A new gang ot kids join the crew of The OC.
It just doesn’t get any better than the first season of The O.C. That being said, Season 2 was bound to be a letdown. It totally was. Don’t get me wrong, Rachel Bilson is just as lovely as ever, and Josh Schwartz managed to pump out another 24 quality episodes, but there’s no denying that there’s a noticeable drop-off between the storylines in each season. After the roller-coaster that the first season took us on, it almost felt like the show was trying a little too hard to give us a second go-round. Four new significant others for our four stars, a paternity test, an intervention… textbook teen drama plots. We’d come to expect a little more from the team that brought us Julie and Luke, the Summer/Anna/Seth triangle, Theresa’s baby, and Oliver.
Of course that’s not to say that Season 2 didn’t come with its share of jaw-dropping moments like the Marissa/Alex hook-up, discovering Lindsay was Caleb’s daughter, the Julie porno tape, and Trey getting popped – all of which I’ll delve into greater detail with as we move on with the review.
So was Season 2 anywhere close to Season 1? Not a chance. But in classic OC. style, the show had no problem admitting it. Don’t think for a second that it was only a coincidence that Seth muttered the phrase, “The Valley was so much better last season”.
Season 2 Cast:
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Peter Gallagher (Sandy Cohen) Good old Sandy. The ultimate TV dad is back at it again, solving every problem in Orange County. There’s not a wayward teen this man can’t counsel or a legal dispute that he can’t settle. Forget Superman, the hero of the 21st Century is non other than Sandy Cohen. So please explain to me why on earth Sandy decided to get himself involved with Rebecca Bloom? Please! Somebody? Anybody? The whole thing was just completely out of character for the guy. I know that she was his ex-fiancé, but come on… |
| Do you really put your marriage with Kirsten at risk over a case you can’t even win? We’re talking Kirsten here. Are you really jeopardizing that for a bo-toxed out Kim Delaney? And even if you wanted to play the “Sandy’s just trying to do the right thing” angle – he went and kissed her. Totally unacceptable. And a boring story line to boot. Can you really blame Kirsten for starting to drink? | |
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Benjamin McKenzie (Ryan Atwood) Season 1 brought us “punch anything that moves” Ryan. Season 2 brought us “sensitive and caring” Ryan. Is there any doubt why the show declined? Don’t get me wrong, Ryan’s just as irrational as ever. It’s just that now he’ll go stick his nose where it doesn’t belong instead of being the crap out of someone. That’s what made the season finale so refreshing. I missed Ryan’s fists of fury. Watching him and Trey go at it like Triple H and the Rock in a steel cage match reminded me why I love this show so much. |
| And by the way, has there been a bigger girlfriend downgrade in television history than Ryan’s transition from Marissa to Lindsay? Although technically, I guess it was a series of downgrades from Marissa to Theresa to Lindsay. Good thing Ryan finally ended the vicious cycle. | |
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Adam Brody (Seth Cohen)Total bonehead move by Seth, sailing off to “Tahiti” at the end of Season 1. Yeah, Ryan was gone, but he had hit the jackpot with Summer. You don’t don’t always get a second chance at a girl who looks like Rachel Bilson Of course he did, but then managed to pull another dumb move by treating Summer like garbage with the whole comic book thing. All I have to say is that Adam Brody better not treat Rachel Bilson like this in real life. |
| I really liked the comic book idea, by the way. It was unrealistically realistic. Seth getting a chance to publish a comic book at 16 was about as likely as Steve Sanders hitting that half court shot. But you know what? It made the show interesting. So you have to respect that. And besides, who am I to say what’s realistic when playing around with Flash can get me flown halfway across the country and on a giant screen in front of 35,000 people at an NBA playoff game? | |
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Mischa Barton (Marissa Cooper) First off, I have to comment on Marissa’s freak-out by the pool in Episode 1. It was an absolutely fantastic job by Mischa Barton! The unintentional comedy was simply off the charts. Whether you’re a Marissa hater, lover, or somewhere in between there was something there for everyone to appreciate. Just a great television moment. That being said, her whole fling with Alex has officially tainted her for the remainder of the show. Sorry to all the liberals out there, but once you’ve switched teams, |
| there’s just no going back for me. I don’t care how destined they are for each other, if I’m Ryan, there’s no way I could kiss Marissa without Alex popping into my head.
But all in all, Marissa may be the one true upgrade in this season. They way she took Trey under her wing showed a whole new side of her that increased her likeability. Before Miscah Barton just played a rich, alcoholic, anorexic valley girl. Now she plays a rich, alcoholic, anorexic valley girl with a heart. |
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Rachel Bilson (Summer Roberts)So of course all of the jealous girls thought Rachel Bilson was to blame for all the relationship problems. They all wished that they had a man as clever and caring as Seth Cohen, so Summer should just roll over and thankfully take Seth’s crap with a smile on her face. Sorry ladies, but while Seth may be charming and quick with a quip, he’s also extremely self-involved, whiny, insecure, a world class liar, and he sailed off and ditched her all summer without even bothering to say goodbye. Rachel Bilson totally should have stayed with Zach and ditched Cohen for good. Or better yet, moved to New Jersey where she’d be conveniently near a certain internet junkie… That being said, it did get a little dusty in the room during the Spiderman kiss. |
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Kelly Rowan (Kirsten Cohen) Here’s a quote from my Season 1 Review: “Ok, has anybody else noticed that Kirsten is pretty much as big of an alcoholic as Marissa. It’s true that she never started popping sleeping pills down in Mexico, but Kirsten has definitely shown a tendency to start hitting the sauce once things start going crazy. So why is it that Marissa desperately needs therapy, while Kirsten comes off as the most perfect wife in the world? Beats me.” |
| Needless to say, I felt fairly vindicated when Sandy realized that Kirsten liked her Grey Goose a little too much.
Last year Oliver was hands down the most annoying character on the show. This season, Kirsten snatched the trophy away. The woman did nothing but complain, drink, complain, drink, almost have an affair, drink, complain, drink, drink, drink, drink… you get the idea. We should all have a life as tough as Kirsten’s. Amazing husband, gorgeous house, more money than you know what to do with – perfect reasons to become an alcoholic. Ever heard of the concept of being grateful? In Season 2, Kirsten managed to become The OC’s version of Latrell Sprewell. |
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Melinda Clarke (Julie Cooper) You gotta love Julie Cooper. The woman gold digs her way into the arms of Caleb, only to put the moves on her ex-husband. She manipulates Caleb into almost losing his daughter, turns her own daughter into a lesbian, and ends up getting blackmailed over an old porno she starred in. Of course she ends up falling for the man blackmailing her, who convinces her to murder Caleb.
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| But somewhere down in that rotten core, there’s still some semblance of a heart beating, because she couldn’t go through with it. Of course Caleb ends up conveniently dying of a heart attack anyway, freeing Julie to get back with Jimmy and cash in on a fat inheritance. Say what you want about Julie, she does always manage to land on her feet. | |
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Tate Donovan (Jimmy Cooper) Some people are destined for doom. Jimmy just can’t catch a break. First Hailey sails off to Japan, breaking his heart. Then he ends up falling for his ex-wife, only to get caught by Marissa, who flips out like usual. Basically, Jimmy realizes that his luck has run out in The OC. and he needs to move on. And what better place than Hawaii, where a Hailey look alike has just started working for a hotel on the North Shore… |
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Alan Dale (Caleb Nichol)
You’d have to look pretty hard to find a bigger jerk than Caleb Nichol, which is why it was so sad to see the guy go at the end of the season. I can see how it was a necessary evil in order to advance the storyline of the Cooper family and send Kirsten to rehab. But overall, I think the show is going to be hurting without a solid villain like Caleb. |
| From what I’ve seen from Season 3, Jeri Ryan and that pathetic excuse for an actor playing the dean of discipline aren’t coming close to replacing the wickedness of Caleb. | |
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Nicholas Gonzalez (DJ)
Welcome to a little game I call “OC” Survivor”. Where we bring in four new cast members to date each of our young stars, but then gradually vote them off the show as we reunite our classic couples. DJ earns the honors of being the first person voted out of Newport. After serving his |
| purpose as the reason that Ryan and Marissa didn’t instantly reunite at the beginning of Season 2, DJ promptly was given the boot. For all the hype surrounding the four new cast members, DJ certainly didn’t live up to it. The dude had like five lines total. | |
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Shannon Lucio (Lindsay Gardner) After playing half a season as the most annoying wet-blanket girlfriend ever, it was time for the tribe to dim Lindsay’s torch. She did provide a little bit of controversy when it was revealed that she was Caleb’s daughter. It added more confusion to the already convoluted familial relationships on this show now that Ryan was dating his step-half-aunt. |
| Part of the reason that “The Rainy Day Women” was hands down the best episode all season was the Spiderman kiss. The other part was that Lindsay moved back to Chicago and we didn’t have to watch her turn Ryan into sissy with all her whining. And as a bonus, her departure paved the way for her unforgettable starring role in CBS’s Spring Break: Shark Attack. (Note the sarcasm) | |
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Olivia Wilde (Alex)
The biggest mistake that The OC’s producers have ever made was getting rid of Alex. Thankfully, it’s a problem that can be corrected, although I’m not holding my breath. DJ was boring, Lindsay was annoying, Zach was too goody-goody. But Alex – you’re talking the perfect character here. She’s interesting, complex, and had Summer up against the ropes in the battle for the title of |
| best looking babe on The OC And you can’t overlook the fact that she had the ability to play both a good and bad character. That’s and absolutely huge factor, and it’s something that no one else on this show brings to the table.
Imagine the jaw-dropping potential of having the seemingly innocent Alex pull a humongous backstab on one of our stars. It could have been a twist so huge, they would have had to borrow Jim Ross from ringside to do the play by play. I can hear it now. “Marissa’s pouring her 27th drink of the night, and Alex… what’s this King? She’s pulling out a chair! No Alex! No! Nooooooooo! All hell’s breaking loose! Oliva Wilde just clobbered Mischa Barton with that steel chair! Yes, that was the second WWF reference in an OC column. And yes, I do need serious, serious help. |
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Michael Cassidy (Zach Stevens) And the million dollar prize goes to Zach for being the last of our contestants. The Seth/Summer/Zach triangle went on for almost the entire season. Zach’s reward? Getting to spend an entire season up close and personal with Rachel Bilson. Overall, it wasn’t a bad storyline. You had the whole comic book thing thrown in there as well. But here’s my beef: Zach was far too good of a guy to have the story go for as long as it did. I personally felt bad for Zach after he got the shaft |
| and didn’t need to see him get strung along for so long since we all knew where this one was heading. Now if Zach was a bad guy like Luke, then by all means hype up the drama all you want before the dramatic climax. But the length of this thing kind of put a damper on the whole Seth/Summer reunion because we had grown to like Zach. This should have been handled similarly to the Summer/Anna situation where it was quick and painless, and it was a surprise who Seth chose. | |
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Logan Marshall-Green (Trey Atwood)
And last, and also least, we have Trey, Ryan’s dysfunctional brother. Trey caused a world of problems by messing around with drugs, stealing a giant glass egg, hanging out with the skankiest girl in Orange County, almost raping Marissa, and almost killing Ryan. Quite the rap-sheet considering that he only showed up for the final eight |
| episodes. And as a side note, good job by the producers of finding a look alike for the original Trey. I thought this new version wasn’t nearly as ugly as the first Trey, but I had to recheck my Season 1 DVD to be sure we actually had a new actor. And to add to the believability of a completely new actor, Trey was supposedly beat up in the episode where Ryan visits him in jail. So the slightly noticeable increase in attractiveness can be reasoned away. | |
So that’s it for Season 2. Like I’ve said a million times already, it didn’t even touch Season 1. And judging by what we’ve seen from Season 3 so far, it looks like the trend is continuing. That’s a scary thought for fans of the number one teen drama. But as long as Seth stays witty, Ryan stays violent, Marissa stays drunk, and Summer is played by Rachel Bilson, there will always be a place for The OC. here in New Jersey.
