TV Review: The O.C. Episode 3.24

Thursday, May 04, 2006

From FOX: Ryan, dealing with the repercussions from prom night, must make a deal with Volchok. Even though Sandy is chosen as "Man of the Year," the D.A. continues his investigation of Sandy's unique involvement with the new hospital. After she receives a call for help from Kaitlin, Marissa pays her little sister a visit at boarding school. And Ryan's bloodied hands force Theresa to make a difficult decision once and for all. Meanwhile, Seth's actions ignite more troubles in Newport in The Man of the Year.

My Rating: 4 out of 4

At the end of last week's Prom episode, we saw Ryan go after Volchok when the money Taylor had collected for the after party went missing. Ryan had no doubt in his mind that Volchok had taken the money. The two get into it, and Ryan lost control of the situation. This week, we start up right where we left off in an episode titled The Man of the Year. He takes Volchok somewhere to be found by paramedics, and he comes to. When Volchok comes to and is asked about what happened, he covers for Ryan but then tells him to meet him the next day.

The next morning, phone calls start the morning. First, Kaitlin calls Marissa to ask her to snag a little from her school before their mother sees it. After some sweet talk, Marissa agrees. Over at the Cohen's, Ryan's phone rings with a call from Theresa. She wants to go out with Ryan that day, but he has other stuff to do. He needs to return the money to Taylor via Marissa, and then he needs to meet up with Volchok. Also at the Cohen's, Sandy gets a call from a magazine that has named him Man of the Year. Kirsten isn't all too thrilled with the news.

Meanwhile, Summer arrives at the house in order to retrieve the letter containing Seth's confession before Sandy sees it. However, when she looks, she doesn't find it. She then pulls Seth upstairs, but while they are making out she grills him about their father. She knows she either has to find that letter or come clean to Seth before something hits the fan.

After Ryan meets Marissa for breakfast, he heads on over to Volchok's. The man has a few stitches and a couple of a broken ribs as the result of the beating he received from Ryan. Now he has another problem. He had something to do the next night, but now in his condition he needs Ryan's help, and he isn't asking for it. He is demanding it. As for Marissa, she decides to take a little road trip to her sister's school to find out just what her little sister is up to.

When she arrives, she immediately goes to the source. Apparently, Kaitlin is getting blamed for something she didn't do because she denied a fellow student's advances. Marissa decides to help her clear her name. Back in Orange County, Ryan shows up to help Volchok, and what he is up to can't be anything good at all with the wad of cash he hands the guy he is with when Ryan shows.

Meanwhile at the Cohen household, Seth finds his mother asleep, and when she appears dead to the world, he checks out her coffee. As it turns out, he discovers she has fallen off the wagon so to speak. This almost leads him to do the same with his pot habit, but he refrains. The next morning, Seth tries to talk to his mother, but she is rushing to a meeting. As for Sandy, he knows he is in trouble with the District Attorney.

Back at Kaitlin's school, Marissa dresses up and tries to entice the student trying to railroad her sister. He figures her out almost immediately though, but she continues on. She gets him alone, and then she ties him up and takes his keys. Marissa leaves her sister and school behind after they retrieve the item that Kaitlin is accused of taking.

Things in Orange Country aren't so great though. Seth follows his mother to her meeting, and her learns she has relapsed. As for Sandy, he finds Seth's confession after Summer tries to retrieve it from him. When Seth returns home, Sandy is waiting for him, but things don't go so well between father and son. They have a verbal confrontation with Sandy confronting Seth and Seth telling his father his wife has relapsed. Meanwhile, Ryan goes with Volchok, and he learns they are stealing a car. Things don't go well, and the alarm goes off which leads Volchok to smash in the window. He gets in and starts the car just as the cops show, but he leaves Ryan behind.

Sandy confronts Kirsten once she returns home, and the two seem to have a good conversation compared to what they have been having lately. Kirsten goes up to talk to Seth, and she talks him into going to his father's event. However, she needs him to pick up a drawing from Sandy's office. He goes, but decides to smoke it up a little. He falls asleep, but his mother calls to wake him up. However, he forgets the pot cigarette he was smoking, and it falls into the trash and causes a fire. Seth arrives just in time to see his father not accept the honor bestowed onto him by the magazine. The cop soon arrive though to arrest Seth for causing the fire at The Newport Group. Ryan thinks they are there for him, but he has already asked Marissa to cover for him that night.

Things are improving as the season nears its end. I hadn't been the most thrilled with the season, but the last few weeks have been better. The O.C. is off next week, but the series will return in two weeks with its season finale.