Andie McPhee (Meredith Monroe) might not be the most well-known character on Dawson's Creek, at least not when compared to soulmates Joey Potter (Katie Holmes) and Dawson Leery (James Van Der Beek). But Andie is a compelling character: studious, wise beyond her years, and important because of her mental health struggles.
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Since this show aired back in the late '90s and early 2000s, it makes sense that some things are pretty dated or would be upsetting to watch in 2020. Here are 10 things about Andie that would never fly today.
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Andie Justifies Cheating On The PSATs By Stealing A Copy
It's never cool to cheat on a test and the PSATs are a pretty big test that determines the future of many high schoolers. Andie cheats on the PSATs and steals a copy, but she totally justifies it and acts like it's fine.
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This would never fly today and the show would have Andie get in more trouble and make a much bigger deal out of this. And with the recent college admissions scandal, this storyline would have to result in Andie getting kicked out of high school.
She Cheats On Pacey While In Rehab Which Is Inappropriate
There are many couples on Dawson's Creek that fans have strong feelings about. Some people think that Pacey Witter (Joshua Jackson) and Andie are great together and others will always think that he should have started dating Joey at the beginning of the series.
Andie cheats on Pacey while she's in rehab for her mental health struggles, and this is something about this character that would never fly today. It's definitely frowned upon for two people at the same center to start a relationship, as this would affect their healing process and recovery.
Andie Has Trouble Accepting It When Her Brother Jack Comes Out
Dawson's Creek has been praised for its portrayal of Jack McPhee (Kerr Smith) and his coming out storyline. When Jack kisses his boyfriend Ethan (Adam Kaufman), this was said to be the very first time that two gay men kissed on TV. And watching Jack read a poem in class and realize all of the things that he has been feeling is incredibly moving.
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When Jack comes out, Andie has trouble accepting it, which is so uncool. This would never fly today. When a sibling shares something about themselves, the only okay response is to be tolerant, loving, and understanding.
Andie Leaves High School Early And Goes To Italy
Sure, Andie is such a smarty-pants that she gets into college early (and Harvard at that). But that doesn't mean that she has to leave high school early, and it's really strange that she does this.
Today, a teen character would never graduate early or skip out on the last few months of their high school experience. Andie even goes to Italy, which is even weirder. Can't she finish high school with her friends and travel the summer between senior year and college?
She Starts Seeing A Guy Who Is Much Older Than Her
In the third season episode "Indian Summer," Andie stars seeing a guy named Rob (Niklaus Lange). This would be okay (if sad for fans of Pacey and Andie) except for one thing: Rob is much older than her. He's actually Joey's boss, so this seems like a strange move for a high school student.
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Rob definitely isn't an appropriate person for Andie to date, and this would never fly today. It's hard to see this being a plot that would exist on a teen drama in 2020 and if it did, other characters would make a much bigger deal about it.
There Are No Parental Figures In Andie's Life And She Acts Like She Lives Alone
Andie and Jack have a very tragic home life and they went through a lot when they were kids. Their brother Tim died and their mother is suffering a lot.
But even though these siblings still have their mom and dad, these parents don't exactly live up to the title. Andie has no parental figures and no one seems to be looking out for it. She lives like she's in her 40's and it's not something that would be okay today.
Andie Wants To Have Fun And The Gang Goes To A Bar
In the season two episode "Be Careful What You Wish For," Andie goes by the advice of her therapist to have some fun. But of course, the therapist doesn't think that Andie is going to get her friends to go to a bar... or do some ecstasy later on in the episode.
High schoolers aren't exactly supposed to go to a bar, so this is something that would never fly today. There was a trend on teen dramas in the '90s and 2000s where teens would rebel and break the rules a lot, but today, there would be more of an explanation of how these teens actually got into a bar.
Andie Is Hyperfocused On School With Not Much Of A Social Life Or Any Extracurriculars
These days, being a well-rounded student is definitely the way to get into college, let alone Harvard. And yet Andie is hyperfocused on school but doesn't seem to have much of a social life (at least before moving to Capeside and becoming friends with the gang). And viewers never see her talking about hobbies or extracurriculars. The focus is only on her excellent grades.
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This doesn't seem like something that would fly today. A counselor or teacher would encourage her to get more involved.
Andie Lies That She Was Assaulted
Lying about sexual assault is a horrible thing to do and Andie actually does this in the third season of Dawsons' Creek. She wants Pacey to love her and so she says that Rob assaulted her.
With the #MeToo movement such an important part of society today, it's hard to imagine a character doing this on a teen drama in 2020. This would never fly today.
Andie's Family Doesn't Notice Her Struggles Or Get Her The Help She Needs
When Andie goes to a treatment center, it's because her boyfriend Pacey is worried about her and he wants her to get some help. Andie's parents don't notice her struggles and they don't make the decision that she should get the help that she needs.
This would never fly on a teen drama today as people are definitely more open about mental health and talking about recovery and support. Dawson's Creek acts like it's fairly common for no one to have noticed what was going on with Andie, and that's not cool.