The O.C. – Season Three (Episode 24) – “The Man of the Year”
We open up where we left off last time. Ryan has just finished beating the crap out of Volchok. He is a bloody mess. Ryan looks at what he did. Volchok is not dead..we don’t think. But Ryan drives him to the hospital in his own van. Police are there and they are sure to have questions. Ryan calls for help. They think he may have been hit with a baseball bat. It had to be more than 1 person attacking him. Volchok wakes up and says that he was jumped from behind. He doesn’t know who did this to him. He then tells Ryan to meet him at his house tomorrow. They are not finished yet. Ryan hides and thinks about what he just did.
“California…here we come…right back where we started from…California…here we come! Oh!!”
Marissa gets a phone call and it’s from Kaitlin.
Kaitlin (on the phone): So how’s your life, how’s Ryan, what’d you do last night? Give me all the deets.
Marissa: Well, Ryan and I broke up, and my prom date got with another girl.
Kaitlin: Oh really, that’s great. Actually I’m calling you to ask you for a favor.
Marissa: What, your friend Megan needs another abortion?
Kaitlin: I wish.
Kaitlin informs Marissa that her school sent Julie a letter. She needs Marissa to get the letter before Julie gets it. Marissa says she will get it, but she has to know what it’s for. Kaitlin says sure.
Ryan gets a call from Theresa. She says she just got off the phone with that other guy from work and it didn’t go that well. He doesn’t understand prom, since he’s 28 and all. Ryan asks if she regrets going to prom now? She says no.
Theresa: I had fun. And after you left things got pretty interesting in the limo with Taylor and the date. I don’t know what the Korean word for threesome is, but I’m pretty sure it was used.
Theresa then asks Ryan about the “thing” he had to take care of. Ryan says it’s taken care of. He will talk to her later, though. He has to do something. He hangs up the phone and here comes Seth.
Seth: Hey man! So this is a good day for me Ryan. I finally came clean, told the truth about not getting into Brown, and things are great. Life is so much better when you’re honest. You mean what you say, you say what you mean. I feel like you.
Ryan: Well now that you’re on a roll, you gonna tell Sandy and Kirsten about Brown too?
Seth: Yeah, I don’t think so. I’m gonna wait a little bit on that one.
Seth thinks it may work better if he has an acceptance letter to RISD in his hand when he breaks that news to his parents. Ryan wants to know what happens if he doesn’t get into RISD? Seth says not to worry. He hopes the Cohen family can go one weekend without a major crisis. HA! Ryan knows otherwise.
Marissa comes to check on Summer after the prom. She is hungover!
Marissa: Hey, Sum. How are you?
Summer: I wish I could pluck out my eyeballs with a fork and rinse them in a tall glass of ice water.
Marissa: Yeah, that’s a hangover.
Summer doesn’t know how she got home. Marissa tells Summer that Kaitlin called her about some letter she needs to get. That reminds Summer that she gave Sandy the letter that Seth gave her. She has to go and get it back before Sandy reads it.
Sandy is at his office. The letter is near. He is on the phone. He gets off and packs up everything from his desk, including the letter, into his briefcase.
Sandy walks into the kitchen and tells Kirsten that he got the call and he is “Newport’s Man of the Year”! Kirsten doesn’t like that at all. Caleb was that as well and look at where he is. Seth and Ryan walk into the kitchen.
Kirsten: Why don’t you say good morning to Newport’s Man of the Year?
Seth: I knew it was only a matter of time before this town recognized my contribution to the community.
Ryan: Have to be a man first. Congratulations Sandy.
Sandy says there is big party for him and everyone has to dress up and represent. Sandy says everything is going good for this family, so he thinks they should try to enjoy it while they can. Except for that fact that he doesn’t know the truth about anything!
Sandy is about to leave, but bumps into Summer. She came to get the letter. She goes to Sandy’s office and looks for it. Nowhere to be found. Seth walks in on Summer.
Seth (finding Summer snooping around Sandy’s desk): What are you doing?
Summer: Nothing. Looking for stamps.
Seth: You mailing a letter?
Summer: Not without stamps! Lets go make out upstairs.
Ryan meets Marissa at the diner. He gives Marissa the money that Volchok stole from Taylor. He tells her to not ask any questions..just give Taylor the money back. And don’t worry about Volchok. Then, they have breakfast together.
Seth and Summer make out upstairs.
Summer (making out with Seth): Where was your dad going this morning?
Seth: You’re thinking about my dad.
Summer: He had his briefcase with him, does he usually keep important papers in there?
Seth: Oh, you’re turning me on.
Summer tells Seth that she has to tell him something and that is she wants to be on “top” this time. Like always! HA!
Julie tells Neil that Sandy is the “Man of the Year”. Neil then tells Julie that Sandy is being investigated by the DA. Sandy already knows. Kirsten doesn’t know, though, and Julie wonders why.
Ryan checks on Volchok. About 7 stitches and a few broken ribs is the result for Volchok. Ryan thinks they are good, but Volchok doesn’t think so. Volchok needs Ryan’s help. Ryan doesn’t think so. Volchok says that if Ryan doesn’t help him, then he will bring him down with him.
Ryan: Nobody’s going to believe you.
Volchok: I don’t care if they do. ‘Cause I got nothing to lose, and you got everything.
Marissa is at Kaitlin’s school. She meets Kaitlin’s roommate, Hadley. Marissa wants Kaitlin to explain the letter to her.
Julie informs Kirsten that Sandy is being investigated by the DA. Kirsten says that Sandy will take this really hard. Julie tells her that Sandy already knows and that shocks Kirsten a little bit.
Ryan and Theresa have dinner together. She wants to know what happened last night. She sees his hand and figures it out. He fought Volchok, because he stole Taylor’s money. Ryan’s phone rings. Theresa gets upset and says that she has a kid now. She can’t be with someone that is like her brother or like Ryan’s brother. Ryan says he is not like him. Theresa says that on the “good” days he is not, but she can’t handle it on the “bad” days. She says she will always love Ryan, but she can’t do this now. She leaves.
Sandy and Kirsten talk. Sandy says he will try to not let this investigation hurt the family. Kirsten says it already has. She leaves to go get a drink, of course. Vodka..it is! Meanwhile, Sandy pulls out some papers from his safe and puts them in a folder.
Back at Kaitlin’s school, Marissa, Kaitlin, and Hadley go over what the letter is about. He has to do with a guy.
Kaitlin: His name is Trevor Knightly, and he’s the captain of the lacrosse team.
Hadley: Uh, those girls are like his groupies. Lacrossetitutes.
Kaitlin says that she turned down Trevor’s invitation to a “lipstick” party. So he told the head mistress that Kaitlin took a crest from her office. This could be her third strike and could get kicked of school. Julie wouldn’t like that too well.
Kaitlin: I’d really hate to get locked up in the summer.
Hadley: Obvi! I get so horny in the summertime.
Kaitlin: Honey, you’re always horny.
Hadley: Shut up.
Kaitlin: You shut up.
Marissa: Ok, both of you shut up! So what’s the deal with this crest thing?
Kaitlin: I’m pretty sure it’s in his room but there’s no way that he or his army of probably-gay-and-totally-in-love-with-him homeboys would let me in there.
It’s up to Marissa to get the crest back. She has a plan. She needs a skirt. Oh boy…
Ryan comes to help Volchok. They are stealing a car..it seems. The car is in Ryan’s neighborhood.
Seth is outside of Kirsten’s room. He informs her that he is going to go get something to eat with Summer. She doesn’t answer.
Seth: Are you decent? If I come in am I inviting years of therapy?
Seth walks in to see Kirsten passed out on the bed. He sees her mug next to the bed and smells it. It stinks of alcohol. Summer walks in and thinks Kirsten is sick. Seth says she is and he needs to stay home and take care of it. So they have to “rain-check” dinner tonight. Summer thinks Seth is acting weird, but he tells her to go.
Seth is alone now and he washes his mom’s cup so no one else will know that she is drinking again. He then goes to his room and opens his drawer, where the pot is located. He shuts it as we take a break!
Back to Kaitlin’s school, and Marissa is dressed up like a slutty school girl. And she actually looks great for a change. Nice plan.
Marissa (with British accent): Hi, are you Trevor?
Trevor: Yeah.
Marissa: I’m Marissa, the new foreign exchange student. I just got here from London.
Trevor: I love London.
Marissa: Well I was hoping you could give me a tour, starting with your dorm room?
Trevor: Sounds good, but I did my junior year abroad at Oxford. I don’t buy that phony English accent for a second.
Marissa (drops accent): Ok fine, I’m a stripper. Your friends hired me for your birthday.
Trevor: My birthday’s not for 6 months.
Marissa: Do you want to see me take my clothes off or not?
Kirsten is on her way to her AA meeting. Seth wants to talk to her. Kirsten says it has to wait. Seth wants to know how the meetings are going. “One day at a time.”
Sandy talks to the DA. He says the case against Griffin is not strong. Sandy is in with Griffin on the hospital, so Sandy is in the same trouble as Griffin until they prove otherwise. If Griffin goes down, the hospital goes down. He can either not say anything or help them bury Griffin and say goodbye to the hospital. Interesting. Neil walks in to talk to the DA. Sandy leaves.
Ryan and Volchok pull up outside the house, where the car is located. They have to wait for everyone to leave. They get a visitor, though. It’s Ryan’s neighbor, Taryn.
Taryn: Ryan, is that you?
Ryan: Hey!
Taryn: Well I was just coming back from my tennis lesson and I thought, isn’t that the Cohen’s car?
Ryan: It is!
Taryn: Well, save me a dance at Sandy’s party tonight! And, uh, bring your friend! (Whispering…) He’s hot!
Volchok says this is a great plan. No one will think anything of this.
Marissa drags Trevor to his room and she makes him strip. She does a little bit, but only to tie down Trevor to a chair. She steals the crest and gives it back to Kaitlin as Trevor objects.
Summer comes to look for Seth. She talks to Sandy in his office. She eyes the letter that is on Sandy’s desk. She attempts to get it back, but Sandy grabs it from her. He wants to know what this is. Summer says it’s a big mistake, but Sandy opens it up anyways. Summer is worried and Sandy is a little stunned. Summer then reveals the entire truth to Sandy. Seth didn’t get into Brown and all of that. That wasn’t in the letter. Sandy had no idea and Summer knows Seth is in trouble. She thought Seth only lied to her. Nope..it was the entire family.
Kirsten stands up at her AA meeting.
Kirsten: The only thing worse than relapsing, is that my husband doesn’t know. He’s involved in this business deal and, it’s gotten very ugly, and, uh, well he might even be arrested. And I’m not blaming anyone. I’m the only one with the power to drink or not to drink. I just really need the man I married right now.
Seth comes back home and Sandy is waiting for him. He has the letter and Seth sees it. They have a little talk.
Sandy: I want to talk to you.
Seth: Good..I want to talk to you too.
Sandy: I love you, but I’m worried about you.
Seth: Right back at you.
Sandy: You smoke pot in our home.
Seth: Would you rather I do it somewhere else..like my college dorm?
Sandy: That would require you to get into college.
Seth: Do you think it’s such a great idea for me to go to college when mom has been drinking again?
Sandy: What are you talking about?
Seth: Maybe if you paid attention to anything other that stupid hospital..you’d notice that mom has been passing out before dinner.
Sandy: Don’t talk to your father like that.
Seth: That would require you to act like my father.
Volchok and Ryan go to steal the car. Ryan doesn’t want to go, but Ryan is Volchok’s cover and Ryan has to go with him. Volchok breaks into this $120,000 car. The alarm goes off, so Volchok breaks the window. Oh..did I mention that Ryan saw a cop car pass not long before this. Yeah..time for a break!
The cop comes back when he hears the alarm going off. Volchok tells Ryan to get in, but he doesn’t. Volchok calls him a “little bitch”. Ryan takes off running as the cops chase after Volchok.
Kaitlin and Hadley thank Marissa for getting the crest back.
Kaitlin: Thanks again, that was pretty cool.
Hadley: Yeah, I mean the way Kaitlin talked about you, I thought you’d be totally wasted and have all these problems…
Marissa: Right.
Marissa and Kaitlin both agree that they should spend more time together.
Kirsten comes home from her meeting and Sandy is waiting to talk to her. He wants to know about her drinking. Kirsten thinks that the only way Sandy would talk to her was for her to relapse. Sandy says that isn’t true, but Kirsten didn’t know that. Kirsten says she is sorry for lying.
Kirsten goes to talk to Seth now. All the lies are out. They are both sorry that they lied to each other. Seth doesn’t want go to Sandy’s party. Kirsten tells Seth to go for her. Seth finally agrees. Kirsten tells Seth to stop by the Newport Group to get a concept drawing of the hospital that Sandy needs.
Ryan calls Marissa and he needs her help. He is still running from the police and everything else. He needs Marissa to meet him at her house.
Neil and Julie talk. Neil says that Sandy’s future is uncertain. Julie says that the Cohens are her family and she will stand by them no matter what. If he doesn’t like it, then too bad. She is still going to Sandy’s party..with or without him.
Seth is at the Newport Group and he lights up some pot. Kirsten calls him and he answers the phone. He sets the joint onto the desk. He gets up to go get the drawing and go to Sandy’s party. Of course, Seth forgets about the joint and it rolls into a trashcan where it burns up some papers. Oh no!
The DA arrives at Sandy’s party and Sandy thinks he may be dragged out in handcuffs.
Meanwhile, the fire grows and the Newport Group is going down in flames.
Ryan tells Marissa that if anyone asks..he was with her tonight. Marissa agrees.
We hear the sirens of firetrucks to come put out the fire in the Newport Group.
Neil shows up and Julie is surprised. Neil says that Julie is a passionate woman, especially about her family. He couldn’t say no to her.
Sandy stands up and turns down the “Man of the Year” award. He can’t accept it. He tells everyone that he will help the DA to take Griffin down. He is stepping away from the hospital. He wants to be husband and father of the year instead of “Man of the Year”. Everyone claps and Sandy gives the DA all the evidence he needs to take down Griffin.
The cops show up outside of Sandy’s party. Marissa and Ryan show up outside. Sandy thinks the cops are there for him. Ryan thinks they are there for him. But Seth walks out of the party in handcuffs. He gets put into the cop car and gets taken away. Everyone is shocked. Sandy tells Seth to not say anything!
And we are out until I get around to doing the season finale..should be within a couple of days!
