Not so dearly beloved: The O.C. season 2 finale
In the days since Thursday, I've read a bunch of different opinions of the o.c. finale. Some people seem to have had their faith restored with this end to what most people thought was a subpar season, but for others, the finale just confirmed the show's downward spiral. I liked this season at the beginning. I liked Zach. I liked the Bait Shop (well, sorta.) I liked Alex. I liked Marissa as a lesbian. I didn't want to be a naysayer. Last year, I rarely left the house on Thursdays, and I just didn't want to admit to myself that things were just not the same.
The turning point for me was the appearance of Trey. From the first sight of him leaving prison all coiffed and pretty, I could smell trouble. Trey introduced what I like to call the caper era of the o.c.--an era in which silly plots (risky business, for example) too precedence over sharper humor and actual character development.
In light of all that, I didn't have much hope for the finale. But I have to say that it exceeded my expectations in many ways, both good and bad. So, first the good:
Things I Liked About the O.C. Finale:
1. Summer is a nice person again! From the moment she walked into Seth's room with Princess Sparkle in tow, I felt better about Summer's character than I have since the Spiderman kiss. This has been the season of selfish Summer, and it was really great to finally see her not take no for an answer when questioning Marissa about what happened with Trey. She finally seemed like a best friend and a girlfriend again.
2. The Coopers! I still think Julie Cooper is the best thing about this show, and Tate Donovan is a lot funnier than people give him credit for. I even teared up a little at the end when Marissa hugged Julie (shut up.)
Things I Had Mixed Feelings About:
1. Kirsten. I read a comment on another blog where someone said that they felt the drinking storyline came out of nowhere, but I disagree. Kirsten has been a serious social drinker since the beginning, and it's escalated slowly, which I think is fairly realistic. Plus, Kelly Rowan did a great job. But I feel like by shipping her off to rehab, they're avoiding a discussion of Sandy and Kirsten's marital problems, and placing blame on Kirsten that should go on Sandy. Then again, I don't ever want to hear Rebecca Bloom's name ever again.
2. Ryan and his "I've tried to be different and it didn't work" line. If this season had been done better, that could have been an amazing moment. I feel like we haven't really seen how difficult this has been for Ryan, and all the stuff with Trey has been so heavy-handed that it sucked any poignancy right out of this story.
Things That Just Sucked and I Hate Them:
1. Guns at the Bait Shop/Jess the Drug Ho (as she is affectionately referred to on television without pity.) I'm sorry, but since when is this show about guns and drug deals and FUCKING CAPERS?
2. The end. Again with the guns. My roommate Allison pointed out that every character acted very true to themselves in this moment, and I have to agree with her. But at the same time, I feel like this is just silly, especially the death scene. The blood spurting out of the bullet hole was the cheesiest thing I've ever seen. On the other hand, I am curious about how this will be resolved, so that has to say something, right?
I think this show has just lost its way this year. There were too many supporting characters, too many soap opera plots, too many capers. Too many things happened this season that didn't resonate or have any long-lasting effects for any of the characters. I still can't get over the stupid Risky Business episode.
I still have hope, though. How can a show start out so good and end up so bad?
The turning point for me was the appearance of Trey. From the first sight of him leaving prison all coiffed and pretty, I could smell trouble. Trey introduced what I like to call the caper era of the o.c.--an era in which silly plots (risky business, for example) too precedence over sharper humor and actual character development.
In light of all that, I didn't have much hope for the finale. But I have to say that it exceeded my expectations in many ways, both good and bad. So, first the good:
Things I Liked About the O.C. Finale:
1. Summer is a nice person again! From the moment she walked into Seth's room with Princess Sparkle in tow, I felt better about Summer's character than I have since the Spiderman kiss. This has been the season of selfish Summer, and it was really great to finally see her not take no for an answer when questioning Marissa about what happened with Trey. She finally seemed like a best friend and a girlfriend again.
2. The Coopers! I still think Julie Cooper is the best thing about this show, and Tate Donovan is a lot funnier than people give him credit for. I even teared up a little at the end when Marissa hugged Julie (shut up.)
Things I Had Mixed Feelings About:
1. Kirsten. I read a comment on another blog where someone said that they felt the drinking storyline came out of nowhere, but I disagree. Kirsten has been a serious social drinker since the beginning, and it's escalated slowly, which I think is fairly realistic. Plus, Kelly Rowan did a great job. But I feel like by shipping her off to rehab, they're avoiding a discussion of Sandy and Kirsten's marital problems, and placing blame on Kirsten that should go on Sandy. Then again, I don't ever want to hear Rebecca Bloom's name ever again.
2. Ryan and his "I've tried to be different and it didn't work" line. If this season had been done better, that could have been an amazing moment. I feel like we haven't really seen how difficult this has been for Ryan, and all the stuff with Trey has been so heavy-handed that it sucked any poignancy right out of this story.
Things That Just Sucked and I Hate Them:
1. Guns at the Bait Shop/Jess the Drug Ho (as she is affectionately referred to on television without pity.) I'm sorry, but since when is this show about guns and drug deals and FUCKING CAPERS?
2. The end. Again with the guns. My roommate Allison pointed out that every character acted very true to themselves in this moment, and I have to agree with her. But at the same time, I feel like this is just silly, especially the death scene. The blood spurting out of the bullet hole was the cheesiest thing I've ever seen. On the other hand, I am curious about how this will be resolved, so that has to say something, right?
I think this show has just lost its way this year. There were too many supporting characters, too many soap opera plots, too many capers. Too many things happened this season that didn't resonate or have any long-lasting effects for any of the characters. I still can't get over the stupid Risky Business episode.
I still have hope, though. How can a show start out so good and end up so bad?
posted by Erica @ 11:18 PM
5 Comments:
At 12:05 AM,
Anonymous said…
you know it's sad when you stop watching your favorite show in favor of reruns of another favorite. i hope they look at this season as an oopsy when moving forward with the next one.
At 11:58 AM,
Erica said…
me too. the ratings were down, so you would think they would.
At 2:52 PM,
Anonymous said…
Your commentary is thought-provoking, thanks. I think that some of these plot lines would have worked better in Season One and not Season Two, aka "the season of the self-referential, oh-aren't-we-clever." If that makes any sense.
the_automatik
At 3:48 PM,
Erica said…
ooh, which ones do you think would have worked better in season one?
At 10:09 AM,
Anonymous said…
I think that the whole "Trey as a thug" would have worked better being placed closer to Ryan still being so tuff and beating people up all the time. Of course, cramming that in amidst Luke and Theresa would have been difficult.
Jess the Drug Ho (great name!) made me want to throw things at the TV. I mean, she kept bitching about her, but it was never explained why? Envy? Did Jess have a crush on Ryan? I think it would have been good if she'd been one of Marissa's drinking buddies last season who came back to haunt her.
the_automatik
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