Previously on The O.C.
Last week in Orange County, the Cohen household was shook up, as Sandy forgot that it was his 20th wedding Anniversary, but made up for it by getting Alex to help him serenade his wife and the whole of America with cheesy love songs.

Alex herself did not have much of a storyline, apart from sleeping with the trying-to-be-bad-but-failing Seth, and then being persuaded by Sandy to stop seeing the resident adorable geek, because his parent's are worried about him. This ensures that Alex's background is filled in a bit more,

Alex reprimands Seth for dismissing such good parents, reminding us that she got kicked out of her own home for reasons unspecified.

Meanwhile, Julie, aka Evil Bitch Mother From Hell, convinced a lifestyle magazine to feature a photo spread of her family and their home--because if it's all bright and perky in a magazine, it must be fine in real life. But Marissa had other plans, in the form of her gardener boyfriend D.J, who Julie slyly offers a blank check not to see Marissa anymore. He refuses to take it, but breaks up with Marissa by the end of the episode anyway, telling her that she is only going out with him to annoy her mother.

In other news, Ryan and Lindsay's relationship suffered a minor setback upon being discovered by Kirsten, but it all worked out by the end.

The Other Storylines
Relationships come together and fall apart in this week's episode, "The Ex-Factor"--or, as I like to call it, "The Episode Where Something Actually Happens Like It Did In Season One."

Sandy and Kirsten have a minor disagreement which makes Sandy realize that he has yet to find his true calling (which is decidedly not becoming Caleb Nichol's henchman), and Julie blows up her face to large poster size, an image which haunts not only Sandy, but the entire FOX audience.

Meanwhile at the kids table, Marissa, Summer and Lindsay (at the advice of Ryan) have a Girls Night Out, while a disgruntled Zach, Seth and optimistic Ryan try to have a Boys Night In. Zach is miffed that Summer does not want to spend their six-month anniversary with him, but that is resolved in the end (with much saccharine) by metaphors involving wolves and milkshake.

The Alex-Marissa Storyline...
Seth is upset because Alex's ex is in town, whom she never really broke up with, and whose gender is not explained very thoroughly. Or at all.

But the audience is clued into the gender before the title sequence even kicks in, when a brunette--named Jody--comes up behind Alex at the bar and puts her arm around her, and the audience can see the look of uncomfortable confusion and exasperation that crosses Alex's face. Later, we see Alex and Jody arguing at the bar over the fact that Alex hasn't told Seth about Jody--Jody asks, "are you embarrassed about us?"--but Marissa mercifully walks up and interrupts, telling Alex she needs to replace the paper towels in the bathroom. "Thanks," Alex tells Marissa as they walk towards the bathroom, "that was a conversation I did not want to have." Marissa smiles. "Yeah, I know all about those. I have them with my mom all the time."

The episode's big plot twist is that Seth doesn't know Jody's a girl until Ryan tells him "he" is really a "she." Ryan and Zach try to tell him "it's no big deal," but Seth overreacts and insists on driving down there. "Listen, I know i’m supposed to be attracted," he tells the, "and I’m supposed to be turned on--i’ve read Maxim, i’ve read Stuff. But you know what, all it's making me feel like is Alex is even more outta my league."

He eventually finds Alex at The Bait Shop and confronts her:

ALEX: Okay, let's just get this over with, come on in (Seth walks in) and tell me everything that I’ve done to wrong you (shuts the door)
SETH: Okay, uh, for one you lied to me (raises his eyebrows)
ALEX: I did not lie to you, I told you that my ex was in town an you filled in the blanks
SETH: blanks that you left blank...you know, it's part of your move, it's kinda part of what you do (Alex looks away). You got your whole too-cool, Jem and the Holograms thing happening and I feel like you consistently blowing me off is part of your act.
ALEX: So now you think it’s an act (turns away).
SETH: I think it’s a crutch. (Alex glares at him) With the hair and the tattoos, and the whiskey, and cigarettes for breakfast, you know I’ve actually seen The Banger Sisters, part of it on cable, and I know how the story ends.
ALEX: (upset) Well, I'll make sure to Netflix that this weekend so that I can be up to speed on your little theory.
SETH: Great, you do that (Alex sits down). Point is, this was really fun for a while but...it's just not worth it so...I will see you (leaves)
ALEX: Soo what're you gonna do?
SETH: I don’t know, might go find a new girl to walk all over me, or...maybe even be cool to me.

Basically, he's hurt--but would he have been as upset if he had known that Alex's ex was another girl before he confronted her? We'll never know.

Meanwhile, while Seth is flipping out, Marissa's Cosmo-style coiffure has driven teetotaler Lindsay to drink some of Marissa's vodka (from a hipflask, no less), which causes Ryan to freak out, especially when he mistakenly thinks Lindsay has drowned. He lays into Marissa, blaming her for trying to drag Lindsay down with her, until finally Alex interjects on Marissa's behalf. Ryan and Seth leave Lindsay sleeping on the couch in Alex's office, while Marissa and Alex take care of her.

Later, Seth and Ryan go over to Alex's to apologize, it seems that both the relationships are open-ended--Ryan, although firmly with Lindsay, gets a heartfelt "you still mean something to me" from Marissa, while Seth gets a peck on the cheek from Alex. But then the guys leave, and when Alex declares she's "had enough with girls, and guys," Marissa invites her to watch a horror film with her on the sofa, and Alex agrees. A moment later, Alex asks Marissa if she's cold, and leans over her to pull a blanket over them; Marissa and Alex catch each other's eyes: Alex looking at Marissa's lips with a slight hunger, and Marissa looking at Alex with the bewilderment of revelation.

As they lean back onto the sofa, Marissa looks confused, sneaking glances at Alex, who seems to have a look of happy contemplation on her face as she watches television.

Next Week on The O.C.: Alex dumps the ex, drives to L.A. with Marissa, and gives her her heart.

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