Pacey John Witter (born 1983)There is a continuity error regarding Pacey's birth month. In the season 2 episode "Crossroads", Pacey throws a birthday party at the marina just after school starts, which would indicate he turns 16 in the early fall of 1998. In the season 4 episode "The Te of Pacey", his birth month is retconned to January and he turns 18 in 2001. is a fictional character in the WB television drama Dawson's Creek. He is a principal character in all six seasons of the series and portrayed by actor Joshua Jackson.Krantz, Michael. "The bard of Gen-Y." Time. December 15, 1997. 105.
Background Pacey Witter is a sarcastic, underachieving 15-year-old boy at the start of the series. Constantly labeled by his family as a "black sheep", he has a distant relationship with his emotionally abusive parents. He has considered Dawson Leery his best friend since his childhood and would often rely on him when family issues arose. Pacey has also known Joey Potter through their mutual friendship with Dawson, though they are initially only friends because of Dawson and would occasionally get on each other's nerves.
Character arc
Season 1 In season one, 15-year-old Pacey is introduced as Dawson's inconsequent best friend and somewhat of a “Bad Boy" type. He has sex with his English teacher, Tamara Jacobs (Leann Hunley). 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 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 to end their relationship and leave town.
Following his relationship with Tamara, Pacey spends most of his time hanging out with Jen, Dawson and Joey, with whom he always had an antagonistic relationship. Forced to partner on a biology project, Pacey and Joey spend a whole day together and Pacey finds himself romantically interested in Joey. He realizes that maybe he could like her and asks Dawson if he can ask Joey out, which forces Dawson to assess his own feelings toward Joey. Pacey kisses Joey, but she turns him down. Pacey also comically enters a beauty pageant and performs a skit from Braveheart.
Season 2 In season two, Pacey attempts to reinvent himself by dyeing his hair and pursuing his longtime crush, Kristy Livingstone, though his efforts ultimately prove unsuccessful. He decides to celebrate his 16th birthday at the docks in an effort to change how people perceive him, but the party is a disappointment when nobody realizes it is his birthday and Dawson forgets altogether. Fortunately, Dawson later realizes his mistake and makes it up to him. Pacey undergoes a more significant transformation after meeting Andie McPhee, an academic overachiever who is new to Capeside. The two initially clash but gradually develop a romance, though their relationship is complicated by the return of Tamara, Pacey's former teacher with whom he had a sexual relationship. Pacey and Tamara kiss, but ultimately go their separate ways, allowing Pacey to finally gain some closure. Meanwhile, Andie's support and encouragement help bolster Pacey's low self-esteem. With her belief in him, he gradually begins to believe that he is capable of achieving whatever he sets his mind to, leading to a noticeable improvement in his academic performance.
Pacey and Andie get together and she offers to help Pacey reform his study habits and Pacey begins to do well in school, achieving his first-ever A. The two grow closer, embarking on a sexual relationship as well. Pacey is, at first, overcome with emotion by all of these changes to his life and the lack of predictability that had become the only stable force in his life. Even though it terrifies him, he comes to terms with how important Andie is to him and how much he loves her. His recent inspiration for changing his life also makes the psychological abuse of his family all the more straining, which culminates in a fishing trip Pacey and Dawson take with their fathers – along with Jack, who Pacey invites along in spite of Dawson's jealousy and subsequent ire. Pacey spends the entire trip doing his best to do as his father tells him and stay out of harms way, but is constantly berated for his efforts. At the end of the trip Pacey catches a big fish and wins a competition upon their return to Capeside, but his father manages to ruin the victory by telling Pacey that he probably won't have many more moments like that.
As Andie's mental health begins to suffer due to the strain of caring for her mother and the death of her eldest brother Tim, Pacey becomes concerned for her and their future and struggles with what he can do to help Andie. Eventually the pressure is too much for Andie and she breaks up with Pacey, who is adamant that he not push her away at a time when she needs him and he tells her that he loves her for the first time. Andie begins to hallucinate that she is seeing her deceased brother, and suffers a nervous breakdown. She takes a leave of absence at the end of the season for a stay in a mental health facility. 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 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 After a summer apart, Pacey eagerly awaits Andie’s return while encouraging Dawson to pursue Eve. Hoping to surprise Andie, Pacey brings Joey to pick her up early from the facility where she spent the summer, only to learn that Andie had an affair. Devastated, Pacey ends their relationship and throws himself into restoring a wrecked boat. When Andie’s new boyfriend attacks her, she and Pacey briefly reconnect, but Pacey ultimately tells her that he no longer loves her romantically.
After his family once again labels him a failure, Pacey begins a casual, no-strings-attached relationship with Jen. While stranded on Witch Island, the two make out in a supposedly haunted church and continue trying to pursue their arrangement afterward. Meanwhile, Pacey and Joey take ballroom dancing lessons together to win a scholarship. When Dawson and Jen discover Pacey and Jen making out in the studio’s coat closet, Joey’s reaction leads Jen to suspect that she has feelings for Pacey. Pacey insists that nothing is going on between him and Joey, but he and Jen ultimately decide they are better off as friends.
After failing his classes, Pacey is forced to participate in a school production of Barefoot in the Park, where Andie serves as assistant director. Although initially reluctant, he comes to enjoy the experience. After the play, Pacey and Andie mend fences and agree to start over as friends.
After failing grades, Pacey has to complete an English Class project – starring in a school production of Barefoot in the Park. Coincidentally, Andie is the assistant director of the play and they eventually manage to work well on the project together. Although semi-coerced into doing the play, Pacey eventually finds that he enjoys it and has fun playing the character of Paul. After the show, he and Andie talk a bit and mend fences, deciding to start anew as friends.
As the season progresses, Pacey realizes he may have feelings for Joey, which worries him. 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.
To encourage Joey's art, Pacey rents her a wall. He eventually acts on his feelings and kisses Joey. She reacts furiously to the possible implications on their friendships. Pacey is also extremely concerned about the possible demise of his friendship with Dawson due to his feelings for Joey. He attempts to tell Dawson during a camping trip but chickens out.
Pacey's childhood friend, Will Krudski, joins them during a spring break visit to Dawson's Aunt Gwen. While there, Pacey and Joey find themselves increasingly tense and uncomfortable around each other. Joey eventually admits that she felt a spark when Pacey touched her, prompting him to count to ten before kissing her. Their kiss is interrupted by Dawson's aunt, but later that night, they confess their feelings for each other, acknowledging that, despite how much their feelings are tearing them apart, neither can make them go away.
When Dawson accidentally learns about Pacey and Joey's burgeoning relationship from Jen several weeks after it begins, he reacts furiously, ending his friendship with Pacey and competing for Joey's attention. Fearing that her relationship with Pacey will permanently damage her friendship with Dawson, Joey reluctantly breaks things off with Pacey. Dawson, however, remains unwilling to forgive Pacey.
At the Anti-Prom, Pacey attends with Andie while Joey goes with Dawson. Joey becomes increasingly uncomfortable with the situation, and Jack encourages her to set an example for both Dawson and Pacey. She asks Pacey to dance, infuriating Dawson and leading to another confrontation. Joey ultimately chooses her friendship with Dawson once again.
Pacey decides to leave Capeside and spend the summer sailing, but when Joey learns of his plans, she confronts him for giving up. Realizing that Joey is right, Pacey paints “ask me to stay” on her wall. The following day, he attends Dawson's parents' wedding, where Joey tells him that she cannot give him a reason to stay because she still needs to work through her feelings.
After realizing that Joey is unhappy, Dawson reluctantly accepts her feelings and encourages her to go after Pacey. After securing Joey's assurance that their friendship will survive, Dawson lets her go. Joey runs after Pacey as he is leaving, telling him that she is in love with him and wants to spend the summer with him. Pacey and Joey then leave Capeside together aboard his boat, the True Love.
Season 4 Pacey and Joey return from their summer at sea still deeply in love, but Joey’s determination to repair her friendship with Dawson causes tension between them. Although they reconcile, Pacey remains increasingly insecure about Joey prioritizing Dawson’s feelings over their relationship. Meanwhile, Pacey’s own friendship with Dawson remains badly damaged. His older sister, Gretchen, returns to Capeside from college, and the two move into a beach house together.
As Pacey and Joey adjust to being a couple back in Capeside, Pacey continues to struggle academically, while both begin worrying about their future beyond high school. After Dawson saves Pacey’s life during a storm, Pacey realizes how much he misses their friendship and apologizes. The two later team up with Jack to prank the principal and frame Drue, giving Pacey hope that they might eventually repair their friendship.