So Much For That Experiment - 
by J-Unit
Everybody here at TVgasm have had a lot to say about The OC. The first two real articles on TVgasm were B-side and I weighing in on what we thought of the first season. Believe us when we say that we are huge fans of the show. Therefore, when we thought the show was declining rapidly, we felt it necessary to make our voices heard, in recaps and in-depth analysis. Obviously we were not alone in our criticism, as many fans and critics said the same about many of the choices made the writers made this year. "It was so much better last year" we said, and it seems like the writers listened. This week, the writers hit the abort button and acknowledged most of the criticism, even as they mocked many of those points in the show.
We begin the episode at Harbor. Ryan and Seth are discussing how spring is here and...wait a minute, they are at school? Ever since Zach was out of the picture and Lindsay moved out, it seemed like there was no reason for anybody to go to school. Marissa would have been expelled under almost any circumstances, and if that asian headmistress was still around, she probably would have. It was that complete lack of focus with regards to the kids that was one of the biggest criticisms. The writers wrote as if the high school kids were running the World Bank or something, nothing was ever fun. Bravo to the writers for starting off on a good foot.
What started great turned into a little more of the same. Seth continued to talk about the spring, how almost a year had gone by, how people tried new things this year that might not have worked out (yard guys, illegitimate daughters, less fighting). Why Seth spoke for the critics with his comments, Ryan took a little shot at them by saying "maybe you remember last year as better because it was all new". Yes, I have never, ever, heard of a show about some California kids and their relationships in high school *cough*Saved By the Bell*cough*. And it was really ingenious to make those kids rich, because that was never tried before, well if you don't count Beverly Hills 90210. Of course, you do have the added soap opera with adults and what is going on with there lives, kind of like Melrose Place with married people. But yeah, it was pretty much all new.
Ryan finally said that you can sentimentalize about last year, and you can't live in the past. Well, if you say so, we'll give it a try. Since we aren't living in the past, they probably aren't going to have some big school event(perhaps a party?) where Ryan will have an altercation over Marissa's love. No, the fact that Marissa was organizing a spring bonfiire for the water polo team would not have anything to do with getting Ryan and Marissa to secretly work together and accidentally realize they were meant for each other. To make sure this doesn't happen, Summer urges Seth not to meddle too much in the relationship. Ryan and Marissa are great people, but are a train wreck as a couple. We learned that in the past.
Seth doesn't listen to Summer, of course. He wants Ryan to be happy. It will be at least a few years before Seth feels safe to come out of the closet and profess his undying love for Ryan (I think the real reason Ryan lives in the boathouse is so Seth doesn't "accidentally" walk in on him in the shower). The next best thing to making Ryan happy with himself is to make Ryan happy with someone else. Marissa is having a problem finding anybody to help her build this bonfire, so Seth comes up to her and suggests Ryan. He is into architecture, and he does love to burn things down. Perfect match!
Kirsten and Sandy are trying to patch up their marriage a little bit, and one of the ways people suggest to spice up your marriage is to have shared activities. In that spirit, Kirsten decides to skip out on her trip to the gym (while we aren't living in the past, why don't they bring Kirsten's gossipy friends back - they were GREAT), and do some golfing with her husband. And I do have to say, she is looking very waspy and very hot in her white golfing pants and argyle sweater. Even Sandy said she looked cute in her visor. The problem is that she sucks at golf. They eventually get into a conversation about Kirsten's work, and they discuss Carter Buckley (and perfectly waspy name in itself), and Sandy realizes that he was the publisher of one of his favorite counter culture magazines at Berkley, so he must be in good company.
After her little spot of golf, Kirsten arrives at work to find out that the her meeting with Carter and Julie about selecting some pictures for the Newport Living Magazine was cancelled. It is clear that Newport Living is just another avenue for Julie Cooper-Nichol to self-promote herself, but Kirsten thinks it might be good for the company and is putting all of her effort into it. Unfortunately, it appears that Carter has decided maybe it is not such a great gig, and Julie's mind is just not in the right place.
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