MovieChat Forums > Dawson's Creek (1998) Discussion > Unpopular opinion - hated the scene wher...

Unpopular opinion - hated the scene where Joey first slept with Pacey

posted 8 years ago by shrilltrills
6 replies | jump to latest

When I was watching this show during the original airing, I just thought it was so wrong that Joey slept with Pacey. Part of it was that back then, I was a teenager who thought that premarital sex was wrong and thought Joey and Dawson belonged together anyway, but that isn't even all of it - I don't believe that anymore, and I still find the scene disturbing and don't think she should have slept with him. At least not at that time.

It really came off both that he was subtly pressuring her for sex (in the previous episode telling him if they don't have sex now, it's not because of him) and guilting her implying that the reason she wasn't sleeping with him was because she wanted her first time to be with Dawson and not him. And it looks like she largely made the decision to have sex with him to prove to both him and herself that she was over Dawson. Of course she loved Pacey, but she wasn't entirely over Dawson. She changed her mind in one day - she went from not even considering it and wanting the weekend to have nothing to do with sex to sleeping with him. It just really seems like she wasn't doing it for the right reasons. And really, did they have to have sex at that point? They were still in high school. Lots and lots of people wait until at least college. Everything about their relationship went downhill immediately after that anyway.

Nothing good really came out of them having sex. He dumped her a couple of months later. I just never understood why people see that as one of the most romantic scenes on the show. I just found it unsettling and thought she was just pushing herself to do something she wasn't ready to do.

[–] perfect_lover2012 8 years ago

From what I remember it made me uncomfortable as do all of Joey's sex scenes. She's always trying to prove something to herself or someone else and they always end in disaster. The way Pacey acted after was painful and so was Joey lying to Dawson about having sex with him. I'm seriously shocked that Joey doesn't have issues with sex given what we saw in the show. I don't think they needed to have sex at that point. Their relationship was very unstable at that point and it only got worse. Pacey didn't feel secure enough in their relationship and Joey was still obsessed with Dawson.

"When life gives you lemons"
Jessica D: sleep with their fathers and have secret lemon children

[–] shrilltrills 8 years ago

Joey does seem to have issues with sex, honestly. She seems to have hangups about being a prude (not saying she is a prude, just that she thinks she is), so she pushes herself into sexual situations she really doesn't want. She had sex with Pacey when she really wasn't ready, at least partially because she wanted to prove to him and herself that she loved him and not Dawson. She also had sex with Eddie because she wanted to break the pattern of actually being in love with the guys she sleeps with and wanted to bump uglies with someone she barely knew after one date. Admittedly, she didn't seem to be trying to prove anything when she slept with Dawson, but of course that fell apart within a day.

I think Joey always felt insecure because guys didn't see her as sexual enough. Especially with someone like Jen around who was clearly very sexual. She even had a conversation about this with Dawson in season 2, about how she didn't feel sexual because Jack had seen her as "safe" and Dawson had ignored her and gone for the overtly sexual Jen. Instead of just accepting herself for who she was, Joey developed ridiculous insecurities and forced herself into sex she didn't want. Had she actually stuck to her guns and followed what she WANTED rather than what she thought she SHOULD do, Joey was likely one of those girls who would have remained a virgin well into adulthood rather than losing her virginity at 17 with Pacey. And there's nothing wrong with that. Contrary to popular belief, there is nothing wrong with losing your virginity in your 20s or even 30s if that is what actually feels right to you.

Generally, I just didn't like how virginity was seen as some sort of hangup and a negative thing on this show. They were TEENAGERS when they were talking like this too. If it was a bunch of 40 year old virgins, I might understand being insecure about it, but for crying out loud being 16 and thinking there is something wrong with you for being a virgin???

[–] perfect_lover2012 8 years ago

Yeah teenagers on these shows are always obsessed with sex and characters are often shamed for being more focused on other things. I agree there's nothing wrong with being a virgin especially at 17. She wasn't seeing that it's difficult on both sides. Jen also had issues with sex and being seen as a sexual object. She spends the whole series never really finding love and she's sad throughout the show. They did a similar storyline on Gossip Girl and I just found it cringeworthy to see someone rushing to have sex just to do it. It's realistic but hard to watch.

"When life gives you lemons"
Jessica D: sleep with their fathers and have secret lemon children

[–] shrilltrills 8 years ago

She actually looks uncomfortable in all of her sex scenes too. But then, that could have to do with the fact that Katie Holmes was a virgin through the entire show and wouldn't have known really how to act in a sex scene.

[–] timpolcha 8 years ago

Is that true?

[–] hollywoodgal23 8 years ago

While I think sex at that age is never a good idea, I think people think it's one of the most romantic moments on the show because of they way the writers handled it. To this day, I don't think I've seen one quite like it.

I never thought Pacey pressured her. In fact, I recall, before she made the moves on him, that he decided to let it go and wait for her to decide when she was ready.