The OC: the end of an era!

You know, now that I think about it, last week's episode of the OC really could have served as a series finale. Except for the fact that the state of the Cohen house was in question, things were wrapped up relatively nicely. Kirsten's baby was fine, Ryan and Taylor reunited, Julie and Frank reunited, and Summer was going off with G.E.O.R.G.E. Technically it could also have served as a season finale had the show not been cancelled. But because the show had enough fair warning about the series ending, they got the chance to do this week's episode as a real goodbye for everyone involved, including the fans.

That said, because things last week had so much of a "wrap-up" feeling, a fair amount of this week's episode was setup. They skipped ahead six months, and it felt like things were being done all over again. Ryan and Taylor had broken up, so they had to reunite again. Julie and Frank had broken up and she was getting married to the Bullitt, so that had to be resolved all over again. Summer ended up not taking the job with G.E.O.R.G.E. so she had to make that realization all over again. The first 50 minutes of the show did have a lot of great gems, as is true with most of the series as a whole, but it seemed almost unnecessary. I did tear up during the scene with Julie and Summer and the locket with Marissa's picture though. It was a nice minimal and fitting tribute to her.

After the wedding was when things started to really pick up. I was completely surprised but really loved that Julie pulled a Kelly Taylor and chose herself. I knew that Summer wasn't going to end up going to Providence with Seth and their goodbye scene got me pretty teary as well. And the scene with Ryan going through the old house with snippets of scenes from the pilot was wonderfully nostalgic, especially the glimpses of Marissa and Seth. Ryan looked so young back then! (Man I have an urge to watch the pilot again.)

I almost thought the episode was over at that point, but this is the OC, and it can't go out without a song montage. No one does the song montage like the OC. I'm so glad that they showed a little bit of what happened to the characters. Julie graduating from college, Kaitlin being smart at Williams (I appreciated that they had that scene implying she was good at math...I'm really tired of teenage characters on TV, especially girls, being bad at math, although "x=25" is the lamest line ever), Sandy as a law professor, and of course Seth and Summer getting married! I liked that they showed little Sophie as a gauge for how many years had passed so Seth and Summer didn't end up doing it too young. I'm also glad that they left Ryan and Taylor open-ended. As much as I loved them this season, Ryan's story is much more than about her, so the ending with him seeing a kid that reminded him of himself couldn't have been more perfect. The OC comes full circle!

Also, you know, one problem I've always had with teen shows is the whole high school-to-college transition and how they have to come up with stupid scenarios to have everyone end up in the same place. (I'm looking at you, Buffy, and Dawson's Creek, and Veronica Mars.) I mean, the OC did that this season too, but with the series ending, everyone was allowed to move ahead more realistically, with the kids spread all over: Ryan at Berkeley, Taylor in Paris, Seth in Providence, and Summer on the activist bus. So cancellation can bring good things!

Other favorite things from this episode:

• "Briefcase or No Briefcase"
  
• "Aw real-life Jake and real-life April broke up"
  
• The bagel slicer gets its own scene being packed away!
  
• The ridiculously convenient midwife-and-wedding-planner gay couple
  
• The Bullitt boys
  
• "Maybe he'll come out wearing a wife beater"
  
• Team Julie!
  
• No mention of harmony-upsetting people like Trey or Theresa or Jimmy or Volchok