Date of airing: December 9, 2004 (FOX)
Nielsen ratings information: 6.36 million viewers, 4.4/7 in Households, 2.9/8 with Adults 18-49
written by: John Stephens
directed by: Ian Toynton
Dang it, Ryan is not even allowed to be completely and utterly happy
in a relationship for a change. He finally managed to get onto Lindsay’s
lips, get into her good graces, hang out and make out with her, find some happy times while gaming with her (it would be interesting to see Lindsay's development from a study buddy into a gaming nerd), and
suddenly the writers had to derail that relationship with a huge chunk
of twisted story rock in front of the two teenagers, turning over the rock that has Lindsay
being Caleb’s illegitimate daughter. That means Lindsay is Kirsten’s
half-sister, which means Ryan is dating his guardian’s half-sister,
which means things might be a little awkward from here on, especially
when things work out so well with Lindsay that Ryan is going to marry
her and his legal guardian becomes his sister-in-law. Would that not be weird if this were real life? Although absolutely plausible in a primetime soap opera.
Well, so much for happy hearts and stuff, because one thing is for sure: Those teenagers are going to be broken and shattered in pieces in the next episode or the one after that (including their parents or guardians), which means Lindsay will be history as a character very soon, as I cannot imagine her being part of the show for more than just the reveal of being Caleb’s love child and Kirsten’s teenaged half-sister. Why stick around when you know your father and your whole life is a sham, right after you got your probably first boyfriend ever?
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| Welcome to the titular episode festivities! |
I am glad however that the twist was delivered in this episode. I was already wondering why Caleb, Sandy, and Miss Wheeler were talking about that illegitimate child in this episode, without the child being seen (and then Miss Wheeler gendered the child as her daughter, while Sandy made sure to tell us that her kid is 16 years old), begging the question if a character already established in the show might be the illegitimate child (and Lindsay seemed the more obvious choice, because of the strawberry hair and the fact that she has not been given any kind of a family backstory yet). If the writers had carried that twist to the next episode or the one after that, I would have most likely puked out all my dinners and snacks, because it would have been an ugly story worthy of five weeks of twisting and turning on a daily soap opera.
But
oh well, there is drama in the show now (the same exact drama DJ was signing up for after he got together with Marissa at the end of the previous episode), although the premise of an
illegitimate child is not really that intriguing for me. It should
ripple the Cohen/Cooper/Nichol family for a little bit though, and you could
cause all kinds of drama out of this reveal, or create additional drama.
Especially now that it also involves Ryan’s love life. And we are here to witness Ryan’s messed-up love life after all.
Also, are we not here to witness Julie having an extramarital affair with her ex-husband? This is another one of those stories that came with a bit of preparation, because Julie and Jimmy have been close recently, talking nicely and calmly about their daughter, and what life is all about. Seeing them kiss each other on the lips and with tongue (probably) was not that much of a plot-twisting shock, especially after Julie and Jimmy had quite pleasant conversations lately. However, it did something great for Julie: She becomes much nicer all of a sudden, and she turns into more of a relatable character. She was written as the evil bitch from Hell in the previous season, with one or two efforts to make her more approachable and likable, but the writers went back to the drawing board with Julie Cooper pretty much with every new plot twist, essentially rebooting her character with this season (she has always been rebooted, making her non-consistent all of the time). She thinks of Ryan as handsome as the Prince Charming in Marissa’s screwed-up life, she does not care much for Caleb right now (which kind of shocks me, but then again, she only married him for his money, so she should not be giving two craps about what is going on in his life right now, as long as the bank accounts remain filled with all the cash Julie never worked for), and even Jimmy seems to like this much friendlier version of Julie, but I know that was only able to happen because he currently does not have any other story and the love of his current life has disappeared to Japan for a big career.
Meanwhile, the teenage drama continued, and the four couples were still building up their romance. I seem to be finding Seth and Alex together a little absurd, because Alex is more out of Seth’s league than Summer ever was. First of all, I would love to know how Alex is even able to work and/or manage the Bait Shop when she is not even allowed to vote or drink yet (except of course she lied to Seth about her age – but why would she?). Secondly, I would love to know what she sees in Seth to feel responsible for him, or have her kiss him in a weird and lovely and romantic way like this is a perfect impromptu first date or something. Maybe punk and nerddom fit together well, who knows? Maybe she actually likes doing the geeks? Maybe she is such a troubled person in her yet-to-be-developed backstory that she does not care who loves her, as long as anyone loves her? Or maybe it is just Seth’s hardcore charm no one can escape from – not Summer, not Alex, and not even Ryan, which would explain why the two boys became friends so quickly during the pilot episode.
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| Self-defense course run by a woman who slaps. |
I did like that Marissa had it a little easier in this hour. DJ might be a boring character, but he does seem like he is a good boyfriend for Marissa right now, until his portrayer’s guest starring contract runs out and Marissa is thrown together with Ryan again. Also, it turns out that Zach is a cool dude, but only because he is not the asshole everyone thought he could have been, considering he is Seth’s romantic rival. It makes the story more intriguing when you actually get to like the rival, when you start rooting for the Summer/Zach relationship, even if you are supposed to root for Seth and Summer to get back together. It is kind of clever writing, but I would not suggest that THE O.C. is a cleverly written show. At the moment, maybe, but from what I have heard from season three onwards, I would not want to say that again.
