Date of airing: December 3, 2003 (FOX)
Nielsen ratings information: 9.27 million viewers, 6.1/9 in Households, 4.3/11 with Adults 18-49
It’s a little unusual for me to watch a season of television in which
the Christmas episode is the thirteenth episode of the season,
considering it’s usually the tenth hour if the writers were interested
in getting into the Christmas spirit. TWENTY-FOUR could also be such a show, which
makes me wonder what a season would have looked like if it had been set on
Christmas Day – there’s a fun idea for the inevitable remake or revival
of the series. That is the magic of an extended season, and who knows,
maybe things turned out even better because of Christmas having been
pushed back a few episodes, since THE O.C. had a couple of extra episodes to get the characters situated for a ridiculously twisty Christmas.
This way, you get the opportunity to meet more of the characters before spending the holidays with them for an hour sometime in December of 2003. And I felt a little bit for Ryan, who just wanted a normal Christmas as his Christmas gift, yet still got served tears, booze, and cops. His “must be Christmas” comment after he threw Marissa’s bottle away and smashed the car door into her face seemed more understandable and dramatic and tragic, knowing Ryan for those extra three episodes, even if you could make an argument about intended violence when Ryan was repeatedly smashing the door into the immediate vicinity of Marissa’s face. Yet Ryan’s moment had something deep and emotional and Marissa didn’t understand any of that, only thinking about herself and her needs, all while Ryan intended to get as far away as possible from his usual Christmas. But yeah, that door-smashing scene does not hold up on repeated viewings, because it’s just too close to being a visual representation of domestic abuse.
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| Christmas shopping is Happy Time for a lot of Newport Beachers. |
Marissa had some deep emotional trouble as well, and you usually don’t give a damn about anything else in life when you’re in the middle of a breakdown caused by depression. Hers was a good story in this episode, although it was handled like a cliche halfway through the hour when Marissa decided to get smashed with her secret vodka bottle in her mini purse. Alcohol, shoplifting, a quick taillight bender... It’s almost like the writers purposefully grabbed tricks out of the treasure box of tropes because they didn’t want to think hard about what would make Marissa depressed and what she could do for Ryan to smash the car door into her face. And while THE O.C. failed to properly depict a round of depression here (probably because the writers didn’t have experience, unlike the room of CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND, which is why that show succeeded with its depiction of depression and mental illness), it at least served as a nice plot device to introduce the terrible character of all: Oliver Trask. In his first scene, he already looked like he was thrown into the story to be a stepping stone in Ryan and Marissa’s relationship and that alone makes him a ridiculous character who works in the name of “plot device.” But compared to what is to come, the scene in the “lobby” of the therapist’s offices seemed quite normal and tame.
Meanwhile, the writers took a few steps back when it comes to Seth’s
story. It was funny to see when Summer and Anna showed up at his house
to meet him for the Christmas party, and I was delighted by both of the
girls’ Christmas presents for him – Anna’s was really cute, and I would
cherish a self-made comic from a potential girlfriend for years on end,
maybe even take it with me to the grave. Summer’s was sexy, and a prelude
to hot and naughty stuff in the bedroom, which is equally great because
you will have the memories for the rest of your life. I would cherish a cosplay moment from a
potential girlfriend for years on end, maybe even take that memory with
me to the grave. But the fact that Seth was delivered a blow in having
to make a decision means the writers were all out of comedic stuff for
this threesome and that it couldn’t have continued for much longer.
Expectedly so, because the writers might have known already that Rachel
Bilson and the studio made a new deal and she was promoted to series
regular with the next episode (basically taking the surprise away from
the viewers, although this wasn’t known to many by the time this episode
aired), so before that happens, Seth’s decision-making had to be
teased. But really, if any woman wants to gift me a Christmas present as
Summer did, Wonder Woman is a good choice. Cassie Hack would be an even
better choice. Because, duh. If any of my potential future girlfriends
read this, you know a whole lot more about me now. Adding to that: Never
get into a relationship with me, because I’m a horrible failure of a
romantic person. I'm also asexual, so the naughty stuff in the bedroom is out of the question, too.
Sandy and Kirsten’s story was okay. It seemed ridiculous that Caleb would keep the secrets of the Balboa Heights for himself, considering the fact that the entire land was part of a huge lawsuit, so one would have expected an independent company to have suggested partaking in a geological survey of the land, let alone it coming up during the discovery process of the lawsuit. If not an independent company, then one hired by Sandy’s employer. Wouldn’t it be an idea to check if the land is viable and worth all the money when most of the lawsuit is all about the worth of the land? It seems like Kirsten did Sandy’s job for him, and now she is threatened by her own fears of getting cut from the company, although I have no idea why that would be the case. As I said, the viability of the Balboa Heights should have been common knowledge for more people than just Caleb, and there is no way that Kirsten would have had to pay with her job. In a way, the writers finished the Balboa Heights story by overshooting Sandy’s conflict with Caleb.
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| Seth gets a spectacular comics live-action show. |
It was a nice try to give the adults in the room a story, salted with Sandy not cheating on his wife, peppered with Caleb trying to ruin his daughter’s marriage, but at the end of the day, it seemed like a meaningless piece of storytelling over the past few episodes, especially since it ended this way after having been built up to be the preamble to a Caleb/Sandy confrontation. So, what’s the next idea, now that Caleb was unsuccessful in bossing around his daughter and making his son-in-law squirm? Who will be Caleb’s next victim?
