He moved to Capeside at the start of 10th grade, got a restaurant job at The Ice House (run by the family of Joey Potter (Katie Holmes), they started dating, and then he came out to the school via an English class writing exercise in which his muse was a guy. But wait, he also ends up the star of the football team. And they say high school is boring!
Even though this Dawson’s Creek character was groundbreaking at the time, the world has changed, especially with regards to how the LGBTQ+ community are portrayed on TV, and there are a lot of scenarios in Jack McPhee’s (Kerr Smith) radical storyline that just wouldn’t suit 2020.
10 He Wouldn’t Be The Caretaker Of His Mother
Jack and Andie’s (Meredith Monroe) dad Joseph (David Dukes) has taken off. Their older brother, Tim, died in a car accident, which tipped off their mom’s mental state and dad’s need to distance, as well as Andie’s anxieties. Although the father takes care of them financially, Jack and his sister are responsible for their mother, taking turns on the weekend so one of them is home when the other is out partying. They live in fear friends that will show up at their house and witness a mom freak out.
If Mrs. McPhee were in that bad of shape, she’d be under a doctor’s care who, short of institutionalizing her, would have at least had insisted on professional home care.
9 He Could Have Been More Self-Aware
Jack spends most of the second season romancing Joey, who’s just broken up with Dawson (James Van Der Beek). Then one day he gets a school assignment to write a poem and his muse is another guy. Suddenly, Jack realizes he is gay.
While everyone’s experience is different, many people in the LBGTQ+ community are aware of their sexuality early on, but unfortunately, they aren’t always in a supportive environment where they can live their truth. It’s hard to say if Jack was just waiting until he felt comfortable in Capeside, but if the show was made now, it’s possible he would not have wasted his or Joey’s time pretending he was romantically interested if he already knew he was gay.
8 He’d Sue For Being Outed In Class
The aforementioned poem was for a rather nasty teacher, famous for giving Pacey (Joshua Jackson) a hard time. The teacher promised the students that their verses were for his eyes only, so they were safe to pour their hearts out on the page. He then changed his mind in class and browbeat Jack into reading his aloud, which exposed his interest in boys, not girls.
This is currently the kind of thing that lawsuits are made of. It would be considered abusive and meant to embarrass the student, and could have been even seen as putting Jack in harm’s way.
7 He Would Not Live On His Own
His mentally ill mother is no longer in the picture, Jen is being temporarily institutionalized for her anxieties, and his dad lives elsewhere but thinks it’s OK for Jack to stay in Capeside because after all, he can’t have his gay son living with him.
It’s a teen dream to live life unsupervised, but even Jack knows this is not the best idea, so he invites his new BFF, Jen (Michelle Williams), to move in with him because she’s estranged from her grandmother. Then, eventually, when the relationship gets patched up, he moves in with Jen and Grams (Mary Beth Peil). When Andie returns, they live together, so he can watch out for her.
6 A Hate Crime Would Not Be Tolerated
After the English class debacle, the harassment begins almost immediately, with a pejorative term for gay scrawled across Jack’s locker. He swallows hard, rises above the laughter of his peers, opens the locker, and removes his books. School administration never weighs in.
Today, this would be dealt with swiftly and the perpetrators would be found out and might even be charged with a hate crime. Also, the day-to-day microaggressions would likely be addressed: “People keep looking at me like I’m about to start tap dancing to Bette Midler albums.”
5 Football Would Not Cure Homophobia
After 17 years, he tosses an errant ball back to a player and it’s discovered accidentally that the artsy guy “has an arm.” Jack is immediately put on the football team, of which Dawson’s dad is the coach.
Indeed, everybody loves a winner and Jack’s presence could mean that the Capeside Minutemen could actually win a game, but it’s hard to believe that all it takes is a numbered jersey to get the guys who wrote the homophobic epithet on Jack’s locker and his gay-unfriendly dad to literally embrace the high school junior.
4 He Would Be More Than The Gay Best Friend
Even though Jack has had his own storylines in this ensemble show, many of them were only as the wingman to some of the female characters. He tags along as moral support when Jen tries out for cheerleading, he acts a physical and mental bodyguard for Andie who, even after therapy, seems to be hanging on by a thread, and uses his extensive art world knowledge to encourage Joey to cultivate her drawing/painting talents.
Today, art would likely be part of his storyline — creating his own, working at a local gallery instead of The Ice House, and because he always proved to be a good friend, listening to the goings-on of others without following them around.
3 His Dad’s Intolerance
Perhaps 20 years ago, Jack’s dad’s inability to accept his son was considered understandable or expected, but nowadays it would be viewed as unloving and intolerant. Joseph’s behavior though is also a bit confusing. He doesn’t want Jack to have his love interest, Ethan, spend the weekend at the house (what would people think?), yet he takes both young men out to dinner, where he and Ethan bond over their love of classic cars.
Unfortunately, the reality is that many people in the LGBTQ+ community still struggle with being accepted by their family, but at least now there are organizations to help families with LGBTQ+ children develop positive relationships, which could be showcased if the series were made today.
2 Jack Could Go To Prom
Jack wanted to take Ethan to the Capeside High School junior prom, but is refused a ticket. He and the gang create an Alternative Prom to be held at Dawson’s mom’s restaurant. Over the decades, “prom” has thankfully evolved in terms of what is deemed “politically correct.” Traditional male/female “couples” are no longer required, and you can go solo or with friends.
And whereas the show reflected many schools’ issues at the time with gay students going as a couple, now this has thankfully subsided and in fact, is illegal in places. The ACLU offers information on its website about Prom Night Rights for LGBT students.
1 Jack Would’ve Attended His First Choice College
Jack really wanted to go to New York University after high school. Jen however was not yet ready to return to the city, so he put his dreams aside and attended Boston Bay College. After Gram’s breast cancer diagnosis, she and Jen move to NYC to live with Jen’s mother for access to better hospitals. They invite Jack, and he and Jen transfer to NYU.
Given that now Jack and Jen could be in constant contact via Skype, FaceTime, Zoom, texting, Snapchat, Facebook, etc., plus in an emergency, Jack could hop on a flight from New York and be in Capeside in roughly two hours, there would really be no reason for him to not enroll in the university of his choice.
