About:
The O.C. S2.E05 “The SnO.C.”
Drinks Taken: 26
Welcome back to The O.C. Rewatch Project! I’m so pumped about season 2 right now. Last week, Meredith asked me how I feel about the new kids on the O.C. block, so here it is: I love Zach, who – like Summer – has the potential to encourage Seth’s maturity and personal growth. I firmly believe we should all live by Taylor Swift’s girl code: when you see someone you think is amazing, you should try to be their friend and learn positive things from them rather than be jealous and petty. Same goes for Seth here. Moving on, I am also a huge fan of Olivia Wilde’s Alex, who is THE COOLEST and can also teach Seth how to be better. Seth has so many learning opportunities. Then there’s Lindsay, who I also like – to an extent. She eventually gets a little too melodramatic for my taste, but not for Ryan’s, obvi. And finally, DJ. Yeah, he’s cute, I guess, but he’s kind of the human equivalent of a shrug.
Let’s drink to Alex, who is a total BOSS.
The O.C. Drinking Game
Drink once every time:
The ladies have a convo while primping in front of a mirror
Seth makes a nerdy reference
Someone says “Chino”
Anyone plays a video game
Summer says “ew”
Anyone eats a bagel
Summer calls Zach “Duckie”
Anyone references The Valley
Drink twice every time:
Someone says “Newpsie”
Fisticuffs occur (three times for pool fights!)
Someone grabs a cup of coffee
Ryan and Seth read comic books
Someone reminds us that Kaitlin Cooper exists
On to the episodes!
2.4 “The New Era”
As the title of the episode implies, there are some new beginnings going on – or at least people are deluding themselves into thinking so. Julie Cooper is the head of the Newport Group, and although at first she embarrasses herself with a lack of knowledge in the board room, she later asserts her particular set of skills at an impromptu party, impressing Kirsten just enough to make her believe that this might be okay.
Seth believes he is in the midst of a new era, and although he’s nowhere near being over Summer, he sets about trying to pick a new girlfriend out of the yearbook (ew), and pointing out girls on the quad who might be OK with dating him (gross, Seth, stop). Good thing Lindsay shows up to snap Seth and Ryan out of their sexist game – which they don’t think is sexist because they’re not grossly objectifying women by discussing body parts. Seth thinks Lindsay might be good for him, so he convinces Ryan to set up a “group hang,” where Alex will be Ryan’s date and Lindsay will be Seth’s and they’ll all go see The Killers perform and there will magically be zero drama. Hilarious.
Marissa thinks now might be a good time to stop dating, after the DJ-Ryan drama, and I’ve never agreed with her more, but after running into Ryan during his “group hang” and into DJ, who came with friends and not specifically to see her, Marissa feels pretty lonely, so she retreats to her pouty beach spot to pout. DJ shows up and decides they should date anyway, so Marissa gets what she wants, as usual, although it does feel like she’s just hooking up with DJ for the sake of hooking up with him and distracting herself from Ryan – much the same way that Seth is just looking for a lady to distract him from Summer, but no woman will ever be enough for that. Except for maybe Alex…
Lindsay can’t tolerate Seth’s whining about Summer, and Summer can’t tolerate Seth’s weird attempts to remain in her life, which are causing her to talk about his existence more than Zach would like. But Alex sees something cute and likable in Seth, and hey, it’s Olivia Wilde, so… I’d probably forget about my ex, too, if I were hanging with her for more than three seconds.
Naturally, Ryan and Lindsay end up together, but we all saw that coming from the moment he ran into her last week. Lindsay could be good for Ryan – she’s very much the opposite of Marissa, though I do think she takes herself a little too seriously. Then again, so does Ryan sometimes.
And over in the world of adults, Caleb is keeping secrets from Sandy, who spied him giving a mysterious woman an envelope full of cash. Caleb warns Sandy that he doesn’t want to meddle in his private affairs, lest he get burned. Oh snap. Sandy has taken his lawyer gig solo for the time being, and Caleb is his only client – but if he can win Caleb’s case, Sandy might just establish enough cred to attract more business and effectively get him away from those Cheetos.
How many times did I have to drink?
12
Truest thing anyone said all week
When DJ reconciles with Marissa, he’s all, “Guess I better prepare myself for some drama, huh?” And Marissa is like, “You have no idea,” and I nod my head vigorously in agreement. RUN DJ, RUN.
Worst outfit of the week
Marissa really wants to one-up Summer’s hideous outfit from last week with this ill-advised ensemble. I’m already sincerely against hats, but this one is particularly egregious.
Ugh, Seth
Seth is so terrible on his “date” with Lindsay. I’m surprised she put up with it for as long as she did.
Most recognizable song
If you lived through the ’00s at all, you recognize every song from the set The Killers played at The Bait Shop. Alex was very into it because live music is her life. This isn’t a game, son.
Best pop culture reference
Next ep!
2.5 “The SnO.C.”
There is some very basic drama happening during “The SnO.C.,” an episode named for Harbor’s winter dance/ball (no one can seem to make up their minds about which thing it is). Marissa’s myopic white privilege is showing, for one: she doesn’t invite DJ to the dance because she thinks it’s not his thing and she doesn’t want him to deal with her mom freaking out in front of everyone. As Ryan points out later, since when does Marissa miss an opportunity to ruin Julie’s life? This really shows how much she likes DJ. As Ryan also points out, Marissa’s just assuming that DJ wouldn’t be into the school dance, and I think Ryan would know a thing or two when it comes to people making assumptions about others based on their background. Just because DJ is the “yard guy” doesn’t mean he’s not into school dances.
Okay, so when I say there is some very basic drama happening in this episode, I mean Basic with a capital B. Summer takes every opportunity to bicker with and tease Seth to the point where Zach doesn’t think Summer’s over it, even if Seth is moving on – or trying to – with Alex. Zach decides not to go to the dance with Summer, and after Lindsay tells Ryan they should probably just be friends to avoid the inevitable drama of breaking up, Ryan decides to go to the dance alone. And after Alex shuts Seth down (and proves that kissing is NBD by making out with a dude and a lady in front of him), Seth is going alone. You know where this is going. Seth and Summer go as friends and Ryan and Marissa go as friends, and everything seems to be pretty okay.
Zach doesn’t think it’s okay, and after he shows up and discovers Seth and Summer dancing together, he shakes them up with this hilarious and sad newsflash:
Then Zach storms off to soothe his sorrows with a chocolate soda at The Bait Shop, where Alex advises him to fight for his lady. Naturally, he doesn’t exactly take this the right way, so he ends up returning to the dance and punching Seth’s precious face.
There’s a whole lot of hesitance and weird back-and-forth stuff this week: Alex isn’t sure about Seth because she doesn’t need a whole relationship situation, but by the end of the episode, she’s into it again. Lindsay isn’t sure about Ryan because she’s scared to take a chance (reasonable), but by the end of this episode, they’re making out and playing video games together. Marissa isn’t sure that DJ is the kind of guy she can take to social functions or introduce to her friends, but he proves her wrong. Zach isn’t sure that Summer is over Seth, but by the end of the episode, they’re okay. See what I mean? Basic.
In grown-up world, Caleb doesn’t want to tell Sandy about his affair with Renee Wheeler, which resulted in a child, but Sandy finally gets it out of him – and it’s sort of anticlimactic. There’s more foreshadowing with Kiki and a bottle of wine, which fills me with dread.
But possibly my favorite moment this week is when Jimmy prevents Julie from causing a scene with Marissa and DJ at the dance, reminding her of their relationship when they first met. Jimmy’s parents threatened to cut him off if he didn’t stay away from Julie, but that didn’t stop him. All that chemistry that’s been brewing in the last couple of episodes bubbles over and Julie can’t keep herself from making out with Jimmy. Uh oh.
How many times did I have to drink?
14
The Social Event of the week
The winter dance! Or the winter ball. Or The SnO.C. Whatever. Marissa and Summer actually look really cute in their formal wear.
Most recognizable song
Winter dance playlist: “Desperate Guys” by The Faint, “Cool” by Gwen Stefani, “Closer” by Dirty Vegas, “Let It Die” by Feist, and “Lay Lady Lay” (cover) by Magnet & Gemma Hayes.
Best pop culture reference
Seth, appreciating Marissa’s winter dance aesthetic:
Best fashion choice
Lindsay’s “Freudian slippers” make me want to be her friend so I can borrow them and then she’ll be like, “Oh, they’re so much cooler on you. You can keep them!” And then we’ll eat ice cream and hug and she can teach me science.
Secrets, secrets are no fun
By now, even those of you who are watching this series for the first time probably figured out who Renee Wheeler’s daughter is even before the final moment of the episode. It was too obvious, right?
That’s it for this week! I have a question for Meredith for next week: when you were watching the show for the first time, did you figure out Caleb’s “big secret” before it was revealed, or were you shocked by the revelation?
See you guys back here next week when Meredith covers “The Chrismukkah That Almost Wasn’t” (LUCKY) and “The Family Ties.”
About the Contributor:
Britt Hayes is a writer and sensible sweater enthusiast living in Austin, Texas. She loves movies, watches too much television, and her diet consists mostly of fruit snacks and revenge.
