To be honest, when I heard that Johnny didn't die, I nearly turned off the episode. But since almost a dozen people read the OC posts every week, I could not let them down. As Summer said, Trey was unconscious for months, so maybe I was going to have to get used to Johnny sticking around. OR NOT. After a few minutes of trying to keep our hopes up, we learned that Johnny didn't make it through his coma. He was finally down for the count. TKO. THE END.

Yes, yes I know that is a little harsh, but please don't think I am saying this just to be cynical. One of the foundations from which this show is built is the relationship between Ryan and Marissa. Admittedly, I have always thought that the show would have been better off if the writers could have found a way for us to live without Ryan and Marissa together. Since that seems to be too difficult of a challenge for the writers and an idea that a large portion of the fans of this show wouldn't want to live with, I have given up trying to crusade for that outcome.

However, if I am supposed to believe that these two have a love so strong that nothing can keep them apart, why must we always deal with them on the verge of constant breakup? Again, don't get me wrong, I think that these two have the type of corpse-on-corpse chemistry not scene since Resident Evil: Matrimony. Still, if I must buy into this undying love, you would think it would be possible to have them together and happy for more than two weeks in a row. I had thought that after Marissa told Ryan that she was sorry that he ever had to question her feelings for him, which would be the end of those questions. We could coast the rest of the senior year without that as a distraction and then maybe Theresa shows up with her baby as a cliffhanger before season four. Wouldn't that be lovely?

Well, that's not going to happen. After Johnny's death, Marissa goes over to his house to check on his mom, and finds Chili. Poor Gwen, the only people she has to comfort her are the girl who wouldn't return Johnny's love, and the guy who told him to go after the girl who wouldn't return his love. Since they have messed up Johnny's life so much, the two of them decide the least they could do is make sure his funeral is what he would have wanted. And you know what? They were not alone. Gwen's mother decided that it was such a difficult time for them that she would, uh, send her daughter Sadie along? I can understand that Sadie was close to Johnny, but how does that help his mom? If anything, you could have brought along both and given a nice little random cameo to somebody. But whatever, Johnny's funeral was nice. Nobody wore a suit, and they were able to pay homage to him on the beach, although I hope that isn't where they left his ashes.

The episode has been pretty straightforward up to this point, and I have admitted that I like it when the show gets hectic, but what the heck could you say about the rest of this episode? Well, I'll give it a try. As we all know, Valentine's Day is only a few days away. For the people of Newport, *the* place to be is the first annual NewMatch Valentine's Day Ball. Julie and Kirsten are busily preparing for what they hope will bring together lots of eligible bachelors and bachelorettes, but Julie is having trouble concentrating because Dr. Roberts hasn't asked her to the dance. I wish Dr. Roberts would get in gear because I like Julie and she is quite sensitive. If you prick her does she not bleed? If she needs money, does she not make porn? I think she is more than worthy of chocolate, flowers, and the nice underwear most women are going to be enjoying on Valentine's Day. Julie does try to drop a few hints on Dr. Roberts later, but he says that he is thinking about starting to read The DaVinci Code. Wow, at this rate, Julie is going to have to move to Portland and chase after Luke to get any play.

Posted by J-Unit on February 13, 2006 12:23 AM