The third season of The O.C. has totally redeemed itself.
Last night's episode changed everything about what to expect from the remainder of this season and Marissa makes it obvious to Ryan that she is losing interest in him.
In case you missed it, last season of The O.C. ended with a bang. Trey Atwood, who is Ryan's ex-jailbird brother, attempted to rape Marissa. Long-story short, Marissa ends up shooting Trey through the shoulder to protect Ryan while Trey had a clear shot at smashing in Ryan's skull with a lamp. To say the least, season two ended with a hell of a cliffhanger.
After the shooting, Trey fell into a coma, but he made it through. Afterward, Trey left town rather than trying to sort things out with his brother. Yes, we all know that the hardest thing to do is usually the right thing to do. So what does this have to do with last night's episode?
Marissa is having nightmares about Trey and the rape attempt. The dreams are vivid and disturbing. It's hard for Marissa to cope with the problem and she isn't able to talk to Ryan about it. Marissa and Ryan never came to a complete understanding over the rape attempt. Earlier this season it was hard for Marissa but things worked them selves out and they continued dating and even decided they were ready to have sex.
But the issue has continued to linger.
Will Marissa turn to Ryan?
Ryan packs his backpack and is ready for his first day back at Harbor High School. He meets Seth and Summer there and all seems to be going well. Taylor Townsend walks up and says hi in her normal Taylor Townsend way. Taylor has planned an event that requires all seniors at Harbor to sleep over that Friday night in the gym. It's called Lockdown and Taylor tells Ryan and Seth that they will help setup. The guys aren't too thrilled but they play ball.
In case you've forgotten, there are three characters that Marissa has befriended at Newport Union: Johnny, Casey, and Chile. Don't really worry about Chile, he's on the show for comic relief, no mas. Johnny and Casey are seriously dating and these are characters you need to know about. Johnny is a stereotypical California surfer dude, very mild mannered and kind. His girlfriend Casey is attractive (no surprise) yet her personality is simple and she doesn't strike a great deal of attention.
At Newport Union, Marissa is walking with Johnny and she mentions that she hasn't been sleeping well. Johnny's first guess is that she's been drinking too much caffeine. Nope. Next guess, "bad dreams?"
Marissa stops in her tracks, somewhat stunned. She is pleasantly surprised that Johnny knew what she was thinking.
There's a love-myth that says if a couple is in they love should know what each other is thinking without having to say anything. Marissa is falling hard for this guy.
Later that day Marissa blows off dinner with Ryan and the Cohens and instead goes to the beach to hang out with Johnny, who's busy surfing.
They begin a very personal conversation about Johnny's past and he tells Marissa that he moved to Newport because he had problems with his Father. Johnny's dad was a drunk who would regularly beat him and his mom. One day when Johnny got home from baseball practice his dad was beating his mother. Johnny said he lost control and he beat his father with his bat until his father was in a state of unconsciousness.
"I was covered in his blood," said Johnny. "You want to hear something crazy? You're the first person I've told."
Marissa has tears in her eyes and she realizes that they share a deep connection. They've both lost fathers.
Summer wakes up Marissa the next morning to find out why she flaked on her and the Cohens the night before. Summer sees signs of Marissa falling for Johnny. Of course Marissa tells herself that she would never cheat on Ryan and I think she really believes that. Yet, Marissa admits to Summer that Johnny, "just gets me."
Back at Harbor, Ryan and Seth are setting up for the Lockdown party at the Harbor High Gym. Things aren't going too terribly under Taylor's supervision until Seth gets a call on his cell. Summer and Marissa are partying at Johnny's beach house and Summer is concerned because Marissa and Johnny are seriously flirting and it's hard for Summer to watch. As Summer explains to Seth on the phone what's going on, Taylor sneaks up and snatches Seth's cell and hangs up on Summer. No cell phones are allowed for some weird reason, not important why.
Ryan, always the hero, wants to know what's up and if Marissa is in trouble. Seth says he didn't get the chance to find out but it could be serious. Ryan is out of the gym and on his way to the beach party to find out what's what. He has until 9 p.m. to make it back to the gym or Taylor promises to make sure he gets in trouble. The Lockdown party is mandatory and Ryan can't afford to get in trouble. He's on probation as is.
As Seth continues to work at the Harbor gym, he notices Taylor walking out to meet her mom in the parking lot. Taylor's mom has some decorations for the party and she's really harsh with Taylor for making her drive out there to drop them off. Taylor's mom's comments are disturbing to Seth. She tells her things about how pathetic she is for forcing people to come to a party just because she's lonely on weekend nights and to un-tuck her shirt because she doesn't have the ass for those pants. At that point Seth realizes that it's not really Taylor fault that she is who she is. It's an unhealthy upbringing by a bitch of a mother that has made Taylor who she is. My favorite dynamic of the show and probably the realist social issue the show has presented us so far this season. Hopefully Taylor's relationship with her mother will be looked into more in future episodes.
Ryan arrives at the party and things appear to be normal. He doesn't immediately see Marissa but he does notice Johnny pleasantly talking with his girlfriend Casey. Things appear to be normal. Ryan finds Summer outside, then Marissa notices Ryan. She's surprised to see him there and wants to know what's up. Ryan and Summer lie and say that Summer was low on gas and that she needed a ride to the Lockdown party at Harbor. And then Ryan and Marissa have a serious talk.
Remember, Ryan doesn't know that Marissa has been totally flirting with Johnny, but Ryan does know that Marissa flaked on last night's dinner with the Cohen's so she could be with Johnny.
Ryan asks Marissa what's up with her and Johnny.
"I don't know," says Marissa. "I can talk to him about Trey, I guess."
Ryan takes the news cool but he is a bit disturbed and embarrassed. Yet, Ryan is aware that Marissa doesn't know Johnny that well so even though in her own mind Marissa believes that Johnny understands her. In reality, Marissa has no reason to believe that Johnny and her have made an important connection. Ryan is hoping that these feelings toward Johnny are temporary.
At Harbor High, the Lockout party has begun and Taylor is trying to organize the group. The group is the entire senior class and they're not too happy with the fact that they have to spend the night in the gym. Taylor is attempting to organize some really cheesy games and she's failing miserable. Her classmates are heckling her and calling her names and such. Seth is embarrassed for Taylor. He takes the mic from her and organizes a lousy game of capture the flag. Seth tells Taylor that he's used to the teasing so it's cool. Seth did a wonderful act by stepping out and helping Taylor.
Taylor is the most dynamic character on the show because of the potential her character possesses. Underneath the nastiness of Taylor could lay someone who is genuinely sweet and caring just like Seth, or Summer, or any other character on the show who is likeable.
Back at the party, Johnny walks in on his girlfriend Casey making out with this new character named Volchok. They met him earlier on the beach and he and Johnny have a past. The guys a real jerk.
Johnny's hurt to see his girlfriend cheating on him but he now has more access to Marissa. If Johnny wants to dump Casey, it's not necessarily because he wants Marissa. He can say it's because Casey cheated on him.
Casey doesn't apologize to Johnny, but she does tell Marissa that she sees Johnny falling in love with her.
Johnny leaves the party unnoticed. He's planning on meeting Volchok on the beach so he can kick his ass. Once again the hero, Ryan meets them at the beach and socks Volchok in the face before he has a chance to beat up Johnny.
By this time it's almost 9 p.m. and Ryan and Summer have to make it back to the Harbor Gym so Ryan isn't expelled for a second time.
After a weak game of capture the flag, Taylor comes to Seth and genuinely thanks him for bailing her out while she was getting reamed on stage. Seth acts like it is no big deal, but to Taylor, it is a huge deal. Finally someone has made a real effort at being friends with Taylor. Of course Taylor has no idea how to react to Seth's display of friendship. Summer finally makes it to the gym but when she gets there the door is locked and she can't get in. Taylor hears Summer knocking on the door but when she sees that it's Summer, she just leaves her out there. Taylor is going to make a pass at Seth. This could be trouble. Would Seth really fall for Taylor? I know he feels sympathy for her, but could there be more? Maybe if he got to know the real Taylor Townsend, things might happen.
And what about Marissa? Is she really falling in love with Johnny or are these just temporary feelings? Maybe Marissa would be better off with Johnny?
Ryan is taking this whole thing really cool. You think he would be pissed at Johnny but he's not. Later that night Ryan goes out for burgers with Johnny instead of heading to Harbor High. Johnny pays. He says he owes Ryan one for punching Volchok out and saving his butt.
Marissa likes Johnny and there's no question that Johnny likes Marissa. This relationship is going to get heavy and then Ryan's friendliness toward Johnny is going to stop real soon.
I'm looking forward to seeing that.
Preview of next weeks episode: Taylor will try to hook it up with Seth, Summer slaps Seth across the face, and Ryan threatens Volchok on the beach with a jagged beer bottle.
Please send an email with any thoughts or comments to daniel.swier@asu.edu.
Daniel Swier is an associate editor of the Web Devil.
