On Dawson's advice, Joey attempts to heal the wounds of her new romance with Jack left shattered by rumor and innuendo, but when Jack confronts his innermost secrets, their lives and everyone's close to them will never be the same again. Meanwhile, for the first time in his life, Pacey stands up for what he believes in when he takes on an abusive teacher, but the consequences of his convictions are more than he could have imagined.

With Joey's father back in town, Bessie and him decide to expand the Ice House to also cater weddings. Needing help they enlist Andie, who says she hate's weddings but doesn't and Pacey who loves them. Joey who doesn't think her father recently out of jail should be seen in Capeside and Dawson, who is angry when his parents arrive separately. Jack and Dawson battle to help a scared bride, while Andie and Pacey scramble to fix the cake. Making Gail sad, Mitch shows up to the wedding with Mrs. Kennedy. Jen and Abby's sneaking into the wedding leads to tragedy.

As the WB commercial says... "Children must pay for the sins of their fathers."

Dawson sees Mr. Potter dealing drugs and he is unsure whether or not to tell Joey or leave things looking good. Mr. Witter has to stake out the Ice House because the Capeside police department believes that Mr. Potter is back to his usual tricks. When the gang is studying in the Ice House, one of Mr. Potter's customers lights it on fire, making Mr. Witter more suspicious and Dawson's conflict greater. Gail tells Mitch about her new job offer in Chicago and her discussion to go for it. Pacey becomes depressed and his achievement level decreases, now that Andie is gone, which his father teases him for. Finally Mr. Witter does realize her importance and that he has been a bad father. Jack becomes worried that Jen is suicidal when she doesn't immediately leave the burning Ice House. But later, Grams and Jen reconcile, causing Jen to move back in taking Jack also.

Dawson returns from spending the summer in Philadelphia with his mother, and on his way home meets a beautiful young woman who brings trouble to his otherwise ho-hum life. Meanwhile, Joey, who has frozen Dawson out all summer, realizes she is still reeling from their unexpected break-up when she sees him again, but may have found an unexpected new friend for their junior year; Jen gets more than she bargained for when she takes on the fascist head cheerleader; Mitch accepts a new position as Capeside High's varsity football coach; and although Pacey tries to be brave, he has had a lonely summer without Andie.

Dawson is torn about telling Jen the scandalous secret he has about Eve and even more distressed when his mom unexpectedly returns from Philadelphia. Meanwhile, Andie accuses Joey of sabotaging her chance to reunite with Pacey; and Jen shocks the entire town with the entertainment she has hired for the Annual Homecoming Queen Gala and shocks the very shy Henry even more when she asks him to be her escort.

Dawson, Joey, Jack & Andie spend the weekend at a Boston university for an advanced look at college and where Dawson has entered his "Blair Witch" documentary in a student film festival. Elsewhere on campus, due to a clerical error, Joey's weekend guide is not what she expected; Andie's pursuit for an advanced admissions interview, leads her to some inspirational advice from an unlikely source; and Jack takes a risk and explores the local gay community.

Dawson invites Joey, Andie and Pacey to spend Spring Break in the mountains at his aunt's home, but the trip is filled with tension as Joey and Pacey continue to battle about their feelings for each other and Andie becomes intrigued with the gang's childhood friend Will who is visiting. Meanwhile, back in town, Jen becomes surprisingly territorial when another woman flirts with Henry.

Dawson, Joey and Andie prepare their own unique prom when they learn that the committee has scrutinized Jack's selected date. Dawson, who has invited Joey to be his date, uses the special evening to try to win her back and make Pacey jealous; Andie persuades Pacey to be her escort but her evening ends by consoling him about his love life uncertainties; Jen becomes outraged with Henry when he reveals he is leaving Capeside for the summer; and Gail and Mitch celebrate their new found romance.

Pacey and Joey return from their summer vacation on "True Love". Now they have to deal with Dawson's feelings, who has been deeply hurt for the past months. At first, he doesn't want to talk with neither one of them, but Jen convinces him to talk to Joey. Meanwhile, Pacey's older sister, Gretchen, arrives in Capeside and moves in with Doug, making Pacey homeless. But he won't live with his parents anymore, and so he asks Joey to let him crash at her house for a while. Dawson tells Jack about Gretchen, for whom he had a secret crush a few years ago. Andie meets 2 foreign guys, and she is attracted to them. Dawson and Joey talk, and he says he'll be ok, but it takes one day at a time. Everybody is wondering if Pacey and Joey did it while on the trip, and they don't confirm or deny. But Joey secretly tells Dawson nothing really happened.

While the rest of the class is on the ski trip, Dawson stays behind to care for a near-death Mr. Brooks, but he's overwhelmed when he's asked to make an impossibly hard decision. Dawson is given the responsibility to decide whether to cut off Brooks' life support. Meanwhile, there's a lot more than skiing going on when the senior trip doesn't go exactly as planned. The evening takes an unexpectedly romantic turn for best friends Jack and Jen... After spraining her ankle Jen gets drunk and nearly sleeps with Jack. while Pacey and Joey find their own ways to keep warm on the cold, snowy night, taking their relationship to the next level.

Accepted early to USC, Dawson finds his last night in Capeside has arrived much sooner than everyone had originally anticipated. While Dawson looks forward to spending the evening with Joey, Jack and Jen, Mitch has other ideas. Meanwhile, Dawson's not the only goodbye Jen has in store for her, as she bids farewell to the house she's been sharing with Grams. Finally, Joey says goodbye to Dawson in her own way.

Dawson is a freshman film student in Los Angeles, while Joey starts college at an Ivy League university in Boston. Instead of focusing on the new lives they have worked a lifetime for, they find themselves distracted by the distance between them and their unsettling last kiss.

As summer approaches, everyone gets ready for various travels. Dawson prepares to head out for LA with Audrey, while Jack and Jen get ready for their Costa Rica vacation. Left behind in Capeside for the summer, Joey and Pacey lament their fates - until they make a crucial last-minute decision that changes everything.

Dawson returns to Boston after working as an assistant director in Los Angeles over the summer and reunites with Joey who has spent a relatively angst-free summer in Capeside. Audrey and Pacey return from L.A. with a surprise passenger, Audrey's childhood friend Jack Osborne.

After agreeing to pose as Pacey's sister at a business party, Joey demands to be taken home. When Pacey makes a quick stop at a local K-Mart they are accidentally locked inside the store. They're forced to spend the night there and talk about their friendship and relationship, both past and future. After the night is over they are both left to ponder what the future has in store for them.

(Part 2 of 2) Five years have passed and everyone is reunited in Capeside for a special wedding. Dawson has been living in Los Angeles producing his autobiographical television series 'The Creek' but has never forgotten the love of his life, Joey is a successful book editor living in New York with her boyfriend but comes home to realize she still loves her childhood sweethearts, Pacey is the owner of the new Ice House and still carries a torch for Joey, Jen is a single mom living with Grams and managing an art gallery in Soho, and Jack is a teacher at Capeside High and has fallen in love with Deputy Doug. Together all the secrets come out as tragedy and love becomes clear.