When did I turn into an OC blogger?

Seriously, it's Friday morning and of all the shows I watched last night, The O.C. is the one I most want to chat about. Since either my friends don't watch the show or they do, in theory, watch the show but haven't watched a single episode this season because they don't love me enough to fit it into their oh so busy schedule (ahem, RED), instead of chatting, I must blog.

I adore the "new" Summer. I honestly think she's the only character on television I've seen transition from high school to college in a realistic, believable, and very funny way. I love that she's realized she can care both about celebrity gossip and the environment, and can shave her legs and fight the administration for solar-powered dorms in the same day. And Seth trying to catch up to the new Summer, to try to care about whatever it is she cares about, whether it's the teen soap The Valley or the value of solar energy, is completely adorable and, dare I say it, mature. I love that this show has put a realistic tension in their relationship, caused by distance and growth and not some trite love triangle. I also found fantastic the 5 stages of grief montage, with anger showing up more than once. It was a funny way to move Summer past the crippling grief she showed in the Thanksgiving episode without belittling it.

And, um, Taylor Townsend ROCKS and I want her and Ryan to fall in LURVE and live talkatively ever after. She's vulnerable enough that Ryan can do his damsel in distress thing, without being actually weak in a way that would hobble him (cf Teresa and Marissa). She's funny and smart and I'd love seeing Ryan trying to keep up with her.