Episodic Classics: The O.C., "The College Try," "The Party Favor," "The Man of the Year" | Season 3, Episodes 22-24
A much-needed visit from old friends helps rush this season to the finish line
After the burnout that came with last week’s batch of The O.C. episodes, this week’s batch makes for a nice bit of respite as this season comes to a close. Part of that stems from the genuine fun of both “The College Try” and “The Party Favor.” (“The Man of the Year” is easily the weakest of the three as an episode that has to serve multiple purposes before the season finale.) At this point in the season, for an episode of The O.C. to simply be mostly enjoyable, that’s a win.
At the same time, you could also point to these exact episodes as evidence of The O.C. writers truly no longer having anything for Marissa outside of the tragedy of it all. As the character is explaining how her life became a mess (as the girl who was Social Chair, as she always mentions) for the umpteenth time in “The College Try” (again refusing to acknowledge how it was already such before it was revealed her father was a crook), it’s apparent that The O.C. really has nothing for the character o…