Riassunti Episodi - Terza Stagione - [INGLESE]

[Principe Marco]

Episode 301 - “The Aftermath”
Aired: 09/08/05

A bloody Trey is rushed into the ER followed by Seth, Summer and a bruised and disoriented Ryan. Police attempt to interrogate Ryan but he isn’t responding. When they turn their attention to Marissa, Ryan yells at her to keep her mouth shut. Then he faints.

Then Ryan wakes from a terrible nightmare. Only it wasn’t a nightmare. The summer has passed with a dark cloud hanging over Newport. Trey is still in a coma, and Ryan is still reliving the night of the shooting. Deputy District Attorney Caldwell pays the Cohens a visit. The D.A.’s office is under a lot of pressure from the community to prosecute. Sandy reminds Caldwell that there’s nothing to prosecute since Marissa is protected under Defense of Others. And Caldwell reminds Sandy that Marissa isn’t the one they’re going after. Ryan’s the one with the history of violence and the D.A. isn’t buying his statement. Besides, nobody’s going to believe that Caleb Nichol’s daughter blew away an ex-con.

At the Suriak Rehab Center, Kirsten is praised in group therapy for her progress. She shares that she turned to alcohol because of her father. She was living his life, not her own. She did everything to please him, but it was never enough. Dr. Woodruff believes that Suriak’s work is done. It’s time for Kirsten to go home.

Back at home, Caldwell interrogates Ryan and Seth. Apparently the D.D.A. thinks they may remember things differently now but the guys are sticking to their original story. Ryan confronted Trey and he pulled a gun on him. Caldwell wants to know why Ryan’s fingerprints were on the gun. Because he put the safety on so it wouldn’t go off again. He wasn’t exactly thinking clearly. Then Caldwell goes for the jugular, “You went to Trey’s house that night to kill your brother, didn’t you, Mr. Atwood.” Ryan has no response.

Julie and Jimmy are on the veranda at the Nichol mansion preparing for the arrival of the prosecutor. Julie hopes Marissa takes her advice and doesn’t admit to shooting Trey. Jimmy reminds her that it’s a little late for that since Marissa’s already confessed. Julie maintains that she wasn’t in her right mind at the time. She was protecting her boyfriend. That’s what they’re going with anyway. And by that, Julie means they’re going to let Ryan take the fall. Jimmy attempts a protest but is no match for his ex-wife.

Ryan and Seth visit a comatose Trey in the ICU. As they’re walking out the door, one of Trey’s fingers twitches. Then his eyes open. But nobody’s there to see it. Later that day, Ryan and Seth are playing video games when they get the call from the hospital. Trey’s awake.

Back at the country club, uh, rehab center, one of the women from Kirsten’s group therapy introduces herself, empathizes with Kirsten’s “father issues” and invites her to have coffee. Sandy arrives and asks Kirsten when she’s planning on coming home. A wave of anxiety washes over Kirsten’s face and she tells Sandy she’ll have to talk to Dr. Woodruff first, see if she’s even eligible.

Julie is attempting to coerce Caleb’s estate attorney into revealing the contents of the will and exactly how many millions she should be expecting, when she receives the “Trey’s awake” call.

Meanwhile, in an attempt to redeem what’s left of summer, the gang heads out to sea in Jimmy’s sailboat. They frolic on a secluded beach then return to reality.

Julie shows up at the hospital looking for Trey when the ICU nurse explains that visiting hours are long over. Julie proceeds to introduce herself as Julie Cooper-Nichol, as in the Nichol wing of the hospital, which they happen to be standing in right now. Inside Trey’s room, Julie makes him an offer he can’t refuse. He tells the D.A.’s office that Ryan shot him, not Marissa, and in exchange he gets $20,000 and the opportunity not to be suffocated by the pillow Julie’s holding in her hand.

The next day Sandy interrupts Ryan and Seth’s TV bonding time with the news that Trey talked to the police and confirmed their suspicion that Ryan shot him. The D.A.’s office gave Sandy a heads up that they’ll be issuing a warrant for Ryan’s arrest in a few hours.

Seth, Summer and Marissa enter the pool house and discover Ryan packing his getaway ensemble – grey hoodie, wifebeater, canvas knapsack. No one’s going to believe him anyway. Marissa takes charge. If Ryan’s running away, so are they. Seth and Summer quickly jump on board.

Over coffee, Charlotte warns Kirsten of the perils of leaving rehab before she’s ready. Kirsten reminds her that Dr. Woodruff thinks she’s ready. Charlotte reminds Kirsten that Dr. Woodruff isn’t going to be in her kitchen at three A.M. when she’s rummaging through the spice rack for anything with alcohol and starts pounding the vanilla extract. Kirsten confirms that relapse is her worst fear. She doesn’t ever want to let down her husband and the boys again.

Sandy returns home to an empty house. The police come by for Ryan but Sandy informs them they’re too late.

Meanwhile, the gang has boarded Jimmy’s boat and is about to set sail to Mexico, via Catalina, when a half-dozen police cars come screeching into the parking lot. At the police station, Sandy compliments Ryan on doing a great job of looking innocent. The only person who runs is someone who has something to hide. Ryan reminds Sandy about his police record, his history and his family, but Sandy assures him it isn’t over yet.

Back at the hospital, Marissa and Summer walk down the corridor dressed in candy striper uniforms, while Seth pushes a cart of books. Marissa enters Trey’s room and he asks if she’s come to finish the job. Oh, so he does remember who shot him. Trey tells Marissa he’s trying to protect her. He apologizes for everything, telling her that he didn’t know how to make things right until her mom offered him a way out. Marissa tells Trey she has another way he can make things right.

Sandy meets up with Jimmy for drinks and tells him he’s been trying to figure out why Trey would try to frame Ryan. All he can figure is that somebody paid him off. But who would sink that low? Only one name comes to mind. Jimmy can’t look him in the eye. Sandy tells Jimmy he’s got to make it right but Jimmy wants Sandy to put himself in his shoes. Hmm, Sandy’s got a wife in rehab who doesn’t want to come home and a kid who’s locked up for something he didn’t do. Right now Jimmy’s shoes are looking pretty good.

Marissa returns home and presents Julie with a copy of Trey’s confession, stating that if Marissa hadn’t shot him, he would have killed Ryan. The police have a copy as well. Julie tells Marissa she’s just dug her own grave. It’s a small town and when there’s a scandal, no one cares about details like self-defense.

Sandy shows up at the police station and welcomes a free Ryan. What happened? Sandy explains that what happened is that Ryan has a hell of a girlfriend.

At Ryan’s request, Sandy drives Ryan to the hospital but Trey’s bed is empty. Then they head to the bus stop where Ryan catches Trey’s eye in the bus window. They exchange a look of, if not forgiveness, at least understanding, before the bus heads off for places unknown. Then Ryan buries his head in Sandy’s shoulder.

A weary Ryan tracks down Marissa at her favorite lifeguard station. She assures him that he’s not alone and they’ll get through this together. He hopes she’s right.

[Principe Marco]

Episode 302 - “The Shape of Things to Come”
Aired: 09/15/05

The Cohen residence is looking a lot like a bachelor pad… after a late night pizza binge. Sandy offers up stale cereal and sour milk for breakfast. Ok, how ‘bout a little humus and sesame beef?

Julie rings the doorbell and Sandy can’t believe she’d show her face after what she tried to do to Ryan. Julie claims she was just trying to keep her family afloat. Yeah, by using Ryan as a raft. She tells Sandy that he can lecture her later but right now they’ve got bigger problems. The parents at Harbor School are protesting. They’ve circulated a petition and filed a motion to have Marissa and Ryan expelled. The gang meets for breakfast at the diner before registering for Senior Year at Harbor! With Summer cheerleading, they declare this year to be the “best year ever!”

Sandy and Julie meet with Dr. Kim, the principle of Harbor School. Dr. Kim tells them that as much as she’d like to see Ryan and Marissa graduate from Harbor, the decision is out of her hands. The board has decided to bring in an expert – Jack Hess, “Dean of Discipline.” Jack enters and Sandy and Julie tell him they’re anxious to talk about the kids… but apparently that won’t be necessary. Jack’s read their files and talked to the arresting officers. He’s got a Masters in Education, taught six years in east coast boarding schools, and he’d like to think he knows what he’s doing. So would Sandy because these kids want to go to college. Jack makes it clear that he’s not there to make everybody happy. He’ll give them his decision by the end of the day.

Jimmy meets a business partner for drinks. Apparently Jimmy tried to sell the guy a boat but blew his deposit on some crazy stock venture. And now the guy wants his money back. Jimmy tries to convince him that Caleb’s will is going to be read any day now and he’ll get his money.

At school, Summer escorts Marissa to her carnival planning committee and they come face-to-face with Taylor Townsend, the perky blonde who’s trying to takeover Marissa’s Social Chair position.

Back at the bachelor pad, Seth and Ryan clean out the many mysterious take-out cartons in the fridge. Meaning Ryan does the work and Seth does the talking. Seth asks Ryan if he’s talked with Marissa about the night of the shooting. No, they’re just putting it behind them and moving on. Seth’s skeptical. He warns Ryan that if they don’t deal with it, it’ll eventually come between them.

At the rehab center, Kirsten’s packing her bags when her new friend Charlotte stops by and warns her about the perils of going home too soon. She speaks from experience and this time she’s making a pit-stop at a cabin in Lake Arrowhead. She invites Kirsten to come along.

Sandy gets a call from the dean. Good news for Ryan, not so good for Marissa. Ryan gets to stay but Marissa’s getting kicked out.

Sandy visits Kirsten and is excited when he sees her bags are packed. Not so excited when he learns that she’s going to Arrowhead with Charlotte instead of coming home. Kirsten tells him she doesn’t know exactly when she’ll be home; she only knows that when she does come home, she wants it to be for good.

Jimmy’s looking for alternative schools for Marissa on line but Julie’s got another plan. Not surprisingly involving somebody else’s money. She wants to make a fat donation to the Harbor School… something along the lines of a hundred grand. And since Caleb’s money is still tied up, she’s going to need Jimmy to write a check. Um, how’s he going to come up with that kind of cash when he can barely come up with enough for the drink he’s probably wishing he had right now.

Back at school, Taylor Townsend feigns sympathy for Marissa’s predicament, then quickly proclaims herself the new Social Chair. Not so fast… Summer arrives and throws her own name in the hat. Taylor is quick to point out that Summer has no experience with this or any extracurricular activities for that matter, except maybe shopping.

Kirsten and Charlotte arrive at her charming cabin in Arrowhead but Kirsten can’t help but feel like she’s disappointed Sandy yet again. Charlotte suggests that she invite him up for dinner.

Ryan pays Dr. Kim a visit and begs for a chance to explain what really happened. But Dr. Kim explains that the board had an exhaustive debate and came to what she thinks is a fair decision. It’s out of her hands. His only shot is to discuss the matter with the new dean.

Jimmy shows up for another meeting with the businessman. No, he doesn’t have the money, and, by the way, he needs to borrow a hundred grand. You’re kidding, right? Uh, no.

Ryan and Marissa meet with the new dean and attempt to tell their side of the story. But Dean Hess doesn’t see how this concerns Ryan. Despite his best efforts, Ryan’s still a student at Harbor. Hess turns his attention to Marissa and asks her to tell him why he’s wrong about her. He may be new to Newport but he’s already discovered how much people like to talk, especially about her. Shoplifting, alcohol abuse, an overdose in Tijuana. Marissa tries to convince him that the shooting was different, but he assures her it’s never different. A troubled kid gets a hold of a gun and it always ends badly. She shot a kid and he doesn’t hear a hint of remorse. That’s because she doesn’t have any. She’s proud of what she did and she’d do it again. The dean hopes she gets a good look at Harbor on her way out, because she’s never setting foot in this school again.


Jimmy hands Julie a check for a hundred grand but it doesn’t look like they’re going to need it after all. Marissa had a talk with the dean and dug a hole no amount of money could dig her out of. Jimmy goes to take the check back but Julie has other plans for it – apparently she’s behind on her payments to the gardener, the pool man, the landscaper, etc.

Seth accompanies Summer to the carnival planning meeting and they quickly usurp Taylor’s power by winning over the committee with their fabulous party ideas -- a chocolate fountain, mini burgers, and a hybrid giveaway rather than the gas-guzzling SUV from Taylor’s father’s dealership.

Sandy arrives at the cabin and is greeted by Charlotte. Kirsten’s in the kitchen preparing dinner. What? Unsupervised? Charlotte explains it’s part of her therapy. Sandy makes it clear that he thinks the best therapy for Kirsten would be to be home with her family.

Ryan stops by Marissa’s and tries to convince her to go to the carnival. And about school, that’s not over either. If they can submit the evidence that proves her innocence, the board’s going to have to admit she shouldn’t be punished. But Marissa doesn’t want to fight it anymore. And she doesn’t need him to help her or protect her. Not now and not then. Oh, so this whole thing is my fault? And then the elephant in the room finally gets its due.

At dinner, over a bottle or two of Dom Perignon, Jimmy presents Julie with her old engagement ring and proposes for the second time. She accepts for the second time.

Ryan finds Marissa at her special lifeguard station and apologizes. He’d always worried that he was going to screw things up for the Cohen’s but it turns out he’s screwed things up for her instead. Marissa assures Ryan that she’s not going to let getting kicked out of Harbor ruin her life.

Meanwhile, at the cabin, Kirsten finds a tearful Charlotte down by the lake with a bottle of whiskey. She hasn’t opened it yet, but she might. She doesn’t know what she’s going to do without Kirsten. She can see how much Kirsten misses Sandy and knows she’ll be leaving soon. Kirsten promises she’s not going anywhere until Charlotte tells her she’s ready. Kirsten heads back up to the cabin with the unopened bottle and Charlotte pulls a flask out of her bathrobe pocket and takes a long swig.

Marissa and Ryan show up at the carnival and are taking a sentimental ride on the Ferris wheel when Dean Hess shows up, a smug Taylor Townsend beside him. He abruptly stops the ride and demands that Marissa leave immediately. Ryan is quick to point out that they’re not on school property but the dean isn’t listening. He grabs Marissa by the arm and begins to drag her out. Ryan yells at him to take his hands off her but when he doesn’t, Ryan hauls off and punches him in the face. The dean gets up off the ground with a bloody nose and a grin. Apparently he thought he was going to have to work much harder to get Ryan expelled but Ryan did it all on his own. If either of them ever step foot on school property again, he’ll call the police.

[Principe Marco]

Episode 303 - “The End of Innocence”
Aired: 09/22/05

At the diner, the gang mourns what was supposed to be the “best year ever!” Seth, more specifically, mourns the fact that without Ryan at Harbor, he’s going to go back to being an object of ridicule.

Sandy’s home dealing with some kind of construction emergency for the Newport Group, which he’s taken over in Kirsten’s absence; but keeping the Newport Group afloat is not his only worry. He’s also worried about Ryan, who’s now home trying to figure out what he’s going to do with his life. Sandy thinks Ryan needs to take some time off from Marissa while he gets out of the hole he’s dug for himself. Ryan thinks Sandy’s over-reacting. Julie has great news for Marissa. She’s been on the phone with Kaitlin’s boarding school and they’ve agreed to take her. Apparently the more elite the school, the more accepting they are of criminals. But Marissa wants to stay in Newport and help rebuild their family. Touched by the sentiment, Julie agrees to let Marissa stay if she agrees to stop seeing Ryan.

Jimmy stops by the Cohen house to apologize to Sandy for, well, everything. But it turns out that’s not the only reason he came over. He and Julie have been living in limbo waiting for the will to be read, and… this is a little awkward… but is there any way Sandy could make a call to find out when it’s going to happen? Sandy agrees to do what he can. Anything for the soon to be Julie Cooper-Nichol-Cooper.

Dean Hess tracks down Seth and Summer in the student lounge and coerces them into “volunteering” to be stage hands for the drama club… which means for Taylor Townsend. They’re free to say no, but unless they want to join Ryan and Marissa in the streets, they better start showing a little school spirit.

A jubilant Jimmy meets Julie for dinner and convinces her to move up the wedding to… this Saturday. Julie goes for the idea -- an understated brunch with close friends and family instead of a big fancy event with strangers. Then a honeymoon in Hawaii. Then back to reality. Speaking of reality… Julie’s called every school in the surrounding area and none will take Marissa. Jimmy tries to convince her that it won’t seem so bad when she’s hanging out in Hanalei bay. Speaking of… Julie asks Jimmy what he thinks of the educational system in Kauai.

Meanwhile at the cabin, Sandy stops by with some news. They’re reading Caleb’s will on Friday. Kirsten’s going to need a little time to decide if she can make it. She’s worked so hard to put her dad behind her and now she’s seen Charlotte on the verge of relapse. She doesn’t want to push herself before she’s ready.

Ryan and Marissa are not exactly taking time apart. They’re in Marissa’s room, on her bed, when Julie tries barging in. Ryan quickly hides on the balcony and a somewhat disheveled Marissa opens the locked door. Julie announces that the wedding’s been moved up to Saturday. Great! Then they’re taking their honeymoon in Hawaii. Not particularly original, but okay. And the whole family’s going. Ok, Marissa’s happy to work on her tan. And then the whole family’s staying… as in moving to Kauai for good. Ok, not great.

Ryan’s whipping up an omelet while Seth feeds him helpful suggestions like, Ryan could move to Hawaii and become a scuba instructor, or work in a macadamia nut plant. Ryan has a better idea. How ‘bout Marissa moves in with us? Seth thinks that plan might conflict with Sandy’s plan for Ryan and Marissa to take a time out.

Marissa breaks the news to Summer, who has no intention of letting Marissa leave… until she learns that Marissa actually wants to go if it means giving her family a chance for a new beginning.

On the boat, Jimmy receives a visit from his business friend Don. A confident Jimmy assures Don that he’ll have his money tomorrow night. Don tells Jimmy he’s rooting for him, but warns that this is it. No more chances.

Ryan visits Sandy at The Newport Group and asks if Marissa can move in with them. Sandy can’t believe he’s even asking… but Ryan reminds him that they’re both here because somebody gave them a break. Now Marissa needs one. Oh okay, he’ll see what he can do.

Seth and Summer are on a tropical island set, attempting to raise a straw roof onto a tiki hut as Taylor Townsend barks orders at them. Then Taylor proceeds to insult both of them. When Summer strikes back, Dean Hess swoops in to rescue Taylor. One more incident and there will be consequences.

Marissa stops by the pool house and Ryan surprises her with the good news that Sandy’s agreed to let her stay with them. Marissa’s touched by the gesture but her parents are back together and they finally have a chance to be a real family.

Before Kirsten heads out for the reading of the will, Charlotte warns her that her dad probably has a surprise waiting for her. Hopefully it’ll be a good one.

Sandy, Kirsten, Julie and Jimmy assemble for the reading of the will. Caleb’s lawyer explains that Caleb’s wish was to split his fortune equally between his daughters and his wife. Unfortunately, after careful scrutiny of his account, it appears that Caleb Nichol was broke. The only thing he left was a personal letter to Kirsten, written the day he died. Kirsten takes the letter and runs out of the office, sure that it was written after she accused her dad of being the cause of all her problems. She should’ve listened to Charlotte.

Ryan takes Marissa down to the beach and surprises her with the romantic tiki hut that Seth and Summer “borrowed” from the drama club.

Meanwhile, after telling Julie it’s bad luck to see the bride before the wedding, Jimmy takes off for his boat… suitcase in tow. Don’s already there waiting for him. Jimmy attempts to explain that he ran into some unexpected complications when two thugs escort him into a black SUV.

Back at the tiki hut, Ryan asks Marissa if she’s ready to do this. They’ve done a lot, but not this. Apparently unbuttoning his pants means she’s ready.

Sandy tries to track down Kirsten but she’s busy buying a bottle of vodka and checking into a sleazy motel.

Don’s thugs have escorted Jimmy down to the pier and are holding his head under water as he thrashes helplessly about.

In the morning, Ryan and Marissa are awakened by Marissa’s cell phone. They run down to Jimmy’s boat and see that he’s been badly beaten. He explains that he’s in a lot of trouble and needs to go. Marissa tells him that if he needs to go, he should go, but she doesn’t want him coming back. The goodbyes are too hard. Jimmy hands Marissa a ring and asks her to give it to Julie. He knows it makes no difference now, but he really does love her mother.

The property manager of the cabin, supposedly owned by Charlotte’s dad, stops by to let Charlotte know the family who actually owns it is returning sooner than they thought. Charlotte claims the place is hers for two weeks, and apparently that would be true if her check had cleared. While the manager waits at the door, Charlotte grabs her things and escapes out the back window.

Kirsten returns home and apologizes to Sandy for giving him a scare. She’s sick of hiding from her life, and wants to start living it again. They open Caleb’s letter together and Kirsten quickly realizes it’s an apology.

Marissa shows up at the restaurant where the wedding’s supposed to take place momentarily and hands her mother the ring. Julie takes one look at Marissa’s face and seems to know what’s happened.

Seth and Summer return the tiki hut to the drama club and while Summer’s out getting the torches, Dean Hess shows up and gives Seth a month detention for stealing school property. He could, however, be persuading to reduce the sentence if Seth gives up his partner in crime. Seth claims to have acted alone. Okay, then let’s make it two months detention. Seth’s proud of himself for not selling Summer out. It may be the first brave thing he’s done in his life.

Sandy and Kirsten return home with Chinese take-out and Seth asks if she’s really home for good. Yep, and she’s never leaving again. Then they proceed to break down the past few weeks… Caleb’s broke, Ryan and Marissa have been kicked out of school, Jimmy Cooper just sailed out of town again, and Seth got two months of detention. That’s the great thing about Newport, nothing ever happens.

[Principe Marco]

Episode 304 - “The Last Waltz”
Aired: 09/29/05

Marissa’s first day at Newport Union – Orange County’s answer to public education. The gang tries to comfort Marissa, but they’re the ones who need comforting. She’s actually looking forward to a school where not everybody knows everything about her life… and you don’t have to be stared at all the time. So why is everybody staring?

Dean Hess tracks down Seth and Summer in the student lounge and tells Seth he’ll see him at 3 in the men’s locker room… for some much needed toilet scrubbing. Seth asks the Dean if he’s sure this is detention, because it’s feeling more like a work release program.

Back at the Cohen residence, Sandy’s excited about Ryan’s new tutor for his home-schooling program. She tutored Stallone’s kids. Hmm, awkward timing but Ryan’s actually been thinking about going to Newport Union… so he can look after Marissa. Sandy tells him he needs to start thinking about Ryan and college and SATs, not Marissa.

Meanwhile, Julie gets a visit from the foreclosure agent, who informs her that she’s hereby notified that her house and its contents are being seized for repayment of debt. She has 48 hours to vacate the property.

Marissa runs… literally… into tough girl Heather in the halls of Newport Union. Heather tells Marissa that she’ll be happy to let her pass once she admits that she thinks she’s better than her. But Marissa doesn’t think that. Oh, so now Marissa thinks she’s stupid. Just in the knick of time another student, Casey, steps in and Heather takes off. Marissa thanks Casey and tells her she doesn’t know why Heather’s got it in for her. Um, Casey’s guessing it’s the bag and the shoes, oh and the Channel necklace probably doesn’t help. Right.

Summer’s supervising preparations for the upcoming school dance when Taylor Townsend comes in asking if Summer needs any help. Not from her, thanks. Taylor admits she can sometimes be a pain. A pain? That’s one way to put it. She tattled on Marissa and got Ryan kicked out of school. Taylor tells Summer that she has no friends. Big surprise. She just doesn’t trust people so she tries to control them, which drives them further away. She’s working through it with her therapist. Great, don’t stop now. Taylor continues to try to appeal to Summer’s soft side and finally wins her over with a little anecdote about how nobody ever writes anything nice in her yearbook. And it’s her senior year.

Marissa meets Johnny while trying to open the wrong locker… his. He introduces himself and offers to let her store her books in his locker until she finds her own. Then he introduces her to Casey, his girlfriend, who she’s already met. And a goofy “Seth-like” kid named Dennis… who wants to be called “Chili.” They ask Marissa if she’d like to grab some food with them. Unfortunately she can’t. Her boyfriend’s giving her a ride home. They offer to give her a ride home instead. Marissa calls Ryan, who doesn’t mention that he’s actually already waiting for her out in the school parking lot, and asks if he’d mind if she got some food and a ride home with some new friends. Ryan, being the selfless guy he is, tells her to go out and have fun. And then he watches her do just that.

The next morning, Julie stops by Marissa’s room and asks if she’d like to spend a few nights at Summer’s house. Then she proceeds to make up an elaborate story about how there was some mix-up and the house accidentally got put up on the market. But Marissa cuts right through the crap -- Caleb was broke. We’re getting kicked out. Julie promises her that they’ll be back on their feet soon… and wearing expensive shoes when they do. Marissa tells her mom that she trusts her.

Marissa is in the process of moving into Summer’s house when she remembers she was supposed to meet Ryan for breakfast at the diner. No problem, he’ll eat alone.

Back at the Cohen residence, Kirsten receives an impressive bouquet of flowers from Charlotte. Then a follow-up call in which Charlotte pretends she’s still at the lake… thinking of her good friend Kirsten, when in fact she’s at a sleazy motel in Newport with her boyfriend hatching a plan to swindle Kirsten out of the millions they assume she recently inherited from her dad. Coincidentally, she’s going to be in Newport and would love to have lunch.
At school, Taylor pulls Summer aside and confides that she overheard Dean Hess telling Dr. Kim that he knows Seth didn’t steal the tiki hut alone. And that if Seth doesn’t tell him who his partner-in-crime is by the end of the day, he’ll be suspended.

Kirsten surprises Sandy with a quiche for lunch and Sandy surprises her with the news that the Newport Group is on the verge of collapse. It can still be salvaged if she wants to sell off some assets and restructure the debt. It’s up to her. Kirsten says it’s time to let it go.

Summer visits Dean Hess and confesses that she was Seth’s partner-in-crime. The dean expected as much and tells Summer that with this on her record, he really can’t allow her to remain as Social Chair. Who would replace her? Taylor Townsend? Good suggestion. The Dean will let Taylor know Summer recommended her. Suddenly Summer realizes she’s been played… again.

Julie stops by the Newport Group and asks Sandy about getting a loan… but apparently you can’t take personal loans from a company. People go to jail for that… but if she needs a loan, he and Kirsten can help her out. Julie declines, claiming she’ll just sell off a few of her many stocks.

Summer confronts Taylor in the corridor, letting her know that she may have won this round, but the war is not over. Taylor scoffs at Summer’s threat and walks off.

Marissa is reading a poster for a school dance when Johnny stops by and asks if she’s going. Well, does it have a theme, you know like Winter Wonderland or Under the Sea? Yeah, the theme is school gym, bag of pretzels, and Chili spikes the punch. Tough girl Heather shows up and apologizes to Marissa for being such a jerk. Marissa accepts her apology and Heather asks if that means she’s not going to shoot her now. That is the reason she got kicked out of the private school, isn’t it? Marissa runs off and Johnny follows her. Marissa confides that it’s true, that is why she got kicked out and now everyone’s going to know. Johnny confides that everyone pretty much knew already. He saw the story on the news. She did what she had to do. Ryan sees Marissa in tears and misjudges the situation. He hops out of his car and runs into the school to rescue her from Johnny, clearly embarrassing Marissa in the process.

The next day, Ryan calls Marissa to apologize and ask her out to the movies. Sounds fun but she’s planning on staying home and catching up on her homework. But she’ll probably need a break, so they’ll talk later.

Kirsten and Charlotte meet at the Harbor Bay Club for lunch. They spend a few minutes reminiscing about their peaceful retreat in Lake Arrowhead… and then Charlotte tells Kirsten that she’s actually pitched the idea of a place where women could go between rehab and home to some investor friends of hers. She started looking at some property in Sedona and then she realized that Kirsten just has to be a part of this… as in Kirsten’s money just has to be a part of this. Just a couple million to start. Kirsten’s flattered but she just doesn’t have that kind of money. When her father died, he left nothing. Hmm… well, what about the Newport Group as a silent partner? Nope, she’s closing up shop. Charlotte warns Kirsten that the issues with her dad aren’t going to disappear just because her dad’s company has been dissolved.

Julie gets another visit from the foreclosure agent, but this time he’s brought movers and a deputy to make sure she doesn’t get in their way.
Johnny, Casey, and Chili show up at Summer’s door unannounced and tell Marissa they’re taking her to the school dance. It’s non-negotiable because if she doesn’t go, they’re not going, and she’d be ruining their night too.

Ryan and Seth arrive at Summer’s just as Marissa is about to get in the car with her new friends. Um… I thought you were studying? She was, but there’s this dance, and, well, she really needs these friends right now. Ryan tells her she should go. Marissa heads off to the Newport Union dance with her new friends, Seth and Summer head off to the Harbor School dance and Ryan is left alone in the driveway.
At the dance, Marissa sees Heather and her posse staring at her and pointing make-believe guns. Johnny tells her that public school kids, all kids really, smell fear. She just has to go in there and act like they’re not looking at her.

At the Harbor School dance, Taylor takes the stage and takes credit for Summer’s beach theme creation. Oh, but there is one other person without whom none of this would be possible… come on down… Dean Hess!

Ryan’s sitting alone at the diner when he gets a call from Seth… worried that Ryan’s going to look back on tonight and say, “That’s when I started losing her. Man, I should’ve done something.” Ryan says he’s got to go.

Ryan speeds to the Newport Union dance. Runs to the door, sees Marissa laughing with her new friends. Suddenly the fight drains out of him. Seth shows up to stop him from doing whatever he was going to do... but no longer is. They head back out, but not before Marissa catches a glimpse of them leaving.
Meanwhile, Summer’s wandering the halls looking for Seth when she sees Taylor in a making out with someone. Not just someone. Dean Hess.

Ryan returns home to the Pool House to find Marissa waiting for him. They dance under the stars to their new song.

[Principe Marco]

Episode 305 - “ The Perfect Storm ”
Aired: 11/3/05

In her new role as domestic goddess, Kirsten has painstakingly prepared a gourmet breakfast feast that goes utterly unappreciated. Before running out the door, Sandy receives a call from Dr. Kim regarding the college fair that the Harbor School is hosting that night. After the boys take off, Sandy informs Kirsten that Dean Hess has made it his personal crusade to ruin Ryan’s future. He’s attached a letter to Ryan’s transcript documenting his pathologically violent behavior. Unless a letter like that is rescinded, no reputable school is going to touch him.

Marissa’s worried about overstaying her welcome with Summer, when Julie calls from a dive motel and asks her to hang on just a little longer.
In the student lounge, Summer watches Taylor Townsend carrying on an overtly flirtatious text messaging session on her Sidekick. Summer’s convinced Dean Hess is on the receiving end but Seth isn’t yet on board with her tabloid theory.

Summer follows Taylor on a recon mission but Taylor turns the tables and accuses Summer of being obsessed with her. Summer proceeds to tell Taylor about a Dean Hess siting that has left an indelible imprint on her mind. Earlier in the day she witnessed Dean Hess kissing Ms. Applebaum, the volleyball coach – you know the one with the toned arms and legs for days. Taylor’s suddenly paying attention.
Kirsten is showing Julie a brochure for some luxury condominiums when Charlotte drops by. Julie takes off, but not before Charlotte has a chance to notice the giant rock on her finger. Charlotte casually picks up the brochure.

Summer tries to convince Marissa to join them at the college fair, but Marissa’s more concerned with her immediate future… as in getting her homework done. Tomorrow’s trig exam is as far into the future as she wants to look right now.
Ryan is feeling out of place at the college fair but Sandy convinces him he has as much right to be there as anyone. Sandy ushers Ryan over to the UC Berkeley booth. Meanwhile, Summer spots Taylor and Dean Hess outside in the midst of what appears to be a lover’s quarrel. But Seth doesn’t think a heated argument is proof of an affair. So Summer heads off to get Seth his proof.

Ryan is perusing the Berkeley booth when Dean Hess approaches Sandy and lets him know that no school is going to admit him. Sandy tells the dean that he’s killing Ryan’s one shot at a future, but Dean Hess isn’t taking the blame. He claims Ryan accomplished that all on his own. Ryan takes off.

The next morning, Seth wanders into the pool house and discovers that Ryan is making new plans for his future. He’s fired his tutor and dropped out of school. He’s done.
Julie is checking out the ocean front view from the condo for sale but it appears there’s been a slight misunderstanding. The agent was under the impression Julie was interested in a more… modest unit. And it turns out there’s another perspective buyer for this one… and it’s none other than Charlotte. What a surprise!

Seth is worried about Ryan dropping out of school, but Summer has a plan. She’s going to write an apology letter from Dean Hess to Taylor. Then, when they get back together, she’s going to expose them and use it as leverage to get Ryan back into school.
Back at the Cohen’s, Kirsten has just received a call from Ryan’s tutor requesting her final paycheck since he apparently will no longer be in need of her services. Um… what?
Johnny accidentally on purpose runs into Ryan at the diner, and Ryan assumes he’s there to do Marissa’s bidding. Johnny claims he’s not there to talk Ryan into anything, just to talk. Hell, he’s not going to college either. Johnny mentions that his uncle runs a commercial fishing operation and he’s always looking for new guys. It’s brutal work but you can’t beat the pay. Johnny agrees to take Ryan down to meet him.

The Cohens sit around the dinner table while Seth comes up with worse-case scenarios of what could have happened to Ryan. Finally, Ryan arrives and all breathe a sigh of relief… until he hands Sandy a guardian release form for his job on the commercial fishing boat. Ryan could be gone up to six weeks at a time and needs a guardian’s signature. Sandy doesn’t understand why Ryan would throw away his future on a fishing boat, but Ryan believes his future’s already been trashed. He tried it Sandy’s way, it didn’t work. Sandy tells Ryan he needs to keep trying but Ryan doesn’t think so. It’s time he made his own decisions. To Seth and Kirsten’s dismay, Sandy signs the release.
The next day, Kirsten tries to convince Sandy to change his mind, but Sandy believes his plan will ultimately pay off. Ryan’s got to come to the conclusion that he’s better off in school than out at sea on his own. Marissa drops by looking for Ryan, and Kirsten and Sandy quickly realize that she has no idea Ryan is shipping off at sunset.

Meanwhile, Summer is composing (or rather plagiarizing) a very flowery apology letter from Dean Hess to Taylor. Seth, who’s clearly on board now, has an even better plan. He bought a Sidekick and booked a room at the Mermaid Hotel. Now all they have to do is text Taylor an invitation she can’t refuse.
Charlotte stops by Julie’s seedy motel and tells her she got the condo. Congrats. Oh, and she put it in Julie’s name. Come again? Charlotte explains that Kirsten filled her in on Julie’s situation and since she knows what it’s like to fall on hard times herself, it moved her, so… So, you’re serious? Apparently she is.
An awkward silence hangs over Ryan’s “going away” dinner… then evolves into equally awkward conversation. Marissa takes off after discovering that Johnny hooked Ryan up with the job. Summer’s Sidekick buzzes. Looks like Taylor took the bait.

Marissa tracks down Johnny at the beach. Johnny’s confused. He thought he was helping Ryan out. Marissa tells him she and Ryan got into a fight and now she doesn’t know where he is. Ah, but Johnny does.
Ryan’s boarding the boat when Marissa shows up. She couldn’t let him leave without telling him how she really feels. So here it is. He’s doing what her dad did. Running away. So that makes him just as much of a coward as he was.
Seth and Summer are holed up inside a motel room at The Mermaid, awaiting Taylor’s arrival. And here she is now. They greet her at the door. You were expecting someone taller, blonder, with a pageboy haircut perhaps? Unless she wants this little indiscretion to get out, she’s got some demands to meet… starting with getting Ryan re-admitted to Harbor. Taylor plays a little hardball but soon realizes that she’s been had by modern technology.

Sandy pays Dean Hess a little visit. The dean asks Sandy what he wants to talk about. Why talk when a picture is worth a thousand words? Sandy pulls out Summer’s Sidekick and highlights a few of its features. It’s a phone, it surfs the web, and unfortunately for Dean Hess, it transmits photos. And fortunately for Sandy, Dean Hess never asks to see the non-existent photos. The dean claims that Taylor is an aggressive girl and forced herself on him at the dance. Sandy says he talked to Taylor and that’s not the story she’s telling. What does Sandy want? He wants Ryan re-admitted to Harbor with a clean slate and then he wants Dean Hess to get himself a Sidekick, get on Craig’s List and find himself another job on the east coast.

Seth and Summer find Marissa sitting alone at the diner. They can’t wait to tell her about the all-time scam they just pulled off… when she informs them that Ryan’s already shipped out. The wind is suddenly knocked out of their sails… except, wait, yep, it’s the return of the not-so-ancient mariner. Ryan walks right up to Marissa and tells her that, while he may not know what his future is, he knows where it is. Here. With Marissa. Not out on some boat in the middle of the ocean. Then Seth gives Ryan the good news – he’s back at Harbor. And the bad news -- he’s back at Harbor.

[Principe Marco]

Episode 306 -“The Swells”
Aired: 11/10/05

Marissa awakes in a pool of sweat and calls Ryan. She’s having nightmares about Trey and the shooting and she’s scared. Ryan tells her that Trey’s gone, everything’s fine and she should just to go back to bed. Summer finds Marissa sitting alone on the steps, and tells her she’s there for her. If only Ryan knew that’s all he needed to say.
Sandy thinks he’s found a buyer for the Newport Group but checks with Kirsten one last time to see if she’s really ready to say goodbye to the company she worked at for 15 years. Yes, and it only took her 15 years to discover how much she hated it.

It’s Ryan’s first day back at Harbor and he, Seth and Marissa are getting coffee when Taylor Townsend shows up with exciting news that she’s organized a Lock-In. The entire senior class is going to spend the night in the gym. Oh, too bad, Seth has to saw off his arm that night. Oh, too bad, the Lock-In is mandatory. Counts as a class. See you there.
At Newport Union, Marissa’s approached by her new gang, who are all excited about the weekend swells coming in from Antarctica. Marissa has no idea what that means. It means, that after the flattest season ever, they’re finally going to get some decent waves. And they’re going to welcome in the southern swells with an ancient ritual known as Dawn Patrol. Or, staying up all night partying before surfing.

Julie meets her new housemate, Charlotte, for lunch. Julie complains about being snubbed by the women in her Cardio Barre class after she lost all her money. Charlotte knows exactly how she feels. The same thing happened to her when she got out of rehab. What did she do? She threw a party, of course. A black tie benefit. And that’s exactly what Julie should do. Raise money for a good cause and get her life back. Think about it. Of course we’ll need Kirsten’s help.
Marissa meets her new gang at the beach. It’s such a beautiful day, she almost wishes she knew how to surf. Johnny tells her it really helped him… to get through the nightmares and all. Marissa suddenly realizes she and Johnny have a lot to talk about. She calls Summer and cancels on dinner with the Cohens. Ryan’s clearly disappointed when he hears the news.
Johnny and Marissa take a walk and he confides that he and his dad got into a huge fight and he hasn’t seen him since. That was about three or four years ago. His dad was a drunk and he used to beat up his mother. One night Johnny came home and his father had his mother pinned against the wall with his hands around her neck. Johnny just lost it.

He took a baseball bat and he must’ve started beating him. But he doesn’t remember a thing. He passed out. When he came to, his Dad was unconscious and he was covered in his blood. Today Johnny has no idea how he could have done that. Marissa knows exactly what he means. Then Johnny confesses that she’s the only person he’s ever told. Marissa puts her arm around him… just as Casey pulls into the parking lot and sees them.
The next morning, Summer wakes up an exhausted Marissa and demands to know where she was. Marissa assures Summer that she would never cheat on Ryan. Besides, Johnny doesn’t like her like that. He has a girlfriend. And if Summer doesn’t believe her, she can come to the beach with them tonight and see for herself. Okay, she will.
Sandy meets with the prospective buyers of the Newport Group – Kurt Williams and the young rising star of the company, Matt Ramsey. Sandy has one stipulation before he’s willing to sell... but before he can say what it is, young Matt demonstrates that he’s done his homework by siting The Martinson Complex -- a low income housing project that Sandy fought his father-in-law tooth and nail to get up. Sandy needs their word that it won’t be destroyed, even if it doesn’t bring in much revenue. The senior partner gives his word.

Back at the Harbor School Lock-In, Seth overhears a conversation between Taylor and her mother, who apparently has nothing nice to say about her daughter. Seth appears to have a moment of sympathy for the girl that’s forcing him to spend his weekend in the gym.
Meanwhile, at the beach, Marissa introduces Summer to Johnny, Chili and Casey. Chili is, of course, instantly in love. Suddenly, two tough, buff surfers show up and Johnny reluctantly introduces them. One of them, Volchok, is apparently Johnny’s top rival for sponsorship on the tour.
At the Cohen’s, Julie and Charlotte pitch their party idea to Kirsten – a black tie event to benefit under-privileged women so they can have the same opportunity they had to go to rehab and recover. Kirsten thinks it’s a great cause. Great, so you’ll help us throw it? Uh… no. Kirsten’s not ready to get back into the party scene. Awkward moment, then Kirsten excuses herself to make coffee. Charlotte follows Kirsten inside and guilts her into doing it to help Julie get back on her feet.

The Dawn Patrol party continues at Chili’s house where a pained Summer witnesses what appears to be a romantic connection between Marissa and Johnny.
Seth gets a panicked call from Summer, telling him Ryan needs to get down to Chili’s house ASAP! But before she can explain why, Taylor confiscates Seth’s cell phone. Ryan takes off for Chili’s.
Casey, who’s clearly been taking note of the connection between her boyfriend and Marissa, finally shows up at the party. She plays it cold with Johnny at first, but gives in to his affection. Summer calls Seth to abort the mission, but it’s too late. Ryan’s already here. He has no idea why he’s here, but he’s here. Summer confesses that she was worried about Marissa and Johnny. Ryan looks up and sees Johnny with his arms around Casey. Summer admits to having a bit of a hair-trigger.

Sandy’s been having some reservations about the sale of the Newport Group and has scheduled a private meeting with Matt. Matt admits to Sandy that his boss will tear down anything that’s not making him a mint. Sandy thanks him for his honesty. Matt advises Sandy not to sell the Newport Group. Why not hang onto it and make it work… with him. Matt reels off his impressive resume, which includes having graduated Magna Cum Laude from Berkeley. Sandy’s suddenly paying attention but still thinks there’s no substitute for life experience. Matt tells Sandy that’s where he comes in. And just think what a difference Sandy could make in this community if he had control over a multi-million dollar company. Sandy says he’ll think about it. And by that he means… he’ll ask his wife.

Julie and Charlotte are at dinner and Charlotte steps off to take a call just as a rather pushy waiter arrives with the bill. Julie reaches into Charlotte’s wallet and discovers a virtual smorgasbord of credit cards and drivers licenses. Same face. Different identity. Julie quickly shoves the wallet back into the purse and pays cash.
Since Ryan’s at the party anyway, he might as well ask Marissa what the deal is between her and Johnny. Marissa explains that she can talk to him. About what? About Trey. Ryan doesn’t understand why she doesn’t just talk to him about it. She says she tried but Ryan just wants to pretend it didn’t happen. Ryan doesn’t know what to do. He can’t fix what happened. Summer catches Ryan on his way out, and begs him to make up with Marissa before he takes off.

Inside, Johnny advises Marissa to call Ryan and make up. He shows her to Chili’s bedroom so she can make the call in private, but when he opens the door he finds Volchok making out with Casey. Casey takes off. The way Volchok sees it, Johnny got his sponsorship, and he got Johnny’s girl. Fair’s fair. Johnny tells the gang he just wants to be alone. Casey returns and tells Marissa that she might not know it yet, but Johnny’s falling in love with her. And Casey’s not going to stick around and watch that happen. Then they discover Johnny went after Volchok.

Outside the restaurant, Julie has one little question for Charlotte. Who the hell are you? After describing the contents of Charlotte’s purse, Julie asks for Charlotte to give it to her straight. Charlotte claims she was never going to hurt her. Right, she was just going to throw a faux charity, take the money and skip town. Charlotte suggests that Julie help her do just that. They’ll split the money, Charlotte will take off, and nobody will be the wiser.
Back at the lock-in, Taylor’s attempt to create an “atmosphere of trust” is bombing big time. And nobody’s cutting her any slack… except Seth, who mercifully removes the microphone from her hands and tries to organize a game of capture the flag. Seth is met with an equal amount of hostility, but he tells Taylor he can take it. Taylor looks up at Seth with newfound admiration.

Johnny confronts Volchok at the beach, but before Volchok can take a swing at him, Ryan tells him to back off. Then Ryan hauls off and punches Volchok in the mouth.
Taylor approaches Seth and thanks him for what he did. No problem, he’s immune to mockery. Taylor agrees to work something out with the sign-in sheet so Ryan and Summer won’t get in trouble.
Ryan hangs with Johnny at the diner and Marissa drives Summer to the Lock-In. Summer pounds on the door, but Taylor, standing on the other side, pretends not to hear her.

[Principe Marco]

Episode 307 -“The Anger Management”
Aired: 11/17/05

The gang’s hanging out at the diner, when Volchok and his posse come by looking for a rematch. Ryan’s not interested. Volchok thinks maybe Ryan should’ve thought about that before jumping him the other night. Before heading out the door, Volchok reminds Ryan that they’ve got unfinished business.
The next day at school, Ryan assures Seth that he’s not going to fight Volchok. Seth wants to believe him but he knows Kid Chino… Ryan assures Seth that Kid Chino has retired. Suddenly Taylor appears and thanks Seth for making the Senior Lock-In such a big success! She wonders if he’d be interested in working with her on the Christmas Dance. Seth suggests she ask Summer instead, you know, his girlfriend? But Taylor’s suddenly not so interested in recruiting help.

Kirsten, Julie, and Charlotte are at a restaurant planning their big black-tie benefit. When Kirsten excuses herself to speak with the manager, Charlotte informs Julie that they’ve received 130 RSVP’s at $5000 a head… that’s six-hundred thousand dollars or three- hundred thousand each. Julie starts to waver but Charlotte reminds her that she has two kids, no husband and no money. Oh, yeah.
Taylor shows up at Ryan’s locker and inquires about the stability of Seth and Summer’s relationship. Ryan assures her they’re stable. But how stable? On a scale of one to ten? Ten. Too bad, but you never know. After all, everybody thought Brad and Jen were stable too.
Sandy welcomes the staff of the new Newport Group, introduces himself as the new President and CEO and his partner Matt Ramsey, as the new VP and Director of Development. And the group’s also got a new mission. They will continue to develop residential and commercial properties, but one quarter of all new housing projects will be low-income housing. They no longer just cater to the mansion set. After the staff gets back to work, Matt informs Sandy that he crunched the numbers and hey need to fire nine employees. But Sandy has no intention of making firing half the staff his first order of business.

Despite Marissa’s attempt to conceal the information, Johnny finds out that Volchok threatened Ryan. Johnny takes off after him. He tells Marissa he’s not going to sit back and let her boyfriend take the heat for his problem. Marissa follows Johnny and when he sees how upset she is, he backs off.
Later, when Ryan and Seth arrive at their car in the school parking lot, they’re greeted by a welcoming committee – Volchok and his two thug surfer friends using the hood of the Range Rover as their picnic table. Suddenly Volchok’s soda accidentally-on-purpose spills all over the car. But Ryan refuses to take the bait. He tells Volchok he’s not going to fight him. Volchok takes out his keys and drags it along the side of the car… then proceeds to christen it by scratching in the name “Lil Bitch.” Ryan and Seth turn and walk away.

Taylor stops by Seth’s bedroom and before he can get a word in, declares her “like” for him. Seth reiterates that he’s with Summer, but thanks anyway… and even if he weren’t, he just doesn’t think they’d be a good match. Suddenly Taylor looks up and sees a Japanese movie poster on his wall. It’s like her favorite movie of all time! She thinks it’s a sign… that he and Summer should break up. Seth doesn’t think so.
Back at the Newport Group, Sandy’s come up with a way to keep the company afloat without firing half the staff. Restructuring loans, eliminating perks, cutting his own salary by 30% and letting only four people go.
The gang plus Johnny are listening to The Subways rock The Bait Shop. Marissa is trying to convince Johnny that this wasn’t a pity invite. Oh, so, it’s not because you guys think I’ll be sitting home alone all weekend thinking about Casey? What? No, of course not. Then Marissa proceeds to book Johnny for the rest of the weekend. Not subtle, but Johnny appreciates it anyway. Taylor shows up at The Bait Shop and Seth is forced yet again to makes it clear that he’s not interested. Summer appears and wants to know what’s going on. Nothing, Taylor was just leaving… but before she does, she reaches into her purse and pulls out Captain Oats.

Then she hands the horse to Seth and thanks him for letting her borrow him. Seth assures Summer that he didn’t lend her Captain Oats. She must’ve taken the Captain when she was in his room. Wait a minute, what was Taylor Townsend doing in your room?! Summer takes off. A delighted Taylor looks on. Hmm… maybe they aren’t a ten on the stability scale after all!
Down on the dance floor, Ryan spots Volchok and he, Marissa and Johnny start to head out… but they’re too late. Volchok tries to provoke Ryan into fighting him but nothing works… until he makes a not-so-subtle reference to the shooting and asks Ryan if he’s going to let his girlfriend do his fighting for him. Then Ryan grabs him, swings him around… but miraculously doesn’t hit him.

The next day, Ryan approaches Sandy and fills him in on the Volchok situation. Sandy wants to know if this has anything to do with the fact that his car is now the “Lil Bitch.” Ryan says he was going to fix that but Sandy tells him not to, it’s enough evidence to go to the cops. Sandy advises Ryan to keep using his head, not his fits. Unfortunately, their heart-to-heart is interrupted by a call from Sandy’s new VP. Sandy needs to head into the office right away.
Marissa and Chili are in the beach parking lot looking for Volchok. Chili’s tries to convince Marissa that it’s a really bad idea, but Marissa’s determined to go through with her plan. They find Volchok and Marissa offers him her Cartier watch worth four grand in exchange for leaving Ryan alone. Deal.
On Sunday, Sandy discovers that Matt called in the four employees targeted to be fired. He thought he’d do it on a Sunday to spare the employees the humiliation of packing their things in front of their co-workers, and also to spare Sandy the pain of having to do it himself. Sandy tells Matt he doesn’t let other people do his dirty work. He sends Matt home and reluctantly heads into his office to do the deed.

It’s the night of the big benefit and Kirsten wants everything to be perfect. Julie seems to be distracted by something… like her conscience. Charlotte not-so-subtly lets Julie know that if she doesn’t go through with it, she’ll call the police and tell them they created a fake charity to defraud Julie’s friends. Could you do Jail, Julie?
Volchok sends his girlfriend Heather (Marissa’s nemesis at Newport Union) to return the watch to Marissa. He’s changed his mind. He wants cash instead. Marissa doesn’t understand. Why doesn’t he just sell the watch? The girlfriend tells her to ask him herself and leads Marissa out to the van. Volchok tells her he needs cash. Now. And the pawn shops are closed. Marissa gets into the van and they head to the ATM.

Ryan and Johnny are hanging out at the benefit when Ryan’s cell phone rings. It’s Volchok, telling him he’s got Marissa and if Ryan wants to get her back, he better come down to the pier. Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Julie’s gotten hold of a microphone and is making an announcement… an announcement that is making Charlotte very nervous. After thanking the guests for their generous contributions, Julie instructs them to make their checks payable directly to the National Foundation for Substance Abuse.
Ryan and Johnny head down to the pier. Ryan tells Johnny that no matter what happens, just go with it. And it that doesn’t work, grab Marissa and run. When they get there, Ryan picks up a bottle, smashes it against a pylon and moves in on Volchok. Volchok suddenly doesn’t look so confident. Then Ryan tells him that if he wants to fight him, he better be prepared to kill him. Volchok backs off.

Then Ryan goes home and beats the crap out of the punching bag he installed in the pool house.

[Smoking Bianco]

Episode 308 -“The Game Plan”
Aired: 12/1/05

Marissa meets with Mitchell, the college counselor at Newport Union, who assures her that, with her good grades and activities, she’ll be fine. Marissa seems less than enthused. She finally confides that she knows she’s going to have to explain why she was expelled from Harbor and that means dredging up the past, when all she’s been trying to do is forget about it. Mitchell advices her to stop running from her past and start writing about it… before it ruins her future.

Marissa tries filling out her college application but is haunted by flashbacks from her traumatic past. Finally, she can’t take it anymore and starts hurling everything in front of her across the room.

Just before dinner, Sandy announces that he’s invited an old college buddy -- who just so happens to work at U.C. Berkeley – to join them. Seth wonders what he’s joining them for -- dinner or an ambush?

Johnny and Chili stop by Summer’s house to pick up Marissa for the big PacWest Surf Contest. Marissa doesn’t think she’ll be good company. She explains that if she can’t write the essay, she might as well forget about college. So forget about it. Chili suggests she comes on tour with them. Johnny thinks it’s actually not a bad idea -- travel the world. take some pressure off, give yourself some time to think. At least come to the contest today and check it out for yourself.

Julie meets Kirsten at the yacht club for lunch. Oh, but she can’t stay long, she’s moving into a fabulous new place. Kirsten gets right to the point. She thinks she and Julie make a great team and she’d like them to go into business together. Julie tells Kirsten she doesn’t need her charity. Then why are you living in a trailer park? Kirsten confesses to having followed her. In that case, Julie hopes she’s opening a detective agency. Kirsten assures Julie that it’s not charity. She needs this as much as Julie does. But, before they can go into business together, she needs to know what happened to Charlotte. She doesn’t buy the story about her leaving to be with her dad. Julie breaks it down for Kirsten – everything from Charlotte only going to rehab to find a rich, vulnerable woman she could exploit, to the black tie benefit scam. When Kirsten realizes that Julie was in on the scam, she takes off.

Down at the beach, Marissa looks around and wonders if this is what her life’s going to be like -- hanging out, watching Johnny surf? Chili quickly jumps in – “That, and scoring hot foreign babes.” Great.

Taylor meets Summer at the diner for what she assumes is going to be a little chat about staying away from Seth and Brown University, so she doesn’t know what to think when she learns that Summer’s giving up. He’s all yours. Go do whatever you smart people do. At first Taylor assumes it’s some kind of ploy, until Summer confesses that she’s afraid Seth’s going to go away, meet a bunch of smart, interesting girls, and realize that’s who he’s meant to be with.

Johnny, Chili and Marissa are waiting for the surf team to be announced, when Ryan shows up, wanting to know what happened to Marissa – yesterday she wanted to go to college and now she’s doing… this? He can’t believe she gave up so easily. Then Ryan turns to Johnny – “You told Marissa she should blow off college?” Just then a loud speaker booms. They’re about to announce the names for the PacWest Surf Team. Johnny asks if they can talk about this later but Ryan tells them to talk to each other. He’s done. Marissa starts to go after him, but Johnny tells her he’ll go. Just as Johnny steps out, a car comes out of nowhere and hits him. He bounces off the hood, flies through the air, and lands in a heap. In the background we hear Johnny’s name being announced.

Marissa, Ryan and Chili are camped out in the hospital waiting room. The doctor comes out and explains the situation – clean tear of the ACL. Some bone damage. He’s going to require surgery. Chili wants to know when he’ll surf again, but the doctor’s more concerned with when he’ll walk again.

Taylor shows up at Summer’s house with a tee-shirt that reads ‘Providence College.’ Huh? It’s got good Catholic values, the admissions standards are a little more… in her league, and best of all, it’s only 20 minutes from Brown. Summer wants to know why Taylor’s being so nice. Taylor explains that, as pathetic as it sounds, Seth and Summer are her best friends… well, her only friends.

Back at the Cohen’s, Sandy, Kirsten and their college buddy Paul are reminiscing about the good old days as Seth and Ryan look on. Inside, Julie leaves another message on Kirsten’s machine apologizing. Kirsten apologizes to their guest and takes off. Summer arrives and Seth excuses himself as well. Summer pulls out a couple of snow hats, pulls one over Seth’s head and one over her own. Then she tells him she’s going with him. She wants to see if they can make it work. Seth wants to know what made her change her mind. Uh… Taylor?

Marissa visits Johnny in the hospital and asks how he’s feeling. Uh, pretty much like he just got hit by a car and pumped with drugs. Marissa asks what he’s going to do. The obvious. He’s going to have the surgery, go through rehab, and get back on his board. Things happen. What else are you going to do, give up?

Kirsten visits Julie at the trailer park and asks if she’s ready to come up with some ideas for a business they can run together. She tells Julie that she realized why she didn’t go through with the scam. She could be living in Charlotte’s beautiful condo, but instead she’s living here. Kirsten knows she did it for her. She asks Julie to let her do this in return.

Back at the Cohen’s, Ryan is yawning through another Berkeley anecdote. Finally the conversation comes around to the future, and Ryan explains that he’s not sure if he’s ready for college. He finally has an amazing family and a beautiful place to live. He’s not sure if he’s ready to give all that up.

Seth pulls Sandy away from the dinner table and breaks the news. He’s applying to Brown, not Berkeley. He needs to forge his own path. Sandy tells him he already has.

Then Marissa shows up, and calls Ryan away from the table. And then there was one. Marissa tells Ryan that she’s ready to face her past and move forward… to college. Paul pops his head into the pool house to say goodbye and tells them he hopes they both apply to Berkeley. He thinks it’d be a good fit.

[Smoking Bianco]

Episode 309 -“The Disconnect”
Aired: 12/8/05

The gang gives Johnny a ride home in the Range Rover… to his modest bungalow in the flat part of town. Johnny’s clearly embarrassed but Seth assures him that the place Ryan comes from is a lot worse. Johnny tries to make it up the steps on his own, but Marissa rushes to his aid.

Julie and Kirsten brainstorm on a new business. They land on party-planning – a service Newport needs and something they know something about.

At school, Ryan and Seth run into Summer, who’s just come from receiving her S.A.T. scores. How’d you do? Seth tells Ryan never to ask a lady her age, weight or S.A.T. scores. But Summer got a 2300… which is just a tad better than Seth. What!?

Marissa is getting Johnny set up on the couch, when his mom comes home with some good news. She got him an appointment with the best sports medicine doctor in all of Orange County. But because he’s so popular, the wait could be months. “But that means I’ll miss the tour.” There’s always next year.

Summer finds Seth in the student lounge and makes a startling announcement. She’s been to see Dr. Kim and it turns out she’s totally smart! Yeah, you are, in your own way. No, actually, in Seth’s way. Apparently, Summer’s one of those academically gifted female students who just never applied herself. But if she studies hard enough, she could get her grades up high enough to go to Brown too. Isn’t that great?!
Sandy and Matt Ramsay are at the Cohen’s working on a proposal for their affordable housing development, when Seth and Ryan come in. Ryan takes a look at their model and makes a suggestion… which apparently shows a lot of aptitude because they offer him an internship… starting right now.

Summer stops by Johnny’s to pick up Marissa, who’s been researching orthopedic surgeons on a laptop. Johnny confesses to Summer that he’s in love with Marissa. Duh.

Kirsten and Julie are at the Yacht Club having a business lunch, when Julie strikes up a conversation with a fellow diner, Jeff, who hires them to cater a diner party at his house… for five grand.

Sandy enters Matt’s office and hands him a heavy folder. There’s new legislation on the table that would change the zoning regulations around the site they’re building. He needs Matt and Ryan to come up with two scenarios – one if it passes, one if it doesn’t. Um, that’s twice the work. Sandy leaves and Matt grabs Ryan. Apparently he thinks now’s the perfect time for a fieldtrip.

Meanwhile, Seth and Summer are at a Brown University event, when the representative from Brown informs the Harbor students that they only admit one student from Harbor each year. Summer immediately corners the rep and asks what it takes, besides good grades and good S.A.T. scores, to get in. The rep tells them that what it really takes is a “hook.”
It turns out the fieldtrip Matt takes Ryan on is to a strip joint where the dancers know him by name. He buys Ryan a lap-dance and heads to the bar.

Summer drags her tuba out of the closet and attempts to blend into the school band, while Seth, dressed in a pirate hat, tries to convince the head cheerleader to let him be the team mascot. Then they run into each other trying to one-up the other, and it just gets worse from there. Finally, Summer asks why Seth always has to be better than her at everything. But that’s the thing, he’s not. This was the ONE thing he was better at.

A disheveled Matt shows up late for the investors’ meeting and he’s only mapped out one scenario. Sandy tries to cover for him, but the investors are unimpressed. They didn’t come all this way for a hypothetical.

Kirsten and Julie arrive at the home of their first client and quickly discover that no guests are expected at this dinner party… except Julie. Kirsten is ready to haul their food and flowers back out the door, but Julie is intrigued. “You did all this for a date with me?” Apparently he did. And guess what, he’s not even hungry.

Sandy and Ryan find Matt at the strip club. He wants a chance to explain himself… and Sandy would give him one, except he dragged Ryan to a strip club and lied to Sandy’s face. Matt promises it’ll never happen again. He’s right, it won’t. He’s fired.

Johnny’s pumped up on pain pills from a recent spill he took in the kitchen when he decides it’s time to tell Marissa the truth. He’s falling in love with her.

One of the stripers, who happens to be a friend of Matt’s from college, and is currently stripping to put herself through law school, shows up at the Newport Group and pleads Matt’s case for him. His girlfriend broke up with him because he took this job… and he just kind of crashed and burned. But the job means the world to him. Then she informs Sandy that she’s the one who put Matt in touch with the investors in the first place, and she can get them a second meeting.

Seth drops by Summer’s to apologize. It’s just that she’s superior to him in so many ways… better looking, more popular, stronger… and not just emotionally. Summer tells him she’ll always look up to him… and not just because he’s taller.

Sandy agrees to take Matt back… but next time he has a problem, he better say something. And by the way, this is his second and last chance.
Julie reports back after her 5,000 dollar date with Jeff. He was boring and his tongue felt like sandpaper. Suddenly Kirsten has a new idea for a business. A high-end call girl service? Uh, no, a high-end dating service.

Seth and Summer work together on their Brown entrance applications. Then they drop them in the mail and wish each other luck.

Marissa and Ryan keep missing each other so they talk on the phone… catching up on everything that happened during the week… lap dances and love confessions included.

[Smoking Bianco]

Episode 310 -“The Chrismukkah Bar Mitz-vahkkah”
Aired: 12/15/05

The gang arrives at Johnny's house with a Christmas tree they picked out for him, but Johnny's not in the holiday spirit. He just found out that his mom's insurance won't cover his knee surgery, so it doesn't look like he'll be hitting the waves anytime soon.

The gang sits at the diner trying to come up with a Chrismukkah miracle when suddenly Seth has a brainstorm… throw a Bar Mitzvah and use the money to pay for Johnny’s surgery! Perfect. Now, if only one of them was a 13-year-old Jewish boy. No matter, there’s always Ryan!

Ryan and Marissa stop by Johnny’s to give him the good news. They’re going to throw a fundraiser and all the proceeds will go to pay for his surgery. “Oh, so I’m like a charity case now? The rich people pay for the poor kid.” Johnny tells them thanks but no thanks, he can take care of himself.

Ryan and Marissa bring the bad news back to Seth; but he has no intention of abandoning the plan This is his chance to have a Bar Mitzvah do-over. Apparently his own Bar Mitzvah was on the same night as Luke’s birthday party… and nobody showed up.

Marissa returns to Johnny’s to see is she can get him on board; but apparently he’s too busy playing solitaire to talk. Then he receives a call on his cell which he needs to take in private. So Marissa takes off.
Kirsten recruits Julie to help throw the Bar Mitz-vahkkah. On their way to speak with the hospital administrator, they run into Dr. Roberts, Summer’s dad, who happens to be on the board. He gladly offers his services.

While Marissa is waiting for Ryan at the diner, she spots Johnny outside handing over a wad of cash to some guy with a beard and cap. After the guy takes off, Marissa follows Johnny down to the beach and asks if everything’s okay. Not really. His whole life he’s dreamt of one thing and now that thing’s been taken away. Marissa assures him that they’ll get through it together. Johnny leans in to kiss Marissa on the lips but she turns her head.

Meanwhile, from above, Ryan watches them embrace. Back at home, he tells Seth that he’s done helping Johnny.
In the diner, Marissa thanks Johnny for meeting her. She wants to talk about the night before, but Johnny just wants to start over. Ok, but first Marissa needs to know what he was doing with that guy. He tells her he’s taking care of things. When she pushes, he tells her not to ask questions she doesn’t want answers to.

Sandy drops by the pool house in an effort to get Ryan to change his mind about the Bar Mitzvah. He reminds Ryan that he’s going to disappoint Kirsten, the hospital, and Johnny. Welcome to Jewish guilt, Bar Mitzvah boy. Besides, a Bar Mitzvah is about becoming a man, and if there was ever a time for an adult moment, this is it.

Marissa stops by the pool house before the charity event and asks Ryan what happened to him. She thought they were having dinner at the diner. Well, studying the entire Torah in one night isn’t easy. Ryan finally admits that he was there and saw her and Johnny together. Marissa swears that nothing happened. She’s just worried about Johnny. She thinks he might be up to something dangerous. Ryan says he’ll talk to him.

Ryan stops by Johnny’s house and snoops around his room while he’s in the shower. Ryan comes up empty-handed but after their conversations, senses that Marissa might be right. Johnny’s up to something. He finally persuades Johnny to come to the Bar Mitz-vahkkah. After Ryan leaves the room, Johnny reaches for the gun he had hidden in a sack under his bed.

After Kirsten convinces Julie to come clean with Marissa about her living situation, Julie drops by the Robert’s mansion. Unfortunately, Marissa has already left for the event. But Dr. Robert’s is there and he invites Julie in for a drink. Neil confesses to Julie that he’s on the verge of divorce #2 and Julie confesses that she lives in a trailer park.

The Bar Mitz-vahkkah is in full swing. Ryan tells Marissa to keep his eye on Johnny; but during a photo session, she loses him. Sandy is about to welcome Ryan to the stage when Marissa tells Ryan that Johnny’s gone. Ryan takes off after Johnny, leaving Seth to cover for him on stage. Seth tells the story of Hanukah to a very nonplussed crowd.

Ryan follows Johnny to a convenience store. Johnny slowly makes his way around the store and is about to pull his gun on the clerk when Ryan casually enters the store. Johnny tells Ryan he’s handling the situation and Ryan tells Johnny that sometimes you have to let the rich people help you. Take it from someone who knows.

Back at the Bar Mitz-vakkah, Seth and Sandy are bombing on stage with a “Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel” sing-a-long, when Marissa and Summer rescue them with a crowd-pleasing round of “Deck the Halls.” Ryan finally arrives and takes over. He tells the crowd that while they’re here for an honorary Bar Mitzvah, he wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for a mitzvah performed by the Cohen family.

After Ryan’s speech, the gang, including Johnny, gathers on the dance floor and sways to the Bar Mitzvah theme song, “That’s What Friends Are For.” Then they’re joined by Julie and Dr. Roberts, and Sandy and Kirsten. It looks like Johnny’s going to get his knee surgery after all and Seth’s finally getting the Bar Mitzvah he always wanted.

[Smoking Bianco]

Episode 311 -“The Safe Harbor”
Aired: 1/12/06

It’s the last day of winter break and the gang is hanging out at The Bait Shop bar drinking faux-hitos and safe-sex-on-the-beach, and lamenting their impending separation. When Marissa goes to the little girl’s room, Ryan, Seth and Summer plan operation “Free Marissa.”

The next day at school, Seth asks Summer what exactly they’re freeing Marissa from? Exile to public school, a year of solitude, ill-fitting gym shorts and mediocre lunches, duh.

Ryan executes stage one of the plan by paying a visit to Dr. Kim. Dr. Kim informs Ryan that only the board of trustees has the power to reinstate an expelled student and they rarely reverse their decisions. She agrees to put Marissa’s case on the docket for Thursday night’s meeting but reminds Ryan that students are not allowed to speak at the board meeting. They’ll need a parent advocate. Ryan thinks he knows just the person for the job. Before leaving, Dr. Kim advises Ryan to check the library for transcripts of old meetings for a precedent, and suggests he pay special attention to, say, fall semester of 1996.

At Newport Union, Marissa runs into Johnny, who’s been recovering from his surgery over the break. He invites Marissa to a Pacwest press party. Turns out one of the guys on the team failed his drug test, and now Johnny’s got the alternate spot. He can do his physical therapy on the road and hopefully compete by summer. He’s only allowed to bring one person to the event and since none of this would be happening without Marissa, it would mean a lot to him if she went. She says she wouldn’t miss it.

Summer decides that if the Free Marissa campaign is going to be a success, they’re going to need to find someone who the masses will follow into battle. Seth suggests General Townsend… who happens to be sitting at a table across the way. Taylor is super excited to help out on the campaign, until she finds out its mission is to free Marissa. But Summer convinces Taylor that no member of their group is more qualified to spearhead the campaign than her. Did you say “our group”? Suddenly Taylor’s back in. After Seth and Summer leave, one of Taylor’s friends reminds her that her mom’s head of the parent association, and the one who started the petition to get Marissa kicked out in the first place. An unsure Taylor assures her friends that that was so last semester.

Ryan drops by Sandy’s office with his research. He sites the cases which establish precedent for the board reinstating students who had been expelled. Sandy congratulates Ryan on doing his homework, but tells him that’s just one piece of the puzzle. He’s got a shot, but it’s a long one. Sandy agrees to be the parent advocate on the case. “Good cause, poor odds, a chance to ruffle some Newpsie feathers... how could I say no?” Then his enthusiasm wanes when he discovers that the chair of the board is Judge Mercer, a real hard-ass.

The next morning, after Seth and Ryan leave for school, poster-board and paint in hand, Kirsten asks Sandy if Judge Mercer is the same Judge Mercer who threw him in jail for contempt of court. Yep, the very same.

At Newport Union, Marissa tracks down Johnny and explains that she’s not going to be able to make his Pacwest party because she has to be at the board meeting at Harbor where they’ll be deciding the fate of the rest of her senior year. Johnny feigns happiness for her, adding that Chili will be stoked he gets to go to the party now.

Meanwhile, Seth and Summer are following Taylor around campus as she briefs them on the progress of the campaign, when suddenly Taylor’s mom appears. She just discovered that there’s a motion on the docket to reinstate Marissa Cooper. Then she sees the “Free Marissa” poster Taylor’s attempting to hide behind her. Mom pulls Taylor aside and yells at her. When Taylor returns, she tells Seth and Summer that she can’t help them any longer.

Back at the Newport Group, Sandy’s director, Matt Ramsay, recommends that they put a cash bid on a particular building that “his guy” has informed him will be going up in value since Lockheed is building a new plant in the area. “Your guy?” Matt informs Sandy that his guy is Sandy’s guy too. And he’s a private investigator. Sandy makes a joke about wishing “his guy” could dig up something on the honorable Judge Mercer, but Matt isn’t joking. He’s going to have the PI do a little background check.

Ryan drops by Newport Union with some campaign swag – a “Free Marissa” tee-shirt. Marissa loves it. What’s next? Coffee mugs, baseball caps? Whatever it takes. Suddenly Marissa gets a call from Chili. Johnny’s not feeling well and he needs Marissa to bring him a book.

Marissa shows up at Johnny’s and discovers Chili sitting on the bed amidst the rubble of a trashed room. Johnny’s taken off. Chili explains that the Pacwest doctors refused to sign off on his knee. They said it was too soon to tell if he’ll ever be back to 100 percent. Chili doesn’t think Johnny will be able to bounce back from this one.

Seth, Summer and Ryan are hanging out in the diner, discussing the pathetically few signatures on their “Free Marissa” petition. Say what you will about Taylor, but the girl knows how to rally the troops. Marissa shows up at the diner and tells the gang that she appreciates all they’ve done, but she doesn’t think she can go back to Harbor after all. Then she takes off.

The next day, Marissa shows up at the pool house and gives Ryan the explanation she owed him from the previous night. Well, it’s Johnny. Yeah, Ryan pretty much knew that already. Pacwest changed their mind. They’re not letting Johnny on the tour anymore, and he’s pretty freaked out about it. Ryan doesn’t think it’s Marissa’s problem, but Marissa thinks it is… the girlfriend, the accident, getting kicked off the team… all of it. Ryan tells her they’re meeting at the Cohen’s before going to the board meeting… just so she knows.

Matt drops by Sandy’s office and tells him “his guy” came through on the judge. Sandy just wants the short version. Judge Mercer has a son, Nick, who has a drug problem. He was kicked out of military school for using and nobody’s heard from him since. Sandy mentions that he was defending a kid just like that when the judge held him in contempt.

Seth and Summer continue on their very disappointing campaign, when they’re forced to admit, once again, that they need Taylor Townsend. Summer gives Seth permission to do whatever it takes to get her back on board. Summer’s picturing an Indecent Proposal-type thing - Seth’s Demi, naturally, and Taylor’s a leather-faced guy who talks to horses.

Ryan pays Johnny an unexpected visit and finds him lying in bed with no intention of going to school. Johnny assumes Marissa sent Ryan to check up on him, but Ryan assures him that’s not the case. He’s there because Marissa’s decided to stay at Newport Union… for him. Johnny says he didn’t ask her to stay, but Ryan tells him he didn’t have to.

Seth tracks down Taylor in the corridor and informs her that he’s been sanctioned to offer her sexual favors in exchange for her help. She explains that under any other circumstance, he would be facing a long night involving candle wax, tube socks, and the latest Fiona Apple CD. Seth opts to forgo man-whoring and appeal to her heart. Taylor doesn’t think Seth understands the gravity of the situation. Her mother’s a sports agent! She’s threatened to take away her car and her college tuition. “Your mom’s a sport’s agent? I thought she was just a bored, bitter Newpsie?” Before leaving, Seth begs Taylor to do one thing…not grow up to be like her mother, because she’s better than that.

The gang gathers at the Cohen’s before the board meeting, but no Marissa. Seth and Ryan think it’s time to wave the white flag, but Summer isn’t giving up yet.

Back at Newport Union, Marissa runs into Chili, who gives her the good news. Turns out the fancy surgeon Marissa hooked Johnny up with went to med school with the Pacwest doc, and called and convinced him that Johnny’s good to go. Marissa can’t believe Johnny didn’t tell her. Well, it’s been insane; they want him to leave next month. Chili thinks it’s amazing how it all worked out. Johnny going on tour, Marissa going back to Harbor. Yeah, I guess. After a slightly stunned Marissa takes off, Johnny comes out of hiding and he and Chili share a knowing nod.

Just as the board meeting is starting, Matt shows up with some new information for Sandy. Sandy excuses himself and Taylor’s mom steps up to the podium to speak on the matter at hand. “Marissa Cooper shot a boy in the back. This is not what the Harbor parents want, and it’s not what the students want either.” Uh, actually it is. Suddenly Taylor breezes into the board room with a petition signed by over 500 students – virtually the entire student body. After hearing impassioned pleas by both Julie Cooper and Doctor Roberts, Judge Mercer states that the board still can’t break from precedent. That’s when Ryan stands up and shares a previous case involving a student and a knife, where after all criminal charges were dropped, the expulsion was reversed. Judge Mercer acknowledges the importance of precedent but claims he still doesn’t have to reverse. That’s when Sandy stands up and says, he doesn’t have to, but he might want to. Then Sandy proceeds to make an impassioned speech about giving a good kid a second change. The judge seems to know he’s also talking about his son. Finally, the board makes its decision. With only one dissenting vote, the decision is reversed.

Sandy catches Judge Mercer on his way out and thanks him. The judge thanks Sandy for keeping his personal information between them. Sandy tells the judge he knows where his son is. He’s in LA. He’s safe. And he wants to see him.

Outside the boardroom, Julie apologizes to Marissa for not having been there for her in so many ways… and by the way, there’s no condo. Julie admits she lives in a trailer and was too ashamed to tell her. Down the hall, Dr. Roberts confesses to Summer that her step mom won’t be coming back. Summer offers her sympathy but thinks they do okay without her anyway.

Julie and Dr. Roberts head out for a drink, and the gang heads out to the diner… except Ryan, who has a quick stop to make. He finds Johnny at the lifeguard station and thanks him for doing what he did. Yeah, well, Marissa deserves to be happy.

And the next day, a very happy Marissa joins the gang at Harbor for their senior class photos.

[Smoking Bianco]

Episode 312 -“The Sister Act”
Aired: 1/19/06

Seth has a theory. Things are going too well. And that means doom’s gonna come a knocking. Or, in this case, a ringing. Ryan opens the door and finds a very attractive, very confused, and very chatty young lady on the other side. Seth comes to the door and can’t believe his eyes. Kaitlin Cooper!? “You’ve grown…” Suddenly Seth’s at a loss for words, so Kaitlin helps him out. “Boobs?”

A little while later, Julie arrives at the Cohen’s looking for Kaitlin. Sandy, Kirsten and the gang are all gathered in the kitchen. Suddenly Kaitlin appears, having changed out of her sexy school girl outfit into her studious school girl outfit. Ryan and Seth exchange a look. And Kaitlin’s looking for answers. The guy across the street said we’ve moved? That clears out the kitchen quickly, leaving Julie alone to come up with some answers.

To Kaitlin’s horror, Julie pulls up in front of a trailer. “Oh my God, we live in a trailer.” Julie tries to appease Kaitlin by telling her it’s exactly the kind of place Britney Spears comes from. Kaitlin assures her mom that she’s ok with it. Then Kaitlin’s cell beeps letting her know she has a message. And from the sound of it, there’s a guy out there who’s not at all happy about something.

Over coffee in the student lounge, Marissa confesses her guilt to Ryan about never making an effort to keep in touch with Kaitlin while she was at boarding school. Then it occurs to her that they were never very close, even before she went away.

On the way to class Marissa admits she’s worried about Johnny. She doesn’t know why he hasn’t returned her calls. Hmm, maybe he’s already left on the tour. Ryan suggests she call Bizarro-Seth… aka Chili.
Back at Newport Union, Chili’s trying to convince Johnny to call Marissa back, when his phone rings. Guess who? He hands the phone off to Johnny. Johnny agrees to meet Marissa and Kaitlin at the diner.

Veronica Townsend, Taylor’s mom, drops by to see Kirsten with an intriguing request. She’s heard about their new dating service and wants Kirsten to set her up with the delicious Dr. Neil Roberts. Um, the father of Marissa’s best friend? Veronica thinks that once she has the chance to talk to the doctor, preferably over a candlelight dinner, he’ll see she was just acting as a concerned parent. Kirsten still doesn’t understand why Veronica thinks she’d want to help her. Well, because she carries a lot of weight with the parent association, and while Marissa may be back in Harbor, her involvement in extracurricular activities, such as the Senior Day, prom, graduation, is still to be determined. “You’re going to hold a 17-year-old girl hostage for a date?” Veronica tells Kirsten a good man is hard to find.

Kirsten stops by the Newport Group and tells Sandy about Veronica’s threat. Sandy’s response is that they don’t negotiate with Newpsies. But Kirsten explains she could make Marissa’s life a living hell. Then she tells him she’s calling in a wifely favor. Please call the good doctor.

At the diner, Marissa introduces Kaitlin to Johnny and Chili. When Marissa starts asking questions about the upcoming surf tour, Johnny realizes he forgot something in his car. Then Kaitlin realizes she has to go to the little girl’s room. Then Chili asks Marissa if he has to spell it out for her. Apparently he does. Johnny knew she wasn’t going to go back to Harbor while he was still there, so… Marissa finishes his sentence, “So… he told me that he was leaving.”

Outside, Kaitlin tracks down Johnny and asks how long he’s been in love with her sister. Then, she lets him know that, while Marissa might not be available, she is.

Meanwhile, a young guy named Justin stops by the Cohen’s looking for Kaitlin. Ryan quickly assesses the situation and tells him he hasn’t seen Kaitlin since she was eleven. Justin hands Ryan a phone number, just in case. It’s important.

Ryan stops by the trailer looking for Marissa but Marissa’s not there. Kaitlin asks if she can help. Maybe. Ryan tells her about Justin, and Kaitlin explains that she met him at a school mixer. He kept calling and coming by so she told the dorm mother and got him in trouble. Now he’s upset that she’s messing up his chances at Princeton. Ryan says he’ll take care of it. Kaitlin makes him promise he won’t say anything to Marissa. She doesn’t want her big sister thinking she’s some kind of stalker-magnet.

Marissa stops by to thank Johnny for doing what he did. Then she suggests that he could still go to college and offers to help with his applications. He tells her it’s not her problem anymore. But he just did this selfless thing for her. Johnny tells her she’s wrong. He did it for himself. He needed her to leave. Marissa wants to know what he’s saying. Right now he just needs her out of his life.

Sandy finally makes the call to Dr. Roberts and asks if he knows Veronica Townsend. “Do I know her? Sandy, I know every former A-Cup in this town.” Sandy explains the awkward situation to him. Neil wonders how bad one dinner at a crowded restaurant could be. Sandy assures him it’ll be bad. But he and Kirsten will pick up the tab.

Ryan meets Justin at The Bait Shop and tells him to get out of town. But he’s not going anywhere without the 1500 bucks she stole from his brother. Apparently two frat boys saw Kaitlin make off with the door money. Then she left town. Ryan doesn’t see why he should take the word of two drunk frat boys over that of a fourteen-year-old girl. Fourteen? She told Justin she was sixteen. They’ve been going out about a month.

Ryan confronts Kaitlin and she confesses that she stole the money. But it was for a good reason. Justin’s brother Sam got her friend pregnant and wouldn’t take any financial responsibility. So, Kaitlin took the money for her. Then she invites Ryan to call her friend and ask her how the abortion went.

Johnny drops by the trailer looking for Marissa… but he finds Kaitlin instead. She invites him to the launch party for Kirsten and Julie’s new business. Just so there will be one person who’s not totally lame.

Kirsten tells Julie she needs to add two more to the guest list… Neil Roberts and Veronica Townsend. Julie confesses she has feelings for the doctor.

Seth and Summer try to come up with a quick breakup plan for Neil and Veronica.

Justin and his brother stop by looking for Kaitlin. Ryan sends her to the pool house, but she escapes. Ryan and Marissa find her at the trailer packing her suitcase. Kaitlin confesses that she stole the money because she wanted to come home. She’s known all along about the trailer since one of her classmate’s friend’s father owns the park. She just wanted to come home to make sure Julie and Marissa were okay. She hands over what’s left of the money.

Ryan meets Justin at The Bait House and returns the money to him. Justin was hoping Kaitlin would be there too. Ryan realizes that Justin’s in love with Kaitlin.

Back at the launch party, operation break up Neil and Veronica is underway. Seth whispers something to Taylor, who whispers something to her mom, and suddenly Veronica is making excuses to go home. Summer can’t believe that all it took was for her to find out that Neil voted for John Kerry. Uh… Seth admits he went with the genital herpes story instead.

Johnny stops by the party to apologize to Marissa. Kaitlin thinks the party just got a little more interesting. Marissa suggests Johnny give Kaitlin a ride home. He says he’ll buy her an ice-cream cone or something. But apparently she’s not interested in ice cream. She’s interested in skinny dipping in the ocean with Johnny.

[Smoking Bianco]

Episode 313 -“The Pot Stirrer”
Aired: 1/26/06

Sandy, Kirsten and Ryan watch as a spacey Seth stumbles into the kitchen in his bathrobe. Turns out a Brown University rep wants to interview Seth on Sunday and his head is still spinning. He’s had his watch set to east coast time for months now, but when he found out about the interview, it hit him. He’s really leaving Newport. And suddenly he’s feeling really nostalgic about the old place.

At school, Summer gives Seth the good news. She got a Brown interview too! Seth has a hard time rising to her level of enthusiasm. He wants to know if she’s feeling any anxiety about leaving all her friends and family. She was, but then she talked to her boot camp instructor who gave her the following advice, “You can either ride change, or change rides you.” Good point.

Sandy and Matt pitch their proposal to build a new hospital with equal access to the affluent and less affluent neighborhoods, thereby serving the entire community. The board looks, well, bored with their proposal.

After the meeting, Matt lets Sandy know that he saw the competition’s proposal and it’s really good. Not only that, but the Brea Group had been wining and dining Bill Merriam and the board for months -- dinners, concerts, cruises. Sandy reminds Matt that they provided bagels at the meeting. Matt somehow doesn’t think bagels are going to be enough to outshine the competition. Sandy’s determined to win over the board with intelligence, not expensive wine.

Kaitlin and Johnny walk along the pier as she reminisces about birthdays past – games, ponies, petting zoos… but her favorite part was always the after-party when the family would sit around watching The Sound of Music, and singing along. Johnny never even had a clown at his party. He asks Kaitlin if she’s told Marissa that they’ve been hanging out. No, and apparently he’s not going to either.

Dr. Roberts is late to meet Julie for drinks. A procedure ran over. But he’s just happy to finally be sitting across from her after she cancelled twice. Oh, that. Julie explains that she got to thinking about their situation – their daughters are best friends, she’s a recent widow and he’s a recent divorcee. So, what made her change her mind? Um… she felt something. He confesses he felt something too. Unfortunately, if she doesn’t leave now, she’ll be late to pick up Marissa from school. How ‘bout dinner Sunday night? Julie tells the good doctor it’s a date.

Seth’s in his room having a heart-to-heart with Captain Oats, when Sandy comes in to check on him. Seth tells his father he’s freaking out. He doesn’t feel like it’s the beginning of anything, he feels more like it’s the end of something.

Marissa and Julie return to the trailer with take-out Thai. Then Julie pulls out an Armenian menu for Marissa and Kaitlin to order from on Sunday night, while she’s at her “business meeting.” Marissa tries to subtly remind her mother that they have plans Sunday night, but Julie doesn’t know what she’s talking about. “Remember, we were going to order in food, watch The Sound of Music…” Huh? Oh… suddenly she catches on. But it’s too late, Kaitlin’s already lost her taste for Thai.

In the kitchen, Kirsten’s making dinner and Sandy’s moping around. Turns out Bill Merriam called and it looks like the board’s going with the Brea Group. Kirsten wonders if it’s not too late to take another shot? But Sandy doesn’t want the contract if it means he has to buy some guy with Kobe beef. Kirsten thinks he’s selling himself short and encourages him to find another way to woo Bill.

On his clear-his-head walk, Seth runs into Kaitlin at the pier. He’s surprised to see her, but more surprised to see that she’s smoking a joint right out in the open. She offers him a hit… to take the edge off. But Seth ‘just says no.’ His dad smoked pot at Berkeley so that pretty much ruined it for him. So why does she need to take the edge off? Her mom forgot her birthday. Fueling Seth’s fears, Kaitlin tells him that when she was away at school, she kept telling herself that she was being paranoid, that they wouldn’t really forget about her, but they did. Then she asks Seth to imagine what it was like growing up with Marissa Cooper as her big sister. Her birthday was the one day she could count on people actually noticing her.

Julie stops by Dr. Robert’s house to see if he can have dinner tonight instead of Sunday. Unfortunately he has to work. Is she cancelling? Well, it’s Kaitlin’s birthday. She can’t believe it slipped her mind. But she wants to have a little party for her… obviously it’d have to be little since she lives in a trailer. Dr. Roberts offers up his house. That way she can have a big party and he can still see her.

In the pool house, Ryan helps Seth and Summer prepare for their big interviews by quizzing them on possible questions. But when Summer gives an honest answer, they both cringe a little, and offer her an acceptable alternative. Summer decides that instead of memorizing other people’s answers, she’s just going to be herself. Because if she gives an answer she doesn’t believe in, and gets in, she’ll end up with the wrong life. Can’t argue with that.

Sandy tells Matt to give Bill Merriam a call. They’re going to take him out after all. Great! Matt wants to know if he should set up a tee-time? Make dinner reservations at the Arches? Nope, they’re dining at El Pavo Loco – a burrito stand next to the hospital site. Sandy wants to take Bill on a walking tour of the underprivileged area that their hospital will serve. Matt hopes he’s kidding. Nope, he’s just being Sandy.

Ryan and Marissa are hanging out at The Bait House bar, when suddenly Kaitlin shows up with Johnny. “Oh, Marissa, I totally forgot you said you were gonna be here.” After Kaitlin watches Marissa lose it a little, and after she makes sure to work it into the conversation that she and Johnny have been hanging out, and oh yeah, they went for a midnight swim together the other night, she claims she’s not feeling well and asks Johnny to drive her home.

Before Kaitlin gets out of the jeep, Johnny tells her that he wants to continue hanging out… but just as friends. Kaitlin tells him that’ll still make Marissa mad. He thinks he can live with that. Johnny takes off and Kaitlin heads up the stairs to the front door… when suddenly she sees someone lurking in the shadows. It’s Seth. She had a feeling he’d come around.
A little later, Seth is sitting at his desk staring at a baggie with 3 joints, when he hears a knock on the door. He shoves the stash into his desk drawer as Sandy pops his head in to see if Seth’s ready for his big interview, and to invite him downstairs for some pancakes. Seth declines the pancakes, claiming he’s not hungry and has a little more preparation to do. Sandy leaves and Seth begins his preparations… which apparently include sealing off the door with a towel, opening a window and lighting up.

At the Robert’s McMansion, Kirsten helps Julie set up for the party. Julie’s already coming up with re-decorating ideas for the place. Kirsten thinks since they haven’t had a first kiss yet, re-decorating might be a little pre-mature.

On the walking tour of the prospective hospital site, Sandy realizes he’s losing Bill. He gives Matt the okay to do it his way. Sandy realizes the tour worked better on him than on Bill. He’s not going to rob the community of something he needs just so he can sleep easier.

Back at the Cohen’s, a mellow Seth is hanging out on his bedroom floor, partaking in a little more pot, when Ryan knocks on the door. Seth sprays the room with air freshener, then opens the door. While Seth is incoherently babbling on, Ryan is following his nose… straight to the ashtray with the joint.

Summer’s heading down the hall for her interview when she receives a call from Ryan, asking her to stretch it out as long as she can. Why? Ryan just needs a little time to bring Seth back down to earth.

Ryan escorts Seth to his interview, and Seth assures Ryan that he only dipped into the baggie because he’s stressed out about losing everything he has in Newport. Then he confesses that he got the pot from Kaitlin.

Summer comes out of her hour-and-a-half-long interview and tells Seth that if he screws it up, their future together will be ruined. Seth waits for Ryan and Summer to head out, then he heads out himself.

At the birthday party, Kaitlin leads Johnny up to Summer’s room. He’s not sure what they’re doing up there, but Kaitlin tells him she’s looking for her presents. Your presents are downstairs. Not all of them. Johnny tries to use the age excuse, but Kaitlin isn’t buying it. She thinks it’s because he’s still in love with Marissa. Johnny denies it, so Kaitlin gives him a chance to prove it. Just one kiss. Then she leans in and takes what she came for.

Downstairs, Ryan tells Marissa about Kaitlin’s pot stash, just as Seth shows up, looking higher than ever.

Meanwhile, back at Matt’s bachelor pad, Bill Merriam is enjoying drinks with a few very sexy ladies. And by the way, Sandy’s got the contract. Really? Yep, Sandy’s taking care of him, he’ll take care of Sandy. It’s business. Caleb would be proud.

Back at the party, Kaitlin and Johnny are trying to make a quick getaway, when Marissa runs out the door after them. She’s concerned about Kaitlin’s recent string of illicit activities… stealing cash from a fraternity, giving Seth pot… what’s next? Kaitlin tells Marissa to spare her the concerned sister act. She knows this is really about Johnny. Marissa denies it, but Kaitlin says she can tell Marissa still likes him. In fact, everyone can tell… including Ryan. Kaitlin adds that if Marissa really doesn’t like Johnny, then she won’t mind that Kaitlin just made out with him upstairs. Marissa looks shaken.

Inside, Marissa tells Julie that Kaitlin took off, and Julie blames Marissa. How could she do this to her little sister? On her birthday? Then she reminds Marissa how important this party was… for all of them. Marissa lets her Mom know that a party isn’t going to fix what’s wrong with this family. Then she takes off. And now Dr. Roberts is the one having second thoughts. Maybe their lives are too complex after all.

Then Seth drops by Summer’s room, where she’s excitedly flipping through the Brown course catalog, and he lies to her about his interview. And at the same time, Kirsten comes down to Sandy’s office and congratulates him on getting the hospital contract his way. And he doesn’t say a word.

[Smoking Bianco]

Episode 314 -“The Cliffhanger”
Aired: 2/02/06

It’s early morning and Sandy enters the pool house in a panic, waking Ryan with the news that Seth is gone. Gone? Thinking quick in his sleep, Ryan comes up with “Calc exam.” Seth probably went to school early to study. Sandy’s about to go find out, but Ryan volunteers for the job. Before leaving, Sandy wants to make sure that if there was anything going on with Seth, Ryan would tell him. Right? Uh, yeah.

Ryan tracks Seth down by the pier. Seth confesses to Ryan that his Brown interview didn’t go so well… actually, it didn’t go at all. And to top it off, he then lied about it to Summer. Ryan thinks Seth should talk to her about it, but Seth explains that Summer thinks pot is totally juvenile. It’d be like telling her he’s into Beanie Babies. Ryan makes Seth a deal. Seth tells Summer about missing the interview and Ryan keeps his mouth shut about the pot.

In the trailer, Kaitlin’s getting ready for her surf lesson with Johnny, and Marissa’s trying to act like she doesn’t care. Kaitlin follows Marissa out the door and asks if she can honestly tell her that she has no feelings for Johnny. Marissa is suddenly at a loss for words. Yeah, that’s what Kaitlin thought. Oh, and there’s Johnny, just in time to have overheard their conversation.

At the Cohen’s, Kirsten and Julie are looking through profiles for their new dating service, but Julie’s not exactly in the mood for making other women’s dreams come true. She’s still sulking over the loss of Dr. Roberts. Suddenly Kirsten has a brainstorm. Set Dr. Roberts up on a date. That way Julie will be back on his radar, but it won’t seem like she’s pursuing him. Julie likes it. Aloof but thoughtful. Then, of course, after being confronted with the idea of dating a Newpsie, he’ll realize Julie is the only one for him.

Seth tracks down Summer at school with the intention of telling her about the missed interview, but after seeing how excited she is about their future together at Brown, he can’t seem to bring himself to do it. Instead, he takes the opposite approach and tells her that he knocked it out of the park. He turned on the Cohen charm and the lady swooned. The lady? Um, Shelley’s a guy. Oh, right, yes, but the thing is, Seth’s gender-blind and now he really has to get to class.

At the beach, Kaitlin’s first surf lesson isn’t going so well. Johnny’s distracted. Kaitlin tells him it’s the story of her life – she likes a guy and he’s in love with her big sister. Johnny tries to explain that it’s complicated but Kaitlin isn’t exactly sympathetic. She tells him to uncomplicated it, and if he won’t, she knows someone who will.

Back at the Newport Group, Matt explains to Sandy that just because they’ve got Bill Merriam and the hospital board on their side, doesn’t mean it’s a done deal. They’ve still got to convince the board of physicians. And liquor and ladies won’t work on them. Matt suggests another angle – turns out he’s got a personal connection with the daughter of the head of the board. They went to school together and now she’s one of his most trusted advisors. And best of all, she had a thing for Matt. Sandy doesn’t like it. He draws the line at family.

Julie stops by Dr. Roberts’s house to thank him for hosting Kaitlin’s birthday party. And to show her appreciation, she brought along a book profiling some of Newport’s most eligible bachelorettes. Unless, of course, he doesn’t want to get set up? No, apparently he’s game. Dr. Roberts starts flipping through profiles and decides that there are so many fantastic women, he’s going to have to take more time and get back to Julie.

Meanwhile, Kaitlin’s been waiting for Ryan in the pool house. When he finally arrives, Kaitlin tells him she’s not getting anywhere with Johnny because he still thinks he has a shot with Marissa. And today, when Kaitlin asked Marissa point blank if she had feelings for Johnny, Marissa didn’t deny it. Ryan thanks Kaitlin for the heads up and shows her the door. But Kaitlin’s not done. She wants Ryan to do something about it… yes, so she can hook up with Johnny, but also so Ryan will find out where he stands, once and for all.

Ryan man-of-action meets Marissa at the diner and tells her that until she figures out her feelings for Johnny, he doesn’t want to see her.

Sandy and Matt meet with the head of the physician’s board, Henry Griffin, to brief him on their plan, which includes volunteer hours from some of the doctors. Griffin claims it’s been a rough year for doctors -- their budget has been stripped and they’re barely staying afloat. Then Sandy congratulates him on the new luxury birthing wing. Now no one should have to suffer the indignity of giving birth without a flat screen TV. Griffin responds that they have to cater to the residents of Newport. Like it or not, that’s the type that lives here. Sandy counters that that’s not the only type.

At school, Summer stops by the career counselor’s office and discovers that Seth never made it to his Brown interview. In fact, he was just there explaining the situation. Something about a tractor-trailer accident.

Julie stops by to tell Kirsten that she finally heard from Dr. Roberts. He wants to be set up with Laura Cross. Kirsten apologizes but Julie says it’s her fault for letting Kirsten do the scheming. From now on, if there’s any manipulating to do, she’ll be in charge.

In Johnny’s room, Chili tells him that in all his years of loving ladies and getting nothing in return, he’s never been as bad off as him. Normally he would advise going cold-turkey, but Johnny’s in too deep. He’s got to take his shot. There’s always a chance that Marissa will feel the same way.

Sandy and Kirsten are dining out when Sandy spots Matt at the bar by himself. They’re about to invite him over, when he’s joined by a very attractive young woman. Kirsten recognizes her from a profile in the OC Weekly. Maya Griffin. Apparently she’s an up-and-coming Newpsie. Well, if she is, she’s got a lot to learn. Sandy tells Kirsten that Matt’s using her to get to her father, who’s the head of the board.

Marissa meets Johnny at the pier and he confesses his love to her. When he was hurt, she took care of him, and even when he told her to stay away, she showed up at his door. Maybe she loves him too. He asks her to think about it, then he takes off.

At breakfast, Sandy asks Seth how he’s handling all the pressure of exams, college applications, etc. Seth claims it’s all under control. Suddenly Summer shows up and asks to speak to Seth… upstairs… alone...now.

In Seth’s room, Summer confronts him about missing his interview and lying to her about it. He confesses that he got scared and was too embarrassed to tell her. She’s got this natural confidence and people like her. He’s a social outcast with a mumbling problem. Summer tells him that they’ve got to be honest with each other, or it’s never going to work. So, is there anything else he needs to tell her? Anything at all? Nope.

Sandy calls Matt into the office on a Sunday and tells him he saw him at the yacht club with Maya Griffin. Matt explains that Maya heard they’d met with her father and gave him a call. Sandy doesn’t care. When Kirsten ran the place, a lot of creepy guys in nice suits tried to use her to get to her father. He didn’t like it then, and he doesn’t like it now. Then he tells Matt to come in Monday with a real game plan.

Johnny drops by the pool house and tells Ryan that he finally told Marissa he’s in love with her. He tried to live with the feelings but just couldn’t any longer. He’s sorry. Ryan tells him to get out.

Julie sits incognito at the bar of a nice restaurant where, just behind her, Dr. Roberts and Laura Cross are having a romantic dinner for two. Suddenly another Newpsie, Karen Baker, comes in and recognizes her. Then Karen recognizes Laura, and pulls Julie over to their table. Dr. Roberts asks if Julie’s been spying on him but Julie is too humiliated to speak, and bolts out the door, practically knocking over a waiter as she goes.

Kaitlin finds Marissa sitting on a bench, staring out at the ocean. She reminds Marissa of a time when they were little and their dad used to take them to Baskin Robbins and Marissa would have to taste all the flavors before she finally decided on one. And then it was always the wrong one. And Dad would have to take her back in to get another one. Marissa assumes Kaitlin’s trying to make the point that everything’s always about Marissa, but this time she’s not. She’s trying to make the point that Marissa doesn’t trust her instincts. Hmm.

Johnny’s mom delivers a letter that Marissa dropped off for him.
Then Marissa pays Ryan a visit in the pool house and apologizes. For wanting to be with Johnny? No, for making Ryan wonder if she did.
Johnny stops by the trailer and invites Kaitlin on a trip to the beach. Just him, her, and a bottle of tequila. The occasion? Johnny just thinks it’s time they got a chance to party.

Summer stops by Seth’s and is surprised to find his bedroom door locked. Inside, Seth tries to air out the pot smell before opening the door, then suggests they watch the DVDs she brought downstairs.

At the beach, Johnny and Kaitlin are sharing a bottle of tequila… well, mostly Johnny’s sharing it with himself. Kaitlin goes off to find some driftwood for the bonfire and he pulls out the letter from Marissa and burns it. Then he starts climbing a steep rock formation.

Meanwhile, at the trailer, a tearful Julie is about to drown her sorrows in a hot pocket and wine cooler, when Dr. Roberts stops by to thank her for fixing him up with Laura. She tells him she’s glad it worked out, then tries to shut the door, but he blocks it. What do you want? You. When he’s not with her, he misses her.

Ryan and Marissa have finally gotten past Ryan’s silent treatment, and are making out on his bed when Marissa gets a call from Kaitlin. Johnny’s drunk and he won’t come down off the rocks. Ryan asks Kaitlin if he’s really in trouble. Yes. That’s all it takes. He’s on his way.

Meanwhile, Seth and Summer have just finished watching “Save The Last Dance” and Seth just can’t say enough about it. Or about the blue screen that’s now in front of him. It’s just so blue. Summer excuses herself to go to the bathroom, and heads upstairs for a little search and seizure. She finally finds what she’s looking for. Ew, pot.

At the beach, Ryan sends Marissa down to Kaitlin while he takes the back way up the rocks. Ryan reaches the top and starts moving in... but Johnny backs away. Ryan tells him to be careful. Right, so Ryan can come in and save him at the last moment in front of Marissa. Then Johnny slips off the edge and starts falling… Ryan reaches out to save him but he’s too late.

[Smoking Bianco]

Episode 3.15 - “The Heavy Lifting”
Aired: 2/09/06

In the wake of Johnny’s fall from the rocks, the gang waits for news from the hospital. Summer thinks no news is good news… except, adds Seth, in the case of severe head injuries. The call comes from Johnny’s mom. Ryan takes it and both Marissa and Kaitlin can tell from his face that Johnny didn’t make it.

Marissa and Chili hang out at Johnny’s mom’s house, helping out, when they come up with the idea of an outdoor memorial service on the beach during daylight. No black. And no shoes.

Meanwhile, Kirsten’s feeling a little guilty about planning a Valentine’s Day dance while the kids are going through something so horrible. Julie thinks that’s exactly why they need it.

Marissa’s coming out of Johnny’s house as Sadie, Johnny’s cousin, is coming in… with a lot of stuff. Her mom thought it would be a good idea for Sadie to come down and stay with her aunt for a while.

Justin stops by the trailer to see if he can give Kaitlin a ride back to boarding school. Kaitlin tells him it’s not a good day before slamming the door.

At the Newport Group, Sandy is out of options so he asks Matt to call Maya, the daughter of the head of the board of physicians… but with a couple caveats. No lying and no leading her on. Matt says that’s not a problem. He actually likes her.

Summer stops by Seth’s room and confronts him about the pot she found in his desk drawer. She’s not mad about the pot, because it’s just pot, but she’s mad about him lying to her for like the gazillionth time. Seth doesn’t know what he can do except tell her the truth from now on. She’s just going to have to trust him. Yeah, well, she doesn’t. So he’s going to have to come up with something else.

Marissa gets a call from Sadie and heads off to the diner to meet her. After a little small talk, in which Marissa finds out that Sadie just graduated high school and has started her own jewelry-making business, Marissa says she really should be with her boyfriend right now. Boyfriend?
Sadie assumed Johnny was her boyfriend. Uh, no, where did you get that idea? Well, last week Johnny called Sadie and asked if she’d make something special for Marissa for Valentine’s Day. And, well, here it is. Marissa’s birthstone, Johnny’s birthstone, and an angel in the middle. Sadie tells Marissa that Johnny thought she might think the angel was cheesy, but that’s what she was to him.

At the beach, the kids all pay their respects to Johnny by signing his surfboard and placing flowers on the alter made of sand. Volchok shows up and heads towards the waves with his board.

Sandy and Matt head into the kitchen after a little game of one-on-one. Sandy asks if he ever got in touch with Maya. Uh, yeah, but apparently she wasn’t too thrilled to hear from him. Turns out, after following Sandy’s instructions and not calling her after their last date, she got a little ticked off. Kirsten comes in and tries to play cupid….until she finds out that they’re talking about Maya Griffin. Sandy thinks it’s their best shot at the hospital deal, so Kirsten makes him a deal. She’ll get Maya to the party if he agrees to embrace Valentine’s Day. No whining, no snarky comments. Candies, candles, lingerie. Nice Lingerie. Nothing red, see-through or remotely edible.

At The Bait Shop, Summer encourages Marissa to make Valentine’s Day plans with Ryan since this is the first Valentine’s when they’re neither fighting nor kissing another girl. Suddenly Volchok shows up and starts talking to Sadie. He claims he just wants to see how she’s doing; but she can’t remember the last time he meant what he said. Fortunately wherever Volchok is, Ryan’s not far behind, and he tells him it’s a private party. Volchok heads out and Ryan and Sadie strike up a conversation. Turns out she’s not a stranger to wakes and funerals. Her father died of cancer when she was 14, then her dog Rocky a month later, then last summer, her best friend. Ryan’s sorry. And she thinks he’s one person who means what he says.

Julie drops by Dr. Roberts’s house under the auspices of having left her cake knife at Kaitlin’s birthday party, but shockingly there’s no cake knife to be found. Julie drops enough hints to crack the kitchen floor but the good doctor doesn’t bite.

Justin returns to the trailer to see Kaitlin, only this time he comes bearing a Valentine’s Day gift. A cute and cuddly stuffed animal. And this time Kaitlin tells him the story of Johnny’s tragic fall. And how she blames herself. Jason thinks if Johnny were alive he would be the first to take responsibility for his own actions. Kaitlin actually seems grateful for his reassurance.

In the pool house, Ryan asks Marissa what she wants to do for Valentine’s, which is tomorrow… but Marissa can’t plan that far ahead. She doesn’t think Ryan understands what she’s going through. And Ryan doesn’t understand why she thinks he doesn’t understand since he was right there with her when it happened.

In the morning, Seth drops by the pool house and tells Ryan to ignore everything Marissa said the night before. No girl wants to be alone on Valentine’s Day. And he knows this because inside his manly exterior beats the heart of a 14-year-old girl.

Kirsten takes Maya out to lunch and tells her about the new dating service… which of course Maya doesn’t need… and the upcoming Valentine’s dance. Kirsten makes it clear that they’re the ones who need her – a person who’s young and smart and active in Newport’s business and social life would be great for their image. But because Maya really is smart, she cuts to the chase and asks how badly Matt Ramsay wants to go out with her. In the end, she agrees to give him a second chance.

Ryan stops by Mrs. Harper’s house and tries to give Sadie a hand moving in. At first she hesitates because she doesn’t like the awkward conversations that go along with letting strangers help out, but somehow spending thirty seconds with Ryan changes her mind.

Seth hands Summer her Valentine’s gift but it doesn’t quite get the response he was hoping for. She makes it clear that he can’t fix the situation with lingerie… especially lingerie that is neither age appropriate nor the correct size. But before Seth can explain that the gift bags got mixed up and this lingerie was actually purchased by his father and intended for his mother, Summer tells him he was supposed to rock her world. Then he leaves and she reads the card her drew for her, which doesn’t quite rock her world but is definitely heading in that direction.

Ryan drops by the trailer to give Marissa her Valentine’s gift – a sweet necklace – and to convince her to go to the dance. But she still needs more time. Ryan wonders when the last time was that they hung out together… alone. She takes that to mean, “without Johnny” and then accuses Ryan of being glad he’s dead. Ryan refuses to dignify that with a response and takes off.

At the party, Ryan finds Summer and gives her a cocktail napkin. But not just any cocktail napkin – one on which he’s written every lie or sin he’s ever committed. And if he screws up again, she can show it to his parents. Hmm… he may have just rocked her world.

Marissa finds Chili at the beach getting wasted. They decide they’re the only ones who really understand what the other’s going through.

Justin shows up at the party and Kaitlin decides to drive back to school with him. Justin assures Julie that he’ll drive under the speed limit, make sure she buckles her seatbelt and stop for coffee several times. Julie apologizes to Kaitlin for her trip not being all she’d hope for. But hey, she’s a Cooper, she’ll survive.

Neil Roberts shows up and apologizes to Julie for all the mixed messages. He lost his nerve, but he really does want her to be his Valentine.

Ryan tells Kirsten that he and Marissa have been fighting a lot lately, mostly about whether she and Johnny were more than just friends. He doesn’t think she’s been lying to him, but he thinks she may have been lying to herself. Kirsten suggests that the night’s not over. Maybe he can make a stop on his way home...

Which he does… only it’s not to see Marissa’s. It’s to see Sadie. Ryan wonders if there’s anything he could’ve done to save Johnny. Sadie thinks it’s just hard for people to accept that life is completely out of their control. Then she heads into the kitchen. Volchok shows up at the kitchen door and tries to persuade Sadie to let him in, but right on cue, Ryan shows up and he takes off.

Marissa opens her drawer with both Ryan and Johnny’s necklaces… and she takes out one and holds it tight. It’s Johnny’s.

[t-nella]

Episode 316 -“The Road Warrior”
Aired: 3/09/06
Seth, Summer and Marissa have a hot tub session and the girls pretend they’re interested in a threesome. Seth, barely able to handle one female, let alone two, squirms away, wondering where Ryan is. So where’s Ryan? Well, he’s with Sadie at Johnny’s mom’s house, trying to fix the kitchen pipes. Naturally, he twists the wrench too hard and water begins spraying everywhere, leading to a damp, flirty moment.

Then someone knocks on the door and Sadie sees it’s the police, leading to a dry, scary moment. Seth calls Ryan about jumping in the hot tub, and Ryan assures him he’ll be home. Sadie then tells Ryan the cops think Johnny’s death maybe wasn’t an accident, so maybe Ryan should go home.

At the trailer the next day, Summer suggests a gathering with the four of them this weekend. But Marissa sees right through her scheme to get Ryan and Marissa back in close quarters. Just then, Marissa gets a call. But not from Ryan. The same Ryan who has brought Seth down to Sadie’s to see what’s what. Sadie tells him that with Johnny’s death now a question, the life insurance claim has been frozen. Bad timing, since the bank is about to foreclose on her aunt’s house. But Sadie assures Ryan he has nothing to worry about. The cops are more interested in another repeat offender -- Marissa.

At the Cohen’s’, Kirsten tells Julie that they’ve already burned through their ad budget for New Date, so maybe they’ll have to call in a favor from a publisher friend. Julie, however, is more interested in coffee after another late night in the backseat of Dr. Roberts’ Maserati. Kirsten wonders if maybe it’s time for Newport’s latest power couple to go public. Julie explains that with all the kids are going through, the adults don’t want to make any waves.

Meanwhile, back at the Newport Group, a caller reminds Matt that he forgot to send out some permits. Fortunately, his new squeeze Maya is holding them. This pleases Sandy, since they need to get the proposal to Maya’s father by Monday. But things are going well with Maya and he doesn’t want her to think he’s using her. Which he sorta was, until he realized he was way into her. Sandy tells Matt he has to come through.

Over at Harbor, Summer is still trying, with no luck, to catch up with her wildcatting father. As Summer complains to Seth, Taylor plops down between them and tries to get all caught up. And when she does, she can’t believe Seth and Summer don’t have a plan of action. Taylor suggests a hot date to take Summer’s dad’s mind off the misery of his new divorce. Perhaps Kirsten could even take on the doc as a client.

After school, Ryan drops by to help Sadie with a little spackle job, only to catch Sadie heading out to smack some sense into her uncle in Brea. Ryan asks if she needs a ride. She does not, as Volchok is going to chauffeur her. After some gruff posturing like you might see in the wild, the female selects the male of her choice. In this case, Ryan. Volchok is cool with that. Especially since Volchok says this means Marissa will be alone for a couple of hours. Well, that’s a twist Ryan didn’t appreciate.

As Sadie speeds through the desert, Ryan opens up about his rough Chino past. Family member in prison, eh? These kids have more in common than they thought.

Back in civilization, Sandy suggests a dinner date -- the Cohens, Matt and Maya. Sandy offers to bring the proposal up to Maya to save Matt the social awkwardness. Then Marissa drops by looking for advice on handling the cops in regards to Johnny’s plunge. Sandy agrees to help her reschedule her statement to the police, and to have it set in a familiar place.

That night, the ladies are pouring over the New Date roster when Summer shows up, hoping to find her father a lady friend. She’s desperate to help, because, as she explains, on his own, her father will fall for the first gold-digging slut that gets into his backseat. Summer has helpfully crafted a look book and a long list of demanding characteristics that a woman must have in order to share common interests with Dr. Roberts. Of course, Julie, who is currently entangled with Dr. Roberts without meeting any of the characteristics beyond female, has to stand there and listen to it all.

After nightfall, Sadie and Ryan finally reach Brea. Uncle Jack’s yard is strewn with debris -- a good sign for this mission. An even better sign comes when Uncle Jack doesn’t answer the door. Instead, it’s just some random dirtball. Not the specific dirtball they were looking for. Although, interestingly, the random dirtball also hates Uncle Jack. He reports that Uncle Jack moved to Indio and that’s all he knows. So…off to Indio? Sadie isn’t sure, because it’s so far. But Ryan loves long drives that could potentially end in disaster.

That night, Julie waits for Dr. Roberts at a restaurant while dressed like Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct and doing a crossword puzzle. Two of Summer’s stringent demands. Coincidentally, Taylor is in the lobby of the same place picking up a to-go order. She spies Dr. Roberts and heads his way, only to see Julie vamping.

Elsewhere, Summer implores Marissa to call Ryan. The same Ryan who’s currently shacked up in a desert motel with Sadie, who’s just getting out of the shower. Ryan asks if she wants to play poker, and indeed she does. But only if the betting involves clothes coming off. Just as Ryan shuffles up and deals, Marissa calls. Seeing her name on the ID, Ryan lets it go to voicemail. He’s got pants to take off.

Morning arrives and Sadie is ready to continue the mission. Luckily, she thinks she found Uncle Jack’s new business in the Yellow Pages. Ryan calls Seth to see just how much trouble he’s avoiding. Seth, who’s rolling around in Ryan’s bed so it would look rumpled, assures Ryan that he’s being covered. After the call, Taylor swings into the pool house with a level one emergency. That being the news of Julie and Dr. Roberts. Summer then pops in and it’s about four seconds before Taylor sprays her with the juice. When Seth expresses doubt about this relationship, Taylor reveals that she knows of the next meet-up.

Which turns out to be Dr. Roberts teaching Julie the finer points of the golf swing. Julie, having already mastered the fine art of the golf outfit, doubts her athletic ability. Seth and Summer pull up to the edge of the driving range in a golf cart and immediately spot Julie and the doctor working on the fine art of the kiss. Summer is disgusted and frightened.

Ryan and Sadie arrive at Big H Bail Bonds in Indio. They ask for Jack inside, but he’s on a job.

In an equally miserable place, Marissa stands on the cliff Johnny plunged off of, reliving the statement she made to the police earlier in the day. As she turns to leave, Marissa sees Volchok standing there. Being the friendly sort, he offers Marissa a pull from his flask. Marissa isn’t interested, and Volchok says if she ever changes her mind, ever wants to talk about Johnny, look him up.

At home, Kirsten worries to Sandy about what Maya will think when she’s clobbered with the hospital proposal. But Sandy says it has to happen.

Back in Indio, Uncle Jack finally shows up. Sadie asks him for the child support he neglected to pay over the past three years, but Uncle Jack disagrees about the amount owed. He considers it to be somewhere around zero. So Sadie grabs a pipe from the back of Jack’s gleaming new truck and smashes the side mirror off. Suddenly it’s Sadie and Ryan versus four big guys who are all licensed to carry firearms. This couldn’t have been the original plan. Fightin’ Ryan Atwood holds his own for not very long and Jack leaves him lying in a heap on the concrete. Every time he crosses the Newport county line, he gets punched.

At a diner, Sadie ices Ryan’s wounds. He assures her that it’s not that bad and then pulls a brand new move. He stealthily grabs the car keys and drives off when she isn’t looking. Sadie is stranded.

The Cohens are out with Matt and Maya, enjoying sophisticated conversation. Sandy then tells Maya the Newport Group totally revamped their proposal based on her father’s suggestions. Maya, admiring Sandy’s pluck, says she’ll be happy to review it and pass it along whenever she gets a chance. But Sandy points out that the board is meeting on Monday. They need to do this now. After a mild case of tension, Maya agrees to do it, then excuses herself from the table. Matt chases after her.

At Summer’s house, Seth and Summer are smooching, but Summer is distracted by the thought of Julie and her dad. Then, speak of the devil, the doctor comes home, full of life. Summer comes close to mentioning Julie, but when she sees how happy her father is, she lets it go.

Someone who’s not happy right now, however, is Ryan Atwood. He’s back at the bail bonds place. But he just wants to talk. He tells Jack that his father made a lot of the same mistakes. And the biggest one was abandoning them. Without money, they had no shot. Jack has an employee give Ryan the old heave ho. But as Ryan dusts himself off, Jack drops an envelope at his feet and tells him to never show up again. Then, in some felicitous timing, Sadie arrives in a cab. Ryan hands her the envelope full of money.

Back from the restaurant, Sandy tells Kirsten that Matt just called. Good news, Maya loved the proposal and is going to show her father. Bad news, she dumped Matt to move back to New York. Kirsten is perturbed. Mostly because Sandy Cohen has become a changed man. A business man.

Wrapping things up at The Bait Shop, Volchok spots Marissa all by her lonesome. Marissa spots Volchok ogling her and takes off. And Sadie and Ryan cruise back from the desert. Back in the pool house, safe from physical punches, Ryan submits himself to some mental punches by calling Marissa. They both admit that their relationship is getting off script. So maybe that’s that. But Ryan will be fine, as Sadie just showed up at the pool house looking for another round of strip poker.

[t-nella]

Episode 317 -“The Journey”
Aired: 3/16/06

Ryan Atwood is turning 18. So what are the Cohens going to do for the big party? Well, if it’s up to Ryan, nothing. Sandy encourages Ryan to do at least a little something to acknowledge one of life’s big milestones. Ryan reluctantly agrees and Seth immediately begins planning a blowout.

That night, Ryan and Marissa each pick up their phones. Neither has the courage to dial. At school the next day, Summer catches up with Marissa, wondering if this Ryan stuff is getting to her. Marissa assures her that she’s moving on. Summer is about to break the Dr. Roberts/Julie news to Marissa, but when Ryan enters the hallway, Marissa takes off.

At home, Kirsten tells Sandy she thinks an Atwood should be at the big birthday party. With dad in jail and Trey no longer welcome in Newport, that only leaves mom. Of course Sandy will have to track her down first. Meanwhile, Summer tracks down Seth in the student lounge and says they need to make a decision on Ryan and Marissa. Get them back together or finalize the breakup? And it’ll be up to Seth to handle it, since Summer is busy with her dad and Julie.

Speaking of which, the new couple just wrapped up a nooner and decided now is the time to reveal their relationship. But first, they need to determine how serious the relationship is. Ah… roadblock. The doctor gets a call. Putting a title on their fling will have to wait.

Ryan drops in on Sadie after school. She quickly asks how the breakup is going. Ryan says he needs to determine his own feelings first. Elsewhere, Marissa is relaxing at the trailer when she notices Volchok creeping around out front. He takes off before she can say anything.

In the pool house, Seth reveals to Ryan that he reserved The Bait Shop for the party. Now, about the invitations. Send one to Sadie? Yes. Send one to Marissa? Hmm. The next day, Seth is discussing party themes with Summer. He seems to be favoring a future theme. A package arrives for Dr. Roberts and Summer opens it. It contains tickets for a lovers’ cruise to Cabo. Summer immediately IDs a cruise as her father’s favorite marriage proposal setting. She determines to stop this travesty from occurring on the open seas.

Ryan continues helping Sadie work on her aunt’s house. He slips her the invite to his party, but she can’t make it because she’s heading into LA to meet a friend. And that’s when Sadie notices the invitation for Marissa. Curious. Ryan admits that he doesn’t know what to do with it.

Summer swings by the trailer and sees that Marissa is working on a CD for Ryan as a birthday gift. Picking up on her best friend’s feelings, Summer reveals the party plans and tells Marissa to come along. Marissa knows she can’t without an invite directly from Ryan.

Sandy informs Kirsten that he tracked down Ryan’s mom. She’s in Albuquerque and possibly in a spot of trouble. So Sandy is heading off to New Mexico to see what he can do. At the same time, Summer runs into Julie at the Roberts’ home. Julie tries to dodge, but Summer says she knows all about it, including the cruise. A cruise that apparently is news to Julie. Summer warns Julie that when her dad is on a cruise, a proposal gets on board with him. Julie assures her that an engagement is far off.

Sandy meets up with Dawn Atwood in an Albuquerque jail. She tearfully admits that she got picked up for passing bad checks and asks that Sandy not tell Ryan where she is. Sandy promises to look at her case file and see what he can do. That night, Matt takes Marissa down to the pier to tell her the police ruled out her involvement in Johnny’s death. He then hands her the letter she wrote to Johnny before he died. The police no longer need the evidence.

Matt walks off to take a call and Marissa notices Volchok again stalking her. She confronts him, which leads to an argument, which leads to Matt intervening. A police officer steps in, sends Matt and Marissa on their way and demands to see ID from Volchok. No doubt, Volchok’s license photo is super rad.

Ryan swings by the trailer with a party invite for Marissa. He stares at the door, then leaves, invite still in hand. The sun rises on Ryan’s birthday. Seth greets him with birthday wishes and Ryan greets him with the news that he didn’t invite Marissa. And also the news that Sadie can’t make it. Seth warns Ryan that a surprise at the party may make his head explode.

Julie and Marissa are enjoying breakfast when Julie finally breaks the news to her daughter. Although stunned at first, Marissa is actually pretty okay with the relationship. In Albuquerque, Sandy tells Dawn that he got the charges dropped and he even paid the restitution she owed to the aggrieved parties. All she has to do is enter rehab and show up at Ryan’s birthday party. Not in that order. She balks at going to the party, but Sandy assures her that it’ll work out just fine. She wants to shower and change clothes first, so Sandy offers the use of his hotel room.

Sadie gives Ryan a nice little birthday present. A hammer. Aww. He tells her that he didn’t invite Marissa to his birthday. In case…um…you change your mind. Or you bring your friend by. Or whatever. Sadie tells him that the friend she’s meeting is the guy she was seeing before Johnny’s death. He wants to talk, so she has a decision of her own to make.

Down at the beach, Marissa tracks down one of Volchok’s friends and asks where he is. The friend tells him to check one of Volchok’s former employers. At lunch, Julie tells Dr. Roberts that the girls know about them. And she knows about the cruise. He…uh…doesn’t seem all that happy about this revelation.

At home, Kirsten finds out that Ryan didn’t invite Marissa to the party. While she’s okay with that decision, she implores Ryan to at least tell Marissa personally. Don’t wait for her to figure it out when no invitation arrives. Back in Albuquerque, Sandy looks for Dawn in the hotel room, but she’s gone. Only a letter to Ryan is left behind. At the same time, Ryan has an envelope of his own for Marissa. But she’s not at the trailer. Ryan goes inside, sees the CD she made for him, sees the photos of the two of them she has out and starts thinking.

And the reason Marissa isn’t at the trailer is because she’s still tracking down Volchok. She finally finds him at a job site, working construction, cool as ever. Interestingly enough, the job is at the model home Ryan and Luke accidentally burned down two years ago. She apologizes for the run-in at the pier the other night. Then she starts to realize just where she is. Memories comes rushing back. They come back to Ryan as well as he listens to the CD in the trailer. Overwhelmed, Marissa passes out and tumbles halfway down the stairs.

It’s party time. But not for Marissa. Ice pack on her head, she’s being walked home by Volchok after a trip to the emergency room. And only the ice is cooler than Volchok right now. Just barely, too. Volchok begins to open up to Marissa. He always thought Johnny was better than him, but Johnny’s the one who died. Volchok gives Marissa his number in case anything happens, then takes off.

Inside, Marissa finds her party invite. At said party, Dr. Roberts tells Summer he had different plans for the cruise. He was going to invite her ex-stepmom in an attempt to get back together with her. But maybe Julie finding out is all for the best. Sandy finally makes it to the party and comes clean with him. He went to see Dawn, but she couldn’t make it tonight. Then he hands Ryan the letter she wrote.

Ryan heads outside to read the letter. In it, he finds a photo from younger, happier days. As he stares at it, Marissa sees him. She loses her courage and takes off before he sees her. Which is fine, because that spared her from seeing Sadie make the party. She told her guy that she couldn’t make it to LA tonight.

Julie and Dr. Roberts prepare to leave for the trip. Before stepping outside, Dr. Roberts looks at the ring he has in pocket one last time. Elsewhere, Volchok finds Marissa on the lifeguard stand after she called him. He pulls out his flask again, and this time Marissa takes a pull.

[Smoking Bianco]

Episode 318 -“The Undertow”
Aired: 3/23/06


Not only is Summer bored watching Ryan and Seth play video games, she thinks Seth should be preparing for the Brown interview he has in 11 hours. Sadie comes in with various snack treats for the boys. And now she’s ready to play some games. Seth doesn’t think a lowly girl can handle his gaming mastery.

Summer pulls Ryan out to the kitchen and says it seems Ryan sure is moving on. Summer makes it clear that although Marissa is her best friend, she realizes Ryan and Marissa just don’t add up. Which is why it’s so good he’s found Marissa’s opposite in Sadie. By the time Ryan and Summer return to the living room, Sadie has already defeated Seth in a shocking upset.

And then Jess, Trey’s old girlfriend, drops by the Cohens’ with a belated birthday gift from Trey to Ryan. Ryan doesn’t seem too interested in a Trey update, but Jess says if he ever wants to talk, he knows where to find her. Ryan stares at the small, wrapped present after she leaves.

The next day, Ryan finally opens the gift. It’s a toy car. Possibly stolen, to complete the metaphor. Seth wonders about the cheap gift, but Ryan says there’s a long story behind it. And he’s not interested in telling the story, nor in reconnecting with Trey. At the trailer, Volchok drops by with a gift of his own for Marissa. The expensive watch she gave him months ago so he’d leave Ryan alone. Marissa is slightly icy towards Volchok. Iciness being the fertilizer that makes love grow.

Seth wraps up his Brown interview. Summer immediately wants to know how it went. Seth tells her they had an animated discussion about anime. She doesn’t know what that means, but she’s happy for him. Seth leaves to call his parents with the good news and Taylor rushes up to Summer to congratulate her. Taylor suggests a celebration later that night, but Summer says the couple wants some couple time. After all, Dr. Roberts is on a cruise, leaving a big, empty house full of couches and beds behind.
Ahh, Taylor gets what she’s saying. Which is odd, because Summer doesn’t get what she’s saying. Taylor explains that she figured Seth and Summer would be having sex. She didn’t realize the fire had gone out already. Gosh, then Summer must be panicking about all those nubile coeds at Brown who will tempting Seth every hour of every day. But Summer wasn’t. She assures Taylor that not only will they be fine at Brown, but that they hook up regularly.

Back home, Ryan is holding the toy car, lost in his thoughts. Sadie drops by for a chat. Ryan doesn’t want to talk, but Sadie assures him that whatever he has to say, whenever she wants to say it, she’ll be there for him. Or, you know, he can continue to bottle it up. Whatever he wants.

Dr. Henry Griffin drops in on Sandy at work. And the doctor wants to talk about Matt. Apparently, some board members have learned about wild parties at Matt’s house. Drinking, gambling, playing music at loud volumes.
They’re not sure they want to do business with such a person. Sandy promises to talk to Matt, but the doctor wants more than a simple slap on the wrist. He wants Matt off the project. Sandy balks, and Dr. Griffin advises to take a few days to think about it. Don’t throw away the entire hospital project because of some young hotshot. Of course, it’s possible this is all about Maya, not parties.

That night, Seth finds Ryan making a lonely sandwich in the kitchen. He asks if Ryan has Sadie plans for that evening, but Ryan isn’t sure. He maybe wants to catch up with Jess and make sure Trey is okay. Seth points out that won’t help Ryan any and Sadie is just waiting for him to make a move, so make a move already. Out at the beach, Marissa sits on her favorite lifeguard stand, staring at her phone. But she doesn’t dial. Instead, she runs. Runs all the way to Matt’s place. She tells him that she’s all alone, so Matt offers up some room in his place for the weekend. It’s no problem since he’s heading up to LA tomorrow.

Marissa is alone because Seth and Summer are spending time together. Which they’re currently doing at Summer’s house, watching the Blade trilogy. Summer tries to create a spark, but Seth brings up the salami sub he had for dinner, immediately ruining the mood. He tries to salvage it, but it’s too late. They end up watching the third chapter.

Ryan calls Sadie and says he’ll be at her place in twenty minutes. But first, he has to stop off at Jess’ place to see what Trey is up to. She wants to be flirty, but he just wants to be businesslike. So she tells Ryan that Trey is currently dealing blackjack at on off-Strip casino. She heads upstairs, begging Ryan to stay just a little while longer. She has a lot more to say about Trey.

Morning comes and Ryan finally comes to Sadie. He promises that he’s back on drywall after being distracted for a few days. She’s fine with it, although she does demand one dinner as restitution. Elsewhere, Sandy swings by Matt’s and is quite surprised to find Marissa there. She promises that it’s innocent. She just didn’t want to be alone in the trailer.

Summer is picking up some breakfast take out when Taylor finds her. Excited about their night of passion, Taylor demands details. Summer just says they had a very nice time? Taylor realizes that no sex went down. Summer runs out as Taylor offers to help. At the pool house, Ryan works the heavy bag as he thinks about all he and Trey have been through. Kirsten comes in to make sure Ryan is okay. While she’s there, she says hey, isn’t that Sadie nice? And no baggage for once!

Making dinner that night, Sandy tells Kirsten about Marissa being at Matt’s. Kirsten tells him not to worry. Matt’s still young and foolish. And then Jess calls Ryan in a panic. Ryan tells her to stay put and takes off.

Summer and Marissa head out to The Bait Shop to relax and have some girl talk. Marissa spots the ever-present Volchok at the bar. They exchange smoldering looks before Marissa suggests leaving. Ryan arrives at Jess’ place. She says she called her boyfriend today to break up with him and has been spotting him creeping around the house all day. Ryan tells the guy to am-scray and then Jess says he can go. She’ll be okay. On his way out, Ryan spots a picture of Trey in Jess’ purse.

The next morning, Ryan wakes up at Jess’ place. But nothing happened. Except some tough Atwood bodyguarding. Trey calls Jess and she says Ryan is there with him. Ryan doesn’t want to talk to him. Ryan asks Jess what happened to changing her life, but Jess whimpers that she can’t resist that famous Atwood charm. Ryan advises Jess to call her USC friends down for the day and forget about her guy problems.

At the Cohens’, Sandy congratulates his boy on his Brown interview. But Seth has a concern. He wants to know if his old man ever got stale with his mom while they were in college. Tired of constantly being around each other. Sandy tells Seth that Kirsten was such a firecracker that no man could tire of her. Things were always nice and hot. And Seth is no longer hungry. Then Sadie comes in, looking for Ryan. Seth searches for a good lie, but Sadie already knows where he is and why. Sadie wonders if maybe Ryan’s life is too intense for a simple girl like her. Seth implores her to just give Ryan a chance, because he knows Ryan is into her.

Taylor pops in on Summer and asks if she wants to attend a prom theme meeting. After some moderate arm twisting, Summer agrees. Over at the Newport Group, Sandy is confronting Matt about his indiscretions. Matt swears that it’s all a witch hunt and begs Sandy for a second chance.

Summer arrives at school for the prom meeting…only to find Seth is there for an A.V. club meeting. Taylor gleefully reveals that she set the whole thing up so they could discuss their stagnant relationship. In front of her. Because even though she’s not a licensed sex therapist, her father was, and she going to help her friends get through their intimacy issues. Okay, first, how about a touching exercise? Seth wants to leave, but Summer orders him to stay and complete to drill. They do, but they don’t feel anyway, so Taylor suggests some breakup counseling.

Sadie and Ryan go out for that dinner he owes her. Then Ryan gets a call from Jess’ friend Kim. The short version is, a big USC party broke up, Jess’ ex is on a rampage and coming over and a drunken Jess is locked in the pool house and she’ll only talk to Ryan. Sadie stares at Ryan. Decision time. He’ll…be right over. Back at The Bait Shop, Volchok again runs into Marissa. She resists his pleasant entreaties.

At the party, a crying Jess lets Ryan into the pool house. He advises her to get back out to the party, but she says she wants to be alone with him. He knows how to take care of her. She starts kissing him, just in time for her ex to come in. Fightin’ Ryan asks if he wants to step outside. He does. Jess watches them go, hoping they don’t fall into the pool while fighting, or knock over an expensive vase while fighting, or tip over the bar while fighting or any of the other things Ryan usually does while fighting.
The ex punches Ryan and Ryan pins him to the ground. The ex says it’s none of Ryan’s business and Ryan realizes he’s right. So he leaves in a complete anticlimax. Jess chases after him. Ryan tells her the solution is simple. Stop dating jerks. They should teach that at USC.

Taylor stops by Seth’s room with a little gift for him. The Kama Sutra. And a willingness to talk him through each position. Sandy has dinner with Dr. Griffin. He asks the doctor to call the board and defend Matt, but he won’t. Sandy realizes that this is indeed about Maya. Dr. Griffin admits that it is. His daughter cried for days. So which will it be? The hospital, or Matt? Later, at home, Sandy gets a call from Matt. Sandy looks at his phone, but doesn’t take the call. Perhaps the decision has already been made.

Kirsten sees Ryan moping in the pool house and immediately knows what happened with Sadie. She tells him things are never over. He just has to talk to Sadie. And Seth stops by Summer’s room, ready to Kama Sutrize Summer. When she finds out Seth received a one-on-one lesson from Taylor, she tries to slap him. But he grabs her hand first. The tension creates a spark. And the spark creates sex.

Ryan visits Sadie and tells him the significance of the toy car. He and Trey used to play with him as children when their parents would fight. Trey promised one day he’d buy a Camaro so he and Ryan could get out of town. But he couldn’t afford one, so he tried to steal one instead. Next thing you know, Ryan is in Newport and Trey is in Vegas. The story creates emotion. And the emotion creates sex.

Marissa comes home to the trailer. Volchok is waiting for her on the porch. Marissa storms into the house, leaving the door open behind her. The open door creates an invitation. And yes, the invitation creates sex.

[t-nella]

Episode 319 -“The Secrets and Lies”
Aired: 3/30/06

At the Bait Shop, Summer and Seth observe Ryan and Sadie from the balcony. Summer is positive that their body language indicates attraction. Seth claims that Ryan says they’re taking things slow, but Summer says the body doesn’t lie, and she’s being forced to send out a hot new couple alert. When Ryan and Sadie leave alone, hugging the whole way, Summer’s interpretation is confirmed.

Then Seth and Summer spy Marissa and Volchok making out. Summer is not nearly as excited by that body language. The next morning, Marissa wakes up in Volchok’s arms and a filthy trailer. As the classy couple sleeps, Summer begins pounding on the door. Marissa hides a beer bottle, a bong and Volchok before answering the door. Summer immediately begins demanding answers. Before their conversation goes anywhere, both girls get a call from the parents, each scheduling a dinner that night.

Summer says she’ll wait for Marissa to get dressed so they can head to school together. In the one other room, Marissa finds Volchok treating himself to wake and bake. He earned it after a night of partying. He kisses her, blowing smoke into her mouth in the process. It had to have tasted awesome.

Elsewhere, a very chipper Ryan greets Seth for breakfast. Both Cohen men are confused by the Atwood smiling. Kirsten comes in, cheerily describing her plans for the evening with Sandy. It mainly involves dinner and a walk on the beach followed by stuff Seth doesn’t want to hear about. Sandy begs out, saying he wants to wait for an evening when his head is in it.

School time. Summer asks Seth if he told Ryan about Volchok, but Seth says Ryan is in such a good mood that Seth doesn’t want to ruin it. They decide not to tell anybody anything at any time. At the Newport Group, Sandy explains the situation to Matt. He has no choice but to fire him. Matt angrily responds that he’s being made a fall guy, and Dr. Griffin is no angel himself. He’s been taking kickbacks from vendors for years. When Sandy points out that’s a bold accusation, Matt says he likes to know the people he deals with, and he’d be happy to back up his charges to Sandy or anybody else that will listen. Sandy thanks Matt for letting him know he’s making the right decision. Matt coldly warns Sandy that he has no idea how complicated things can get.

That night, the Roberts and Coopers have come together. When the parents announce their engagement, Summer cheerfully congratulates them. But Marissa, whose downward descent is setting land speed records, isn’t nearly as enthused. She chugs a glass of champagne, sarcastically congratulates her mother and then strolls out. Summer chases after her, only to find Volchok waiting for Marissa. Volchok, like any good badass, rides a motorcycle, and he and Marissa race off into the darkness. That darkness being symbolic of Marissa’s new path.

At the same time, Seth and Kirsten return from a movie, having decided to spend the night together after Sandy backed out. They had such a pleasant time, they’re already looking forward to a second night. Then Seth gets a call from Summer about their Volchok-related emergency. She wants Ryan helps in saving Marissa from her slut spiral.

Speaking of Ryan, he’s just about to get down with Sadie in a candlelit pool house as Kirsten and Seth return home. Seth jiggles the locked door, then shouts that Ryan needs to save Marissa from Volchok. That’s enough to get Ryan to open the door and enough for Sadie to leave.

The next day at school, Seth wants to know what Ryan is going to do about Volchok, Ryan, perhaps hanging up the gloves for good, says he can’t do anything. Marissa makes her own choices and so does he. Seth is confused by Zen Ryan. At the trailer, Kirsten is helping Julie pack up while expressing surprise at her latest engagement. Julie swears it’s not about money this time.

Ryan spots Marissa in the hallway and sidles up to her, wondering why she missed that day’s test. Perhaps the flask that just fell out of her locker answers his question. Over at the Newport Group, Sandy asks Dr. Griffin about Matt’s allegations, and the doctor angrily refutes them. Sandy wonders why Dr. Griffin is so defensive. When Sandy asks for it, Dr. Griffin gives his word that his dealings are clean.

After school, Summer finds Marissa laying on Summer’s car and taking pulls from the flask. Marissa isn’t too interested in Summer’s thoughts on men and good decisions, advising Summer to take her boyfriend in her BMW back to daddy’s mansion. Summer can only retort that Marissa should go with Volchok to a heavy metal vomit party.

Sandy is about to call it a day when he hears noise coming from a file room. He opens the door, only to find Matt taking files he claims are his. If Sandy won’t believe him, then he has no choice but to protect his files. Sandy wonders if he’s being threatened, and Matt coolly tells him, “Game on.” It seems that Matt loves Paradise Hotel as much as everybody else.

Ryan and Sadie sit down for some chili fries at the diner. Just when they think they’re about to have a good night, some skate punks come in, loudly talking about Volchok’s new girl and how hot and wild she is. Sadie leaves and Ryan has to chase after her. She thinks maybe if the mood is constantly being ruined, they’re trying too hard. Give it some time. Then Ryan ducks back inside and tells the dudes he’s looking for Volchok, and Volchok can find him at the pier tomorrow morning. Man, Volchok doesn’t get up before the crack of noon, Ryan! He’s too wasted!

It’s eight o’clock high and Ryan is at the pier, as advertised. Volchok comes up to him, itching for a scrap. But Ryan merely wants to chat. He says that he doesn’t care who Marissa dates, but she looked pretty rough at school the other day. Ryan’s not looking after her any more, so it’s on Volchok now. Volchok seems to take this words to heart. But maybe he’s just high.

Over at the Roberts mansion, Marissa and Summer sit down for a chilly breakfast. Julie and Dr. Roberts tell the girls that they’re having a family dinner tonight, something they hope becomes a weekly tradition. Ryan drops by Sadie’s, only to find some dude there. But the dude is harmless. He’s merely purchased Sadie’s house. Ryan tells Sadie Volchok and Marissa are in the past. Sadie then tells him her Newport days might be in the past. The house is sold, so why stay? She’d have to find an apartment and then what? Wait for Ryan to finish up at Harbor?

The next day, Ryan tells Seth the Sadie train ran off the tracks. Seth can’t believe Ryan would continually put his life on hold for disaster cases, yet put his own happiness on the back burner. Ryan realizes he has to ask Sadie to stay. Nearby, Sandy is having lunch with Dr. Griffin. Dr. Griffin thinks Matt’s file job is just an attempt to get a rise out of Sandy. Dr. Griffin tells Sandy to stop worrying about. He’ll handle this problem from now on. Sandy thinks that sounds a little ominous.

Summer prepares for the family dinner, but finds out Marissa might skip it. Summer immediately calls Seth to ask why this Marissa problems hasn’t been handled yet. Anyway, Seth has another evening with Mom planned, so he has to press END. Three-fourths of the new family sits down to dinner, all wondering where the other one-fourth is.

Well, she’s on the beach with Volchok. She wonders about his sudden interest in her life, and he replies that he merely feels she deserved to be treated right. She smiles and says if she wanted that, she wouldn’t be with him. Volchok is okay with that, so he immediately shakes off all lingering effects of Ryan’s little talk and offers Marissa some cocaine. On a windy beach. How irresponsible can one guy be?

Kirsten and Seth arrive at their second date, Kirsten’s AA meeting. When he finds out what it is, he wants to bail, but Kirsten begs him to stay for only an hour. It’s important to her. It dawns on Seth that he needs to do this.

When Matt gets home, he has two messages on his machine. One from a reporter who’s extremely interested in his story, and one from Sandy saying they need to talk. There’s a knock on the door, and when Matt answers, four goons come in, intent on busting up Matt’s place. And busting up Matt in the process.

Ryan swings by Sadie’s with some flowers, but all that’s there is Bob, saying Sadie just left for Oregon. That hurts too. Pain like that almost…almost makes a guy wanna fight.

Hours later, Marissa finds Ryan standing on her favorite lifeguard stand. They’re both surprised. It’s awkward for a moment, but then Marissa leaves. At the meeting, Kirsten gets her nine-month chip and makes a point of thanking Seth in front of the group, naming him as the reason she got sober.

Sadie treats herself to coffee from the vending machine in the bus depot, then turns around to find Marissa. Marissa tells Sadie she shouldn’t leave because Ryan cares about her. Sadie wonders if he actually expressed that sentiment, but Marissa says she knows Ryan well enough to know what his thinking. Sadie asks why Marissa is doing this, and she has a simple answer. Sadie makes Ryan happy.

Dr. Roberts joins Julie on the couch after dinner and explains that their engagement is merely trial. If they find the families don’t fit together, they shouldn’t go through with the marriage. Julie is stunned. Summer overhears the whole thing, and tries to reassure Julie that her father gets that way. Julie says she’s not worried about him. She’s worried about Marissa.

But there’s no need for that. Marissa just did an incredibly mature thing by tracking down Sadie for Ryan. She certainly turned the corner. Wait. No. She tries to buy a drink at the Bait Shop, then storms off when the barkeep asks for ID.

Sandy drops by Matt’s for a talk and discovers the trashed condo, with a bruised and bloody Matt sitting on the floor. Ryan comes home to the pool house and sees Sadie sitting on his bed. It’s tense for a moment, but then they begin kissing and Ryan asks what he needs to do to get her to stay. Keep kissing!

Marissa, still running all over town, returns to Volchok on the beach. She’ll have some of that cocaine now, please.

[t-nella]

Episode 320 -“The Day After Tomorrow”
Aired: 4/6/06
Summer excitedly has Seth try on longjohns and parkas as she packs for their inevitable trip to Rhode Island. Seth reminds her that they haven’t been officially accepted to Brown yet, and their good grades and SATs don’t exactly make them stand out from the pack. Heck, it’s entirely likely only Summer gets in, and then she’s off to Providence by herself. Umm…Cohen? Summer isn’t going without you. The only reason she even applied to Brown is so they could be together. Seth, however, seems like he would go in a second whether Summer is accepted or not. Sounds like these two lovebirds have a serious talk in their future.

Meanwhile, Ryan and Sadie are in the pool house taking off clothes rather than trying them on. They take a break and Ryan starts doing the math in his head about the 90-day escrow on Sadie’s aunt’s house. Let’s see…that means she should be in town for…ninety more days! Sadie mentions that right up until Ryan leaves for college. Oh. College. Right. About that. Ryan applied to Berkeley, but whatever happens happens. Another awkward Ryan and Sadie moment.

The next morning, Summer and Marissa share another chilly breakfast. Julie comes out, excited about the prospects of accepting letter arriving. She’s positive Marissa will be accepted to Berkeley, although it seems a safe bet that Marissa hasn’t been keeping her grades up lately. Julie then asks Marissa to apologize to Dr. Roberts, since the whirling vortex of Volchok’s coolness combined with his loud motorcycle woke up the doctor. But Marissa isn’t interested in playing nice so Julie can finalize her business deal.

Elsewhere, Dr. Griffin is practicing his forehand when Sandy strolls into his private court. Sandy obliquely mentioning how dangerous Newport is getting, and Dr. Griffin immediately knows he’s referencing Matt. Sandy tells Dr. Griffin he’s giving him 48 hours to resign or else Sandy will do everything in his power to take him down. Watch your back, Sandy! Dr. Griffin hands out beatings like mints!

At school, Taylor asks the group what’s going on with Marissa because she needs to talk to her about the college sweatshirt bonfire. Summer advises Taylor to stop counting on Marissa for anything beyond scoring drugs for the party. Volchok, at home in his own personal dungeon, calls Marissa and says he’s going to pick her up for a party in a half hour. No need for school today.

Volchok and Marissa cruise up to the Roberts manse so she can grab a jacket for the beach party. Volchok asks her to grab some beer cash while she’s at it. So while she’s inside, Marissa digs into Julie’s purse and pulls out a wad of twenties. Then she spots an envelope from Berkeley. She got in. Marissa confronted with a choice. Head to a prestigious university and advance her life? Or party on the beach with a guy who can’t afford beer? She looks at the letter…and then trashes it. Nobody as ice cold as Volchok goes to Berkeley. She can’t replace that.

Seth comes home and find some mail himself. And so does Summer. Summer has been admitted to the 243 rd class to enter Brown. Ryan opens his own envelope and finds that he, too, was admitted to Berkeley. He’ll have to head out tonight and buy a Che poster for his dorm room wall. That only leaves Seth. Hidden in his room, he nervously tears open the envelope and learns that…Summer has a tough decision to make about Brown, because he didn’t get in.

Summer rushes over to the Cohens with her good news about The OC: The College Years. Ryan and Summer celebrate as Seth comes downstairs. He looks at Summer, sees the optimism in her eyes and then tells her to pack a bag for Providence. The following morning, Seth wakes up at 5am and calls the admissions office at Brown. Did they make a mistake? Is there an appeals process? No and no.

Kirsten comes down for breakfast and congratulates Sandy on raising college kids. Sandy tells the boys to invite the girls to a celebration dinner that evening. A meal featuring highly educated conversation, no doubt.

At the same time, Julie is leaving an angry message on Marissa’s cell, demanding to know why she didn’t come home last night. Dr. Roberts comes to the breakfast table and hands Julie the Berkeley admissions letter he found in the trash. He knows Marissa didn’t come home last night, so Julie needs to stop pretending nothing’s happening. They both need to talk to Marissa.

Marissa wakes up in Volchok’s shabby loft and gets dressed. She mentions to Volchok that she’s going to the College Sweatshirt Bonfire at Harbor tomorrow, and Volchok scoffs at how decidedly un-Volchok such a scene would be. Marissa sarcastically asks if he doesn’t think she’s college material, and Volchok suggests she’s definitely smoking weed in Baja material. Speaking of which, that’s what he and boys are doing this weekend, so why not blow off the nerd fest. He’s manipulative, this one.

Over at Harbor, Summer asks Ryan if he’s seen Seth. She has a new facemask for him to try it. Ryan suggest bringing it to dinner that evening. Dinner? That seems to be news to Summer. And that makes her angry. Ryan turns and finds Seth hiding behind a book. Everything okay, sport? Seth makes up a feeble excuse which works on Ryan. Mainly because he’s preoccupied with how he’s going to telling Sadie he’s leaving.

And the time comes for just that. Of course, she already knew and she’s happy for him. Ryan optimistically mentions that he doesn’t head north until August, which leaves a lot of time for fun in between. But Sadie isn’t interested in such a clearly finite relationship. Then she points out that her job right now is making jewelry. She can do that anywhere. Especially the homemade crappy jewelry capital of the world, Berkeley. If Ryan wants her to. Indeed he would.

Dinner time. Summer, wearing cat’s-eye glasses and a tweed blazer to get herself in an Ivy mindset, arrives right on time. During the meal, Sadie mentions that she’ll be heading up to Berkeley, and the Cohens get excited that she’s thinking about enrolling. Apparently they aren’t aware of her limited resources. Things get awkward. So awkward that Sadie decides to leave.

Seth drives Summer home after dinner. Seth wonders about Ryan’s decision, saying college should come before love. After all, who knows if a person is right when they’re only 18. Summer says she knows…then begins to think Seth doesn’t. About to cry, she dashes inside.

The next morning, Marissa is at home packing for some sweetness in Baja. Julie comes him, wanting to have a talk. She tells her daughter it hurts to see what she’s doing to herself. Marissa says she can’t picture herself at Berkeley and Julie begs her not to give up on herself. Marissa promises to think about it.

In Seth’s room, Ryan comes in to chat about last night. When he hears about the fight with Summer, he asks if Seth really got into Brown. Seth hems, then Seth haws, then Seth admits that he did not get into Brown. Ryan asks why he’s lying about it, and Seth says because Summer said she wouldn’t go if Seth wasn’t going. Ryan, stoic as ever, advises Seth to tell her the truth.

Ryan then meets up with Sadie at the diner and invites her to the bonfire before apologizing about last night. But she thinks maybe the Cohens were right. Maybe they should think about what they’re doing. She thinks that Ryan is one of those people that finds themselves in college and she doesn’t want to get in the way of that. Ryan says he feels more like himself with her than he ever has.

As Summer and Taylor pick up food for the bonfire, Summer complains about Seth’s attitude as of late. Taylor informs Summer that sometimes men merely need to exert independence before undergoing a great change. Ryan gets ready for the bonfire and Sandy drops by the pool house with a couple of old Berkeley sweatshirts Ryan might want to wear. Then he has some real world thoughts for him. Sandy’s friend could get Ryan in the dorms, but if he’s living with Sadie, he’ll need off-campus housing. Which means they’ll probably both needs job. Ryan seemingly never even considered the real world ramifications of his romantic gesture. Of course, doing so wouldn’t be very romantic.

Marissa calls Volchok and tells him she’s out for Baja. Volchok takes it hard. Damn books stealing his hot girl! Ryan swings by to pick up Sadie. She has some huge news for him. A guy that sells her jewelry runs a co-op in the Bay Area, so she could live there. isn’t that great? Ryan planned on giving Sadie some big news too, bad news, but instead he just swallows his words.

Seth has his own big news for Summer. He slides into her room to tell her, but she’s out. That’s when he notices that she’s turned her dresser mirror into a photo collage of the two of them. That doesn’t help Seth’s cause. Later, Summer comes back from helping Taylor set up. Marissa sees her and apologizes for her recent behavior. Summer likens Seth and Brown to Gollum and the one ring, but Marissa assures her they’ll be fine.

Downstairs, Dr. Roberts catches up with Julie at the pool bar. She curtly tells him she can’t talk about their test. She’s too busy worrying about Marissa right now. Dr. Roberts apologizes for having made Julie feel that way. Just then, their two daughters, chipper as ever in their school sweatshirts, say goodbye and head out to the bonfire.

At the party, Summer immediately notices that Seth isn’t wearing a name sweatshirt. Taylor pulls Sadie aside to talk and Ryan and Marissa finally realize that they’re both going to the same school. Marissa isn’t sure she’s doing the right thing, and Ryan lets her knows he’s always there for her.

Sandy meets up with Dr. Griffin. Sandy coldly tells him his friends in the DA’s office are going to find out who attacked Matt, and they’re not going to be quiet about it. Dr. Griffin tells Sandy he can only offer his word that he’s innocent. Oh, and $700 million. With the hospital going up, the city wants to revitalize the whole area. Parks, affordable housing, restaurants. Dr. Griffin is friends with the head of appropriations committee, and he’s asked about the Newport Group. Sandy is aware he’s being bribed, but Dr. Griffin merely says Sandy has a chance to change the face of the city.

The object of their conversation, Matt, arrives at the Cohens. Kirsten, shocked to see his bruises and scrapes, invites him in, but Matt is all business. He’s just dropping off the proposal for Sandy. But before leaving, he advises Kirsten to get Sandy to quit this hospital deal before it’s too late.

Seth and Summer are off to themselves with Seth trying to work up the courage to break his news. He ends up telling her he doesn’t think Brown is the right choice for him. But she should still go. Summer asks if he really means it, and Seth responds that he thinks it’s for the best. Summer tells him fine. It’s over.

Speaking of which, Ryan finds Sadie sitting by herself. She announces that she’s not going to Berkeley. When Sandy arrives home, Kirsten tells him Matt came by and begs him to quit the deal. Sandy says it’s complicated now that more than the hospital is involved. He can’t just quit. She storms off.

[t-nella]

Episode 321 -“The Dawn Patrol”
Aired: 4/13/06

It’s dinner time at the Cohen household. Ryan and Seth whisper conspiratorially about the wisdom of Seth lying to Summer about Brown. Seth still stands behind his decision, but not so much that he wants to tell his parents about it. Kirsten mentions that tickets for graduation have come in, and Ryan suggests giving his to the Nana since he won’t be needing them. Kirsten thinks Ryan should maybe invite his mom. Ryan thinks maybe he should avoid the topic and hope it just goes away.

Later, Kirsten drops in on the pool house, apologizing for making Ryan uncomfortable. But Ryan is actually aware of the reality of the situation. This could be his last chance to see his mom. So it’s off to Albuquerque.

When Marissa gets out of the shower the next morning, Volchok is waiting in her bedroom. And he’s ready to get her out of that robe and get it on. But that will have to wait, because Julie’s in the doorway and she already doesn’t like Volchok. It’s cool. Volchok doesn’t have to stick around for this. Julie tells Marissa no more Volchok, which is usually just the impetus Marissa needs to do something. If anything, Julie should’ve told Marissa to marry Volchok. Then she would’ve dumped him before lunch.

At harbor, Summer glumly shuffles around the student lounge. Seth watches her longingly from a distance, but doesn’t say anything. Taylor takes in the scene and then joins Summer at her table. But not matter what optimistic viewpoint Taylor has to share, Summer doesn’t want to hear it. She’d rather rant and rave about what Seth did to her. She can’t figure it out either, because she’s gotten even hotter this year and there’s no way a guy like Seth could walk away from her unless he was hiding something. And she’s determined to get to the bottom of it.

Matt’s enjoying a morning cocktail at the yacht club when Sandy arrives for a meeting they’d planned. Matt hands Sandy a projection of calculated future earnings, with a little pain and suffering cash thrown in. Either Matt gets his money from Griffin or he tells the DA about the documents he has on Griffin. Sandy realizes he’s being blackmailed for the second time in a week.

Marissa drops by Volchok’s ultra cool loft to hang out. At the same time, Ryan arrives at a small diner in Albuquerque looking for his mother. But her shift doesn’t start for a couple of hours. He’ll be back. Dawn’s young coworker, Chloe, is more than pleased to see somebody as cute as Ryan show up. Hopefully she has a troubled past, or else Ryan just won’t be into her.

Meanwhile, in calculus class, Summer frantically tries to get Seth’s attention. She then bursts out laughing and explains to the annoyed teacher that Seth’s dead-on impersonation of the teacher’s penguin walk was cracking her up. The teacher gives them both weekend detention. In the hallway, Summer explains that she broke up with him, she has the power to revoke said breakup. Which she is doing until he can sufficiently explain what his deal is lately. She kisses him and then reports to Dr. Kim’s office. Seth is slightly confused, to say the least.

After nightfall, Ryan heads back to the diner. He sees his mom slinging club sandwiches and flirting with a biker and decides he’d rather not go in. But when he turns to leave, Chloe asks where he’s going. And if he’s not going inside, would he like to go somewhere with her? Indeed he would.

Just then, Marissa and Volchok are about to go downtown when there’s a knock at the door. From outside, Julie calls out for Marissa. Marissa hides as Volchok lets Julie in. Julie explains to Volchok that’s he just one in a long line of Marissa’s phases, and it’s inevitable that she’ll wise up one day and leave him in the dust. Marissa overhears the entire conversation.

Chloe and Ryan have a beer in a bar and talk about Dawn a little bit. Chloe explains that Dawn is doing pretty well, despite her biker boyfriend, who’s actually not that bad of a guy. But enough about that. How about a dance? Followed by some passionate kissing as they blow into Ryan’s hotel room? Followed by the traditional removing of the clothes?

In a less sexy atmosphere, Sandy meets with Dr. Griffin. The doctor informs Sandy that the urban planning commission has signed off on his plans, but Sandy has more immediate concerns. Matt concerns. Sandy tells Dr. Griffin about Matt’s threats and says if the evidence is as worthless as Dr. Griffin claims, he’s ready to let the police handle the whole thing. Dr. Griffin asks Sandy not to put the hospital at risk, let him handle Matt. But Sandy is going to make Matt his problem. Dr. Griffin icily offers good luck…to both of them.

Ryan calls Seth and wonders if he should go through with talking to his mother. He’s not so sure Dawn and the biker will fit in at a Harbor graduation. Seth advises him to be a man. Somebody around there has to. Speaking of which, Ryan thinks is high time Seth told Summer the real deal on Brown. They wish each other luck and set off on their respective quests.

Ryan walks into the diner and Dawn is thrilled to see him, albeit completely shocked as well. Summer is just as happy to see Seth in her bedroom. She gets her own shock when Seth informs her that he’s breaking up with her, thereby granting himself the power of their breakup status. Which means he’ll never have to tell her why he’s been so weird lately, the main condition of her original un-breakup proposal. A victory for legal maneuvering!

Back at the diner, Dawn is still beaming. She tells Ryan that Chloe called, told her he was in town and mentioned the graduation. And she’d be thrilled to go. Thanks for asking. Ryan suggests they talk tomorrow since she’s so busy.

Ryan returns to the diner the next morning, still feeling awkward. When he hears Dawn on the cell phone talking to her boyfriend about flights to Orange County, he starts feeling both awkward and regretful. Elsewhere, Summer is complaining to Taylor about Seth’s artful moves in seizing control of their relationship. The worst part is, she still loves him. Taylor explains that he’s merely acting out of fear. He’s trapped in an anxiety spiral. Hmm. Interesting. Maybe Summer needs to do some scheming of her own.

Taylor calls Seth and informs him that detention today is being held in the student lounge. Sandy gets a call of his own from Kirsten. She wants to know why he’s been avoiding her lately. She needs him home tonight so they can talk. Sandy promises to walk through that door at 7. Matt catches up with Sandy at the yacht club bar, and Sandy tells him to get out of town because Griffin passed on the deal. Matt says that’s not what he heard from Dr. Griffin himself. They’re meeting tonight to hand over the cash.

Volchok and his surf crew are having an afternoon party at the loft. Marissa notices one of the guys pour a clear liquid into the beer of a wasted chick before encouraging her to drink up. Marissa watches as the girl chugs her beer, then passes out in the guy’s non-loving arms.

Seth cautiously wanders into school, only to find that it’s been decorated with hundreds of red balloons and giant chocolate kisses. Summer comes out from behind a wall and stands up on the coffee bar counter, much like Seth did months ago when declaring his love for Summer to the entire lounge. She loves him and wants to be with him a year from now and asks if he can honestly say he doesn’t love her any more. If he can say it, she’ll know it’s over. But if not, she knows it’s something else. Seth thinks, looks at her, then says he doesn’t love her any more. Devastated, Summer gets down and runs off.

Of course, she can’t go far, since she needs to join Seth in detention. That’ll be nice and unpleasant. At the Roberts manse, Julie looks at Marissa’s Berkeley sweatshirt and decides to call her daughter. Marissa sees the caller ID, but doesn’t take the call. She’s too worried about what’s going to happen to the party chick. When Marissa sees two guys taking her outside, she follows. She demands that the guy open up their van. Inside, Marissa finds the girl with her pants off and a guy pawing at her. But Marissa arrived just in time to prevent any foul deeds.

In Albuquerque, Dawn and Chloe come by the hotel with the fruits of a shopping spree. Dawn wants to show Ryan the dress she bought, but Ryan’s in a hurry. But he still has a little time to lie to his mom and say he’s probably blowing off graduation. Maybe she could visit later in the summer. Dawn knows when she’s being lied to and storms out. Ryan tells Chloe that it’s always the same old story with his mom. She gets clean, only to bottom out again. Chloe makes sure Ryan knows the Dawn isn’t dating a biker to be wild. She helped clean him up. Even fixes his car for him. Ryan did not know that. Chloe offers Ryan a ride to the airport, but they have one stop to make first.

In Newport, Kirsten calls Sandy to find out why he blew off their plans. But she can’t ask his voice mail. Sandy didn’t take the call because he’s in a darkened parking garage so he can spy on Matt and Dr. Griffin’s handoff. Matt sees Dr. Griffin brought a friendly neighborhood goon with him and says the files are in his backseat. But Dr. Griffin didn’t bring the muscle to carry boxes. Sandy pops out from between two cars and says it’s all for the best, since there are no files. Matt’s got nothing. Sandy hips Matt to the fact that he scanned his hard drive after their meeting and found nothing. Dr. Griffin takes off. Sandy heads Matt a severance check and tells him to get to Chicago. Sandy gets in his car, looks at some files and heads home.

To the home where a very disappointed Kirsten is throwing dinner in the garbage. Then she pulls out a bottle of wine, opens it…and pours it into the sink before taking a drink. At the same time, Chloe has taken Ryan into the storage room at the diner. She wants him to see the inside of Dawn’s locker, which is covered with photos of young Ryan. Dawn comes and Chloe slides out so the Atwoods can talk. Dawn says she’s been showing up at rehab and showing up at work, despite how hard it is to hold everything together. She begs Ryan to remember that she’s not all bad. Ryan apologizes, hands her a ticket to the ceremony and then leaves.

As Ryan heads to the airport, Sandy arrives at the Newport Group and locks the files in his safe. And Marissa, in tears, comes home to Julie. Summer and Taylor sit in Summer’s bedroom, commiserating over Seth’s foolishness. When Ryan gets back to the pool house, Seth is laying in wait for him. He thinks he made the worst mistake of his life. Now he has to figure out how to get Summer back and how to get into Brown. Hard to say which feat will be more difficult.

[t-nella]

Episode 322 -“The College Try”
Aired: 4/20/06

Ryan and Seth have their bags packed for overnight trips to prospective student weekends at Berkeley and Brown. Seth, of course, is taking a trip to a school to which he wasn’t admitted so he can continue not telling his girlfriend he was rejected. Ryan is starting to doubt the specifics of Seth’s plan. Then again, the specifics don’t extend past “Go to Brown.” Seth does explain to Ryan that he planned his entire trip to avoid running into Summer. Ryan is somewhat skeptical, to say the least.

Sandy is AWOL as Kirsten takes the boys to the airport. Kirsten says that Sandy claimed to have an important meeting, but seems rather perturbed that he’s not around for the traditional Cohen airport send off. After sending the boys to their respective gates, Kirsten turns and sees Theresa greeting her young son after returning home. The lad looks more like Ryan than that other dude that could’ve been the father.

Meanwhile, Summer and Marissa are packing for their own weekends. Summer begins to fret that her frilly Newport style won’t fit in Providence. She also thinks it’s weird that they’re both going off to college without their guys. Marissa says she’ll be on the same campus as Ryan, as who knows what will happen now that she’s past her self-destructive Volchok phase. All she has to do today is swing by Volchok’s place to pick up some stuff she left there and that chapter of her life is over. Summer says that kind of trip leads to break up sex, so she’s better off skipping it. Marissa reluctantly agrees.

With the girls gone, Julie tries to make plans for an evening with Neil Roberts. But he has a surgeon’s retirement gala to attend. Speaking of which, why doesn’t she ever come to these functions any more? She should come tomorrow. Invite Kirsten and Sandy, too. Julie looks at her enormous engagement ring, then agrees to go.

Ryan arrives at Berkeley and meets up with his freshman buddy, Wes. Wes assures Ryan that it’s quite easy to fit in at Cal. Back in Newport, Marissa comes to the diner for one last meeting with Volchok. Where’s her stuff? Well, he doesn’t have it. Because she has his heart. He wants to know why she’s leaving. Marissa explains that she always thought she’d be like Liesl from The Sound of Music, living a happy, song-filled life. And Volchok doesn’t fit into her Alpine dreams.

Kirsten catches up with Sandy at the office. She needs to talk about Theresa and the toddler. Kirsten wants to tell Ryan, but Sandy thinks they should keep it to themselves if they don’t know the exact truth. At least until Ryan gets back. Kirsten doesn’t seem to appreciate that bargain.

Seth, having arrived in Providence, calls Ryan. He can’t believe how beautiful the campus is. He also can’t believe somebody just shouted out his name. With no idea who it might have been, he’s afraid to turn around. But he does…and it’s Anna. Well, that’s certainly serendipitous.

The two perfect matches immediately start catching up, and Anna asks how the comic strip is going. Seth admits that he traded it to Zach for Summer. This puts an immediate damper on Anna’s enthusiasm. Then Seth sheepishly details that he didn’t exactly get into Brown. He’s not sure how he’s going to, either, but that’s why he’s here. And now that he has the help of the wise Anna Stern, his prospects are brighter. Anna thinks, then tells Seth there’s a meet the faculty function tonight and the dean of admissions will be there.

Julie pops in on Kirsten and invites the Cohens to the doctor dinner. But Kirsten’s not interested. She and Sandy have hit a bit of a rough patch thanks to the hospital. Julie begs her to go, if only just for her. Kirsten reluctantly agrees to attend.

Ryan and Wes are having some coffee in the union with another student, Miguel. Miguel trumps Ryan’s story by boasting that he has three family members incarcerated. Not a measly two like Ryan. Ryan asks Miguel if he ever feels like he doesn’t belong. Miguel admits that he does sometimes, but as long he keeps his grades up, he has as much right to be there as anybody else. Marissa, now in Berkeley, bumps into Ryan before leaving to find her freshman buddy. The encounter is so awkward that Wes and Miguel know there’s a past here. Figuring he has to move on sometime, Ryan encourages Wes to hit on Marissa. Wes is only too happy to oblige.

Seth and Anna slide into the faculty meeting, but Seth has no idea what he’s going to say to the dean. Anna suggests at least developing some talking points, but there’s no time for that. Seth is going in. And that’s when Summer, grazing the buffet table, notices Seth is in the same building as her. In Providence. Anyway, back to Seth. He begs the dean for just five minutes to talk. The dean allots some time tomorrow around 5.

With Seth alone, Summer approaches and asks what he’s doing there. When he stammers, Summer thinks that he’s going to Brown. He just didn’t want to go with her. Then Anna comes up. Things are not moving in a positive direction for Summer. But at least now everything makes sense to her.

Across the country, Wes is still chatting up Marissa. Marissa smiles and says she reminds him of the good parts about Jimmy Cooper. Then Ryan arrives at the same party. He and Marissa seem to be moving toward being just friends at Berkeley. Back at Brown, Seth is pouting on the stairs. He apologizes to Anna for not informing her that his grand gestures were designed to get Summer back. Anna thinks she should’ve known that anyway. So stop wallowing and let’s figure out what Brown can do for you.

Sandy comes home, very interested in his doctor dinner date with Kirsten tomorrow. But before she can say anything, he gets a phone call and heads outside. Ryan calls from Berkeley and can immediately tell something is wrong by Kirsten’s voice. Ryan presses, and Kirsten tells him about Theresa’s tot. Ryan now has more on his mind than picking a major.

The next morning, Seth and Anna spy Summer on a walking tour. Anna encourages him to go tell Summer the entire truth. But when Seth approaches, Summer isn’t interested in anything he has to say, and walks off. So Seth follows her on the tour. He tries to explain, but seeing Anna is all Summer needed. She begs Seth to leave her alone.

Ryan arrives back in Newport for a baby mission. Kirsten offers him some support before he heads to Chino. In Providence, Seth meets up with the dean. The dean is quite surprised to find out Seth wasn’t admitted. He only gives Seth one minute, and Seth hurriedly stumbles through his prepared speech. The dean, upset that Seth misled him and wasted his time, gets up to leaves. Desperate, Seth speaks from the heart about Summer. She’s going to Brown and if Seth doesn’t follow her, he’ll lose her forever. The dean is touched, but his admissions stance is unchanged.

Sandy asks Kirsten why she had to tell Ryan about Theresa so quickly, and Kirsten angrily replies that Sandy used to care about family matters. Somewhat ironically, Sandy says the conversation will have to wait because he needs to head into the office.

Ryan gets to Theresa’s, but she’s not there. The baby and the sitter are, though. And boy does that kid look like Ryan. Anyway, the sitter will be sure to tell Theresa that Ryan stopped by. Five hours north, Wes and Marissa are at a party. Wes explains to Marissa that this is his second pass at freshman year. He bombed out the first time. Marissa tops that tale of woe by a mile.

Seth calls Ryan and tells him he’s heading for the airport after cutting his trip short. When the cab arrives, Anna is in the backseat. She has a quick stop to make first. The Rhode Island School of Design. Seth is going to apply, and his comic book is going to be his application. Seth doubts he can get into one of the best art schools in the country. Anna tells him to quit being so dang Seth about it.

The Cohens arrive at the retirement party. Kirsten isn’t pleased to see Sandy jump straight into work schmoozing. Marissa comes by the pool house to make sure Ryan’s doing okay. She’s quite surprised to hear the news about Theresa. Ryan figures that’s about right for how his life goes, but Marissa tells him she could tell he felt comfortable at Berkeley. He’ll get back there.

At the dinner, Sandy offers a toast to the group and thanks Kirsten. Kirsten then gives a toast of her own, detailing how many times in the past year Sandy has discussed the hospital. That didn’t seem so bad. But then she goes on to mention that they say when you grow up, you marry your father. But she thought she escaped that. Then she leaves the table. Okay, that was kinda bad.

On the way to the airport, Summer calls Marissa and breaks the Anna news. Marissa advises her to find out exactly what’s going on. Don’t just assume Seth is going to Brown for Anna. Seth and Anna are at the airport themselves, beaming over how well Seth’s interview went at RISD. Walking to the gate, Summer sees Seth and Anna hug goodbye. Maybe she isn’t assuming.

Marissa drops by Volchok’s to pick up her stuff. When she does, she notices that he’s rented a copy of The Sound of Music so he could see what she was talking about. Marissa climbs into bed next to the slumbering Volchok.

Theresa comes over to the Cohens and immediately tells Ryan that Eddie is the father. She had a paternity test and everything. They both smile and agree that it’s good to see each other again.

[t-nella]

Episode 323 -“The Party Favor”
Aired: 4/27/06

Down at the pier, Seth tries to impress upon Ryan the significance of the senior prom. If he doesn’t go with Summer, things are officially over. Ryan, who isn’t planning on going, suggests just staying in with some video games that night. But Seth isn’t having it. Beside, he left a message for Summer claiming he was a Brown admissions official, so he’s going to meet her at the diner tomorrow morning. Then the boys spot Volchok at the end of pier kissing some girl who isn’t Marissa. This other girl probably isn’t even going to college!

And so Summer strolls into the diner only to find Seth waiting for her. She tells to him to beat it before her meeting, but Seth lets her know nobody from Brown will be in attendance. Meanwhile, Theresa and Ryan are busy reminiscing by the Cohens’ pool. Then Ryan asks Theresa to the prom. Also meanwhile, Volchok is having his second makeout session in two days, this time with Marissa. Then she asks him to prom.

Back at the diner, a pancake comes out for Summer. Chocolate chips on top spell out, “Prom?” By the end of this romantic flurry, Theresa and Volchok have agreed to attend prom with the Berkeleyites, while Summer quite flatly rejected Seth. Seth immediately calls Anna for counsel. Anna, feeling guilty about making Summer think Seth is wildcatting on her, advises Seth to tell Summer the truth. The complete truth. The complete truth about not getting into Brown. Seth mentions the whole marijuana run in, when he promised to Summer he’d never lie to her again. He certainly can’t get her back by admitting he lied again. Seth thinks it’s over.

At Harbor, Taylor hunts down Summer and hands her tickets for prom, which Summer promptly hands back. Taylor tells Summer she has to go because she was last year’s queen. And what’s more, Taylor has a date for her. Jung Nom, who is a cousin of Sung Ho, Taylor’s new Korean boyfriend. He’s a model and a big star in the K-pop scene. Besides, what better way to make Cohen miserable than taking a hot boy to prom? Summer agrees.

Ryan spots Marissa in the lounge. Prom talk ensues, and they learn that Theresa and Volchok will both be at the ball. After school, Seth is leaving a message for Summer when Anna shows up. In a lesser part of town, Ryan has dropped by Volchok’s loft for a little chat. Ryan wants to ask about the little filly he saw Volchok with last night, but Volchok claims he’s too cool to remember that far back. Then Marissa pops out from the bathroom and asks what Ryan is doing there. He was just…uh…letting her know Kirsten is having a pre-prom photo party tomorrow.

The next morning, Anna lays out her multi-phase plan for fixing things between Seth and Summer. Phase one, tell Summer nothing’s going on. If that fails, phase two involves Seth taking Anna to the prom. Over at Summer’s, Marissa is examining her dress while Summer dejectedly listens to some of Jung Nom’s K-pop. She doesn’t think it’s going to do the trick on Seth. And that’s when Anna drops in. Anna tries to tell Summer the whole story, but Summer cuts her short with boasts of Jung Nom. Oh, so then Summer won’t mind if Anna goes to prom with Seth then? No, why would she? In a pique after Anna leaves, Summer takes Seth’s extensive napkin confession from earlier and places it in an envelope intended for Sandy and Kirsten. Now they can read every single thing their sweet little boy has ever done wrong.

In the pool house before the dance, Seth explains Anna’s master plan to Ryan. Simply seeing Seth with another woman will drive Summer insane and make her realize a life without Seth is not a life worth living. Later, the entire group assembles at the Cohens. Ryan and Theresa, Marissa and Volchok, Seth and Anna, Taylor and Sung Ho, Summer and Jung Nom and assorted parents. Sandy hands Taylor $100 for Ryan and Seth’s share of the after party expenses, and she adds it to the significant wad already in her clutch. Volchok takes note of the cash. As the group heads outside for photos, Summer slyly drops the confession envelope on the desk in Sandy’s office.

Volchok is absent prior to a big group photo. Ryan goes inside to look for him, finding him just before he steals Taylor’s money. Not wanting to be nicked stealing cash before the dance, Volchok covers by pouring booze into his flask. Which is…less offensive, apparently. Ryan warns Volchok that if he ruins this night for Marissa, an ass kicking is in his future.

Prom time! Summer is already envious as Seth and Anna enjoy their time together. She asks Volchok for his flask to help ease the pain. Volchok, totally missing the buzz his flask should be providing, asks Marissa if she wants to smoke up. Marissa replies that she’d rather enjoy prom, but another dirty little girl at the dance definitely would like to smoke up, and offers to take Volchok somewhere private. As they walk out, Volchok hungrily eyes up that purse one more time. Talk about foreshadowing.

Elsewhere, the Cohens are having a nice, quiet dinner with Julie and Neil Roberts when the doctor gets up to take a call. It’s from somebody who knows Sandy and has some news for him

Back at the prom, Summer is still guzzling booze while couples slow dance. Seth wants to go talk to a drunken Summer, but Anna won’t let him. Her plan is working perfectly! Taylor gets onboard the pirate ship to announce the prom queen, and wouldn’t you know, it’s Summer again! She staggers to the stage to accept her tiara, then introduces Jung Nom to the crowd and kisses him in an attempt to drive Seth crazy. Then she accidentally plunges off the ship. But she’s okay, folks!

Marissa thinks this would be a good time to head to the after party, and suggests as much to Ryan. But she can’t find Smokechok. Ryan offers to hunt him down as Marissa attends to Summer. As Ryan roams the hallways, he finds Volchok making out with his new friend. Before he can say anything, Marissa comes up and sees the same thing. Volchok tells his new friend to beat it so he can handle Marissa. Marissa slaps him and Volchok decides this whole scene is beat, man.

As Kirsten and Julie clear the table after dinner, Kirsten confesses that she had a drink last week after a fight with Sandy. Julie advises Kirsten to tell Sandy, but she doesn’t want to use alcoholism as a bargaining chip. If Sandy can’t see on his own that they’re in trouble, what’s the point?

Over at the after party, kids are openly drinking and using bongs. It seems that Taylor thought bored, rich teens could be trusted to police themselves. Marissa, disgusted by Volchok’s behavior, treats herself to a drink. Or a whole bottle. Seth and Anna check up on Summer, who’s holding onto the Earth to prevent being flung off. Anna informs Seth it’s time to ratchet it up to phase three, which is where Seth tells Summer the entire truth. Anna slips out and Seth does indeed tell Summer he was rejected from Brown and lied to her about it so she would still go. Summer is touched by the sentiment. Then realizes she gave his confession note to his parents. Either that thought or the copious amount of booze makes Summer vomit. But at least they’re back in love.

Neil Roberts pulls Sandy aside to discuss the phone call he received earlier. It was a friend of his from the hospital who’s been hearing some whispers of impropriety between Dr. Griffin and Sandy. Come Monday morning, they’re going to suspend the development and launch a criminal investigation into both men. Sandy is stunned.

Marissa stands at the end of the pier staring out into the ocean and drinking tequila straight from the bottle. Dangerous combo. Inside, Taylor screams in terror. The money is missing from her purse. Officer Ryan Atwood is one of the first responders, and he has a prime suspect in mind. He heads straight to Volchok’s. Volchok invites Ryan in, closes the door and offers to settle this once and for all. But Ryan’s not interested. He just wants the money. Volchok goads Ryan by pointing out that he can get Marissa naked on his mattress whenever he wants and the battle is finally on. Volchok isn’t very mellow for a guy who smoked up earlier and starts throttling Ryan. Ryan turns the tables and starts punching Volchok until he’s laying motionless on the floor. And then it was over.

[t-nella]

Episode 324 -“The Man of the Year”
Aired: 5/04/06

Ryan stares at Volchok’s motionless body, then at his bloody hands. Using Volchok’s van, he drives him to the hospital. A nurse asks Ryan if he knows who did this, but Volchok comes to and says he got jumped. He didn’t see who did it. As they wheel him away, Volchok tells Ryan this isn’t over.

The next morning, Kaitlin calls Marissa and begs her to intercept a letter her school sent to Julie. Marissa reluctantly agrees, but Kaitlin will have to tell her why later. And Ryan gets a call from Theresa. When Ryan is distant during the call, Theresa grows concerned. Seth comes in with some coffee, happy that things are finally turning around now that he’s told Summer the truth. Ryan wonders if he’s going to then tell his parents about Brown. Indeed he is not. Not yet.

Marissa walks in on a very hungover Summer. When Marissa mentions the letter from Kaitlin’s school, Summer immediately remembers the confession letter she left on Sandy’s desk. She can’t ask Seth to fetch it because they’ve finally ironed things out. She’ll have to do it herself. After she throws up, of course.

Sandy glides into the kitchen and proudly tells Kirsten he’s going to be named Riviera Magazine’s Man of the Year. They’re calling the hospital project phase one in Orange County’s renaissance. A possible inspiration for responsible development across the country. Sandy is good. Although Kirsten still thinks Sandy is bad. Sandy then tells the boys about the gala tomorrow, and it’s a dress up function.

Summer comes by the house on her mission. She sneaks into Sandy’s office and begins rifling through his papers, but Seth catches her. She diverts his attention by suggesting a makeout session upstairs. Ryan meets up with Marissa at the diner and hands over the after party money he usurped from Volchok. She wants to confront him about it, but Ryan suggests just dropping the whole thing.

Interrupting the making out, Summer asks Seth if Sandy usually takes his briefcase to work. When Seth asks what she’s talking about, she just says she wants to be on top this time. Seth is quite accommodating. Kirsten calls Julie with news of the party. Dr. Roberts thinks it’ll be fairly interesting, considering the on-going investigation. Julie defends Sandy as a man of immaculate morality, but Neil says that remains to be seen, as he’s meeting with the DA tomorrow. Julie wonders why Kirsten doesn’t know about of all this.

Ryan drops by the loft to see how Volchok’s doing. Nursing a beer and his wounds, with the beer being the cool part, Volchok replies that he’ll live. Ryan apologizes and asks if they’re good, but Volchok needs a favor first. He needs a driver and a lookout for a deal he has tomorrow. If Ryan goes along and plays nice, it’s over. But if he doesn’t, well, the assault report Volchok might fill out could derail Ryan’s college plans. Ryan tries to beg out by mentioning Sandy’s party tomorrow night, but no luck. Volchok is a decider.

Marissa visits the prep school, demanding that Kaitlin explain the letter. Elsewhere, Julie breaks the news of the investigation to Kirsten. Kirsten understands, at least until Julie explains that Sandy has known for a few days. That night, Ryan and Theresa are enjoying some Chinese when Theresa notices Ryan’s scuffed hand. She knows he pummeled Volchok over the money. Theresa tells Ryan that her life has changed. If he can believe, some guys out there don’t constantly get into scraps. She needs to be around somebody like that, not somebody like Eddie or Trey. Or even Ryan, on a bad day.

Kirsten confronts Sandy about the investigation. Sandy assures her it won’t ruin the family, but she coolly responds that it already has. Down in the kitchen, Kirsten reaches under the sink for her secret vodka supply. Back at the prep school, Kaitlin and her friend explain the situation to Marissa. The ultra-popular captain of the lacrosse team, Trevor, invited her to a lipstick party, and she declined. So he told the headmaster that Kaitlin stole the school crest from her office. Incidentally, if you have a daughter and don’t know what a lipstick party is, do yourself a favor and don’t investigate. Anyway, this would be Kaitlin’s third strike, so she needs some help. She thinks the crest is in the dude’s room, but she can’t get in there.

At the loft, Ryan comes up just as Volchok is tying up some loose ends. He hands Ryan the address of the place he’s targeting, and Ryan realizes it’s in Newport. Volchok smiles and says that’s why he’s driving. At home, Seth wants to talk to his mom, but finds her passed out in bed. He sniffs her coffee mug and recognizes the sweet, clean smell of vodka. He takes the mug downstairs and rinses it out before Sandy finds it. In his room, Seth opens his desk and looks at his stash of pot before deciding one addict is all most households can handle.

The next day, Marissa is completely tarted up in a prep school skirt. She finds the lacrosse superstar and, using some form of never before heard English accent, asks if he’d like to give the new British student a tour of the grounds. Starting with his dorm room, perhaps? Trevor, being a worldly sort, tells Marissa her accent is horrible. Moving on to plan B, Marissa claims she’s a stripper friends hired for Trevor’s birthday. But his birthday isn’t for six months. Look, does he want to see her naked or what? All right, that convinced him.

At home, Seth asks Kirsten if she has a moment to talk. But she doesn’t, because she’s heading to a group meeting. Seth asks how that’s going, and she says it’s just fine, thanks. Just then, Sandy meets up with the DA at a restaurant. Sandy asks his old friend what he’s up against. The DA informs him that although the case against Dr. Griffin is weak and based on hearsay, Sandy is still tied to him until proven otherwise. Sandy asks if the hospital can be kept on track if he provides paper evidence, but the DA flatly responds that if Griffin goes down, the hospital’s going with him. Sandy has a stark choice. Keep his evidence hidden and hope the DA loses, or help end Griffin’s criminal run while ending the hospital as well.

Volchok and Ryan begin their stakeout. And, of course, Ryan is immediately recognized by a neighborhood mom. At the same time, Marissa has led Trevor into a supply closet. She instructs him to sit down and take his pants off. She then ties him to the chair, grabs the pants and leaves. After locking the closet door, she pinches the keys from Trevor’s jeans and excitedly runs off with Kaitlin.

Summer drops by the Cohen house, hoping to search Sandy’s office again. But the office is currently in use, by Sandy. Summer spots the confession on the desk and asks if she can wait for Seth to come home. She nears the desk and slowly tries to nick the card, but Sandy grabs it first, asking what it is and why it’s addressed to him and Kirsten. Summer says it’s a mistake she would do anything to take back. Sandy just smiles and opens it. But by the time he’s done reading it, he’s not smiling at all. Not even a little bit. Summer tries to explain that Seth told her to give his parents the letter if he ever lied again but she only did it out of spite and when Seth told her he wasn’t going to Brown and…wait, wait, wait. Seth isn’t going to Brown? Yeah, he didn’t get in. What do you mean he didn’t get in? Um…hmm…Summer assumed Seth only lied about that to her.

Speaking of lies, Kirsten is confessing her relapse to her group, explaining that the worst part is that Sandy doesn’t know. Seth stands outside the meeting, eavesdropping. When he gets home, Sandy wants to talk. Good, because Seth wants to talk as well. Sandy confronts him about the pot and Brown, but Seth defensively brings up Kirsten’s drinking. And if Sandy had been paying attention to anything besides the hospital lately, he would’ve noticed Kirsten passing out every night.

Night falls, and Volchok is ready to attack the house in question. But he needs Ryan to walk with him as a cover. He tells Ryan to wait in the driveway as he runs around back. The garage door opens, revealing a smiling Volchok next to a $120,000 Mercedes. Ryan is ready to run, but Volchok begins trying to jimmy the door. Naturally, the alarm goes off, so equally naturally, Volchok smashes the window. Seeing a security vehicle approaching, Ryan shouts at Volchok to get moving. Volchok hotwires the car and takes off. The security vehicle follows, giving Ryan a chance to run up into the hills.

Marissa is packing up at the prep school after advising Kaitlin to get the crest back to the headmaster before it’s found in their dorm. Elsewhere, Sandy sits poolside. Kirsten comes home and he asks her to have a seat before asking her about the drinking. She claims she tried to talk to him and Sandy says he wishes he knew. She wonders if only the threat of a relapse would make him care enough to act. But they both stop and apologize to each other for their recent shortcomings.

Kirsten heads upstairs to talk to Seth about drinking and Brown. She asks her son to apologize to his father, but Seth says he doesn’t even want to be in the same room. Kirsten asks him to apologize to Sandy and attend the Man of the Year festivities as a favor to her. Then she asks Seth to stop by The Newport Group and pick up a concept drawing Sandy needs for his presentation.

Ryan stops running long enough to call Marissa. Can she meet him at her place? She can. Seth is at the office, but interrupts his search for the drawing long enough to burn one down. At the Roberts home, Neil tells Julie he won’t be attending the dinner tonight. He thinks it might be a conflict of interest if he appears. Julie is not pleased.

Kirsten calls Seth to see where he is. He says he has the drawing and will be right over. As he leaves, the joint he left on the edge of Sandy’s desk tumbles into the garbage can and smolders into a fire. At the party, guests are filing in and Sandy notes that the DA is in attendance. At the same time, the fire at The Newport Group is now raging. Also at the same time, Ryan meets up with Marissa and asks if she can be his alibi. If anybody asks, they were together tonight. Can she do that? Confused, she says she can.

Sandy steps to the dais at the dinner and tells those assembled that, while honored, he cannot accept this award. He says he thought he could handle The Newport Group, but started losing his way. He shows the crowd the drawing, then announces that he’s going to be participating with the DA in the investigation of Dr. Henry Griffin. After the speech, Sandy removes the papers from his jacket and hands them over to the DA with a smile and a handshake. Then the police arrive. As Ryan and Marissa pull up to the Yacht Club, they see the police stuffing Seth into the back of a cruiser. They think he intentionally torched The Newport Group.

[t-nella]

Episode 325 -“The Graduates” [SEASON FINALE]
Aired: 5/18/06


Sandy finds Kirsten in the bedroom as Seth finds Ryan in the pool room. Seth admits to Ryan that he started the fire, but it was an accident. Sandy laments that he thinks Seth is hiding something, but after their fight earlier, now isn’t the time to doubt his honesty. Seth wants to get his iPod from the car so he can listen to some mopey music, and Ryan remembers he left it parked outside of Volchok’s target. Ryan heads out to get the car and that’s when Volchok rushes up to him. He ditched the car and ran. He tells Ryan he needs to get out of town, but he needs some money. And if he goes down, Ryan goes with him. Who knew a few punches could get a guy so deep?

Summer, Marissa and Taylor decorate the bleachers for the graduation ceremony. Julie finds her daughter and hands her a graduation gift from Jimmy. A letter. Dawn arrives at the Cohen home for the graduation. Ryan happily hugs his mom. And Caitlin arrives home, her new home, also for the ceremony. Julie suspects Caitlin has more in mind that a simply sisterly gesture.

Seth finds his father upstairs and confesses that he burned down the Newport Group with a wayward roach. Although disappointed, Sandy understands. He’s good that way. At Harbor, Marissa tells Summer what the letter was about. Jimmy is working on boats sailing to the Greek Islands and has invited her to join him for a year. She’ll be doing hard work, peeling potatoes and pitting olives and such, but she thinks it’ll be a good break from the hullabaloo of Newport. Thing is, she has to fly out tomorrow night to catch up with the boat in Hawaii. Summer makes her promise that she’ll sail to Rhode Island one day.

Volchok hides in a van, waiting for a friend to bring him some clothes from the loft. The girl wonders why Volchok hasn’t just left yet, then realizes he wants to see Marissa one last time.

It’s graduation time. Before the ceremony, Marissa pulls Ryan aside and tells him about her plan. He thinks it sounds great. Just great. As long he can drive her to the airport and be the last person to say goodbye. The ceremony finally arrives and the Class of ’06 is handed their diplomas.

That night, the Cohens, Robertses, Coopers and Atwoods gather for a celebratory dinner at The Yacht Club. After the meal, Marissa pulls Julie aside and mentions Jimmy’s letter to her. But Julie already knew, as Jimmy called her last week for he thoughts on sailing before sending the letter. And Julie thinks that if this is something Marissa wants to do, she’s happy to let her go. Julie then gives Marissa her graduation gift, a pearl necklace.

Out in the parking lot, Dawn is giving Ryan his own graduation gift. An old Toyota Land Cruiser. She’s been saving up for a little while and her boyfriend Ron knows a guy who restores cars. Ryan is astounded by the gesture. Then Marissa gets a call from Volchok. He tells her that if he can’t see her one last time, he’s going to make life rough for Ryan. If she doesn’t believe, ask Ryan about the car they stole. So she does. Ryan says he needs money to help Volchok get out of town, so Marissa gives him the necklace, figuring they’re in this together.

The next morning, Ryan picks up Marissa for one last drop off with Volchok. After a pit stop at the pawn shop, of course. Marissa asks if she can come along, and Ryan resists. But he relents after saying she has to stay in the car the whole time. Elsewhere, Sandy drops by the DA’s office. And at home, Kirsten hands Seth an envelope from RISD.

Ryan exits the pawn shop and finds Volchok waiting for him. The money exchange is civilized, if chilly. Then Volchok sees Marissa behind the wheel of Ryan’s car. He slams on the window and begs to talk to her, but she simply drives off. Volchok screams in a rage.

Later, at home, Julie comes in as Marissa is packing to leave. On the verge of tears, Julie apologizes to her daughter for sleeping with one of her ex-boyfriends, and framing another for attempted homicide. Despite the colorful and non-traditional offenses, Marissa forgives her mother.

That night, the gang of four gets ready to say goodbye to Marissa. But before they do, Marissa has one last place for the group to visit. Sandy catches up with Kirsten and tells her that he talked to the DA, and since The Newport Group won’t presses charges against Seth, the whole thing is over.

In two cars, the group pulls up to the model home that Ryan and Luke accidentally burned down three years ago. The one that was completely renovated and Marissa passed out in a few months ago. And she still wants to go back inside. The kids hop the fence and go for a swim in the pool. After some cannonballs and some laughs and some tears, Ryan and Marissa head for the airport. Volchok and his friend, sitting in his van, watch them go. Volchok takes a swig from his flask and hits the gas.

Seth takes Summer into his bedroom and shows her his mail. Although his application arrived too late for the fall semester, RISD has accepted him for the spring. He starts in January. He apologizes to Summer for screwing everything up with Brown.

As Ryan drives, Volchok rams his car from behind. He then pulls alongside and tries to run Ryan off the road. And he succeeds. Ryan barrels through a curve and over an embankment. The car rolls end over end down the hill, finally crashing on another road below. Coming back to his senses, Ryan crawls out of the car. Noticing gas pouring from the tank and a small fire, he grabs an unconscious Marissa and carries her free of the wreckage in a mirror from the time he found her in Tijuana. The car explodes and Ryan lays Marissa down on the pavement and rouses her. He tells her he’s going to get help, but she begs him to stay. And then she dies.