The OC - The Complete Season 2

Amazon.co.uk Review

The drama was poured on aplenty in the second season of The O.C. , as the sun-dappled denizens of Orange County found their lives massively upended and then some. At the end of the first season, the Cohen household had been reduced to two--parents Sandy and Kirsten (Peter Gallagher and Kelly Rowan)--as the boys had flown the coop, moody Ryan (Benjamin McKenzie) back to Chino and goofy Seth (Adam Brody) for the wide expanse of the Pacific (somehow ending up in Portland, Oregon). Once the prodigal sons returned home, thanks to a lot of persuading, both tried to mend relationships with their former girlfriends, Marissa (Mischa Barton) and Summer (Rachel Bilson). While friendships were solidified, everyone was dating someone else: Seth was with sultry club manager Alex (Olivia Wilde), Summer with sensitive polo jock Zach (Michael Cassidy), Ryan with smart girl Lindsay (Shannon Lucio), and Marissa with her family's pool guy and a bottle of vodka.

That's just the first half of this year of The O.C. , and we haven't even gotten to the adults yet. Both Sandy and Kirsten found themselves tempted away by more-than-willing suitors, and wicked Julie (Melinda Clarke), Marissa's mom, cheated on new husband Caleb (Alan Dale) with ex-husband Jimmy (Tate Donovan). An extremely tangled web was woven, one from which the show almost didn't recover: the Lindsay storyline started out strong but went nowhere, Sandy's ex-girlfriend (Kim Delaney) was a bit of a bore, and the same-sex relationship between Marissa and Alex never really gelled. All seemed like sure-fire character additions, but it was the later peripheral characters, including Billy Campbell as a magazine editor smitten with Kirsten and the menacing yet sexy Logan Marshall-Green as Ryan's ex-con brother, who injected The O.C. with energy, and helped steer the show back on course. Brody, who became the show's de facto poster boy, got to show off his comedic talents with the wonderful Bilson (who rode the Zach-Seth-Summer romantic triangle most smoothly), and the heretofore sullen McKenzie got to lighten up quite a bit, until the show's violent yet effective season finale.

Forsaking a good amount of its comedy for drama, The O.C. got a little too seriously soapy, but its characters were so compelling you couldn't stop watching--even waiflike Marissa grew some edges. Clarke's scheming Julie was a constant pleasure to watch, and Rowan turned Kirsten's late-season downturn into a steely yet heartfelt portrayal. Despite the bumps, The O.C. remained one of the most exciting shows to look forward to week after week, a soap with smarts thanks to its fresh dialogue, gifted cast, and careening plot arcs. --Mark Englehart

Customer Reviews:

Still a solid, entertaining season, especially once that irritating, oboe-playing red-head is gone out of it.......2007-12-30

The OC returns for a second season- first off, the obvious reccomendation is don't buy this unless you have bought the first season. If you have bought and enjoyed the first season of the OC, you will know by now that it is about Ryan Atwood, the kid from the wrong side of the tracks, from a broken home in Chino to be precise and while the first season was about him being taken in by the Cohens and being from different worlds to everyone else in Newport, this season is about Ryan beginning to feel at home in this new community- though there is a slight problem, he's off in Chino helping out his pregnant ex-girlfriend who may or may not be carrying HIS baby. Meanwhile Seth has sailed away- to Portland where Luke now lives as it happens and he's living there. Sandy and Kirsten are dealing with the chaos by doing some re-decorating- and fighting with each other on a daily basis. The finale of the last season has left the premiere of this season in chaos- but by the end of the premiere, without giving too much away, Ryan and Seth will be in their rightful places
As for Summer and Marissa, they are also dealing with what happened in the season 1 finale. Marissa appears to be drinking again, in the absense of her beloved Ryan and although Ryan wants to start up things where they left off once he arrives back and sees her, things are not that simple. Summer is much less forgiving than Marissa, and is determined to ignore Seth just like she spent all of middle-school doing. She also has a new man in her life- a character which I actually liked but since the character was driving a wedge between Sethummer, I can understanding why he gets a lot of fan-hate. Then there is Lyndsay, the irritating oboe-playing girl who could be almost likable as a character because she is relatable and makes Ryan happy but the actress- a major casting mistake- unfortunately this character has a story-arc which presents on our screens for a good chunk of the season- then there is a great episode where she goes and we see a possibility of more Ryan/Marissa love and Seth and Summer get back together spectacularly- it is almost like the producers themselves were so glad that that character was gone- why else would there be a commentary on that episode?
Sandy and Kirsten have a lot of drama this season. In the first season, they were simply seen as the moral centre and were very happy-happy, until the revelation of the whole Kirsten/Jimmy kiss but happiness was restored soon after. We see that those fights in the summer that the boys were gone have driven a wedge between Sandy and Kirsten that they dont know exist until an attractive man starts to work with Kirsten and a certain ex of Sandys returns to his life....
This season is good- it is full of real drop-your-mouth-open storylines, like the whole Marissa venturing down a different sexual-orientation thing, but she bounces right back...Olivia Wilde plays the character of Alex this season, the girl who goes from dating Seth to his female alter-ego..its quite bizarre.
If that wasnt enough for you, Ryans brother, the reason he is in the OC to begin with, comes back into Ryans life...with reprocussions..
Buy this- if you have the first season and intend on building a nice little collection, you should get this..its really good.

very entertaining but not as sophisticated as season 1.......2007-12-07

I gave season one of the OC 5 stars because it had everything you could want in a tv drama/comedy series.I heard some people say Season 2 was a letdown because it wasn't as humorous as season 1.I think the dialogue was definitely as humorous (one of my favourite lines is when Julie comes into a room and Sandy turns around quickly and says : "You scared me - more than usual!").But the troubles with the Cohen marriage and the trouble between Seth,Summer and Zach grew a little tiresome at times (and was always going to be a letdown for viewers compared to the interaction between Seth,Summer and Anna in Season 1 which led to so many,amusing and touching scenarios).Also I think that in this season too many things happened too quickly which added to the humour but took away some plausibility.I also noticed that the visual appeal of Season 2 wasn't as great as in the first season (just think how bright but tasteful were the clothes that Anna wore,for example,and how even the Cohen's kitchen and even the weather seemed brighter).Season 2 also lacked the hooks that Season 1 had:in season 1 Ryan picks Marissa up from the ground at the front of her house after her friends have left her drunk and unconscious
out in the cold,and you wonder if he is going to get caught by someone and accused of robbing or attacking her when he is trying to help her.
And you are constantly wondering if Ryan is going to be accepted into Newport society with so many people trying to stop this from happening.
With Ryan no longer the underdog, much of the drama in season 2 was less subtle and less effective.

Love, betrayal, and spring break with the Nanna!.......2006-12-31

Fans of The O.C. are sure to enjoy this Season Two DVD set. After last season's heart-tugging finale, the whole gang is back for season two: Seth and Ryan come home only to find their girlfriends have moved on and found new loves. The guys are no slouches, either: A new lab partner spells romance for Ryan, and Seth falls for the wild and worldly manager at the Bait Shop. Meanwhile, the adults are in for lots of drama as Caleb and Julie have marital problems, both Sandy and Kirsten feel the urge to merge with other people, and even the Nanna in Miami gets lucky...maybe. One main character will leave the O.C. for good, one will die, and one will shoot another.

What a season! The plotlines combine comedy and pathos effortlessly, the characters we came to love in season one continue to evolve, and the writing is superb. This DVD includes bloopers, lots of behind-the-scene cool stuff, and wonderful bloopers that were sadly missing from the season one DVD. I wish there had been commentaries by the lead actors, but there are two by the creative staff that are quite interesting.

The O.C - Taken To The Next Level.......2006-12-28

The oc the best thing on the box now on dvd boxset love it!

I am a massive fan of the O.C, after season 1 brilliance, they have pulled it off again.Ryan and Marrisa the best couple ever.Also the writing of each episode and season is brilliant,with the introduction of Trey and his relationship with Ryan and Marrisa is pure class.

I hope it never ends.

Hope this was helpful.

Season 2 .......2006-09-04

This Season, dispite the bad comments is still a brilliant one. I myself, blame the total overflow of horrible new charcters that nobody liked..and more things that I will tell you soon. There was new charcter Lindsay - The most annoying charcter ever who liked to hurt your eardrums with the sound of her cello, and more importantly, ruin Ryan and Marissa., and just being genrally annoying. Then there was Rebecca..ooh Rebecca..where do I start. She came back to find young love Sandy, who she knew had moved on, was happily married, and had children. Did that stop her? no. She just thought she'd use the sympathy vote to charm Sandy away on Valentines Day of all days when Kirsten was stood up. And Carter..in my opinion he wasn't TOO bad..but still lured Kirsten away from Sandy which was dissapointing. Thats my other problem with this series. They made Both Kirsten AND Sandy have little affairs (&& When I say little..I mean one kiss) and arguments which broke the much needed stablility of the show. But in the long run..nothing like that could ever ruin Sandy and Kirsten..Simply because they are Sandy..and Kirsten. The perfect couple. And Sandy is much needed when Kirsten has a break down towards the end of the season. Marissa has got to be the most changed though. She Has a series of affairs with New charcter DJ, and Alex (and Alex is a GIRL!) She also is on and off with Ryan, and takes a little too much of a liking to his brother, or so he thinks. she also finds that her scheming Mum, Julie, is having an affair with ex husband Jimmy (Marissa's Dad) While she is married to Kirsten's Dad, Caleb (Yes Kirsten..who is the same age as her.) In this Season Marissa is rebellious towards her normally perfect life.
This Season gets a lot better, when The Rainy Day Women, (Which in my opinion, is one of the best episodes out of all the seasons) clears out most of the newbies. (Rebecca, Zach (To a certain extent) & Lindsay.) From this episode on there is a real diffence and its back to Season 1 standard!

The end of this season comes to a phenominal finish with the most upsetting episode yet, When Marissa does something she will regret,Kirsten goes off to rehab, and its Calebs funeral. this finale is definatly a tearjerker and I am 99% sure that by the end you will be in tears. And also the 2 episodes before, when Kirsten has a horrific car crash due to drink, Caleb has a heart attack, Summer and Seth finally re-unite, and Trey does something unforgiveable to Marissa.

Despite the sort of dissapointing start, this Season is still amazing and worth buying!

Hope this review was helpful =)

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