the o.c. is back!

The O.C. is good again! i finally watched the first two episodes of season 4, and i have to say, it's back to the same compelling, twisty drama that first captivated viewers in season 1. Killing off Marissa at the end of season 3 is probably the best thing they could've done to fix the dying show. It's a huge change for the show, as some of the most memorable moments from season 1 revolved around her (the o.d. in Mexico), but by the end of season 3, they had pretty much done all they could to the character. After dealing with alcoholism, drug problems, being taken hostage by fellow druggie and show killer Oliver, sleeping with the gardener, a brief stint in lesbianland, expulsion, partially being the catalyst for a friend's death, sleeping with the resident bad boy of the town and (gasp!) going to public school, I guess they couldn't think of much else to do with the character. They'd also really stretched Mischa Barton's limited acting abilities as far as they could . Admittedly, I teared up a tiny bit in the first episode of this new season when Ryan was looking at old pictures of her, knowing that The O.C. of old is dead for good, but again, I think that's a good thing. The show had a long sophomore slump (seasons 2+3), filled with stories of alcoholic moms, almost adultery and over-the-top cheesy spiderman kisses and unnecessary drama between Seth and Summer and many bad or worse, boring, storylines, but it's back now! With her death, not only did they get rid of the wooden, robotic actress that was weighing them down, they've actually brought the characters to new and interesting places. And I for one, am actually looking forward to watching new episodes of the show again!