I had an amazing birthday! That is why this recap is a little late. But it’s here now, so enjoy it!
Lets take a look at what will be happening in this episode first, however. Ryan has a birthday as well. That’s quite ironic..actually. My birthday on the same day that his birthday episode airs. Interesting. Anyways this episode is all about that. Ryan must decide if he wants to invite Marissa or not. He should have dumped her AFTER his birthday, so he could have gotten a present. But I say no..don’t invite her. Unless he wants to be dumb and get back together with her. Sandy also wants one of Ryan’s relatives to come to the party as well. It would be AWESOME if it was Trey, but I doubt they would let him come back this soon. So we’ll see.
Enough of this..lets get to the show!
The O.C. – Season Three (Episode 17) – “The Journey”
We open to Sandy singing the praises of Kirsten’s cooking. We also find out that it’s Ryan’s 18th birthday party. Seth wants a party. Ryan thinks it’s just another year, though. He doesn’t like birthday parties, because his mom is a big drunk and never had one since he was 9.
Seth: “It doesn’t have to be a big to-do!”
Ryan finally agrees, but only if it’s small. Seth says that he only knows them and Summer and..what’s her name! But they have broken up, so no Marissa.
Or maybe not. Ryan thinks about calling her and Marissa is doing the same. They pick up their respective phones and set them down before they call, though.
“California…here we come…right back where we started from…California…here we come! Oh!!”
We come back with Summer and Marissa talking. Marissa has been thinking a lot lately. But she doesn’t want Summer to talk to her about her and Ryan getting back together. Summer is just worried about her, because she seems so depressed lately. She either wants Marissa to move on or get back together. But Summer has something else to tell her..dealing with her mom. But here comes Ryan and that makes Marissa run away. Summer goes over to Ryan and tells him to just talk to Marissa. He runs away to class now.
Kirsten has an idea to suggest to Sandy. She wants a member of Ryan’s family to be at his birthday party. His father is locked up and his brother is not welcomed here right now, so that just leaves his mom. She is usually drunk and she was the last time we saw her. Sandy doesn’t want to do anything to embarrass Ryan. Kirsten says they can keep an eye on her. Sandy gives in and says he will try to find her.
Summer comes to Seth and they have a problem.
Seth: “Oh yeah..today’s the day that you’re going to tell Marissa that your parents did the bone dance!”
She wasn’t talking about that, though. She is talking about Ryan and Marissa. Seth said they got them back together once before and it didn’t work out. Summer just wants them to either move on or get back together? Seth is in charge of Ryan’s birthday. But Summer wants him to take care of the Ryan/Marissa thing. Summer is busy as well.
Summer: “Oh..because I have to worry about Julie Cooper giving my dad VD and taking all of his money! So my plate is full!”
Julie and Dr. Roberts are messing around during lunch. The kids are at school then. They say they are going to tell their kids now. But then the conversation comes about how serious this relationship is. Julie doesn’t really know either, so she is fishing for answers, but Dr. Roberts gives her nothing. He says they should wait until it becomes clear. Julie agrees..sorta. He is off to take care of a patient.
Ryan visits Sadie. There is a giant hole in the kitchen. She seems to be remodeling the house. Her aunt is going to put it up for sale. Sadie asks how Ryan is after the breakup. Sadie thinks he should talk to Marissa so it doesn’t become weird. Them running away from each other when they see each other. Ryan doesn’t know how he feels and wants to figure it out before he talks to Marissa. Sadie tells him to decide what he wants then.
Meanwhile, Marissa is at home. She looks at the calendar and sees Ryan’s birthday circled on the calendar. She is depressed about that. But then she sees Volchok hanging outside of her house. He drives off on his motorcycle, before she can find out what he wants.
Seth is the birthday captain and he has reserved “The Bait Shop” for Ryan’s party. Ryan wanted it to be small, but Seth got invitations. 100 of them, eventhough he only knows 4 people. HA! Ryan says save one for Sadie. Seth wants to know what to do with Marissa’s invitation. Send it or not? Ryan doesn’t know. Seth understands that if he doesn’t invite her then he’s moving on. But if he does invite her, then he wants to get back together. He has until Sunday to decide. Ryan looks at the invitation as Seth leaves. Break time!
We are back and Summer and Seth are talking about party themes. Seth wants to do a “Future” theme. Summer only wants to know about how Ryan reacted to the Marissa invitation. Seth’s said he just got this “confused, wounded look”! Summer says she can’t keep a secret from Marissa about Ryan’s party. But Seth says that she is doing it now by not telling Marissa about her mom and Summer’s dad. Summer says Marissa is not ready to know the truth. She is dealing with the breakup with Ryan. Besides, Summer is okay with her dad and Julie now. As long as they take it slow, she’s cool with it. Julie makes her dad happy. The doorbell rings. It’s a package for Summer’s dad. Summer opens it and it’s cruise tickets for two. Her dad is taking Julie on a cruise and Summer says that is how her dad proposes to his women. He dates them for a week or so and then proposes to them! Summer says it’s time to act and she has to tell Marissa now!
Ryan is busy with Sadie. They destroy the house. Ryan gives Sadie an invitation to his party. Sadie can’t make it, though. A friend of hers is coming into town and she has to be with her. She wants to go, though. Ryan says it’s no big deal..so no problem. Ryan drops something and it’s Marissa’s invitation. He tells her that he has to decide whether to give it to Marissa or not. She understands what that means. Ryan tells her that Seth thinks he’s in “breakup limbo” and must make a choice. That is Seth’s way to “force the issue”. Sadie agrees. She tells Ryan her own story of when she was dating a guy she loved, but couldn’t make it work and couldn’t end it. So it just went on and on. Ryan asked how it ended/ Johnny died and her aunt called. So she just left. So it’s not really that over.
Summer comes knocking at Marissa’s house. She needs to talk to her. Marissa is busy making Ryan a CD. A copy of one that got burned up in the fire from the first season, which Summer thinks is romantic. Marissa says it’s just thoughtful, though. Marissa says anything she gives him would be a sign that she wants to get back together, but if she doesn’t get him anything..then that means she is over him. Summer thinks they both need a clear sign on what to do. Marissa doesn’t want to make the wrong decision, though. Summer tells Marissa something, but it has to do with Ryan’s party and not their parents. Marissa says she can’t go unless Ryan invites her. He hasn’t..so..they sit on the couch and listen to the CD. I remember that well.
Sandy is packing some things and he tells Kirsten that he found Ryan’s mom. She is in trouble, though. He wants her to take him to the airport and he will tell her the news on the way.
Summer bumps into Julie at her dad’s house. Julie says that Summer is probably wondering how she got in here. Summer tells Julie that she knows about her and her dad, before it gets more awkward. Julie says they were going to tell her. Summer brings up the cruise and Julie had no idea about it. It was a surprise and she is surprised. Summer then tells Julie that her dad proposes to women on cruises. Julie says they are nowhere near that level in their relationship, though. Summer has nothing to worry about. Julie asks if Marissa knows and Summer says no. So Julie says she will tell her. She’s off to get a new bikini first!
Sandy comes to see Ryan’s mom, who is in jail. She is shocked to see him. He is here to invite her to the party, but she can’t go if she is in jail. His mom asks if Ryan knows that she is in jail? Sandy says no and he shouldn’t know. Sandy asks what happened? She just wrote a bunch of “hot checks”. Sandy said that she could have called them. She asks how Ryan is? And Sandy says he is good. She should be proud.
Matt talks with Marissa. The investigation is over in Johnny’s death. He hands over some of the evidence that was left including the letter she wrote to Johnny. Matt has to take a call, though. He leaves and Marissa notices that Volchok is hanging around again. Marissa tells him to stop stalking her. He wants to talk to her, but she doesn’t. She walks away, he grabs her. Matt comes in to see what is going on. Volchok acts all jerky to them. He thinks that Matt is Marissa’s new protector. A local cop comes by and tells Matt and Marissa to go. He wants to talk to Volchok, however.
Meanwhile, Ryan is about to go to the mailbox maybe and mail Marissa’s invitation. Nope..he takes it back to his car and doesn’t mail it as we go to a break!
It’s Ryan’s birthday now. Seth wants to know if Ryan got any phone calls this morning. None from Marissa, which is what Seth really wanted to know. He’s glad that Ryan is moving on now. Sadie is not coming either, though. Seth thinks that she probably didn’t want to go, because she knew that he didn’t make up his mind yet. Now he has, so he should invite her again. The party will be off the chain, because someone’s head might explode! That is what Seth says at least.
Marissa and Julie are eating breakfast. She tells Marissa the news. Marissa is shocked, but is okay with it. As long as nothing goes wrong, since Summer is her best friend and all.
Sandy somehow gets Dawn Atwood out of prison. She doesn’t have to pay him back. All she has to do is come to the party. She doesn’t know about this. Sandy says Ryan would want to see her, so she is coming.
Sadie gives Ryan a birthday present. It’s a hammer. She engraves it by saying that “every time he is pounding something..think of her.” Something like that. Which is a little interesting as it could mean something COMPLETELY different. Ryan then tells Sadie that he didn’t invite Marissa to the party. Sadie informs Ryan that the friend she is meeting is her boyfriend or ex-boyfriend. He wants to talks things over. That is why she can’t come to his party. Ryan asks what that means? Sadie says she finally has to make a decision now. She doesn’t know what it is yet, though. Ryan says okay. Sadie tells him happy birthday and gives him a kiss on the cheek.
Marissa goes to talk to Volchok’s friend. Marissa is looking for Volchok. He doesn’t know where he is. Volchok has been acting weird after Johnny’s death. Marissa wonders what that means.
Julie and Dr. Roberts have dinner in public. She tells him the news. The girls know the truth and they took it well. She also knows about the cruise and thinks it’s a great idea. She has to go get ready. She leaves, but not before giving him a big kiss in public. Now everyone knows their relationship.
Ryan walks into the kitchen and talks to Kirsten. She knows that Ryan didn’t invite Marissa. She thought that must had been hard for him. Ryan didn’t talk to her, which Kirsten says is wrong. He should at least call her and tell her. Seth comes in to interrupt. Time to set up the party! Seth goes to do that. Kirsten tells Ryan that he’s 18 now. Time to be an adult and that means calling Marissa and telling her.
Sandy comes looking for Dawn, but she is gone. She left a note for Ryan. Sandy takes it with him.
Ryan comes to give Marissa her invitation, but she is not there. What is there are memories of him and her and the CD she made him. He looks at them.
Marissa finds Volchok working a construction job. The house looks familiar to Marissa. She goes to talk to Volchok. She says she is sorry about the other night. He thinks that Matt is her boyfriend now, but Marissa says he was just trying to be nice. Volchok is smoking now and his boss comes to yell at him about it. This house already burned down once. And here we go!
Flashback time! This is the house that Ryan burned down from season one. And we get the music, from the CD Marissa made, played in the background as we see clips from that season one episode. Aw..memories!
And oh look..Ryan is listening to that same CD at Marissa’s house, while Marissa is at that house. A big coincidence. We get shots from both places as well as flashback images. Uh oh..Marissa is getting sick. She’s going to pass out and she does AND she falls down the stairs! Volchok yells for help. Meanwhile, Ryan shuts off the CD before it finishes. WOW! A great metaphorthere.
We come to Ryan’s party and it’s a “cowboy Ryan” party. Wait..a “fireman Ryan” party. Or a “wrestler Ryan” party! Ryan laughs, but doesn’t know who all these people are. Seth invited random strangers including homeless people to the party to fill out space. AWESOME!
Summer: “Um..hi. Two homeless guys just got into a fight over the crudatae and knocked down ‘Scientist Ryan’!”
Seth: “I met them outside of Ralph’s. They seemed pretty cool!”
Volchok brings Marissa home and she sprained her wrist. She is fine, though. She thanks him for taking her to the hospital. Volchok wants to know what happened. She tells him the story of the burned house and her and Ryan. He is not interested, just like Marissa thought. Marissa wants to know what’s up with Volchok. He tells her that Johnny was always better than him and everyone looked up to him. That pissed him off. Things were supposed to work out for Johnny, but then he died. And it didn’t make sense to him. Volchok gives Marissa his number, in case something happens. He leaves and Marissa goes inside. She finds the invitation to Ryan’s party. She wonders what to do now.
Back to Ryan’s party. Summer finds her dad and he tells her that the tickets to the cruise weren’t for Julie. They were for Summer’s stepmom. He ordered them months ago. But he guesses this will be okay. He cares about Julie. Summer says that as long as Julie makes him happy..that is all that matters.
She then tells him not to wear the bathing suit he bought last year, if he REALLY does like Julie. He laughs.
Sandy tells Ryan about his mother. Ryan says it’s not Sandy’s job to keep an eye on his mother. Sandy says that Ryan is an adult now, but he will always been a part of the Cohen family. He gives Ryan the note from his mom.
Ryan goes outside to read the note. There is a picture of him and his mom at the zoo from his last birthday party when he was 9. Marissa comes into the scene and walks up to see Ryan reading the note. Ryan doesn’t see her, though. She has second thoughts and leaves. Someone else DOES show up, though. It’s Sadie. She told that guy that she couldn’t make it. She finally made a choice and Ryan says he is glad she came.
Ryan comes back to the party to introduce Sadie to the Cohen gang. They seem to approve.
Julie and Dr. Roberts are getting ready to leave for the cruise. Julie is excited about this trip and their relationship. Julie leaves and Dr. Roberts brings out the ring that was supposed to be for his ex-wife. But he’s bringing it along..just in case maybe.
Marissa called Volchok and they sit at the beach a.k.a. Marissa’s new home. They begin to drink. Yay!
Seth welcomes everyone to the party and most don’t know who Ryan is. That’s funny! Time for the surprise and it’s Journey! Ryan’s favorite band! Actually..it’s a tribute band for Journey, but Seth couldn’t get the real thing. One problem..that’s a Foreigner song they are singing! HA! Seth leaves and Sadie asks if Ryan knows that? Yep..he does. “I’ve Been Waiting For a Girl Like You”!
Summer and Seth dance to that song. Summer didn’t know Journey sang this song. Seth says they don’t. Foreigner is 10 times cooler than Journey, though. HA!
Now we see Sandy and Kirsten dancing to that song and Sadie and Ryan as well. And holy crap..it’s my favorite part of the show. Segments with music in the background. And it’s a Foreigner segment/music thing. The greatest one EVER! We now see Julie and Dr. Roberts driving to their cruise. And end with Marissa and Volchok sitting at the beach!
And we are out until next week!
