TVSquad

Ah, the old "to invite the ex or not invite the ex?" quandary. It's a doozy. Ryan is turning 18 and he's got a big decision on his shoulders -- should he invite Marissa to his lame-ass birthday party or not? And not to read too much into the emotional complexity of The O.C., but I liked how they had Ryan and Marissa trying to figure out how to get over each other, while Julie and Dr. Roberts were trying to figure out how to get on with each other. It doesn't matter how old you get, relationships are still a sonuvabitch.

I say that Ryan should have invited Marissa from the get-go. So what, they just broke up. They are still in the same friendship group. His best friend is dating her best friend. That means he has to invite her. I didn't make the rules of high school teenage love drama. God passed them down, and we must follow them. Luke is starting to look like the best ex-boyfriend of all time. Let's forget about the fact that he was temporarily shagging Marissa's mom. I don't blame Luke for that whole charade; I blame February sweeps. Now, remember how many times he and Ryan hung out after he lost Marissa? Luke even helped Ryan with the whole Oliver fiasco. In the real world, dudes tend to have sour grapes after their girlfriend is stolen from them, but Luke was pretty cool about the whole thing. Ryan? Not so much.

That party was pretty cool actually. But from Seth, who would expect any less? I am amazed at his ability to not only book a major club in Newport Beach, but print up 100 invitations, and life-size picture cut-outs in 3 days. Guys in Newport really know how to hustle. Not to keep bringing up the real world, but I've never even seen my guy roommate lick an envelope much less stuff and distribute 100 of them. The Journey cover band Foreigner cover band was pretty awesome too. You know, when I first saw the title of this episode I thought it was pretty stupid. I was like, Ryan went on a journey last week, not this week. Turns out, I'm stupid.

I don't trust this Sadie girl. I don't trust any girl who wears fancy lace bras while renovating her home. Who wears their best bra when they know they're gonna be sweating? I don't even wear a nice bra when there is even a slight possibility of a 5 degree shift in my temperature. No way I'm going to ruin a $45 hooter holder with flying bits of drywall. And what was up with that engraved hammer: "think of me the next time you're pounding something". Real subtle, slutface. I'm just impressed that she was able to get someone to burn-engrave a hammer handle on such short notice. She must shop at the same party supply store as Seth.

So, while we are talking about people I hate -- Volchek. Barf. Where are they going with this storyline? He's all creeping around her wherever she goes, lurking about her house. And I didn't understand his mumbled explanation about "Johnny being the one who was suppose to make it". Are they brothers or something? And why did Marissa take that as an acceptable answer? I actually really liked the intercut scene of her at the model home now and that night with Ryan when he burnt it down. That was a really great scene. It really brought me back to how innocently infatuated they were during the first season. But wow, Marissa fainting and falling down the stairs. I've lamented over ex-boyfriends plenty of times, but never once did I faint and roll down a flight of marble stairs. Mostly because there is no marble in my apartment and I weigh more than the 85 pounds, which is what Marissa must weigh. If I get overly emotional about an ex, the only thing I'm going to faint into is a bowl of Phish Food ice cream.

I haven't even said anything yet about Ryan's mom. Holy crap, I just realized how much happened in this episode. It was good one! The thing I love about Ryan's mom is that every time we see her, she's always on a different level of white trash despair. She's getting kicked out of her apartment. She's sober. She's drunk. She's working at a laundromat. She's falling down at a makeshift casino. She's in jail. And yet, no black roots ever show. Hey, I grew up in a trailer park -- the black roots always show. If producers want to make this thing believable than Ryan's mom should have at least 2-3 inches of regrowth on her head every episode. Hell, sometimes 4-5 inches.

Finally, Dr. Roberts and Julie's relationship is out in the open. I actually wanted more sparks to fly when this all came out. But it makes sense that Marissa wouldn't be too upset about it. Anything after catching your mom banging your ex-boyfriend is sort of like a cakewalk. The real question is, whether or not Dr. Roberts is going to propose? I say yes, but later in the season during a ridiculous slapstick moment of Newport hijinx.

Random Website Recommendation- I know that a lot of you go crazy nuts when you hear a hot song on The O.C. and can't figure out what it is, especially if it was played while Johnny's spirit was floating out to sea. Well, may I suggest going to this website by clicking here. It lists the songs played on a lot of hit shows, including The O.C. So fret no more!  

Final Random Thought- How come none of the The O.C. gang is on MySpace? I know when I'm around high school kids, that's all they talk about. Like, when Ryan and Marissa broke-up it would be a big decision about changing their status from "In a Relationship" to "Single." I remember in the first season, Seth made a joke about him and Ryan joining Friendster. It seems like someone would be on MySpace, and I'd think it'd be Taylor.