Date of airing: March 24, 2004 (FOX)
Nielsen ratings information: 11.09 million viewers, 7.1/11 in Households, 5.3/13 with Adults 18-49
written by: Josh Schwartz
directed by: David M. Barrett
The episode was bookended with twists that came straight out of the show-within-a-show soap opera, making things a better and more fun experience in hindsight. At this point, I am starting to realize that the writers might have attempted to satirize the teen soap opera genre and to make it look as outlandish as possible every once in a while, which may or may not have worked to its fullest. After all, I do not think there has been any other reason for bringing together Luke and Julie than following the writers’ mission to make fun of the soap opera genre.
And it was perfectly minced to hilarity in this episode, beginning with the unexpected reveal for Seth and Ryan when they saw Luke and Julie make out for an incredibly long amount of time, ending with the dramatic reveal for Marissa when she had to hear that her ex-boyfriend has been having sex with her mother. And I was expecting Luke and Julie to still be a topic for the characters, even after Theresa moved out of the motel. Too often, the previous episode attempted to blow up Luke and Julie’s secret relationship, yet the writers managed to keep hold of themselves. But not for this episode. All these opportunities for someone to see Luke and Julie together, and the writers used one of those moments for Ryan and Seth to discover them kissing. And not even an entire episode later, Marissa already knows. Oh damn, this is soap opera-level drama.
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| Selfies with superstars... the autograph of the twenty-first century. |
Well, at least the secret is out now, which means Marissa can be the overly emotional and traumatized teenager again, since she had something of a good life recently. Yes, she broke up with a couple of boyfriends over the past couple of months, and she was kind of held at gunpoint, had a drug overdose, is kind of an alcoholic, and her parents are divorcing, but ever since Oliver became the past of THE O.C., all Marissa had to deal with was her emotions over a boy who was actually a good kid and only wanted the best for her. Marissa’s world needed to be in shatters, and now that her ex-boyfriend has had intimate relationships with both the mother and the daughter (this sometimes being a male-centric series, I am sure every man in town gave Luke high-fives), I am certain Marissa will think about either drinking or popping some pills again. Because it looks like it is what she does best when in emotional trouble.
The trip to Los Angeles was okay. The Valley was probably intended to poke fun at both THE HILLS, as well as the fact that cast members of television shows tend to date each other. Since Adam Brody and Rachel Bilson must have been dating already at this time of the show’s production, it was also a way to make sure that both had a little fun with the idea of dating a cast member and then ridiculing that idea and slice-of-life fact on their show itself. I certainly laughed when Summer told the pretty boy of an actor that it is going to be problematic when the two cast members from The Valley break up while the show is still on the air, and here is Bilson, doing the naughty things with Brody at the end of shooting day, maybe even in their trailer before they are needed for a scene, and before heading back home, is going to make fun of her relationship with Brody. I am wondering though if the two had the talk between episodes, or if the producers of THE O.C. decided to have a bit of an intervention, just to prepare themselves in case the two broke up in the middle of production when their fictional counterparts were supposed to get married or something. It is a nice behind-the-scenes story that needs a featurette or at least a continuation in the scripted narrative, least alone Bilson talking about it in absolute detail on her rewatch podcast she hosts with Melinda Clarke. This may have been meta-humor for this episode only, but when you think about it a little longer, it is an idea worth following.
Anyway, I was talking about the L.A. trip. Story-wise, there was not much to be picked up, even if I found it interesting that Hailey was doing the stripper job in that random Los Angeles club I have never heard of before and most likely does not exist in real life, because the writers did not hold back when it comes to depicting strippers and the club’s patrons doing coke together (minus the coke, because THE O.C. is still a respected and successful weekly primetime soap opera, so hard drugs are off the table). With Hailey back in the show now, I am wondering what good she will be for the central characters, and what story she will bring either for the Cohens or just for Jimmy, who might need a sober and clean romance plot before Hailey disappears for good most likely. I did like the notion of Hailey living through her version of rock-bottom though. She did not look happy at that place, and when she locked eyes with Jimmy and she realized he came to get her back home, it was almost like she felt safe for the first time in a long time. Hailey was never more emotional in this episode than in any other previous to this one, which is good for her character arc. Although I still question the notion that Jimmy once babysat for Hailey, and that their age difference is a little problematic for me. Then again, this is THE O.C., a somewhat male-centric television drama, so of course the guys will get the much younger models to date for the sake of a mostly male audience.
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| The first thing you get after coming back home is a big hug. |
And the rest of the episode? Well, there was a dinner party going on or something like that, and Sandy did not like the necessary idea of his father-in-law becoming a silent partner in his restaurant business. Who knows what the writers were thinking back then, because every story the adults seem to be involved in feels extremely forced these days. They never take the spotlight in the episodes, and they were rather unfocused, as the episode was clearly out to take all the time it needed for the teenage storylines, for Summer to make fun of her portrayer’s real-life romance, or for Ryan and Marissa to maybe talk about their friendship, or for Seth to make acquaintances with someone who looks like Paris Hilton. There is no room for stories involving the adults in the room, and I wished Josh Schwartz could have found some time to get away from the teens and fully focus on the adults for once.
At least I had some fun with Julie and Luke, even though it took a miracle for Luke not to be discovered outside the Cohen house, considering how much the set lights brightened his face. It is also a miracle that the two did not decide to go for a quick screw in the pool house, to be discovered by Marko the Chef doing Nana’s meatloaf. How often has Nana’s meatloaf been mentioned now?
