Editorial: The Gringos/The Cold Turkey
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In light of Fox’s decision to do a double feature of The O.C. this past week (okay, a few weeks ago), I felt that I would do one, too. (Plus, writing one long review I feel will be easier than writing two separate ones.) The premiere I felt was nothing short of amazing. It was attention-grabbing, jaw-dropping, and eye-opening. Never before had I been so engaged. Sure, that may have been because of the incredibly long wait, but I definitely think the episode factored into my curiosity somewhat.
So, as I sat down to watch The Gringos (which I confused with the Australian dingo… don’t ask), I was expecting another great episode. Did I get what I expected? I still don’t know. As much as I like to think I am an independent thinker, I will say that a lot of my opinion of this show stems from message boards, and others’ opinions. So, as the hour ended on Wednesday night, I was left indifferent. There were definitely some things I liked. And definitely some things that I didn’t (at least at first viewing). But even after my visits to the forums and message boards, I don’t know what to think of this episode.
As for The Cold Turkey, I liked that episode from the very minute it ended. It’s esasily been the best of the season. J.J. Philbin wrote a terrific episode. She opened up these characters, and poured out their emotions. It made for a truly tremendous episode.
Initially, I thought The Gringos would turn out to be like The Escape. You know, a funny trip down to Mexico? But I guess I just forgot to factor in the one thing that Ryan desperately wanted to do: kill Volchok. At first, part of me wanted to praise Seth for setting Ryan up, as that very well may have saved his life. And, as I watched it, I felt like Seth betrayed Ryan. As crazy as it may seem, I felt like I was being betrayed. But, as I look back upon Seth’s actions, I realize his decision was the right one and it definitely saved Ryan’s life.
This is probably the bravest thing that Seth has ever done in his life. In The End of Innoncence (or maybe it was The Last Waltz), Seth argued that for the first time he didn’t act like a coward by turning himself in, but not Summer, for “borrowing” the tiki hut for Ryan and Marissa. Boy, does this surpass that. He had to choose between being the tag-a-long best friend or Ryan’s brother. And he chose brother.
Like I said, at first viewing, I felt a little uneasy. I couldn’t decide if what Seth did was completely out of his character. In fact, it very well may have been so out of his character that it goes back into character (if you get what I mean). But, seriously, has this show ever worried about going out of character? Rebecca Bloom… Carter Buckley… third season Anna… anyone?
Anyway, on to Kaitlin. Man, this girl is wise beyond her years. I don’t care if she steals clothes or hangs out with seemingly meaningless twin boys—I like her. Actually, I’ve always liked her, despite her dabble with Johnny in her first episode arc, and I always firmly believed that this “rule Harbor” business wouldn’t be taken literally. She stills seems like the bad girl we all saw last season, but there’s something more. She sees all: Neil’s maybe-would-be-kinda-sorta affair with the step monster, Julie’s addiction to pills, etc. The only question to me is when she will actually show some sort of emotion concerning Marissa’s death. So far, she’s merely been placed to support Julie, and boss around those Ward boys (by the way, although a tad plentiful, I thought the gay dad references were hilarious). I’d really like to see some sort of moment where Kaitlin opens up, while not making it too cheesy. I don’t think Kaitlin Cooper does cheesy.
Going back to Neil, his affair with Gloria is really something interesting. As I rewatched all of the season three episodes, I realized that I really don’t like Neil. He’s pretty annoying, and not a kind person. Ever since season one, when we first saw him, he always looked down upon others. He has this sort of “I’m so rich, I’m a plastic surgeon” condescending type of attitude. I don’t know why Summer likes him so much. When I think about it, he’s never really been that nice. First he tells Summer that Seth isn’t good enough for him, then he likes Zach (??), most likely because he was rich and his father was successful, too (okay, he was a senator, I’ll give him that one). But look how Zach turned out. Almost as crazy as Seth. Then… he hooks up with Julie… and acts like an eight-year-old boy with a schoolgirl crush (Do you think Julie likes me? Sigh.). After he finally gets the nerve to act his age (no, more like half his age), and tells Julie that he likes her, he proceeds to act half his age and sneak around with her. He doesn’t tell his daughter. No, because, well, why would he? After finally developing some sort of relationship with his daughter, and finally reentering the picture, he chooses to take the easy way out. So Julie, not Dr. Roberts, finally tells both Summer and Marissa (okay, Summer found out on her own, but Julie at least confirmed Summer’s suspicions) about her relationship with Neil. Then, Neil takes Julie on a cruise and proposes to her. Talk about a hasty man! They’d been sneaking around for one episode, and he decides, “Hmm… maybe I should propose to Julie. It’s not like our relationship won’t last. We’ve been dating for a few weeks! Super!” So once he finally does get engaged and looks to become a resemblance of a man, he goes and talks to Julie about how their marriage is a “trial run” or something like that. Who does that?! And was it all because of Marissa and her deceit spiral into white trash? Or is Dr. Neil that lame?!?! I’ll take the latter. Seriously, no respectable man would ever complain about motorcycles waking him up. I’d like to say, just for exaggeration, that Neil is about as lame as Johnny, but that’d be taking that way too far. Maybe he ranks third or fourth on my list (behind Lindsay, of course. Motorcycles never beat oboes. Never.).
Anyway, my point is… from the very beginning, Neil has been a pain. Granted, it was nice of him to give Julie his McMansion… but it’s not like he didn’t deserve what Julie made him do. Here’s his fiancée and his daughter, grieving the death of her daughter and best friend, respectively. And what does he do? He goes off with the step monster. It’s just a terrible thing to do. But, if that weren’t bad enough, he decides to up the ante and lies about it to Julie (“Nothing happened with Gloria”), but tells the truth to Summer (“We’ll take it slow”). Some things really don’t make sense. So… after all that rambling, I guess I really have to say that his departure is fine with me. Actually, it’s more than fine with me. Before the season started, I said that I thought Julie and Neil would marry at the end of the season. Take note that I wrote that season preview before I noticed my dislike for Neil. And now I’m glad that they’ve separated. I don’t think I would have been able to stand him for thirteen more episodes, with all of his lofty vocabulary and know-it-all attitude.
Anyway, Summer was another puzzling matter for me. Just as it seemed she would make some sort of breakthrough, she ends up by a tree with Che. Her scene in her dorm room where she is trying to write a letter to Seth (“I still love you, but I just… can’t…”) was heartbreaking, though. Marissa’s death has really brought out another side of Summer, and it is extremely evident in these episodes. Even as Summer begins to realize how much she has changed after Marissa’s death, there is still a chance that she won’t be able to do anything about it. Sadie, a character I don’t like to revisit that often (a friend of Johnny’s is a foe to me), I believe, said it best: “I just feel like some people go to college to find themselves.” She continues and says that Ryan may be one of those people, and that she doesn’t want to get in the way of his “discovery of himself”. While I don’t particularly like the phrase “finding yourself”, (one of my favorite quotes is “Life is not about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself”), Summer, and Seth, is an example of this. Perhaps Summer is one of those people that goes to college and finds out who she is really supposed to be in life. Maybe Summer is meant to be a political activist, and not a shopper or a tanner. Whatever she decides to become, or wants to become, one thing is definite: Seth is going to need to let her do it.
Even though I loved the scene in The Cold Turkey when Seth and Neil are giving similar psycho-analysis to Summer and Julie, I can’t help but feel for the two women. But throughout the first two episodes, it was entirely clear that Summer and Julie were running away from Marissa’s death. They weren’t letting themselves accept it. Julie said to Summer, in a truly amazing scene, “We can’t go on like this can, we?” And at the end of The Cold Turkey, they were finally beginning to realize that they couldn’t. As heartbreaking and unforgettable as Marissa’s death was, it’s something that would take a lasting effect on both Summer and Julie if they did nothing about it.
Again, I’ve saved the most important for last. Again, I find it strangely refreshing that Ryan and Julie are now a team. Like I said before, these are two people who have been, at times, at odds with each other. This is the Julie that got Ryan arrested for something he didn’t do. This is the Ryan that told Julie that she was driving away her daughter, and that she wasn’t needed in Marissa’s life. But... these aren’t the same people. Ryan and Julie are so changed now that it’s hard to believe who they once were. This death has turned their lives upside down. The two of them have two things in common: they lost one of the few people that they had ever loved; and they want to kill the one person who caused that to happen.
As soon as I saw the preview for The Gringos, I didn’t think that Ryan would kill Volchok. Somehow, despite all the violence in Ryan’s life, I just didn’t find it believable. Sure, he wanted to kill Volchok (“I just wish he was dead”), but would the writers ever let him?
Now, as for Sandy and Julie’s confrontation at the end of The Gringos, I really don’t have words for it. It was extremely intense, and Julie’s line, “At least you still have all your kids” was extremely heartbreaking. She may have sent Ryan on a “murder mission”, but I have to feel for her. Although I would never do that, there’s no doubt that Julie wanted revenge. She finally got it, but not in the way she expected.
Ryan’s scene in The Cold Turkey with Volchok was tremendous. Ben McKenzie and Cam Gigandet did an amazing job acting. I was completely and totally engaged in their actions and words. So many key realizations and revelations were made. We finally learn the real reason why Volchok drove Ryan and Marissa off the road, and to tell the truth, I did not see it coming. But, again, that scene, with Ryan on the verge of the tears, really showed how he, too, was letting himself grieve. Even though Ryan didn’t murder Volchok, I have no doubt that he got his revenge. Killing him would have allowed Volchok to get away with what he had done. Letting him live, as strange as it may seem, was the ultimate revenge.
The last thing to address in these two episodes is one of the best scenes I have ever seen on this show. It transformed the episode from great to amazing. The final scene of The Cold Turkey brought me to tears. Strangely enough, it was the first time that I had ever cried while watching this show. (That’s right, I didn’t cry when Marissa died. I think I was too shocked to cry. But, the second or third time watching a select group of scenes, I have cried—namely, Kirsten’s intervention scene, the graduation scene in the season three finale, and Marissa’s death.)
Anyway, with Alexi Murdoch’s “All My Days” playing excellently in the background, how could this scene not be good? First, Julie delivers one of her best lines, responding to Sandy’s shock that she apologized: “I don’t think I ever meant it.” I can safely say that is when the tears began to fall. That line shows just how much Julie has been affected by Marissa’s death. Emotionally, she is a changed person. It’s astonishing to think about how far she has come since The Pilot. Melinda Clarke has brilliantly created a person out of what was once a slight supporting role.
And then, as Julie asks Ryan to tell her about Marissa, Ryan finally reveals that infamous scene at the bottom of the driveway through his own eyes. I can’t say that I’ve been waiting for this scene to come, because it never even crossed my mind, but now that it has, I’m glad. What makes it even more special was the familiarity to the fans, too. It’s a scene that we have actually seen, and, most likely, watched multiple times. It defines Ryan and Marissa (in a way) in one short exchange (“Who are you?” “Whoever you want me to be.”). Ryan describes it perfectly, and adds just the right amount of comedy to not make it seem too sappy. I mean, the scene would not have been half as good if Ryan had said “And her beauty… it took my breath away.” Kaitlin Cooper doesn’t do cheesy. And I don’t think Ryan Atwood does either.
As the scene comes to a close, Ryan says “She gave me this smile,” and Julie replies with “It was a beautiful smile.” What a brilliant exchange of words. They were remembering Marissa for who she was, and did so in a truly exceptional scene.
At the end of The Avengers, for some odd reason, I believed that the characters had begun to accept Marissa’s death. Looking back, there were so many things I didn’t or couldn’t factor into the situation that made me far from right. Any way you put it, the lives of many stopped the day that Marissa died. Only now, as those very characters, changed or not, begin to grieve and accept that death, have their lives begun to start again.
Sorry again for the delay of this review! I’ll hope to get out the next few episodes before next week!
-Sara
I’d love to hear your thoughts about the past few episodes. Feel free to email me at roswellgirl2010@earthlink.net with your thoughts about the review, the episodes, or the season in general. Thanks for reading, everyone!
