Welcome home
Seth is dreading the return to school, because the last time he talked
to Summer, she said she'd have her dad kill him if he ever contacted her
again. Ryan can't believe Seth hasn't talked to her. Well, how'd it go
when Ryan talked to Marissa? Seth asks. Ryan realizes he has something
to dread, too. At school, Marissa is thrilled to see Ryan - maybe it can
all go back to how it was! Summer isn't talking to Seth. In fact, she
has to go see her boyfriend. Seth is devastated.
School spirit
Ryan meets with the school counselor, who tells him he's got such great
test scores and grades that he could pick his college and do whatever
he wants. So what does he want? Ryan has no idea. The counselor gives
him an assignment - log what he does today, talk about what he likes and
dislikes, and they'll take it from there. Meanwhile, Seth decides he can
have a life without Summer - he'll just get back into the club scene!
He starts up the comic club, and forces Ryan to join.
Complications
Ryan assumes he and Seth will be the only members of the comic club, but
Zach, a gorgeous popular guy with geek tendencies, joins too. Initially
dismissive, Seth decides Zach is the coolest guy in the world - until
he see Summer kissing him. At home, Marissa runs into DJ, the hot gardener,
and they get all hot and heavy. It seems she hooked up with him over the
summer, but they've kept it a secret because he's the yard guy and he
would be fired for fooling around with the boss' daughter. Marissa doesn't
know what to say to Ryan, so she lies that she's not dating anyone. Ryan
kisses her, and DJ sees it. He's pissed.
Eternal summer
Jimmy is blissfully happy with Hailey, but she's got something she's not
telling him. She got a job offer to work in Japan, and she thinks she's
going to take it. Living with Jimmy has made her realize that she wants
a job and a family and a life. Jimmy says she can have that here, and
proposes. Hailey leaves for Japan the next day.
Legal entanglements
Caleb is having a high-proof liquid breakfast -- the DA is accusing him
of bribing city officials, which, oddly, is the one illegal thing he hasn't
done. They say they have proof. Sandy takes Caleb home, where Julie demands
to know what's going on. Sandy tells her that Caleb is under indictment,
that he knew this was the case before the wedding, and that there's nothing
he can do to help. Julie says he better think of something, because if
Caleb goes down, she'll make sure Kirsten goes down too. At home, Sandy
blows up at the contractor - Ryan figured out they screwed up, and that
they were padding the bill to cover it. Ryan sketches out a quick solution
to the problem, but the contractor dismisses him and storms out. Sandy
refuses to apologize - he's done everything for this family and gets nothing
in return! After Kirsten confirms he wasn't talking about the way she
acted all summer, she realizes something must be up with her dad.
Revelations
Ryan talks to Summer - he blames himself for her and Seth's breakup. Summer
says it's not his fault. Everyone has moved on - even Marissa. Ryan goes
to Marissa's house, and sees Marissa and DJ fight, then make up with much
kissing. Seth is thrilled Summer told Ryan she wants to be friends, and
decides he needs to make another grand gesture to win her back. At the
school kick-off carnival, Marissa tries to tell Ryan she's through with
DJ, and everything can go back to normal. Ryan says he can't trust her,
and they should just be friends - if that. Seth tries to proclaim his
love for Summer from atop a hot-dog stand, but Summer isn't having it.
Zach is surprised to hear the two of them have a history. Summer chews
Seth out - he had her, and he gave her up, twice. He doesn't love her,
he loves the chase. She's not playing any more.
The aftermath
Ryan's assignment book, where he was supposed to figure out what he wanted
to do with his life, is pretty slim - except for the drawing he did for
the Cohen's family room. The counselor decides he needs to get into more
math and science classes, since he obviously wants to be an architect.
Caleb is arrested at Casa Cohen, and is hauled off in handcuffs. The boys
are shocked.
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It’s another gorgeous Newport morning. Seth and Ryan are in the pool house debating whether or not they should be going to the first day of school. Ryan is relaxed, it’s just the first day, no big deal. Seth, however, seems to be dreading his return to high school, or more specifically, his reunion with Summer. Seth makes excuses about calling Summer now that he’s back in town and Ryan blurts out that Summer is probably over him by now anyway. This sends dear Seth into a paranoid spiral, “She’s going to have me killed.” Seth doesn’t even know where to begin fixing the mess with Summer. Ryan tells him to “just talk to her.” Seth asks if Ryan has called and apologized to Marissa yet. nbspRyan’s body language says no, he was just hoping he’d see her at school and it would all be good again. nbspRyan thinks about it for a moment, “Yeah, we’re not going to school.”
The Ryan and Seth team is back in action. No matter what happens today at school, they’ll have each other to lean on. Outsider and Misfit, together again. The two walk into the kitchen where Archie is grabbing food and coffee and the house is still a complete disaster. Before Archie and Sandy can begin their bickering, the telephone rings. Archie forces the phone in Sandy’s face, but Kirsten politely takes it away and answers. “Hello?” The person on the other end hangs up.
Kirsten tells the boys that they’re both registered for school, they just need to fill out some additional paperwork. Then she mentions that Sandy is going with if they need help. This catches Sandy off guard because he thought Kirsten was going to take them. The Cohen adults argue about who is going to take them. nbspSeth offers to simply stay home. Archie steps up and offers the boys a ride to school.
Archie’s beat up pick-up truck roars up to the school. Ryan and Seth are tucked in the bed, among wheelbarrows and the assorted construction mess. The boys hop out and Ryan reassures Seth that no one saw them show up that way. Standing above them on the stairs of the school are Summer and Marissa. The four square off with smiles and looks of disappointment. Marissa shuffles down the stairs and hugs Ryan, both are excited to see each other again. Summer however, turns away and heads into school. Seth, disgruntled, chases after her. Ryan and Marissa plan to play catch0-up after school.
Summer keeps pressing on while Seth tries to get a moment to plead his case. nbspSummer lays it out that she has nothing to say to him. “I am done waiting for you, Cohen. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go meet my boyfriend.” She walks off as the words plunge into Seth’s heart. He quietly repeats the word, “boyfriend,” and drops his head.
Sandy finds Caleb at a local bar, already drunk and surly. Caleb tells Sandy that the D.A. finally had enough evidence to indict him and that he fired his lawyer. Caleb has been charged with bribing city officials. Sandy asks if it’s true and Caleb denies any wrong-doing. Caleb asks for Sandy’s help, but Sandy isn’t sure there’s anything he can do.
Hailey is on board Jimmy’s yacht, busy on the phone with her friend Susie. “I still haven’t told Jimmy yet,” she says as he appears on deck. They relive some of their summer memories and Jimmy tells her they should take the boat to Cabo. But Hailey doesn’t crack about her phone call.
Ryan meets with his guidance counselor, Ms. Fisher, about his class schedule. She commends him on his GPA from last year and asks him if he has any interest in college. He tells her that he can’t really afford college and he’s not going to let the Cohens pay for it. She asks him what he wants to do, what are his interests? Ryan doesn’t know and Ms. Fisher gives him an assignment. She gives him a blank booklet so he can record what he likes and dislikes about all his classes. Then he can bring it back to her tomorrow and they’ll discuss what he’s written.
Summer drives Marissa up the ridiculously long driveway of the Nichol estate. Summer asks about Ryan and whether or not they’ll take another spin on the Ferris wheel. Summer puts her foot down and tells Marissa that Ryan and Seth can’t walk in and out of their lives whenever they want. When they reach the house, the yard guy, DJ, has blocked Marissa’s car in the driveway. Marissa makes a fuss about it and he cold-shoulders her as she walks by him.
Up in Marissa’s bedroom, Marissa looks into her vanity while refreshing her lipstick. Standing in her doorway is DJ. Marissa jumps up and asks why he’s there. There’s a moment of tension between the two before they erupt into a kiss. Marissa and DJ have been seeing each other secretly all summer!
During lunch, Ryan asks Seth what happened with Summer. Seth tells him about the crash-and-burn but he’s already turned the other cheek. Summer’s new life has inspired Seth to return to his roots by starting a new comic book club. He presents a hand-drawn poster which depicts an image of Seth, “with powers.” Seth presents his argument for the club using the word, “we” repeatedly. Ryan knows he’s getting wrapped up in a Cohen plan. Seth gives Ryan a stack of the posters to hand out right before Ryan makes a quick escape.
In the student lounge, Summer flops down on the couch next to Marissa and grabs Marissa’s latte, “Sum wait.” Summer takes a sip and her face scrunches up. “Did you spike your latte?” Summer throws the rest of the latte out. Marissa is freaking out about Ryan being back and she doesn’t know what to tell Ryan about DJ. Summer thinks for a moment before she puts DJ’s name with the face. “Oh my God, the yard guy!?” Summer is upset that Marissa never told her. Marissa doesn’t know what to do now that Ryan is back.
Sandy drags the drunk Caleb up the stairs of his home where they’re confronted by Julie. Julie accuses Sandy of getting Cal drunk and demands to know what’s going on. Caleb escapes to the bedroom while Sandy lays out the bad news to Julie about Caleb’s indictment. Julie figures out that they’ve been investigating him since before the wedding and she is furious. Julie tells Sandy that he had better help because if Cal goes down, Kirsten is going down too.
After school, the first meeting of the Harbor School comic book club gets under away. The only two at the table are Seth and Ryan. Ryan doesn’t know how to handle this barrage of geek behavior and tries to get Seth to move the meeting to their house. During the argument, Zach walks up. nbspHe’s there to join the club. Seth seems suspicious at first because Zach is on the water polo team. Seth steps up and fires off a series of comic questions to test Zach. Zach fields them all like a pro. Seth takes a shine to Zach immediately.
As the three leave school, Zach heads off. “Dude, I love that guy,” Seth says. “Woooah, you’re not the only one,” Ryan replies as they see Zach meet up with Summer and give her a more-than-friends kiss. Seth is blown away! He’s Seth, but not Seth?
Hailey and Kirsten are having lunch on the boat. Hailey lays it out. She’s been offered a job…in sales…in Tokyo. Kirsten asks if Hailey has told Jimmy yet, and she tells her no because Jimmy has been so happy lately.
Ryan and Marissa walk the massive grounds of Caleb’s mansion. Marissa tries to feel out where Ryan stands with Theresa. nbspRyan tells her that they were never really a couple. He then asks Marissa if she’s dating anyone. Marissa confidently says no which prompts Ryan to ask her to the kickoff carnival. Marissa agrees and Ryan moves in for a kiss. Marissa opens her eyes and sees DJ looking down from a balcony.
Kirsten lugs groceries into the kitchen, Ryan meets her halfway to help. Then Sandy and Archie storm into the kitchen arguing about a missing wall that Archie has been covering up. Ryan figured out where the missing wall was and Sandy called Archie out on his error. Ryan tries to offer help to Archie to remedy the situation, but it only makes things worse. Archie storms out of the house. Kirsten wants Sandy to apologize, but Sandy explodes in anger.
Kirsten finds Sandy in the bedroom, from the doorway she says, “I know I wasn’t the easiest person to live with this summer.” Sandy tells Kirsten that this isn’t her fault. “I’ve never seen you go off on anyone like that, except for my dad and…” Kirsten stops, and in the delay she knows trouble is coming.
Seth sits in his room, frustrated and depressed about the Summer situation. Ryan offers simple advice -- just be her friend. But Seth thinks it’s too late, and is giving up.
Hailey fills Jimmy in about her college roommate Susie, setting him up to tell him about Tokyo. When she drops the T-bomb, Jimmy doesn’t know what to say. Hailey wants to move, but knows Jimmy has to stay behind. Jimmy offers to fund her fashion job in the states, and then he asks Hailey to marry him.
Summer is practicing yoga in her room when she hears a knock at the door. It’s Ryan. The two stand uncomfortably for a moment, then she lets him in. Seth has no idea that he’s over there. Ryan tries to take the blame for Seth running away and ruining the relationship. Summer says it’s in no way his fault. Ryan tries to plead in Seth’s defense, tries to get Seth another chance with her. But Summer says maybe this is the way it’s supposed to be. This all would have happened anyway.
DJ confronts Marissa about seeing Ryan earlier. He’s furious. He’s just the yard guy, right? Marissa is upset and begins crying. But DJ can’t leave her, he turns to comfort her. They begin to kiss as a pair of headlights shine on them. Ryan is in the truck and sits baffled by what he’s seeing.
The next day, Ryan is telling Seth what he saw when he went to visit Marissa. Seth doesn’t know what to make of it either and offers anything but comforting comments. Ryan had told Seth that he was at Summer’s place the night before to talk about Seth, and what Summer had said about Zach not being her boyfriend. This leads Seth to believe that it’s time for another coffee-cart Cohen grand gesture to win Summer back. Ryan remembers Ms. Fisher’s assignment and begins writing furiously in the book.
Kirsten enters the kitchen where Sandy is making breakfast for Caleb who is sitting patiently at the end of the counter. Julie isn’t talking to him and has gone for a spa treatment. Caleb came to apologize to Kirsten and to remind her that whatever he’s done, right or wrong, he’s done for his family. Sandy invites Cal to have dinner with them instead of spending time at home covering up evidence.
Ms. Fisher is going through Ryan’s assignment book and she finds the drawing Ryan did of the Cohen’s living room. She grabs Ryan’s schedule from him and enters him in advanced math and science classes. She sees his potential to be an architect.
Ryan and Seth stand at the entrance to the carnival, debating whether or not they should stay or turn back. Ryan knows they have to go in. The two know the carnival will probably determine their romantic lives for the rest of the year. They see Marissa standing alone, Seth leaves Ryan to do his best as he goes in hunt of a hot dog stand.
Marissa says she was going to tell Ryan, but Ryan knows she wasn’t. Marissa explains that Ryan wasn’t coming back and that she had to keep DJ a secret. Ryan tells her that they should just be friends but Marissa knows they’ve never been just friends. “So I guess that was the problem.” Ryan says goodbye and turns away from her.
Zach and Summer walk through the crowds, smiling. Zach goes off to get her something to eat. Summer does a double-take as she sees Seth struggling to climb the counter of a hot dog stand. Seth begins his “Summer, I love you!” speech as Zach walks up. Summer is furious that Seth is doing this and Zach asks Seth to back off.
Zach and Summer get in their car and head off, but not without Seth jumping in front of them. Zach hits the breaks hard and Summer jumps out of the car. She doesn’t understand what Seth wants and she tells him how she feels. She was always there for him and Seth screwed it up every nbsptime, “You only want me when you can’t have me.” Ryan steps in to support Seth and the two defeated heroes head home.
Sandy, Kirsten and Cal are eating Chinese food at a makeshift table. Ryan and Seth lay out all the details of their terrible day. The doorbell rings. When Ryan opens the door, a man asks for Caleb Nichol. It’s the police. The family looks concerned, but Cal gets up and takes the arrest like a gentleman. Sandy tells the police that he’s Cal’s lawyer and tells Cal that he’s right behind them. Sandy shares a concerned look from Kirsten before heading out the door.
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