The O.C.

I've been watching this show since episode one and it started off pretty strong. And that doesn't mean it was ever at the top of the quality pile but it was what it was which was just a fun show. However, even that started to slip and by the end of the first season it wasn't looking that promising. It only continued to slide with the start of season two yet it was briefly revived (even before her and Marissa got together) with the arrival of Alex (Olivia Wilde) and once she left the show began to slide even more rapidly. The end of season two while more dramatic and traditional in it's cliffhanger than season one was not much better story wise.

Three months of waiting and all we get is more bad stories and bad wrap-ups. Why the hell did they not just let Trey die? The last thing the show needs is for him to comeback. I know Julie does some dumb things but they really stretched it with her paying Trey to finger Ryan for the shooting. The writers want us to believe that after being nearly killed by his brother and then seeing his girlfriend shoot said brother in the back that the first thing Ryan would do is take the gun and put the safety on. Don't think so. I knew that moment was going to cause problems and it did because all the cops cared about where Ryan's prints on the gun. They must have the stupidest cops in the country. Marissa's prints would have been on the gun too and any cop or forensics person with half a brain would have done a gun shot residue test which would have told them who pulled the trigger. Yes, I know it isn't a precedural crime drama but come on there's still going to be a propper investigation not just them going after the supposedly bad kid. Especially not when you factor in who his family is in that town.

Then parents get their undies in a twist and Marissa gets kicked out of Harbor. Here's another sign that this show always goes one step to far over the line. That Dean of Discipline is the worst character ever. Eric Mabius isn't the greatest actor in the world but he's better than what he showed in the second episode. I'm trying to figure out if he's deliberatly acting badly for some reason or if he truly just can't play that character for some reason. The character himself has no reason to be out for Marissa and Ryan. By his own admission he's only been in town a couple weeks and all he knows about them is what he's heard.

The only real purpose served by Marissa getting kicked out is to set up the feud between Summer and Taylor Townsend. Which is already proving to be fun. Summer's undying loyalty to Marissa is probably the best thing about the show. But lets face it that storyline is funner if Marissa is still at Harbor and Summer backs her up.

I know a lot of people don't like whatever it is that Charolette (Jeri Ryan) is up to with Kirsten but I do like that arc. I haven't yet figured it out but I do like it. It won't surprise me one bit if they go over the top and kill it in the end as well but at the moment it is a good bit of intrigue.