Pacey as Paul in Northern Lights (episode)
Also suffering falling grades, Pacey has to complete an English Class project – starring in a Barefoot in the Park. Coincidentally, Andie is the Assistant Director on the play, and they eventually become cordial and mend fences, starting anew as friends.
As the season progresses, Pacey realises he may have feelings for Joey. He gets into a fight with a bully who admits to vandalizing a mural Joey paints for the school and as punishment he is assigned to mentor a young, neglected boy with a rebellious attitude not unlike Pacey's. He eventually acts on his feelings and kisses Joey, and despite their concerns about Dawson and Andie, as well as Joey's hesitation, she gives into her feelings for Pacey during spring break in Stolen Kisses (episode).
Pacey the mentor in Cinderella Story
Dawson learns of Pacey and Joey's relationship in the episode The Longest Day (episode) and Joey breaks things off with Pacey. Pacey decides to leave Capeside and spend the summer sailing, but not before making one last grand gesture to Joey. Realizing that she is in love with Pacey, Joey races to meet him before he sets sail. Pacey and Joey then leave Capeside for the summer on his boat, the True Love.
Season 4
First evening back in Capeside
Pacey and Joey return from their summer at sea and are still madly in love. At this point it seems that Pacey's relationship with Dawson has been irrevocably altered. Pacey's older sister, Gretchen, returns to Capeside from college and they move in together into a beach house that Gretchen rents. Pacey and Joey adjust to life back in Capeside as a couple. Pacey continues to struggle with school as he and Joey ponder their futures beyond Capeside.
Throughout the majority of the season they re-affirm their commitment to one another and are chosen "Class Couple". On the senior class ski trip, Pacey and Joey consummate their relationship. Pacey is later hurt to learn that Joey lies to Dawson about this at first, though she eventually tells him the truth. Towards the end of the season, Pacey and Joey begin having difficulties stemming from the future beyond high school. Believing that he's holding Joey back and growing frustrated with himself and what he sees as his lack of prospects beyond high school, Pacey eventually breaks up with Joey at the Prom. Despite their strong feelings for each other, both sadly go their separate ways. The season ends with Pacey graduating high school and taking a job on a yacht and leaving Capeside once again.
Season 5
Pacey and Joey in Something Wild
In season five, after working as a deck hand on a yacht all summer following graduation from high school, Pacey settles in Boston and takes a job working as a chef in a fancy restaurant, Civilization. When Jen discovers that he's in town Pacey asks her not to tell the others, but Joey sees him at the restaurant. They share a sweet reunion on Pacey's boat, as friends. Pacey has a relationship with one of the waitresses at Civilization, Karen. This turns out to be problematic as she is having an affair with the head chef, Danny, a married man that Pacey considers a mentor.
He also tries to help out Dawson after the death of Mitch Leery. He and Audrey (Joey's roommate) become interested in each other and quickly embark on a physical relationship. During the gang's spring break trip to Florida, Audrey and Pacey decide to make their relationship official. Pacey's mentor, Danny, leaves Civilization and a new manager, Alex Pearl (Sherilyn Fenn), takes over. Alex alienates the restaurant staff causing Pacey leads a walk-out en masse during a meeting with local investors to protest Alex's management policies. As a result, the restaurant is shut down and both Pacey and Alex are fired. As summer approaches, Pacey returns to Capeside to work as a security guard at the Capeside Yacht Club, but leaves to attempt to rekindle things with Audrey. He eventually convinces her to take him back and the two drive cross-country to Audrey's home in L.A.
Season 6
Pacey & Joey in Castaways
Pacey finds financial success as a stockbroker in Boston, which was set up by Audrey's father. Audrey breaks things off with him as his new job has a dramatic effect on his lifestyle, which clashes with hers. Soon after, Pacey admits that he is not completely over Joey. They share a kiss at a party at Jack & Pacey's apartment and in a later episode both are marooned overnight in a K-Mart. Being locked in together overnight, the situation forces the two to discuss their past (and current) relationship, with both admitting that they miss each other. They attempt a reconciliation but Joey ends things when her recent ex-boyfriend, Eddie, suddenly reappears.
Afterwards, Pacey somewhat makes amends with his estranged father when he visits him in Capeside after his father suffers a mild heart attack. With Pacey's father too sick to work anymore because of multiple health problems from his life-long alcoholism, Pacey's brother, Doug, takes over as acting police chief of Capeside. While working as a stockbroker, Pacey clashes several times with his slick, arrogant boss, Rich Renaldi (Dana Ashbrook). Pacey loses his job following a significant financial loss after a bio-tech stock bust. Unfortunately, he also loses a all of Dawson's savings, as Pacey had invested them for him. This causes a serious argument between them, spilling over into them reconsidering their friendship. Joey decides it is about time for Pacey and Dawson to work out their issues without her in the middle and sets the two up to meet following their argument. Pacey returns to Capeside and temporarily moves in with Doug, all the while raising what money he can with the help of community members to start paying Dawson back.
Series Finale
Andie and Pacey talk in the hospital
Five years later, a 25-year-old Pacey is now the proprietor of The Ice House, a successful restaurant in Capeside bearing the same name as the one Joey's family used to operate. When everyone returns to Capeside for Gail Leery's wedding, sparks fly between Pacey and Joey, but their reunion is interrupted when they discover that Jen is dying. The two spend time together in Capeside while Jen is hospitalized. Following Jen's death, they admit that things have kept them apart over the years, but they realize that they're still in love with each other. The series ends with Pacey and Joey romantically together, watching the season finale of Dawson's television series, The Creek, which is based on their childhood in Capeside.