The Chuck Bass Theorem: Why Nice Guys Should Finish Last

Dawson, Pacey, Joey

The Chuck Bass Theorem is about love triangles, so there are three necessary parts to every equation: the girl, the guy who gets the girl, and the guy who looses the girl. We predict the guy who gets the girl will be the "bad" and the one who looses her will be the "good," but sometimes good is just a synonym for boring. This is the case in "Dawson's Creek," the original teenage melodrama. In this case, first the protagonist needs to fall for the good guy, the boy-next-door, the safe choice, the Dawson. The Chuck Bass Theorem applies here because the girl eventually realizes she needs someone who challenges her. Enter Pacey Witter, the screwball friend with lousy grades but the sharpest whit. He may not be as classically handsome or come from the perfect family, and he may act like an asshole or pretend he doesn't care, but it's clear from the first kiss that something is there that wasn't there before. And as the relationship progresses, you might just discover that there is more to the "bad boy" than what meets the eye. The morale of the Joey Potter story is that still waters run deep, often times the apathetic rebel is a catch and the picture-perfect neighbor should be thrown back. [Photo via]