Date of airing: August 26, 2003 (FOX)
Nielsen ratings information: 8.65 million viewers, 5.7/9 in Households, 3.8/11 with Adults 18-49
As soon as Ryan Atwood became a Cohen family member, the first thing he had to do was deliver his official and formal debut into the Newport Beach community, maybe spicing it up by throwing a punch or two if he is incited to. But I guess he can’t be directly involved in every episode’s fight of the party, even though so far he has been, either as the instigator or as someone just getting involved in an indirect way. He threw the first punch at Holly’s beach party in the pilot, he was the one fighting almost to the death in “The Model Home,” and it was his mother who got drunk and decided to fight a table and a waiter in “The Gamble.” Four episodes in and there has been another accident that somehow involved Ryan, and some people might think that he is a virus that was starting to spread through Newport Beach, infecting everyone who doesn’t think getting vaccinated helps. Everyone is becoming a violent zombie now? I’m wondering if there has ever been a punch thrown before Ryan arrived in this Newport Beach bubble or if Ryan’s punch right into Luke's butthead face was the very first outbreak of violence, and therefore Holly’s beach house can be considered ground zero.
It’s essentially the debut of the series after its three-hour pilot. Ryan has to attend the cotillion (welcome to the O.C., bitch) and must deal with all kinds of characters who are in his close vicinity, including Marissa whom he has a big crush on (and vice versa?). So why not take this opportunity to get a little closer to her? Well, Marissa’s cliched jock boyfriend has something to say about it, so the show continues with the conflict between Ryan and Luke. Still, the chemistry between Ryan and Marissa is palpable for anyone in the room, including newcomer and outsider Anna Stern who immediately gets into a little thing of exchanging pop culture-related information with Seth. But Seth is rather interested in going to the cotillion with Summer, guaranteeing an additional love triangle that includes a couple more characters. In the meantime, Jimmy is still dealing with the criminality of having gambled away the money of his clients – a conflict that awaits a rise during the cotillion and with it the outing of Jimmy’s shameful secret. The Newport Beach bubble is about to burst…
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| Welcome to the lady who I had a crush on during my teen years. |
I am a little surprised that Luke called it quits with Marissa in this episode already, paving the way for Marissa and Ryan. Although he came back and tried to apologize to her at the end of the episode (which means he has not called it quits and the two will continue dating with faults, blocking the way for Marissa and Ryan), it almost looked like Luke’s annoyance with Ryan, as well as the fact that he could not trust Marissa as he said he would, paved the way for Ryan and Marissa to hook up much earlier. That could be a good thing, since the writers wouldn’t have had to follow the will-they/won’t-they for multiple seasons. If the two love birds come together before the end of the season, it would be indeed refreshing, although if that happens, what good is Luke for as a character in said Newport Beach bubble? The boy has been established as Marissa’s boyfriend and as an obstacle course to her and Ryan’s romantic endeavors and yet the guy is considered one of the central characters of the show. I’m going to take a ventured guess and say the writers were already having problems figuring out stories for the guy, now that he broke up with Marissa, most likely not for the final time this season.
The cotillion was an alright-ish storyline. It was good enough as a plot device and served as a metaphor for Ryan’s debut in this world, but I realized I detest rich people, even if they all looked pretty and cute in their tuxedos and white dresses. Also, I couldn’t get over the fact that the cotillion had no meaning for everyone except Ryan. What does it mean to be introduced to the world of Newport’s high society when the old rich folks already know who you are and where you come from? What does it mean to group together with other kids your age and dance in a pretty dress with an attractive boy you would love to hang with during the teen group orgy later that night (the one your parents don’t know about because they would get crazy)? I would say a cotillion is money wasted, and Jimmy can sing some songs about that because the guy didn’t have any money to see his oldest daughter pretty herself up for nothing. Marissa may have had the worst day of her life just now, which after four episodes says quite a lot about her life.
Anna was a cool character. I remember I fell in love with her immediately when I watched the show the first time around, and I still consider 2003’s Samaire Armstrong one of the most attractive women in scripted television history and someone I would have loved to have around during my high school years. She was maybe not exactly my type (now less so than before thanks to her political orientation), but she pretty much rocked herself out here, and sometimes I’m jealous that there was no one like 2003’s Anna Stern in my life because someone like her would have made it a lot easier for me as a teenager.
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| The look you have when the villain enters the room. |
Meanwhile, her actual character… Well, I guess her very similarities with Seth were references for humor, but even Seth should know that he and Anna would never work out with one another if they ever get to the dating thing in a couple of episodes. Because really, people with the same interests and hobbies don’t have much to discover when they are dating, and their relationship would be doomed from the beginning. Or do you like it when you date yourself for months and months? I wouldn’t want to hang out with myself, so why would I date someone who likes the same things that I do? In hindsight, maybe it’s a good idea that Seth and Anna are going to date because she will be his first and she might be a great way to warm him up for the ultimate arc that involves Summer.
About Anna’s confidence thing though… Her lesson must have traveled the room and landed with Jimmy because he seemed like he had all the confidence in the world to confront Holly’s father about how he lost his money. He decided to hide from everyone he stole from, he was sweating his butt off at home, trying to find a way out, but here he was during the cotillion, calmly telling his first victim that the money is gone. Confidence, Cooper. You got it. Together with a few bruised ribs and a black eye, probably.
