Self Reliance

Season	Episode
4	10

INFO

Aired

20 December 2000

Written by

Gina Fattore

Directed by

David Petrarca

EPISODES
Previous	Next
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang	The Tao of Dawson

❝

Look, I know that this is hard for you but you cannot spend your entire life surrounded by straight people

—Jen to Jack

Self Reliance is the 10th episode of Season 4 of Dawson's Creek.

Synopsis[]

Baby-sitting responsibilities and unexpected guests at the bed-and-breakfast cause stress for Joey (Katie Holmes) the night before a big test at school. Jen (Michelle Williams) and Jack (Kerr Smith) attend a gay teens seminar, and Mr. Brooks (special guest star Harve Presnell) agrees to participate in Dawson's (James Van Der Beek) documentary about the former filmmaker.

Starring[]

James Van Der Beek as Dawson Leery

Katie Holmes as Joey Potter

Michelle Williams as Jen Lindley

Joshua Jackson as Pacey Witter

Kerr Smith as Jack McPhee

Nina Repeta as Bessie Potter

Special Guest Stars: Harve Presnell as Arthur Brooks; Sasha Alexander as Gretchen Witter; David Monahan as Tobey Barrett^[1]

Co-Starring: David Downs as Mr. Kasdan; Tim Grant as Family Guy; Elaine Nalee as Nurse

Quotes[]

❝

I wouldn't be sitting here, telling you to do what your heart tells you to do. Truth is, Gretchen would be very lucky to have someone like you

—Joey to Dawson

❝

I like you. And... that kiss meant more to me than just 'happy holidays'. And every thing I said the other day was a lie. Well, not a lie because I think I meant it at the time. But I was basically just trying to fool myself because I didn't want to screw up our friendship. I was going to let that fear stop me, but I don't want to, and I'm not going to. Because I don't want to learn that lesson at 17 or anytime for that matter. And you can tell me that you're too old, you can tell me that I'm too young, and you can tell me that I'm not over Joey, but nothing that you say is going to change the fact that I said it. And I'm really glad that I said it, because you're worth risking everything for

—Dawson to Gretchen

❝

Pacey – What do you see when you see the future?

Joey – Us. Me and you, Pace. We grew up together. You see, Dawson and I, we didn't grow up. We are in that house, in Dawson's bedroom, eternally having the same argument over and over again, in this endless cycle that goes on and on. And... I can't stop it. Because whenever I'm around him, I become 15

❝

Do you know why so many great pictures are about love triangles? Simple. For every piece of happiness, there's also a piece of unhappiness. If you haven't told both sides, you haven't told the whole story

—Mr. Brooks

Locations[]

Trivia[]

Dawson's Christmas present to Joey is a photograph of her and Pacey.
Dawson begins his documentary on Mr. Brooks

BROADCAST

The episode was watched by 4.24 million people upon its original airing on the WB.^[2]

Films[]

WATCHED: —
REFERENCED: Drums Along the Mohawk (1939); Young Mr. Lincoln (1939); Gone with the Wind (1939); The Grapes of Wrath (1940); The Maltese Falcon (1941); The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948); The Man Who Shot Liberty Vance (1962); Star Wars (1977); LA Confidential (1997); The Matrix (1999); Fight Club (1999); Gladiator (2000)