Editorial: The Brothers Grim
Drew's Editorials | Editorials Home
We’re never far from our pasts. No matter how hard or fast we run, our past is only a few feet behind us waiting to creep up, tackle, and hurt us. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, but the point is—we suffer today from what we did yesterday.
Welcome back for another week of my insights into this wonderful show that we know as
The O.C.. And, honestly, I do mean wonderful. This show has come so far in four episodes that I’m amazed we aren’t all sporting neck braces from the whiplash. But, I guess if we’re going to backlash, we deserve whiplash, right?
Let’s skim over the plot and then we’ll delve into what made this another winner for Josh and company.
Trey Atwood is being released from jail and Ryan’s unsure how he feels. He and Sandy pick Trey up and after some coaxing, he joins the Cohens at Casa de Cohen. Marissa and Ryan take Trey shopping, he’s accused of shoplifting, and he doesn’t respond kindly causing some heat between Ryan and Trey. Zach’s back from his trip to Italy and he’s sporting a big smile and the heart of a new girl—or is he? Summer seems a little jealous when she learns about it causing some friction in the Cohen/Roberts camp. Kirsten continues to be impressed by Carter Buckley as the magazine comes close to launch. Julie tells Caleb about her past and he takes matters into his own hands but only with minimal results.
Ryan/Marissa: Another nice episode with these two with nice callbacks to last season’s trip to Chino. Wonder why they didn’t mention Theresa, though? Hmm. Anyway, the meat of the Ryan story wasn’t his interaction with Marissa, but rather, his interaction with Trey. And it was good. There was something genuine in the hugs they shared and if Trey is hiding something (and I’m sure he is), you wouldn’t know it from this episode. Still, he can’t escape the stigma that he’s a bad guy and in some ways, I think he believes it himself, no matter how hard he wants to change. Ryan wasn’t exactly welcoming at first, but again, I believe the past was haunting him and all he can see in his brother’s face is a stolen car and a trip to jail. Something good came out of it—a real family—so maybe he owes Trey, in a sense, but I don’t think Ryan sees it that way. People worried about the recasting, but Logan Marshall-Green brought something special to the cast and he was very enjoyable in the role. He’s signed on for at least four more episodes and I’m excited. I think I know where the story is headed and it could be an interesting twist if it heads there.
Seth/Summer: Everyone who didn’t know Francesca was fake, raise your hand. Thought so. Still, as hackneyed as the plot is, there’s a reason it’s survived every television show in the history of the world—it’s honest. As excited I was about the big kiss, Summer leaving was harsh. Of course, it’s made worse by the fact that Zach is a good guy. His character has given us nothing to hate and even though he is bland, as the writers pointed out last night, he’s a good guy. So, of course he’s hurt. He knew what would happen, we knew what would happen, but even if you prepare yourself for an earthquake, when the ceiling caves in, it hurts. I hope they don’t go down the Summer/Zach road again because he’s not a legitimate threat and we’ve all figured that out—the idea that she left him at the airport overshadows any possible declaration of love she could ever give to Zach. I hope he stays around, though. He’s a fun pairing with Seth. Plus, I’d actually like to see a water polo game on this show. Let’s let Seth and Summer be a couple. We’ve seen them get together, break-up, have sex, and repeat the cycle, but I want to see them do more.
Sandy/Kirsten: I shouldn’t like Carter. He’s only been in three episodes and he’s coming between the best husband and wife team on primetime television in years. But, I like him. Maybe it’s the fact he’s a journalist who’s done something meaningful or maybe it’s the fact that Billy Campbell has embraced the role. Maybe it’s the fact that the Kirsten and Carter fling makes sense—Sandy hurt her and so she found someone who reminded her enough of Sandy (with the magazine) to ease the pain. At the same time, he’s also someone new and that’s probably exciting for her. The story is strikingly similar to the Seth/Zach/Summer story, but it feels somewhat fresh. I’m sure Carter has some major skeletons waiting to come out but for now, I’m going to enjoy it. And, there is also added intrigue in the fact that Sandy brought this on himself with the Rebecca fiasco. He has no one to blame but himself.
Julie/Caleb: I remember posting on TVTome.com last season and mentioning that I could live with Caleb’s character being killed off. Someone responded and said that was crazy because once he was gone, I’d miss him. I’m sorry I ever said that. Alan Dale has been brilliant in this role this season. He’s extremely understated and because of that, he comes off as cold and menacing and that’s the most important thing about this character. In a world of flashy clothes and black-tie parties, Caleb is reserved—he participates, but he doesn’t care about the enjoyment; he cares about that stuff because as long as he has it, he’s better than everyone. And Julie is very similar. She doesn’t do the party scene because she likes parties—she likes the fame the parties represent. Big difference. Maybe that’s why the Gruesome Twosome actually works. They’re the same character. They’ve both shown glimpses of humanity in the past few weeks, but in the end, they come back to the characters I love to hate. And last night’s story played out in spectacular fashion. Caleb approaching Lance was an intense, well-written, and well-acted scene. He attempted to outwit Lance in a very interesting matter. Lance appearing at the party was wonderful and then, when the porn appeared on the big screen, that was incredible. Some say it was predictable, but I didn’t see it. The question I’m still unclear on: did Caleb hire Lance to work at the party as his bitch or did Lance get a job just so he could show the porn? Either way, excellent story, with a wonderful payoff, and a wonderful tag with Caleb making everything better by promising a Eurotrip.
Other Thoughts…
J.J. Philbin proved he is capable of writing a good episode. “The Lonely Hearts Club” was brutally bad, which was a shame considering he had penned the very solid “The New Era,” and I figured he was done for. But, he rebounded nicely. I don’t think he’s a great writer as his dialogue is nowhere near as crisp as Josh’s, but he improved greatly last night.
Very nice touch with the magazine’s launch video being the opening credits of the show.
In a town as small and as rumor-riddled as Newport, is it possible that Marissa can avoid hearing about Julie’s porn appearance?
Wasn’t it nice to see Ryan get in a fight? I mean real nice?
Why did Zach wear his helmet in school?
There are few women who are as hot as Rachel Bilson was last night.
Alex doesn’t seem to be missed and Lindsay seems to have been erased from Ryan’s mind. These kids are truly resilient.
This was definitely a good episode, one of the best of the season. The show continues to improve each week—and not because it has to because the previous week was such a miserable show like it was earlier this year, but because it wants to—and it’s returning back to what made it so fun last year.
My So Called OC? Don’t give me that, Josh. Let’s stick with
Newport Beach, 92658 (did you know Newport Beach has like fifteen zip codes?). It’s much better that way.
- Drew
Questions? Comments? Death threats?
Email Me.
