Yet another action packed episode! Then again what Thursday night isn’t in Orange County?

So we start off in the infamous diner with the gang chowing down again, when they get a surprise visitor, the oh-so-tough Volchick. Later when Seth and Ryan are leaving school, Volchick and his gang are sitting on his car eating and trying to provoke a fight with Ryan. Ryan strongly resists, even after he key’s Ryan’s Range Rover and then writes “Lil B*tch” on the car. I cannot believe Ryan didn’t throw a punch!

Kirsten is really excited for the charity dinner, which just makes me so upset knowing that it’s all a scam. The whole fam agrees to help out with Kirsten’s first big event after rehab. She meets up with Charlotte and Julie and they continue planning the big night. Julie is planning on going along with the scam and scoring $300,000 with the possible price of losing her one and only friend. Throughout the episode Kirsten makes little comments about how happy she is they did this together, comments about her father, and other things that make Julie feel awful.

Taylor is off her rocker. Marc, I know you have a serious crush on her, but I just can’t get beyond her annoying, manipulative personality. So she is completely infatuated with Seth and asks him to plan the winter dance with her. Seth tries to play it off really quick and suggests Taylor with Summer on the dance. Needless to say, Taylor was anything but receptive to the idea. So next thing we know Taylor shows up at the Cohen’s! She bursts in Seth’s room and confesses that she likes him! She sees a poster of a random Japanese series that she is obsessed with just like Seth. As she is leaving, Summer calls and hears her in the background, but Seth lies and says it was the television. On her way out Taylor snags Captain Oats.

Sandy and Matt start up the Newport Group again. Matt explains to Sandy that he met with the accountant and they have to fire 9 employees in order to make anything work. Sandy strongly refuses and wants to make this work without loosing anyone. He comes up with a plan to cut spending and cut his salary by 30% so they only have to let go four employees. Sandy later gets a phone call and rushes to the office. He arrives to Matt at the office on a Sunday, with four employees in the office. I’m not sure I 100% trust this Matt character. He explains that he did it today so the employees would avoid the embarrassment of packing up their desks in front of their co-workers.

Later everyone is at the Bait Shoppe, when Taylor shows up and gives Seth Captain Oats back in front of Summer, and then Seth slips and says she must have taken it when she was at his house. Big mistake! Summer storms off and calls him a huge jerk. Volchick shows up again and continues to pick a fight with Ryan. He tries to walk away until he grabs Marissa and Ryan snaps. He shoves Volchick and then Volchick gets kicked out. The next day, Marissa thinks she can solve this on her own, and goes to the beach to talk to Volchick. She offers him her Cartier watch worth $4,000, in turn for Volchick staying away from Ryan.

It’s finally the night of the benefit, and Julie’s conscious is finally getting to her. She tells Charlotte she’s not going and Charlotte explains that if she doesn’t get ready and go, she’s going to call the police, tell them everything and skip town to leave Julie will all of the blame. Then again Julie has never been one to let anyone tell her what to do. At the event she gets on the microphone, and explains that she would like everyone to write their check out to the National Foundation for Substance Abuse, a REAL charity which completely screws Charlotte. Thank heavens Julie finally had a soul and did the right thing for once.
Volchick shows up at the benefit, and tells Marissa he wants cash now. He convinces her to go to the ATM with him and they drive away. Come on Maris … how naïve can you be? Volchick takes Marissa to the pier and lures Ryan there to fight. On their way there Ryan explains to Johnny that he’s going to try and use hid head for once. Ryan grabs a broken bottle and throws a piece of wood at Volchick and says if he wants to fight, he’s going to have to kill him. Volchick is scared stiff and the craziness and runs away saying Ryan is nuts. Finally an episode where Ryan didn’t punch someone!

Taylor shows up with her flamboyant mother and brings a gift for Seth; the DVD of their favorite show. Taylor runs out and they have a heart to heart about her miserable mother. Seth tells her he really is her friend, and he thinks she’s smart and interesting. Which in turn makes Taylor think he’s in love with her. Seth then convinces Summer, that they need to both be nice to Taylor because of how bad her home life is.

The episode ends dramatically with Ryan taking out all of his anger and frustrations on a punching bag and breaking down. I have to be honest I’ve never seen him so intense and actually cry! Here’s Fox’s full episode recap! So that’s it for this episode and we’ll be taking a break next week for Thanksgiving. Fox is airing the popular Eddie Murphy movie Daddy Day Care.

If you have extra time on a Thursday night or TiVo you should definitely check out the new hit show Reunion that airs right after The OC on Fox. It’s a great new mini drama and I’m already hooked! Have a great break and I’ll be back in a few weeks with a full recap of The OC.

So lasts week’s episode definitely through me for some loops. Here’s the direct play by play for those of you who missed it!

The episode starts out with flashbacks from last season when Trey tried to rape Marissa and when she shot him. She is just having another horrible nightmare, so she calls Ryan at 4:00am. He tries to be understanding but then tells her to go back to sleep.

Sandy tells Kirsten about how he found a buyer for the Newport Group. He wants to make sure she really wants to sell, and she tells him she’s more than ready to let it go. Sandy meets with the potential buyers, and explains he has one condition. He wants to make sure that the low income properties he fought Caleb for must not be destroyed. The executive promises not to destroy them but Matt, the young new associate, gives Sandy a weird, non-committal look when leaving.

Back at Harbor, its Ryan’s first day of school. Summer expresses her concerns that if Marissa and Ryan break up, Marissa might abandon them for her Newport Union friends. She plans a group dinner at the Cohen’s. Marissa explains she’s going to meet Johnny, Chili, and Casey at the beach to watch them surf, but she’ll make sure she’s back for dinner. While at the beach Johnny and Marissa have a heart to heart and he explains that his dad was an alcoholic and used to beat his mother. He snapped one day and took his baseball bat and beat his father. As he’s telling Marissa she’s the first person he’s told, Casey pulls up and sees Marissa comforting him. Back at the Cohen’s she doesn’t make it to dinner and Summer tells Ryan it’s because she’s at the beach with Johnny.

Taylor is back to her school spirity ways and is planning a lock-in at the high school. It’s mandatory that everyone attend and counts a class. She connives Seth and Ryan into helping set up. Taylor’s mom stops by to drop posters, and for a hot second I feel really bad for her. She say some really cruel things to Taylor, like she’s only planning this lock-in so she doesn’t have to sit home by herself again on a Saturday night. Then she tells her to untuck her shirt “because her *ss is so not made for low-riders”

Back at the beach, Summer goes with Marissa and meets her new friends. While there they run into other surfers who are Johnny’s main competition. They then go to Chili’s house for a party and Summer sees Johnny and Marissa flirting and playfully goofing around, so she gets nervous and tells Ryan to come. He shows up and Summer says he just came to pick her up and give her a ride to the lock in. Casey also comes and is distant towards Johnny. Johnny takes Marissa to Chili’s room to get her bag and they walk in on Casey and Johnny’s surf competitor, Kevin hooking up!

Charlotte and Julie are new BFF’s and it really scares me. They decide to throw a charity benefit for underprivileged woman to be given the change to go to rehab. They need Kirsten’s help, but she doesn’t want to get back into the social scene just yet. Charlotte, with her manipulative ways convinces Kirsten to help. Julie and Charlotte are having dinner to discuss details, and while Charlotte is away, Julie goes into her purse to pay for the check. She finds all of Charlotte’s fake ID’s and different credit cards. Julie confronts her and she tells her the truth, and explains that they both can profit from this benefit. Julie refuses and says she’s not a criminal, but Charlotte points out that Julie has NO money and has to take things into her own hands

Sandy calls Matt, the new young business man, and they meet to discuss the Newport Group. Matt believes that his boss will tare down the low-income housing. He proposes that Sandy keep the Newport Group and the two of them run the business. Sandy is seriously considering it, but has to talk to Kirsten about it first. Kirsten supports Sandy and wants him to go for it. Looks like Matt will be another new character!

Back at the lock in, Taylor tries to get everyone together to do ice breaker activities, but they all make fun of her and no one will listen. Seth comes in and saves the day with his wit and charm and gets everyone to play capture the flag. Later, Summer shows up late to the lock-in and tries to get in, but Taylor pretends she can’t here her, while simultaneously given an interested look at Seth! They had one minute of bonding and now she thinks she can steal him away from Summer!

Casey comes back to talk to Johnny and they realize he left to go find Kevin. They all get to the beach and Kevin pushes Johnny on the ground, and then the gang shows up and Ryan breaks up the fight, but not before punching Kevin in the face. It wouldn’t be an episode without Ryan punching someone!

Well that’s it for last week!! In case you missed it and forgot to TiVo it, here's a site where you can download the whole thing! Stay tune for recap’s of tomorrow nights episode! I didn’t forget… here’s the complete play by play!

Hello my loyal OC fans!!! I just wanted to take a minute to post a little about last weeks episode!

I can’t believe I’m actually saying this … but I actually feel a little bad for Taylor Townsend. Her mom made her debut on the show last week and is a complete b*tch! She is the COMPLETE opposite of Taylor, much more of a Julie Cooper type. She tells Taylor how she’s only planning this lock-in so she’s not a loser, staying home all by herself for the whole weekend like she normally does.

It really wouldn’t be an OC season without Marissa/Ryan drama would it? I realize it’s hard for Marissa to talk to Ryan about everything that happened because Trey was his brother … but there are tons of people she could talk to besides Johnny. Even Casey, Johnny’s girlfriend, notices how close Johnny and Marissa are becoming and decides she’s not going to sit around and wait to be hurt. I can’t believe she would hook-up with Johnny’s number one rival right at Chili’s house while Johnny was there. It was inevitable that he would find out. But now that he’s single… where does that leave him and Marissa?

Charlotte really is unbelievable. While Charlotte is in the bathroom, Julie goes to pay for dinner and goes into Charlotte’s purse. She finds her many different fake ID’s and credit cards, all with different states and names. Julie confronts Charlotte and of course she has no choice but to confess. But she plants the seed, that they can still throw the charity event, and pocket some of the proceeds. Julie proclaims she’s not a criminal, but the Charlotte points out, without this money, Julie has NOTHING.

Stay tuned for recaps and more juicy spoilers!!

So let’s talk future! My friends and I have been talking about possible story lines and drama predictions for the future of Newport.

As far as the Dean/Taylor storyline, I think it’s far from over. It’s just too juicy and provocative to end here. I definitely don’t think we’ve seen the last of the Dean. Maybe he tries to expose Sandy for extortion at one point? Taylor Townsend is unquestionably going to vie for revenge. Who knows what her exact plot will be, but I’m sure it will be manipulative and conniving, just like her.

I’m really not a huge fan of this Johnny character… I think he’s subconsciously after Marissa, and after seeing the “scenes from the next” with him and Marissa spending more time together and Ryan getting more skeptical, I’m even more sure. Also with Marissa still in public school and Ryan back at Harbor, it’s sure to cause more drama between the happy couple.

The new Charlotte/Julie relationship is nothing but trouble. Charlotte is obviously out for Kirsten’s money and Julie “ain’t nothin but a gold digger.” Which combined is a deadly duo. I just don’t see how Julie will be able to hurt and deceive Kirsten like that, after all Kirsten has done for her and her family.

The one thing I absolutely cannot wait for is Chrismukkah. It is absolutely, positively, the best episode of ANY show!! Who knows what crazy traditions and ideas Seth will come up with this year?



Also, really random but I was watching Regis and Kelly this morning and Peter Gallagher was on promoting his hew CD. He performed live and sounded pretty good!! I guess this means we might be seeing him sing at the Bait Shop! Then again .. maybe not! Here's where you can buy the CD and see all the tracks! Get excited everyone!! Two days until the next episode. Tuesday, 8:00pm, Fox! See you there!!

Soooo good to be back!!!! Thank heavens baseball is over and the OC is back and better then ever!! This episode really kept me on the edge of my seat and I can’t wait to share!!

So the one major question on every high school seniors mind is college. Why should things be any different in Newport? The college fair is happening at Harbor High and Sandy gets the okay from Dr Kim, the school principal, for Ryan to attend. But she also tells him some upsetting news. The dreadful Dean Hess attached a letter to Ryan’s transcript explaining Ryan’s drastic, pathological anger and violence problems. Basically, the Dean is a complete jerk and making it impossible for Ryan to get into college. So the gang goes to the College Fair and Sandy and Dean Hess have another run in. The Dean goes to call security and Sandy threatens that if he doesn’t have a court injunction to remove Ryan, he can’t stop him from being there. Ryan overhears this and the fact that the Dean attached a letter to his transcript and leaves right away.

Summer and “Taylor trash” as she is now coined are still butting heads. Summer swears she saw the Dean and Taylor kissing but Seth refuses to believe her. So Summer turns to Nancy Drew and follows Taylor for some more evidence. She plants a seed into Taylor’s head that the Dean was making out with the volleyball coach to make her jealous. The look on Taylor’s face is priceless!

Marissa introduces Ryan to her new friends at school and they have lunch together. Ryan and Johnny bond about middle school and football and everything seems hunky dory.

Julie Cooper is still living in the cheap motel and is flat broke. Kirsten uses her connections to help Julie find a new condo complex. While they’re discussing details, Charlotte shows up and sees a golden opportunity with Julie. Julie goes to look at the condo’s and brings cash for a down payment, also reveling that she doesn’t have her diamond anymore. The realtor explains that Julie was looking at the wrong condo and the one for Julie was a lot smaller. Here’s a shocker: Charlotte shows up and explains that she is looking at the place too.

Ryan cancels his tutor indefinitely, drops out of school, and leaves to “clear his head.” The tutor calls the Cohen’s for her final paycheck and they find out Ryan’s decision through the grapevine. Meanwhile Johnny shows up at the diner with Ryan and tells him about a fishing job he can get his through his uncle. Part of my thinks he was trying to help, but I also think he might be trying to get Ryan out of the picture so he can have Marissa all to himself.

Ryan gets a job on the commercial fishing boat and asks Sandy for written permission to work because he isn’t of legal age to go on his own. The boats leave for weeks sometimes months at a time, but Sandy signs the paper anyway. He takes the job and the boat leaves tomorrow for three weeks! The Cohen’s accidentally tell Marissa before Ryan does and she’s furious. Later the Cohen’s throw Ryan a going away dinner, but no one is exactly in a celebrating mood. Marissa can’t take it and storms out of the house. The next day Sandy and Kirsten make one final attempt to get Ryan to stay, but he explains the he needs to do this. Marissa also tries once again by showing up at the dock just as Ryan is getting ready to leave. She tells him that the reason she is so mad at him is that he is doing exactly what her dad did, being a coward and running away on a boat.

Seth comes up with a better plan to try and expose Taylor and the Dean. He rented a room at a motel and texts Taylor as if he was the Dean and tells her to meet him there. Taylor takes the bait and meets them at the hotel. Summer tells her they have demands they want meant to keep the little indiscretion under wraps. Taylor calls their bluff and says no one would believe them anyway. Taylor folds and calls Sandy and tells him everything. Now for my favorite scene! Sandy shows up at the Dean’s office and finally puts him in his place. He explains that he has a picture of him and Taylor kissing and if ever wants a job again; he will let Ryan back into school, get rid of the letter in his profile, and find another job … perhaps on the east coast. Or else the board of trustees will hear and see everything!

Charlotte goes to Julie’s motel and makes her an offer she can’t refuse. Charlotte got the condo and put it in Julie’s name. Charlotte explains that she only needs it when she’s in town a few weeks a year. Julie is skeptical at first, which she should be, but accepts. Charlotte promises this will be there little secret.

Seth, Summer, and Marissa are sulking at the diner and Ryan shows up!!! He explains he doesn’t know what his future is but he knows its here. Seth tells Ryan the good news that he’s back at Harbor, but Marissa is still stuck at public school.

Well what can I say, quite an eventful episode! I can’t wait for next week and thank heavens its only ONE week away this time!!! As always, here’s the official play by play!!

Who’s excited?! The OC is finally back! I have been in serious withdraw the past three weeks without my weekly dose of Orange County. So let’s see where we left off…

Marissa is slowly adapting to life at *gasp* public school! She’s making new friends and trying to fit in, but at what cost. I really think these new characters and storylines are going to cause some pretty serious rifts in Ryan and Marissa’s relationship. But then again, what would a season be without some serious Ryan/Marissa drama?!

Seth and Summer are just too cute. I absolutely love them together. Ever since the (oh so corny) Spiderman, upside kiss scene last season, I’ve been hooked. They’re just so adorably quirky and cute together. Their sarcasm never ceases to amaze me. The new Dean and Taylor teen spirit storyline is sure to be juicy and scandalous in upcoming episodes. One possible prediction I’ve thought about is Seth and Summer using it as a type of leverage power to get the Dean to allow Ryan back into Harbor. Then again that would technically be blackmail, and that NEVER happens in Orange County.

As weird as is sounds, I’m almost happy that Charlotte is after Kirsten’s money. I just don’t think Kirsten can handle any other major, monumental life change or disappointment in the near future. I mean she’s dealing with being an alcoholic, loosing her father, her job, and business all in a short period of time. It will be interesting to see where the Charlotte storyline goes, and if possibly Julie Cooper will get into the play in anyway.

Here’s a site I found with some interesting spoliers of upcoming episodes. Make sure not to click if you don’t want to ruin the surprises!!! Get pumped for tomorrow night!!! 9:00pm, Fox, channel 4 for all my fellow UD watchers!!!

Thanks so much for everyone’s understanding of my tardiness keeping up with the recent episodes! Your comments are great! Kristen – I LOVED it when they played the “Forever Young” remix at the end of the last episode! So clichéd, but so sappy romantic! Lindsay – I’m just as upset about not being able to see the OC for three weeks … I feel legitimately lost; however not desperate enough to stoop to Joey.

So the episode starts out with Summer stressing over planning the big dance. Our favorite Dean interrupts and informs Seth that his next duty for detention is cleaning the boy’s locker rooms, toilets and all. While prepping dance decorations Taylor appeals to Summer’s emotional side and pleads to be back on the social chair. She explains that all she really wants is friends and she thought being social chair would help. It all seems a little to convenient for me.

Julie gets a disturbing visit from a lawyer telling her she has 48 hours to move out of her home because it is being seized for repayment of debt. Meanwhile, Marissa has her first day at Newport Union. She has a rough run in with Heather, the classic bully. But she soon makes friends (Casey, “Chili”, and Johnny) who make her realize she should leave her Chanel necklace, designer shoes and bags home. They invite her to lunch where the bonding begins. The only catch, Ryan was on his way to pick her up and she calls and asks him not to come.

Julie asks Marissa to stay with Summer for a while until she gets the housing situation under control. While Marissa is moving in, she realizes she was supposed to meet Ryan for breakfast, and forgot again. Strike two. A surprise flower delivery arrives for Kirsten … from the one and only Charlotte. In the next scene we see the delivery man in a hotel room with Charlotte.

Now that Taylor and Summer are new best friends, Taylor gives Summer the heads up that she heard Dean Hess saying that if Seth didn’t turn in the other person who helped steal the tiki torches, he would suspend him. Summer can’t let that happen so she goes to Dean Hess and confesses. He explains that because of this she couldn’t be social chair anymore, which leaves the spot open for Taylor. She then realizes she was played and he was never going to suspend Seth.

Sandy talks with Kirsten and explains how they need to decide whether or not to sell the Newport Group. It is in huge debt, but could possibly be brought back to life. Kirsten makes a final decision and decides to sell it and liquidate everything. Later in the day Kirsten has lunch with Charlotte. Charlotte explains how she is planning to start a home for women in-between rehab and getting back into the real world. She asks Kirsten for a few million dollars and Kirsten explains how she doesn’t have that kind of money and she is going to sell the Newport Group. Yet again Charlotte uses reverse psychology to try to convince her not to sell.

Heather strikes again picks on Marissa. She runs off crying and while her new friend Johnny is consoling her, Ryan pulls up and gets the wrong idea. He thinks he did something and almost causes a scene. Things aren’t looking to promising for them!

Newport Union is having a kick-off dance but Marissa decides not to go and tells Ryan she is staying in to finish homework. Her friends then show up at Summer’s house and convince her to come. Of course just as she’s getting in the car Ryan pulls up for a study break and sees her leaving. This of course causing more drama. Seth and Summer arrive at the Beach theme kick-off dance to a warm greeting from Taylor explaining to the crowd that it is the “end of summer.” Talk about a great play on words! Ryan decides to go to the Newport Union dance where Seth ends up meeting him. Seth convinces him not to go in and let Marissa do this on her own. Now for the biggest shocker!! While Summer is waiting for Seth to get back she walks through the halls and sees Taylor KISSING Dean Hess!!! This explains sooo much and is sure to be a great story line in the future!

Well, this pretty much wraps it up! Unfortunately due to the baseball series we won’t be seeing our friends in Orange County for three weeks!! I don’t know about you but I WILL be in withdrawal! As always here’s the exact play-by-play.