The OC Season 2 Episode 3 - Two is the loneliest number

Previously: Season 2 Episode 2

Okay, so I missed, like, the first 15 minutes of the show as I was in transit. But really, it's not like stuff can't be explained later.

Click here to continueSo Seth decides he needs to change and put feelings of others ahead of his, so gives tickets to The Walkmen (you've heard these guys' song, "We've Been Had" on a Saturn commercial. Really, you have.) thinking if he's nice to Summer and WASP Seth, he can be friends with Summer, and if he can be friends with Summer, then she'll dump the WASP Seth. Well, so much for putting the feeling of others ahead of his. Summer doesn't see through this though, until Seth lands a big wet one.

Meanwhile, Ryan is talking to Marissa again, but to Marissa's dismay, after a inauspicious start, Ryan is clicking with his lab partner/Harbor newbie, essentially a redheaded, female version of Ryan.

In other news, Sandy is fired from his law firm for representing Caleb, Caleb steps down as Newport Group CEO and hands the job to Julie, which pisses off Kirsten to no ends until she gets promoted to CFO. Not exactly what Jimmy would characterize as "fantastic", but will do for now.

The episode ends with Seth and Marissa sitting on a bench at the pier, wondering how the two ended up being the two loneliest people in Newport Beach, as Rachael Yamagata's excellent Worn Me Down plays in the background. Well, I'll give you an answer - 1. Because you're stupid teenagers, and 2. You're characters on a TV show.

This season has been decidedly slower paced than last year's breakneck pace, but I like it. The storylines are better defined, and loose ends are getting tied, instead of being dropped like a hot potato with herpes. I mean, who remembered that Marissa's sister was in a boarding school, or that she even had a sister until she mentioned it this week?

Anyhow, The OC (or TOC for short) will take a break for Thanksgiving, but will come back with the violance and hot, strategically concealed sex, the previews suggest. Can't wait.

More coherent episode recap:
The OC: Seth and Marissa Can't Get No Satisfaction, but Summer and Ryan Can (TVgasm)