Editorial: The Man of the Year
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My first review just wouldn’t be fitting without a proper introduction. Here goes…. My name is Sara. I love The O.C. I love writing. Well, those things may seem pretty obvious, but I think that’s all you really need to know when you’re writing reviews for a site about The O.C. Introductions aside, I’m ready to begin….
Let me just begin by saying that I really liked this episode. I thought it was great. We were brought back to the roots of the show: family. Not love triangles, not just the teens, or just the adults, just the family. The Man of the Year provided comedy and drama, the two main aspects of this show that have made it so successful. There were lacrossetitutes, stolen cars, great speeches, and an arrest. All in 44 minutes.
Obviously, the most important aspect of this episode (at least I think so) was the Cohen family’s problems. We have the (recovering) alcoholic Kirsten, the (supposedly) criminal Sandy, and the (addicted) pot-smoker Seth. Then there’s also the (illegal) deal-making Ryan. Starting with Kirsten, I thought that is was understandable that she resorted back to drinking when her family (particularly Sandy) was going through major issues. Your husband being the subject of a criminal investigation, and possibly going to jail, is nothing to take lightly, even in the scandal-filled Newport Beach. She did the only thing that could take her out of the crazy world she was living in: drinking. Like I said, it’s understandable. But the problem that I have with it is that it puts Kirsten right back where she was one year ago. She’s no longer sober.
And the only way to keep her sober is to bring Sandy back to where he was one year ago: the moral man that (we thought) we knew. This whole amoral Sandy was a tad boring to begin with. Once things started to heat up, they forgot about him and Matt and the Newport Group and decided to focus on other storylines. But then they brought it back and we are forced to say, “Oh yeah, that’s right! Sandy’s turning into Caleb!” It was realistic how he slowly grew into a workaholic, unprincipled man who only cared about building hospitals. Except for the fact that it was unrealistic to turn Sandy into that type of man. For most of the first two seasons, Sandy was the morals-based man that we always loved. But then he started to neglect his whole family. And, I have to say, I was terribly confused as to why. Saving your family is more important than building a hospital and running a company. And finally, Sandy realized that. His speech at the end was simply heart-melting, and I was so happy that he finally decided to give up on this hospital and the Newport Group and start fixing all the problems that were affecting his family. Of course, nothing in Newport stays right for more than five seconds, so somebody, in this case a Cohen, had to get arrested. (And it wasn’t Ryan!)
I loved Seth in this episode. His washing out of Kirsten’s vodka mug was so intense. I read on one site that him taking care of the passed-out Kirsten showed that he was finally becoming a man. And I agree. But as far as I know, smoking pot isn’t a very manly way to deal with your problems. It provided a surprise and a rather logical way to burn down the Newport Group, but I don’t think it was grown-up. However, him looking into his drawer at the pot was eye-opening for me. Who would have ever guessed that after 10 episodes that he would still have a bag of pot? Not me. I thought that ship had sailed, but that’s what we all thought after Volchok chickened out in The Anger Management, and look what’s happened to him. Also, while Seth’s pot-smoking may be a tad childish, the high form of Seth is great. He is just so out of it, and Adam Brody plays it so well. Now on to the arrest and what caused it. One of my friends, while explaining her view on The O.C. said Seth was an idiot for leaving the joint lit. She also went on to say that Ryan was an idiot, too, for helping Volchok. The first is true, but I don’t think the latter is. But I’ll get to that later. Anyway, who knew that one little lit joint could start a fire big enough to burn down a whole office building? But I guess that’s what you get when you carelessly leave joints and paper everywhere. So Seth is arrested in a matter of about half an hour. Yes, this possibly was the world’s fastest arrest, but it was a great way to end the episode. The song was great (The Pioneers by Tunng) and so was zooming out on all of the characters. Everyone looked truly shocked that this was happening. And if it wasn’t for Fox, everyone else would have been, too. But it is what it is, I guess. It’s amazing how in a matter of less than three years, Seth turned from a friendless kid who talked to horses to a pot-smoking young adult getting arrested (but who still talks to horses). But someone in Newport hasn’t changed….
I am talking about Ryan. This whole situation with Volchok is truly suspenseful, and at times confusing. The beginning scene of the episode had my brain going in all different directions, because I had pretty much no idea what was going on. I was literally on the edge of my seat when Ryan checked Volchok’s pulse. For the whole week dating up to the episode I was convinced that Volchok was not dead, but that really threw me for a loop. But once words were spoken, and Volchok’s eyes were opened, it all became clearer to me. Like I said previously I don’t think Ryan is stupid for helping out Volchok. He had to do it. Whether or not he really would have been arrested still is a question, but he couldn’t take any chances. Now on to the stealing of the car. It never dawned on me until Friday that Volchok breaking the window and that scene was like in The Pilot with Trey and the car. I don’t know how I missed that. I guess I was too caught up with whether or not Ryan and Volchok would get caught. (By the way, why were there cop cars patrolling the street in what was supposed to be a clean, classy neighborhood, where no one would suspect illegal deals were being made?) Ryan running away was great, intense, and suspenseful. He just couldn’t afford to get caught, because then he would be right back where he started: jail. Everything that he had come to know would be taken away from him in amatter of seconds, and he just couldn’t do that. Which also explains his forming of an alibi with Marissa. These two were bearable this episode (even though they really weren’t together a lot), and I loved the end of the scene in the beginning when Ryan asked if he could buy Marissa breakfast. Of course this also means that Ryan and Marissa will most likely get back together. But that is something we can deal with at a later date.
Speaking of Marissa, her storyline was absolutely hilarious in this episode. I loved how the writers haven’t forgotten about Kaitlin, and aren’t letting us forget her, either. Kaitlin’s situation provided most of the comedy in this episode, mostly due to the stripper plan and Kaitlin’s roommate. I just thought it hilarious that she kept saying “obvi” and referenced The Valley when they were really making fun of The O.C. But I guess you are allowed to make fun of your own show’s ratings when you have already been renewed for another season.
Summer really wasn’t a factor in this episode, except for her attempts to keep Sandy from reading that confession napkin. Oh, and I forgot about Sandy and Seth’s confrontation. Seth was finally able to stand up to Sandy and get it into his head that he wasn’t acting like a father or a husband. It reminded me a lot of their confrontation last year in the season finale when Sandy told Seth about the intervention. Seth was just about the only person who could admit to Sandy that he was practically tearing apart the family. I liked that this moment wasn’t too sappy and filled with regrets. Seth didn’t apologize to his father about anything that he had done, probably because he didn’t think he should have been the one to apologize. But that is just my view on things.
Okay, so my first review is coming to a close. This episode was one of the best of the season, in my opinion, mainly because the thing that made the show a success in the first place was brought back. This show has been about families in Newport Beach from the very beginning, and The Man of the Year brought the show right back where it started from (pun partially intended). Let’s hope the finale is just as good, or even better!
-Sara
Please feel free to email me at roswellgirl2010@earthlink.net with comments. But, like Drew, I don't like spoilers! So please don't send any! Thanks!
