The O.C. OK, that's it. From...

The O.C.
OK, that's it. From here on out, I'm thinking of Marissa as MErissa. ‘Cause that's all she thinks about. I get it, her friend died. Very sad. A peripheral character — here for a multiepisode arc — died. Tragically. Was MErissa into Johnny Wohnny? It seemed like it. And yes, she's entitled to her grief, but I'm tired of MErissa treating Ryan like yesterday's news. So color me happy to see that our Ry guy had some sparks with Johnny's cousin, Sadie. Now my first thought when I saw her arrive on the scene was, "Oh, no, please tell me we don't have to put up with another newbie." But you know what? I already dig her. She shows promise, and hopefully she can get Ryan's mind off of MErissa. Besides, I loved Nikki Reed in the movie Thirteen. And I love her name — Reed is Nikki Newman's maiden name on The Young and the Restless.

Thankfully, I was able to rely on just about everyone else on the show for some romance and genuine scenes that made me smile. Any Kirsten-Ryan scene makes me jump for joy. And I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I like Kaitlin. I also really, really like that Justin kid who's gaga over her. Seth's lying mea culpa and the Victoria's Secret lingerie switcheroo were fun. Dr. Roberts coming to his senses regarding one Julie Cooper-Nichol was funner. Favorite Julie quip was her line about oysters: "If I'm going to swallow something that disgusting, there better be something in it for me." By the way, show of hands: Who knew that The O.C. wasn't going to return until March 9? I guess there's no going up against the Winter Olympics for this show.