Season two of
Dawson's Creek picks up where season one left off, with the passionate kiss between 15-year-old aspiring filmmaker Dawson Leery (
James Van Der Beek) and his lifelong friend Josephine "Joey" Potter (
Katie Holmes). Still, it will be some time before Dawson and Joey surrender to the obvious fact that they are destined to be together forever. This season marks the first appearance of Andie McPhee (Meredith Monroe) and Andie's brother Jack (
Kerr Smith), not to mention the manipulative Abby Morgan (Monica Keena), who wastes no time exerting her bad influence over Dawson's sexy next-door neighbor Jen Lindley (
Michelle Williams). Meanwhile, Dawson's pal Pacey (
Joshua Jackson) has an uncomfortable reunion with Tamara Jacobs (Leann Hunley), the English teacher to whom he had given up his virginity in the previous season. With Joey apparently interested only in newcomer Jack, Dawson goes back to Jen on the rebound, which turns out to be a really bad move. As it turns out, however, Jack is gay, and thus hardly a rival to Dawson. As for his sister Andie, she has a brief fling with the ever-willing Pacey -- and as a result of her parent's marital problems, Andie also suffers a nervous breakdown, which may force her to move out of Jack's life forever. Things aren't much more pleasant in the Leery home, as Dawson's parents, Gail (Mary-Margaret Humes) and Brian (John Wesley Shipp), decide to get a divorce. Using his "art" to release his emotions, Dawson starts filming a movie of his life, upsetting his friends and family -- and himself, when the finished product is roundly panned by a professional filmmaker. Just before the season closer, Jen joins Abby in a drinking binge, which ends disastrously when Abby falls off a bridge and drowns in the river. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide