In the big house, Kirsten and Sandy are sharing an awkward moment in the kitchen. Their rhythm is all off. Kirsten spills coffee all over Sandy and when she tries cleaning it up, he notices she’s not wearing her wedding ring. She guesses she lost it, maybe while washing dishes, maybe while gardening, who knows?

Seth and Summer meet at the dinner and attempt to come up with a Cheer-Up Ryan strategy. Suddenly Seth has a brainstorm… now that he and Summer are back together and Lindsay’s out of the picture, maybe there’s hope for Ryan and Marissa again. Maybe it could be like old times! Great, except Summer reminds him that a) Ryan and Marissa were the worst couple ever; and b) Marissa’s happy now. Seth asks if by “happy” she mean “gay.”

Back at Alex’s place, domestic life isn’t going so well. Marissa just turned an entire load of laundry pink. Innocent mistake. But Marissa consoles Alex by telling her that pink is the new black. She read it in W. Marissa’s bored and tries coaxing Alex into going out and with her but people like Alex don’t have the luxury of skipping work or not knowing how to separate whites and colors.

Caleb stops by the Cohen house to talk to Sandy, but Sandy’s under the sink playing plumber in the hopes of finding Kirsten’s ring. Caleb confides that he made a mistake with Lindsay and now he misses her, worries about her, thinks about her all the time and doesn’t know what to do.

Seth drops by the pool house and discovers a note but no Ryan. He tracks Ryan down at the bus station. Turns out Ryan’s not really running away, he just wants to surprise Lindsay in Chicago for the weekend. Seth thinks maybe Lindsay’s had enough surprises for a while. He convinces Ryan to come to the mall with the gang instead.

Julie and Kirsten are looking over photos of Julie. Kirsten wonders if maybe once in a while they should experiment with putting something other than Julie’s face on the cover of the magazine. Carter, the new editor of Newport Living, shows up and Julie makes no attempt to hide the fact that she doesn’t like having the publisher foist an outsider on her magazine. Fortunately, Carter makes no attempt to hide the fact that he’d rather not be there either. So, that noted, anyone want a cocktail?

Back at the mall, the gang discovers they’re locked in the department store. Ryan and Seth go in search of an escape route while Marissa and Summer catch up on each other’s lives. For better or worse, Summer really feels connected to Seth. She asks if Marissa feels that way about Alex. Actually, the only person Marissa’s ever felt that way about is Ryan. She misses him every day. And speaking of Ryan, he’s crawling through the air conditioning duct and has overheard the entire conversation.

After momentary concern at being trapped in the store, Summer realizes that her ultimate fantasy has come true. The gang agrees to the old adage, “What happens in the mall, stays in the mall.” Summer calls home and pretends she’s sleeping at Marissa’s; Marissa calls Alex and pretends she’s sleeping at her mom’s; Seth calls home and tells the truth – he and Ryan are trapped in the mall and they’re spending the night. In the sporting goods section, they set up a hockey game and play for who sleeps in the Ethan Allen showroom and who sleeps in the tent.

In a nice restaurant, Kirsten, Julie and Carter sit down for a business dinner when Julie suddenly sees a ghost from her past sitting at the bar. She excuses herself and heads to the bar where she attempts to discreetly find out what Lance, her first… but not her first love, is doing there. Turns out Lance has a tape for Julie to look at. He tells her to get back to him and let him know how much it’s worth to her. Julie tells Kirsten and Carter that she’s not feeling well and bolts out the door.

At home, Julie’s watching the tape, which turns out to be a little video called “The Porn Identity” staring a slightly younger Julie Cooper, when Alex walks into the room. Don’t worry, her lips are sealed. Anyway, Alex is looking for Marissa, who said she’d be here. Julie seems slightly pleased when she realizes that she’s not the only one Marissa lies to. Alex admits that Marissa hasn’t been happy lately. Julie tells Alex that Marissa and happy parted ways long ago. Julie explains that she’s not trying to be mean when she tells Alex that she’s just this week’s yard guy, just another weapon of torture to inflict on Mom. Marissa’s only been in love once, and he looked a whole lot different in a wife-beater.

Meanwhile, back at the mall, Seth and Summer are fighting about a postcard from Zach and Ryan and Marissa are reminiscing about old times… when the mall cops suddenly arrive and the gang has to make a quick getaway.

Back at the restaurant, Kirsten and Carter polish off a bottle of wine while discussing his divorce and her missing wedding ring. Suddenly Carter thinks Newport living might not be as bad as he thought.

Julie gets a follow-up call from Lance and she offers him $50,000 for the video to go away. But he’s actually thinking of something more like $500,000.

Kirsten returns home late and Sandy showers her with apologizes and a plastic egg with the fake ring in it. When Sandy’s out of the room, she opens the drawer to her bedside table, pulls out her real ring and puts it on.

Ryan and Marissa sit in the diner while Seth and Summer make up in the car. They realize they’ve been apart longer than they’ve been together. They’re like strangers. Maybe they should get to know one another again?

RYAN, MARISSA, SETH AND SUMMER HANG OUT IN THE MALL ON “THE O.C.” THURSDAY, MARCH 10, ON FOX

Billy Campbell and Johnny Messner Guest-Star

Lindsay's actions have left Ryan and Caleb confused. Marissa is trying hard to make her new living situation work, but she needs a break and agrees to join Summer, Seth and Ryan at the mall. Julie and Kirsten await the arrival of Carter, the new editor of Newport Living, but Julie is distracted when she's visited by Lance, an opportunistic man from her past. Meanwhile, Sandy and Caleb finally bond over all of their recent experiences on “The Mallpisode” episode of THE O.C Thursday, March 10 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.

Guest Cast: Olivia Wilde as Alex; Shannon Lucio as Lindsay; Johnny Messner as Lance and Billy Campbell as Carter.

Summer: Marissa is happy now. Seth: And by happy, do you mean gay?
Summer: Very funny.

Sandy: Nothing like a good crack about a plumber.
Seth: Plumber. Crack. Very funny.

Marissa (to Alex): Pink is the new black. I read it in W.

Ryan (to Seth): Now why would you assume I know how to pick a lock?

Seth: (to Ryan, Marissa & Summer): I suppose we could all use a night in the mall to forget our troubles, and by all, I mean Ryan.

Seth: (to Ryan, Marissa & Summer): What happens i the mall stays in the mall.

Alex (to Julie): It's cool - porn on a saturday night.

Julie (to Alex): I'm not saying this to be mean, 'cause you actually seem like a nice girl and I like your pants.

Julie (to Lance): You weren't my first love, just my first.

Julie (to Lance): Last time you gave me something, I had to drink cranberry juice for a week.

Summer (to Seth): Do we not work as a couple anymore? Are we all setup and no payoff?

Marissa: So who are you?
Ryan: Whoever you want me to be.

Seth: Looks like the Fantastic Four is becoming fantastic again.

The new trailer for "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith" premiered just after this episode, introduced by an Adam Brody skit.

Billy Campbell and Mischa Barton were both on the show Once and Again.

Julie Cooper once starred in an adult film entitled "The Porn Identity". Recap:
Everything -- EVERYTHING -- conspires to get these kids stuck in a mall. Marissa, sad about her new lot where he has to pay rent and do laundry, takes off with Summer and is all, "Eh, whatever, lesbianism." Summer, fresh off of the guy who played Zach, is all about quite suddenly being back together with Seth. Ryan, sad about Lindsay's departure, tells a prattling Seth to shut up because, seriously Seth, shut up. Anyway, the four stage-direct themselves into the mall to, I think, buy clothes for charity. The mall closes early and they're stuck with hockey, spread cheese, and each other for a wacky night of bonding. But then...chaos! Seth discovers a postcard that The Ghost Of Zach's Character has written to Summer from Europe. She won't let him read it, and he becomes jealous of a 4x6 square of cardboard with a picture of a Duomo on it. Ryan and Marissa get along better than they have in year(s), and finally bond over some serious fries at the diner. But how, you ask, did they get out of the mall? Well, they're smoked out, and they stage a successful getaway despite the usual crack sleuthing skills of mall security. Back in the residential part of town, Kirsten pretends to lose her wedding ring, Sandy pretends to enjoy spending time with Caleb, Julie Cooper pretends having been in a porno is a good plot direction for her character, and "mallpisode" pretends to be a word. Y'all, it's not. (TWoP)

All right, is it just me or did it feel like Josh Schwartz was trying to right a couple wrong turns? I mean, after months of lesbian kisses, hot yard guys and water-polo dullards that went nowhere, we finally got our core quartet back together without all those other incredible-looking interlopers and actually had some fun! Sure it took getting locked in the mall and five not-too-conspicuous Beck tunes, but you know what? Totally worth it, if only for Marissa's confession that she still loves Ryan. Nothing against Alex. As Julie said, she seems nice (and I do like her pants, too), but if the girl can't click with Seth, Ryan or Marissa, maybe it's time to take her out back and shoot her, you know? Oh, and speaking of shooting, who else was ready to put a bullet in Billy Campbell, with his button nose and flirty chatter? KiKi does not need some hotsy-totsy editor to be paying any sort of attention to her so soon after Sandy's li'l Kim Delaney dalliance. But then I realized that Campbell's character may secretly be a Judy Garland fan. Think about it. The bitchy "ex-wife." Those Tales of the City sideburns. The casual usage of the word "cocktail." Trust me, straight guys do not suggest "cocktails." However, he is gonna be around for six episodes and they've already done the "alternative lifestyle" story, so who knows. What I do know is that the dude blackmailing JuJu also played a scumbucket on Guiding Light like 100 years ago and had the same inspirationally cultured stubble. So I'm betting that Newport's own Paris Hilton will be seeing her Porn Identity winding up either in the wrong hands or playing on Orange County screens everywhere very, very soon. Until then, though, I'm more than happy just watching The Fantastic Four become fantastic again. (TV Guide)

Spoilers:
Billy Campbell will guest-star on THE O.C. in a multi-episode arc beginning Thursday, March 10. Campbell's character, Carter, will arrive in Newport Beach to work with Kirsten (Kelly Rowan) on a new business venture. Johnny Messner will guest-star as Lance, an opportunist blast from Julie Cooper's (Melinda Clarke) past. His story arc also begins March 3.

A man named Lance Bradley drops by the Newport Group asking to see Julie... he claims he is a "blast from her past." Another man, this one named Griffin Conroy, also from Julie's past, comes to the office too. Julie and Griffin have a chat in a bar where she asks him what he's doing in Newport... could he want money so he doesn't reveal certain things from her past? It's the latter and he has it on tape! What could it be? Summer, Seth, Ryan, and Marissa go to a store (even if it's closed because it's Sunday) where they get clothes for a charity for women. An employee let them in but somehow they seem to end up being stuck in the mall with no way out (or maybe they just decide to stay there and have fun as long as possible... it's not clear). Alex appears in the episode.