¡Lo siento mucho, mis lectores!

In Spain and Mexico (or in whichever Spanish speaking country you may reside) that means: I am so very sorry, my readers! I have neglected to continue posting these recaps on The O.C. for the past several weeks. My excuses include: one, I went out of town; two, I have been extremely busy; and three, I have honestly had no means of watching The O.C. ever since thewb.com took it down at the end of June. Needless to say, that was extremely frustrating for me, considering that I currently have access to both Netflix and Xfinity and yet neither one seems to find it necessary to include The O.C. in their available selection of television shows. (I mean, you would think that at least one of them would have it.) This (obviously) meant that my only choices were to either suck it up and buy the entire first season or borrow it from a friend. And being a poor college student and all…well, I chose the second option.   

Okay, my excuses are done now.

Right before I left for Boston about two weeks ago I watched episode seven of The O.C., and mainly what I have to say about it is that things are really starting to progress. I have the feeling that this is a show that doesn’t dilly-dally with its plotlines (*cough, cough, every single show on The CW, cough, cough*) and I am extremely thankful for that. Every time I watch an episode I will probably at least be able to say that something happened. Now that is my kind of show!

Anyway…to the point. Episode seven “The Escape” begins with Seth and Ryan once again attempting to deceive their wonderful parents. Kirsten and Sandy both think that the boys are getting ready to go to comic-con, when in reality they are going to sneak off to Mexico for the weekend. (Or at least that’s Seth’s diabolical plan.) The reason Seth wants to go to Mexico so badly is because Summer is going to be there. Apparently every year she and Marissa make a trip to Mexico with their friends so that they can get drunk and party and all that jazz. My initial reaction to this when I first heard it was: “Um, you let your teenage kids run around alone in Mexico? Isn’t that a little—oh, I don’t know…dangerous?” I mean, I suppose it depends on where you go, but still. These parents will let their kids do almost anything! Just imagine if I’d had a childhood like that…

Naturally, Ryan doesn’t think it’s a very good idea to go to Mexico behind Kirsten and Sandy’s backs. He tries to convince Seth that they should just go to comic-con, but Seth is insistent, and as usual, he ends up winning in the end. Way to be a persistent geek, Seth!

Meanwhile, Marissa’s parents have decided once and for all that they are going to get a divorce. Problem is…their kids don’t know about it. The plan is for Jimmy to quietly leave the house over the weekend while Marissa is partying it up in Mexico. But when Marissa tells her dad that she doesn’t want to go and that she would really rather stay home and spend time with him, he becomes almost frantic. He adamantly insists that Marissa go to Mexico with her friends, and eventually she agrees. Summer is relieved (How could she possibly make the annual trip to Mexico without Coop?) but unfortunately they have no ride. Of course, they end up tagging along with Seth and Ryan, and needless to say that car-ride is a complete disaster. Ryan and Marissa still aren’t speaking to each other, and Seth and Summer are constantly at each other’s throats. All Seth wants is for Summer to admit that she likes him, but Summer is so stubborn. She is still convinced that she’s too good for him, and she doesn’t let him forget it. I’ll admit that their arguments are kind of cute in their own way, but…they really need to just kiss again already. Summer, I’m sorry, I know you’re hawt and all, but you were destined to be with a nerd. Accept it already! Once you do, you’ll come to find that you’re actually a pretty damn lucky girl.

Things only get worse when they finally arrive in Mexico. They are forced to stay in a crappy old motel with only two beds. Of course, Summer wants a bed all to herself, but Seth will hear nothing of it. (And who can blame the guy? I wouldn’t have slept on that nasty floor either.) Those two end up sharing a bed, each scooting as far as they possibly can to each end, and Ryan and Marissa share the other.

That night Marissa’s dad finally calls and tells her that he and Julie are getting a divorce. (I’m sorry, but I don’t like Jimmy…I think he’s a gutless wonder.) Marissa is devastated, and spends the night quietly crying herself to sleep. Ryan comforts her as best as he can, and the next morning they wake up snuggled next to each other on the bed. Ryan swears that he didn’t do it on purpose, but…well, I think we all know better.

The next day they hit the town and go clubbing. At first it looks like it could potentially be a pretty good time, but then we see Luke getting all hot and heavy with Holly…crap. I don’t know about you guys, but I was pretty pissed off about this. I guess I sort of saw it coming, but it’s still kind of disappointing. I was slowly growing to like Luke, but I couldn’t help but hate him all over again when I saw him with Holly.

“How could you?” Marissa exclaims when she sees them together. Luke quickly tries to come up with some kind of excuse, but before he can Holly is all, “Marissa, he does this all the time! He hooks up with random girls like this every year! Didn’t you know? Huh? Didn’t you? Well now you do!” Marissa runs out of the club and back to the motel room while a fight breaks out between Ryan and Luke. Summer follows Marissa and attempts to console her, but poor Marissa is too upset to just sit in a dumpy motel room all night. She feels like doing something drastic, and you know what? I understand that completely. Hell, if I’d just found out that my parents were getting divorced AND that my boyfriend is a two-timing asshole, I would get up and run away, too. I would slip into the nearest bar and I would get so damn wasted, just like Marissa. In fact, she was so drunk that eventually she passed out in an alley. Seth, Summer, and Ryan had to search several hours before they found her, and when they did…okay, I’m sorry, but I laughed a little during that ending scene. I mean, I know it’s supposed to be tragic (which it is) but was the slow-mo really necessary? It’s like…I don’t know, I’m sorry, but I just think they overdramatized it a little bit. And Summer? Summer is like, “Oh no…” as she turns away and quietly buries her face in Seth’s shoulder. Let me tell you, if that were my best friend passed out in some dark alley in Mexico, I would have rushed to her (or his, depending on which best friend we’re talking about) side, yelling her name, shaking her, trying to get a response…then again, I guess I have to remember that this is a teen drama. With this show, sometimes that’s easy to forget. Every once in a while, though, it has its moments.

The episode ends here, leaving us at what is by far the biggest cliffhanger we’ve had yet. Stay tuned, folks! It only gets better from here. Episode eight will be posted either Tuesday or Wednesay. Guaranteed.