A few months ago, when popular Fox teen drama The O.C. introduced Alex (Olivia Wilde) as a new female love interest for one of the show's central characters, Marissa (Mischa Barton), creator Josh Schwartz did a round of media interviews proclaiming their relationship wasn't a ratings stunt, but a genuine relationship that both the characters and the viewers would find authentic and believable.

He almost pulled it off.

Two months into it, the relationship between Alex and Marissa was on track to be one of network TV's best portrayal of a lesbian relationship in several years. Alex was a sympathetic, confidant bisexual woman to whom Marissa seemed genuinely drawn, and Marissa's struggle with her unexpected attraction to Alex was realistically messy but sincere. Marissa's best friend Summer (Rachel Bilson) was surprised but supportive of Marissa's relationship with Alex, Alex's ex-boyfriend Seth (Adam Brody) had realistically mixed emotions, and Marissa's mother handled her daughter's revelation fairly well (primarily because she considered it just a phase).

Anyone who had seen the first season of The O.C., or who had paid any attention to the media this season, knew that this was going to be a short-lived relationship. Marissa's on-again, off-again relationship with Ryan (Benjamin Mckenzie) has been one of the anchor relationships of the series from the very beginning; as Alex summarized in her final episode, Marissa and Ryan are one of those couples who are always a couple, even when they're not.

Consequently, few viewers were expecting Alex and Marissa to ride off in the sunset together. But the fact that Alex and Marissa's relationship was destined to end didn't have to mean it couldn't be a great storyline--lesbian viewers are used to taking what we can get on network television, and even a short lesbian relationship is nothing to sneeze at if it's done well.

But the way the writers ended Alex and Marissa's relationship on last week's episode undid virtually all of the achievements by Schwartz and company in this area, and left many lesbian viewers feeling bewildered, cheated, and even angry.

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