Episodes 23-25 (Including Season 3 Finale)

Yes, I was away for six months. So I’ve had a life. Sue me, why don’t ya?

Well, the OC is about to start up again, so I guess I should recap the last five episodes of the season. But I don’t remember what happened, so I will give you the cliff’s notes version of what happened, with the help of some sites online and my aging memory. I’m only doing this to finish what I started. My friend Dara actually came back to the states so I’m off the hook with these recaps. But as I said before, I have to complete this or else.

The Party Favor (episode 23)
The boys want to go to the prom, but they have no dates. Marissa is still skanking out with Volchok, and Summer won’t talk to Seth. Seth even tries to finagle a breakfast date out of her to apologize, but it doesn’t work. Taylor sets Summer up with her friend Sung Ho’s cousin, who is a model and pop star or something in Asia. She describes the cousin, as “hairless” which I guess is a plus for Summer. Seeing is how most high school boys are incredibly hairy. Summer decides to get back at Seth by hiding the napkin- confessional that he wrote on Sandy’s desk. Remember? The one that was a direct result of Seth’s dalliance with drugs? Yeah, that one. Sandy asks Theresa to go to the prom, and despite her single mom status, she’s ready to go!
Anna comes to town in the middle of the school year to help Seth win Summer back, and manages to finagle a date to the prom to help out. Marissa asks Volchok to go with her, even though he doesn’t want to. But he goes, and boozes it up and steals some wad o’cash from Taylor T. Later, outside the prom, Marissa catches him making out with some other woman. She slaps him. But he snaps back that just because he’s wearing a tux and is at the prom, he’s no Ryan “bitch boy” Atwood. Marissa storms away.
At the prom, Summer is named Prom Queen. Summer has been drinking heavily at this point in the evening, and during her speech, and in the best scene EVER this season, takes a header off the prom-themed pirate ship into the gasping crowd. Later, Seth FINALLY comes clean about not getting into Brown, and breaking up with her because he was embarrassed, and…oh who cares. Summer thinks it was the “dumbest plan ever.” And all of America agrees with her. Anna, her plot device activated, leaves town. See you all in Providence! (Remember, Seth is going to RISD). But worse yet, Summer remembers the napkin confessional and is immediately sorry
In adult-land, Sandy is still in his downward shady businessman spiral, Kirsten may drink again, and Dr. Neil and Julie are together.
Oh, at the end, Taylor finds out that her money is missing (five grand! For the prom party!) and Ryan knows it was Volchok. He goes after him, and somehow fists start flying, and by the end Volchok is dead! Or is he?

The Man Of the Year (episode 24)
No, Volchok isn’t dead. But he does manage to blackmail Ryan into being his lookout for a Newport crime spree. He becomes all secretive with Theresa until she figures out that Ryan is always going to be letting his fists do the talking and decides she doesn’t want to get back together with him. I understand Ryan acts immature, but he is only 18. Though he looks easily 35, but I digress. Volchok steals a car, and tries to get Ryan to come with him while the cop sirens wail in the background. Wait, isn’t that how it all got started with Trey? Ah, season 1. But this time, Ryan has the foresight to run away. He manages to get Marissa to cover for him.

Kaitlin calls from prep school to ask Marissa to intercept a school letter before Julie gets ahold of it. But after reading it, Marissa goes to Kaitlin’s prep school to ask her about it. She ends up staying at school for a while, and helps Kaitlin out of jam, which includes the words “lipstick party” and “lacrosstitutes.” I’m so old I don’t know what either of those things are. Though it was amusing to watch Marissa hitting on a teenage boy in a lacrosse skirt and being skanky…big stretch these days.

Sandy becomes a magazine’s “Man Of The Year” which boils down to being rewarded for his backstabbing ways and running the Newport Group like Kirsten’s old man. Kirsten is off the wagon. Summer sneaks around the Cohen house to try and get the napkin-confession back, but inadvertently points it out to Sandy, then proceeds to spill the beans about Seth not getting into Brown. Sandy had no idea. Apparently Seth lied to everyone! Go figure! Sandy tries to talk to him about it, but Seth has a trump card: he lets Sandy know Kirsten is drinking again. A lot. Sandy promises to do better, and actually makes amends—he talks with the district attorney and makes a deal, and smoothes things over with Kirsten. All seems to be well, until they find out a fire was set at the Newport Group—by none other than Seth! Yeah, Sandy sent him to the Newport Group to pick up some plans, and Seth smoked a doobie while he was there. But he forgot to put out the roach, it caught a basket of paper on fire—and there’s your arson, boys and girls. At the MOY awards ceremony, Ryan thinks he’s going to get arrested, but instead, Seth is hauled away in handcuffs.


The Graduates (episode 25--season finale!)
Of course, Seth got off somehow, and isn’t going to jail for burning down part of the Newport Group. But this equation probably was why: Lawyer Dad +rich+ white=not guilty!

The gang graduates from Harbor. Marissa’s dad wants her to go to Greece and sail around the world with him. And she wants to go, seeing as how college doesn’t really agree with her. Ryan’s mom comes to town and she gives him a restored SUV for a present! I thought that was really cool of his mom. And Ryan looked genuinely happy to get it. Meanwhile, Volchok threatens to tell the cops Ryan was involved in the car being stolen if he doesn’t get cash to skip town. Kaitlin komes back to town, and she intends to stay in Marissa’s room and “rule Harbor.” To get the cash for Volchok, Marissa pawns her graduation gift…a pearl necklace from her mom (ewww!) and delivers it to him. They fight a bit, and all of the sudden Volchok is obsessed with her! Must every man be obsessed with her? Argh!

So Marissa decides to go with Jimmy to Greece. And so the gang says goodbye to Marissa in the best possible fashion—at the Model Home! Those were the days: Ryan hiding from the cops, the fire hazardous candles, the mix CD, the fight with Luke…I could go on and on. The gang has a party and lots of nice photo ops. But then Ryan has to take Marissa to the airport in his new wheels.
Sandy goes to the DA’s office to drop off some paperwork (he made a deal to get off the hook for the whole corrupt Griffin and Newport thing) and sees the overworked and undoubtedly underpaid public defender with a sheaf of papers on his desk and immediately gets misty eyed.
They’re driving away, when none other than Volchok pulls up and tries to run Ryan off the road! Ryan tries to get away, but despite the room on either side of the road, he stays in his lane. Suddenly there’s plenty of room as Volchok rams Ryan’s new ride so hard it flies off the road, over the hill, and rolls around a couple of times before stopping. After it sits for a few minutes, Ryan drags himself out of the car, and then remembers MARISSA is still in the car. He does pull her out of there before doing the dreaded “Ryan carrying limp Marissa in his arms” promenade. This time, she’s dead, folks. Of course she has a great death scene every actor dreams of: the strained speaking, the staggered swallowing, and the eyes closing for good. My favorite part: the ex-boyfriend standing over the corpse of the biggest drain to his life force since…well, ever. And Season 3 comes to a close.

MARISSA IS DEAD! No Marissa next year, the gang is going their separate ways, Kaitlin is back in Newport, Julie is getting married to Summer’s dad, a whole new Newport is coming!