If you spent any time on the internet between 2006 and, well, right now, you’ve seen it. James Van Der Beek, with his forehead scrunched like a crumpled paper bag and his mouth twisted in a grimace that defies the laws of physics, sobbing his eyes out. It is the Dawson Creek crying face. It’s the gold standard for being "sad on main." It is the "ugly cry" that launched a thousand GIFs.
But here is the thing: that shot wasn't some calculated bit of overacting. It wasn't meant to be funny. In the context of the year 2000, it was supposed to be the most heartbreaking moment of the entire series.
Where the Dawson Creek Crying Face Actually Came From
We have to go back to May 24, 2000. The Season 3 finale, titled "True Love." This was the peak of the Joey-Pacey-Dawson love triangle. Dawson Leery, the quintessential film-geek dreamer, finally realizes he has to let Joey Potter go. He tells her to go to Pacey. It’s a moment of supposed growth, a "noble" sacrifice.
Then she leaves.
And then he loses it.
The camera zooms in tight. Dawson is standing on a pier—because everything in Capeside happens on a pier—and the reality of his loneliness hits him. James Van Der Beek didn't just shed a single, masculine tear. He went for it. He leaned into the raw, unpolished, and frankly "ugly" reality of a teenage boy getting his heart ripped out.
The funny thing about that day on set
Van Der Beek has actually admitted in interviews, most notably with The Huffington Post and later during an Entertainment Weekly reunion, that the crying wasn't even scripted to be that intense. He just... felt it. He’d lived with the character for three years. The scene "dropped in his lap," and he let the emotion take over. When the director yelled "cut," everyone thought it was a powerful, sincere moment. Nobody saw a meme coming.
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How could they? The word "meme" barely existed in the public consciousness back then.
From Heartbreak to Digital Punchline
The transition from a serious TV moment to an internet joke didn't happen overnight. It took about six years for the Dawson Creek crying face to really explode. Around 2006, the clip started surfacing on early message boards and YouTube. People realized that out of context, Dawson’s face was hilarious. It was too much. It was "extra" before we called things extra.
By 2011, the actor himself decided to stop fighting it. Honestly, that’s the best way to handle being a meme. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. He teamed up with Funny or Die to create "Vandermemes," a site where he recreated the cry face and added a bunch of other ridiculous expressions.
It was a brilliant career move.
It turned him from a "has-been teen idol" into a guy with a great sense of humor.
Why we are still obsessed with it
The internet loves a good "ugly cry." Most actors try to look pretty when they weep. They want that one perfect tear tracking down a cheekbone. Van Der Beek did the opposite. He gave us the face we actually make when we find out our favorite show got canceled or we drop a fresh slice of pizza face-down on the floor.
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It’s relatable. It’s visceral.
It’s also surprisingly versatile. You can use that GIF for:
- Sarcastic sympathy when a billionaire loses money.
- Actual grief over a minor inconvenience.
- Mocking your friends when they’re being dramatic.
The Legacy of the Ugly Cry
Interestingly, this meme has outlived the cultural relevance of the show itself for many younger people. There are college kids today who use the Dawson Creek crying face every single day but have never seen a single episode of the show. They don't know who Joey Potter is. They don't know Pacey Witter stole his best friend's girl.
They just know the face.
Even Van Der Beek’s own kids use it against him. He told People magazine a few years ago that his eldest daughter sent him the meme during a text exchange. Imagine being a famous actor and getting "memed" by your own child using a video of you from twenty years ago. That is a specific kind of modern parenting karma.
What This Teaches Us About Pop Culture
Looking back, the "True Love" episode was actually a milestone for reasons other than the meme. It featured one of the first "passionate" gay kisses on primetime TV (between Jack and Ethan). It redefined the teen drama formula by having the "hero" lose the girl.
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But the internet is a filter. It strips away the nuance. It takes 128 hours of television and boils it down to a three-second loop of a guy looking like he just smelled something terrible while simultaneously having his heart broken.
How to use the meme like a pro
If you’re going to use the Dawson Creek crying face in 2026, you’ve gotta understand the irony. It’s best used for "first-world problems." Using it for actual tragedy feels wrong. Use it when you realize you left your charger at home. Use it when the Starbucks line is ten people deep.
That is where the magic lives.
Moving Forward With Dawson
If you want to see the face in its original habitat, you can find Dawson's Creek on most major streaming platforms. It’s worth watching that Season 3 finale just to see how much lead-up there was to those three seconds of footage. It really was a "perfect storm" of acting, lighting, and 90s hair.
Next time you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed, just remember: at least your most embarrassing emotional breakdown isn't archived in the Library of Congress (metaphorically speaking) for the entire world to use as a reaction GIF.
James Van Der Beek is doing just fine. He embraced the meme, and in doing so, he became immortal.
Your next move? Go watch the "True Love" episode (Season 3, Episode 23). Even if you aren't a fan of teen soaps, seeing the "ugly cry" in its original context gives you a weirdly deep appreciation for the actor's commitment. After that, you'll never look at that GIF the same way again.