I had been dreading this final episode of The O.C. all week. I was so curious about how it would all end, yet not wanting it to end at the same time. But as the oh-so-wise Sandy said, “Nothing lasts forever.” OK, so if it had to end, I wanted a really good finale. And I’m tough on series finales: They have to be both happy and bittersweet, and look back with nostalgia while they move forward. I’m happy to report that I was not at all disappointed. They hit us with a lot of surprises right off the bat: Ryan and Taylor had broken up; Julie was preggers and about to marry the Bullitt. I loved the “Buffet of Bullitts” — all 12 of his sons, named after (mostly) Texas towns. For a little while, I was afraid this last episode was going to turn into a sap-fest, but The O.C. didn’t let me down. They, of course, piled on the drama: Julie was pregnant with Frank’s son, not Bullitt’s. But Frank wimped out, and Bullitt was there for her to pick u...
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“Dude, it’s bad,” Seth told Ryan. While having a piece of glass lodged in your back is not a good thing, this scenario led to the best scenes of this post-earthquake episode. And not surprisingly, they were all Seth-Ryan scenes. The relationship between these two so very different foster brothers was the initial premise of The O.C., and it has always remained the heart of the show. I was glad they were paired up for this next-to-last episode; I wouldn’t have minded if nearly the whole hour focused on them. From Ryan quietly text-messaging Seth for help, to Seth valiantly letting nothing stop him from reaching his brother, it was all good. Then when Seth, who’s not great in high-pressure situations, began to fall apart, an injured Ryan was there for him, trying to talk him through how to fix a flat (which of course did not go well). But their endless obstacles (including Seth’s shortcut that got them lost) were lightened by moments of humor, a tricky bal...
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Just to clarify: Seth’s not about to become a daddy, but Frank already is one. Let’s start with the main focus of the night, Seth and Summer. Is it wrong for me to sort of wish the pregnancy test had been positive? Purely for the reason of having a good soap-opera story line play out, because Seth’s and Summer’s relationship has been a little...well, boring this season. Not that they were ready to become parents, especially with Seth’s “gimme a high five” reaction when he thought the test was Taylor’s and not Summer’s. Seth, Seth, Seth – I was so disappointed in him. Well, at least he redeemed himself at the end, after he was able to figure out his true feelings for Summer (thanks to Ryan’s help) and propose to her before looking at the test results. The alien ring, Seth’s declaration of his love, Summer’s surprise and acceptance – it was all very sweet, if for just a moment. And then, suddenly, it all felt...wron...
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‘Twas the night before Chrismukkah,when people worried through The O.C.Because Ryan wasn’t stirring,stuck in a coma was he.Chrismukkah is always very special on The O.C., and this installment didn’t disappoint. This year they borrowed a popular page from the TV Christmas Handbook and did their own “alt-universe” spin on It’s a Wonderful Life. George Bailey stand-in Ryan was able to see what life in Newport would have been like if he never arrived there, and it wasn’t pretty. But it was funny. Funniest of all had to be Summer, Chester’s “mindless bimbo” of a bride-to-be. Every time the clueless, bling-loving junior Newpsie was on screen I cracked up. And although the save-the-earth Summer that we have come to know the past few months can be a bit of a downer, this episode showed how things would have been much worse if Summer had gone in the opposite direction.Likewise, it showed Sandy going in a direction that strayed far from the et...
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So it’s really no surprise that Taylor keeps a blog, one that no less details “the erotic memoirs of a soulful college girl” (even though technically she’s not in college at the moment). What is surprising is how this show manages to keep Taylor and Ryan’s budding relationship so refreshingly adorable. I love how Taylor doesn’t even realize that Ryan’s asking her out at first, and gets all apologetic about their kiss (“I’m a lip-biter... sometimes I draw blood”). She’s self-deprecating, while he’s inadvertently insulting, calling her “weird” and “strange.” She stages elaborate soap-opera schemes (“What if I did rent a homosexual for the evening, and pay him with rare collectibles from Asian cinema?”), while he has fantasies involving roller skates and soapy window-washing that Seth deems “pedestrian” and “average.” This opposites-attract plotline isn’t an original conce...
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Sure, Taylor was enamored with Ryan for rescuing her from her loveless marriage. And she appreciated the beauty of the sight of a shirtless Ryan. But what was the telltale sign that she had truly fallen for the guy? She actually thought the king of brooding was funny. And while Ryan’s far from Seth when it comes to witty retorts, Taylor has no problems in the humor department. Becoming someone’s uncertified sleep therapist is definitely a novel way to go about seducing someone. And she gets bonus points for the elaborateness of her approach: 50 candles, flannel pajamas and an offer to be a warm body. Her false denial when Ryan finally asked her whether she liked him was priceless, as well as somewhat believable. I can’t say that I fault him for not picking up on things initially — Taylor is a little bit kooky, and she’s always jumped into projects (like high school committees) with tremendous gusto, so attacking his insomnia with such tenacity wasn’t ou...
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Ryan wasn’t going after Volchok to kill him. He was going to tell the cops where Volchok was.... He just needed to see him first. As Seth explained, “No offense, but like nobody believes that.” Seth may not be stealth, but he has good instincts, and he knows Ryan all too well. And he was quite the James Bond last night, albeit in his own comic-book way. First he stumbles onto Ryan’s secret plan when overhearing his phone call, then he leaves coded messages for his parents to find. (How could Sandy not figure out the anagram?!) But Ryan, likewise, knows Seth too well, hence the cell-phone casualty. However, Seth didn’t let that nor 18 tequila shots slow him down, and he wound up saving the day by giving Ryan a decoy address for Volchok. I was so proud of Seth for doing that and for trying to convince Volchok to turn himself in. He really reminded me of a mini Sandy in that scene. True, he had to pull a “Judas” move and betray Ryan to Sandy and Kirst...
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