Ryan seemed to be OK with the memories, but Marissa wasn't so lucky. After Volchok tried again to charm her with his gentlemanly ways, she started having more flashbacks, and eventually fainted. This scene would have been funny enough at that, but we had the added humor of Marissa falling down the stairs. It might seem cruel to laugh at her, but after all of the bad stuff that happened to Johnny because of her, it's good to see that Karma has a sense of humor, besides she only fell down about a dozen steps. That poor stuntwoman, she probably had to quit eating for months to be able to pass herself off as Marissa crashing down the stairs.

Marissa's injury finally gets Volchok to let down his guard a little bit. He takes her to the hospital, and she is really appreciative that he looked after her. We finally got an insight into what is troubling Volchok and the relationship he had with Johnny, not that any of us really care. Marissa and Volchok can't be any worse than Marissa and Johnny, right? Volchok gives Marissa his number and leaves, but Marissa finds Ryan's invitation, and decides to head to his party.

And how about Ryan's party? Why did people let Seth plan this thing anyway? Didn't they see the mess he made of his graphic novel? I was half-suspecting that they would have him get stoned and blow the whole thing off, but instead, he was able to pull through. The theme was the future, and all the possibilities it held for Ryan, like fireman Ryan, cowboy Ryan, boxer Ryan, and scientist Ryan. There was nothing he couldn't do if he put his mind to it, and to demonstrate such, Seth made little cardboard cut outs (I call them little because they were actual size) of Ryan in all of the different places his future could take him.

Seth was really able to pack in the Bait Shop, and even though not many of them were friends of Ryan, everybody was having a good time. Neil even showed up, which was strange because I thought he was leaving with Julie, but I guess he just wanted to stop in and talk to Summer. What happened with the tickets is that he was going to use it as one last chance to get back together with his second wife. He was going to propose to her all over again, hoping that if he used a real ring instead of one from the pawnshop, things would go better the second time around. Here's a hint Neil, if you are going on a cruise to save your marriage, might you try and schedule it closer to the time you are having problems, and not, you know, three months later? Anyway, despite all of this, Dr. Roberts thought it might be a sign, and decided he would go on the cruise anyway, although he hasn't decided if he is going to ask her to marry him.

Seeing that it wasn't enough that Ryan was depressed because he was having a birthday party and the people there were more likely to be homeless than be a friend of his, Sandy decides to let Ryan know he went to see his mom, and of course hands him what is sure to be a depressing letter. When he goes outside to read it, we see Marissa is starting to arrive. The whole episode was about choices and I thought it would strange that Marissa would go back to the guy after memories of him just caused her to pass out and fall down the steps. Luckily, Marissa came to her senses as well, and as one chapter of Ryan's life looks like it is closed for good, another one is just beginning. Sadie shows up, says that she made a choice, and Ryan is so happy, he takes her inside to meet Sandy and Kirsten.

As for Marissa, another chapter of her life is starting as well. With nobody else to turn to, she heads for the lifeguard tower and calls up Volchok. I don't know if these two will be interesting at all, but I do know that Marissa is drinking again, so there will be at least one more car accident or coma to look forward to this year.

What's that? Head explosions? Oh! I almost forgot! That thing that was going to make Ryan's head explode? Seth couldn't get the real Journey, but he got a Journey cover band. OK, so they were a "tribute" band, but what's the difference? Besides, they were playing Foreigner, not because Seth couldn't find anybody else, but because Seth thinks Foreigner is better. I guess he decided he needed a reward after working so hard on the party.

Overall, not a bad episode. I thought Ryan's party was funny, but the best part of the episode was that Ryan and Marissa broke up. To tell you the truth, I don't care if they are a couple or not, I just want the writers to decide what they want to do. This show desperately needs something new, and I wouldn't complain if they just threw everybody out and started "The OC: The New Class" in the fall. The show has to be more than teenagers breaking up and getting back together every two months. It was speculated that they wanted to make a spin-off show starring Kaitlin Cooper, but maybe they just bring back Willa Holland and let the other kids float in and out as needed, like when their lives are actually sort of interesting. As for the rest of the year, I don't know if these story lines are going to be interesting, but I think they may at least be enjoyable.

"Hey!" Count: Episode - 19, Season - 374

Posted by J-Unit on March 21, 2006 4:52 PM