Dawson's Creek : Joey telling Audrey she was her first real female friend

What about Jen and Andie? They may not have been BFFs, but they did seem close at times. Joey and Jen were often more frenemies than friends, but it is strange that she wouldn't have considered Jen a friend after all that time. And they did all hang out together as a group through high school and college.

An attempt to minimize Jen's role in the group. They didn't do as much as they could've with Jen and Joey as friends but I also think it's strange. They would've been close the whole time if Joey wasn't so jealous of her.

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

I'm surprised that she didn't consider Andie moreso than Jen as a friend since they never had a frenemy relationship at all.

Joey did admittedly say to Jen (granted it was in a drunken stupor) in a season 4 episode that she had never considered her a friend. I feel sorry for Jen because it's like she was in a platonic version of a one-sided, unrequited crush. All throughout the series Jen had always cared a lot more about Joey than Joey did about her.

I remember this one episode in season 4 (I'll have to go back & rewatch it again) where Jen was in therapy and she was talking about how catty, petty, & bitchy teenage girls can be. Not once did she mention Joey or trash her at all, even though all of those qualities could be described about Joey (especially her treatment towards Jen in seasons 1-2). I thought that spoke volumes about how Jen felt & cared about Joey even though Joey was just like one of those types of girls towards her.

I'm not sure why you all find it strange. She was never close with either of those two characters. They were more acquaintances at best and if not for Dawson and Pacey, I can't see any of those three characters really putting in a lot of effort to maintain contact with one another. She was definitely MUCH closer to Audrey so that comment didn't seem odd to me at all.

I find it strange that she didn't consider them friends. Calling them close friends, yeah that wouldn't be accurate at all, but they were at the very least friends.

It's like Joey saying that Jack isn't her friend. Yes, they weren't close friends (after season 2), but at the very least they were friends.

The funny thing is that Joey had actually referred to both Andie and Jen as her friends on other occasions.

Yep, she did. I think she even alluded to the fact that she considered both Andie & Jen to be close friends in one of the final episodes of season 6. I think the episode was called "Joey Potter and the Capeside Redemption".

Here is the quote from her narration dialogue around the end of the episode:

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Joey: [Voice Over] And now that this scared little girl no longer follows me wherever I go, I miss her. I do. 'Cause there are things I wanna tell her to relax, to lighten up, that it is all going to be ok. I want her to know that meeting people who like you, who understand you, who actually accept you for who you are, will become an increasingly rare occurrence. Jen, Jack, Audrey, Andie, Pacey, and Dawson. These people who contributed to who I am, they are with me wherever I go, and as history gets rewritten in small ways with each passing day, my love for them only grows. Because the truth is it was the best of times. Mistakes were made, hearts were broken, harsh lessons learned, but all of that has receded into fond memory now. How does it happen? Why are we so quick to forget the bad and romanticize the good? Maybe it's because we need to believe that the time we spent together actually meant something, that we were there for each other in a time in our lives that defined us all, a time in our lives that we will never forget. I can't swear this is exactly how it happened. But this is how it felt.

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Well she did say first "real" female friend didn't she? I'm not sure of the exact wording since it's been ages since I've seen that episode, but if she said first real female friend that makes even more sense to me I guess. She may have been friendly with Jen and Andie at certain times, but it's clear that those relationships just aren't/weren't on the same level as Audrey/Joey. I took her to mean that Audrey was the first female that she really connected with.

Joey was a tomboy most of her life so that explains why she never connected with many other females. Jen was too much of a rival and I'm sure the baggage of that was always in the back of Joey's mind on some level, thus a significant barrier for them to ever be close, and Andie, again, was just a byproduct of her relationship with Pacey. It makes sense why she views Audrey the way she does and Andie and Jen somewhat differently. At least to me imo.

She didn't really connect with Audrey any more than the other two girls, I didn't think. Audrey was her roommate and an entertaining personality to have around, but I didn't really see their interactions as being any more "real" than the ones she had with Jen and Andie. Especially Jen. She had a few real heart to heart talks with Jen over the course of the series. Even though she and Jen were in some way constantly rivals both vying for Dawson's attention in some seasons of the show, I would actually say they had a pretty strong connection.

Audrey was a superficial friend IMO they lived together and had occasional fun but Audrey also went out of her way to get in Joey's life. Joey just didn't care to make friends with other women. She definitely had more of a connection with Jen even when they were rivals. Joey didn't want to admit that she liked her in the earlier seasons due to jealousy but she always respected her and went to her for advice. Andie and Joey had a lot in common too. It's annoying because Jen is the best friend on the show. She shows them unconditional love and support.

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

I don't know if this counts, but the season 4 episode "Eastern Standard Time" is perhaps a good episode about Joey & Jen's friendship.

Yes, Eastern Standard Time was a good one. If Joey and Jen weren't friends, I find it hard to believe that they would actually go to New York together like that and that Joey would have been so concerned about whether she was going to see Jen again.

Also, in the season 5 finale, when Joey and Jen ran into each other at the airport, and Jen started to tell Joey about how she feels like she has a lot to apologize for over the past year, Joey stopped her and gave her a hug. And when Jen told her she loves her, Joey said "I love you too." You don't tell someone you love them if you only see them as an acquaintance.

Joey and Jen were rivals in the beginning and though that lessened it never went away. Joey was obviously threatened by her but she was also not a typical female which it made it difficult for her to relate to and have female friends.

I don't remember this. I was never a big fan of Jen, but I think that's a little insulting to Jen. After they got over fighting about Dawson I think Jen was actually a pretty good friend to Joey.