Date of airing: February 18, 2004 (FOX)
Nielsen ratings information: 10.95 million viewers, 7.0/10 in Households, 5.0/12 with Adults 18-49
The famous Seth/Summer “Wonderwall” slow-dance scene, which could be considered one of the more important scenes of THE O.C., and a sign of why season one of this show is still greatness among first-season television, even if the subsequent seasons of THE O.C. happened to be less than great – this episode did something for the history of the show, proving what standing it had in 2003 and 2004 television and how the show still stands the test of time two decades later when people were probably thinking about a revival special every once in a while, or discovering it for the first time. This was a pretty good episode, with some emotions instead of screw-ups and soap opera plots (except for Luke and Julie), with some realism instead of twisted and eyeroll-worthy drama (except for Luke and Julie), and even with some stubbornness that I liked seeing because it reminded me of my own characteristic flaws. It’s great to see that characters can push their stance and hurt themselves emotionally in the process because they know how it feels to be hurt, and even though they try to prevent it from ever happening again, you can’t just change your inner person (except Luke and Julie).
And in the meantime, this episode told you that it’s worthless celebrating a capitalist holiday like Valentine’s Day. Josh Schwartz and the writers made it clear that they didn’t like the day themselves, so they made all of their beloved characters hate the day, too. And I couldn’t agree more with that stance. Then again, when is there a chance for me to celebrate Valentine’s Day when I’m always a weird loner who suffers from depression and has too much anxiety and intimacy issues to keep a relationship going in the first place?
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| They just did the deed. |
Ryan is one of the people who won’t be able to change after having experienced the hurt in relationships throughout his life. How could he get back with Marissa to where they were after what happened? It’s her who distanced from him because she didn’t listen, and it’s him who has been distraught and heartbroken about it because no one listened to him. Yet it’s him who doesn’t reciprocate her feelings towards a renewal or restart of their relationship, because he knows that the drama and hurt will happen again and he knows he will be heartbroken once more. Why go through the same pain twice when the first time around almost broke your heart and mind already? It could have been very easy for Ryan to just forget about all that and go back to Marisa and have a little fun after all this emotional stuff, but it looks like Ryan still hasn’t lost his good-man attitude and soul that is hiding behind the violent teenager who can’t find words so he uses his fists. The guy can’t be bad, he can’t break our hearts in a mean and selfish way (probably). He can’t even have sex with a girl because he knows it’s the wrong thing to do.
Also, I am a firm believer of Marissa not having thought through her plan of “storming” into the pool house, jumping onto Ryan, undressing him and herself simultaneously, and losing her virginity that way because she thought it was the only way to win Ryan back – with her body. That is usually when the sex won’t be good because Marissa thinks it’s the only way to get her boyfriend back. It’s a good thing that Ryan was a real human being here and not just a man who wanted to see some sunshine coming into his life. Although an argument can be made about whether or not Ryan can be compared to a real-life human. Would a man decline sex this way?
Seth and Summer’s story was bearable. It turns out that without Anna in his life, he became more approachable as a human being, and it also turns out that his story with Summer was both funny and emotional. Their sex scenes brought me joy, although I was wondering how Summer was able to have sex for the first time with her bedroom door open (she never shut it when Seth walked in), and have sex the second time after Seth did some weird foreplay stuff. If a woman had done that to me, she would have been on her way out of my bedroom (or I would have been on the way out of her bedroom). Because what Seth did was freaking weird and only part of their story to bring some light comedy into the narrative and bring some joy to the viewers, since they were dealing with the drama of Ryan and Marissa’s story for most of the hour. Also, she said stop and he just continued. Okay, nerdy Jewish boy, maybe listen when a woman talks to you next time.
The return of Theresa is of course going to be the beginning of some serious storytelling in Ryan’s character arc, considering her words that she will most likely run into him a few more times. I like Theresa though – she seems cool to hang out with, and she didn’t just come back into Ryan’s life to get him back into her pants (if he ever was). Yeah, she might like him a lot, and yes, she might think of Marissa as a rival who needs to be bowled aside, but it’s not like Theresa has been established as a villain immediately. She has charm and a sense of character depth, which is a surprise for her second appearance. Then again, as soon as Oliver was cut out of the narrative, here is another potential obstacle course for Ryan and Marissa to go through, because THE O.C. simply can’t do it without obstacle courses in a romantic storyline.
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| This is what Valentine's Day in Newport Beach looks like. |
And the adult storylines? Well, Jimmy and Hailey are sort of back together for a split second and then they weren’t, and Sandy and Kirsten had the usual one-episode fight ending in a bout of romance and happiness, making me wonder if Sandy played the Valentine’s Grinch, just so he can surprise Kirsten with a rose-and-chocolate-dressed bedroom at the end of the episode. Not much to write home about, although the chemistry between the two is just extraordinary. I almost got jealous that Kelly Rowan and Peter Gallagher got this kind of chemistry that is heating the room, because I would love some of that for myself.
And finally, let’s not talk about Julie and Luke. Although.. Is he of age already, or is she about to commit statutory rape? Would Julie do that or did the writers create an entirely new character for this episode, just for the sake of this series being a primetime soap opera? I certainly hope that Luke isn’t going to turn into a Finch-type character (of AMERICAN PIE fame), comparing women to fine wine. That would get me to puke my dinner out real quick, right after I laughed my eyes out of my eye sockets.
