The Swells
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"The Swells" |
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"The Swells" is the 57th episode of the FOX television series, The O.C.. The episode was written by J. J. Philbin and was directed by Michael Fresco. It originally aired on Tuesday November 10, 2005.
Guest starring
Actor / actress | Character |
---|---|
Ryan Donowho | Johnny Harper |
Jeri Ryan | Charlotte Morgan |
Jeff Hephner | Matt Ramsey |
Autumn Reeser | Taylor Townsend |
Kayla Ewell | Casey |
Johnny Lewis | Dennis "Chili" Childress |
Cam Gigandet | Kevin Volchok |
Rob Brownstein | Kurt Williams |
Plot
Marissa awakes in a pool of sweat after having a nightmare about Trey and the shooting. She calls Ryan, who tells her that Trey's gone, everything's fine and she should just to go back to bed. Summer finds Marissa sitting alone on the steps, and tells her she's there for her.
Sandy thinks he's found a buyer for the Newport Group but checks with Kirsten one last time to see if she's really ready to say goodbye to the company she worked at for 15 years. She gives him her blessing, saying that it took her 15 years to discover how much she hated it.
It's Ryan's first month back at Harbor and he, Seth, and Summer are getting coffee when Taylor Townsend shows up with exciting news that there is going to be a Lock-In. The entire senior class is going to spend the night in the gym. Seth protests that he has plans, but Taylor says it is mandatory.
At Newport Union, Marissa is approached by her new gang, who are all excited about the weekend swells coming in from Antarctica. They plan to welcome in the southern swells with a ritual known as Dawn Patrol — staying up all night partying before surfing.
Julie meets her new housemate, Charlotte, for lunch. Julie complains about being snubbed by the women in her cardio barre class after she lost all her money. Charlotte knows exactly how she feels; the same thing happened to her when she got out of rehab. She suggests throwing a black-tie benefit, with Kristen's help.
Marissa meets her new gang at the beach. Johnny tells her it really helped him to get through the nightmares. Marissa suddenly realizes she and Johnny have a lot to talk about. She calls Summer and cancels on dinner with the Cohens. Ryan's clearly disappointed when he hears the news.
Johnny and Marissa take a walk and he confides that he and his father got into a huge fight about three or four years ago and he hasn't seen him since. His father was an alcoholic and he used to beat Johnny's mother. One night Johnny came home and his father had his mother pinned against the wall with his hands around her neck. Johnny took a baseball bat and started beating him, but he doesn't remember anything. When he came to, his father was unconscious and he was covered in blood. Then Johnny tells Marissa that she's the only person he's ever told. Marissa puts her arm around him, just as Casey pulls into the parking lot and sees them.
The next morning, Summer wakes up an exhausted Marissa and demands to know where she was. Marissa assures Summer that she would never cheat on Ryan, and that Johnny has a girlfriend. To prove her fidelity to Ryan, Marissa invites Summer to the beach.
Sandy meets with the prospective buyers of the Newport Group: Kurt Williams and the young rising star of the company, Matt Ramsey. Sandy has one stipulation before he's willing to sell. But before he can say what it is, Matt brings up The Martinson Complex - a low income housing project that Sandy fought his father-in-law to build. Sandy needs their word that it won't be destroyed, even if it doesn't bring in much revenue. The senior partner gives his word.
Back at the Harbor School Lock-In, Seth overhears a conversation between Taylor and her mother, a cold, hypercritical woman. Seth appears to have a moment of sympathy for the girl that's forcing him to spend his weekend in the gym.
Meanwhile, at the beach, Marissa introduces Summer to Johnny, Chili, and Casey. Chili instantly falls in love with Marissa. Suddenly, two surfers show up and Johnny reluctantly introduces them. One of them, Kevin Volchok, is apparently Johnny's main rival for sponsorship on the tour.
At the Cohens', Julie and Charlotte pitch their party idea to Kirsten: a black tie event to benefit under-privileged women so they can have the same opportunity they had to go to rehab and recover. Kirsten says she likes the idea, but is not ready to get back into the party scene. After an awkward moment, Kirsten excuses herself to make coffee. Charlotte follows Kirsten inside and guilts her into doing it to help Julie get back on her feet.
The Dawn Patrol party continues at Chili's house where a pained Summer witnesses what appears to be a romantic connection between Marissa and Johnny.
Seth gets a panicked call from Summer, telling him Ryan needs to get down to Chili's house. But before she can explain why, Taylor confiscates Seth's cell phone. Ryan takes off for Chili's.
Casey, who's clearly been taking note of the connection between Johnny and Marissa, finally shows up at the party. She treats Johnny coldly at first, but eventually gives in to his affection. Summer calls Seth to abort the mission, but it's too late: Ryan's already here. Summer confesses that she was worried about Marissa and Johnny. Ryan looks up and sees Johnny with his arms around Casey. Summer admits to having a bit of a hair-trigger.
Sandy's been having some reservations about the sale of the Newport Group and has scheduled a private meeting with Matt, who admits to Sandy that his boss will tear down anything that's not making him a mint. Sandy thanks him for his honesty. Matt advises Sandy not to sell the Newport Group. Matt reels off his impressive resume, which includes having graduated Magna Cum Laude from UC Berkeley. Sandy's suddenly paying attention but still thinks there's no substitute for life experience. Matt appeals to Sandy's desire to make a difference in the community by offering him control over a multi-million dollar company. Sandy says he'll think about it.
Julie and Charlotte are at dinner and Charlotte steps off to take a call just as a rather pushy waiter arrives with the bill. Julie reaches into Charlotte's wallet and discovers several credit cards and drivers licenses. Julie quickly shoves the wallet back into the purse and pays cash.
Ryan asks Marissa about her and Johnny. Marissa explains that she can talk to him about Trey, and that Ryan just wants to pretend it didn't happen. Ryan protests that he can't fix what has already happened. Summer catches Ryan on his way out, and begs him to make up with Marissa before he takes off.
Inside, Johnny advises Marissa to call Ryan and make up. He shows her to Chili's bedroom so she can make the call in private, but when he opens the door he finds Volchok making out with Casey. Casey takes off. The way Volchok sees it, Johnny got his sponsorship and he got Johnny's girlfriend. Johnny tells the gang he just wants to be alone. Casey returns and tells Marissa that she might not know it yet, but Johnny's falling in love with her. Then they discover Johnny went after Volchok.
Outside the restaurant, Julie confronts Charlotte about the contents of her purse. Charlotte suggests that Julie help her throw a fake charity and split the money; Charlotte will skip town, and no one will be the wiser.
Back at the Lock-In, Taylor triews to create an "atomsphere of trust" among the captive students, to no avail. When the other students heckle her, Seth steps in and tries to organize a game of capture the flag. Seth is met with an equal amount of hostility, but he tells Taylor he can take it. Taylor looks up at Seth with newfound admiration.
Johnny confronts Volchok at the beach, but before Volchok can take a swing at him, Ryan tells him to back off. Then Ryan hauls off and punches Volchok in the mouth.
Taylor approaches Seth and thanks him for his help. She agrees to work something out with the sign-in sheet so Ryan and Summer won't get in trouble.
Ryan hangs out with Johnny at the diner and Marissa drives Summer to the Lock-In. Summer pounds on the door, but Taylor, standing on the other side, pretends not to hear her.
Controversy
On November 14, 2005 website TVgasm.com reported that "Marissa's nipple slipped out of her top on national television in the family hour prime time slot".[1] The story gained more coverage appearing with Mischa Barton's exposure reported on Saturday Night Live later that week.[2] People magazine also reported on the "The blink-and-you'll-miss-it" incident, commenting that following the much publicised Janet Jackson controversy FOX could face complaints to the FCC.[3]
Music
- "Publish My Love" by Rogue Wave
- "Knocked Down" by Pennywise
- "No Rest For The Weekend" by Orange
- "Sugar" by Ladytron
- "Swagger" by Calla
Trivia
- Near the end of the episode, Johnny asks Ryan where he learned to fight. Ryan admits that he never won a fight till he came to Newport.
References
- ^ "Broadcast Nudes: Update". TVgasm.com. 2005-11-14. Archived from the original on 2008-07-16. Retrieved 2008-07-27.
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(help) - ^ "TVgasm Not Yet Ready for Prime Time?". TVgasm.com. 2005-11-20. Retrieved 2008-07-27.
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(help) [dead link ] - ^ Silverman, Stephen M. (2005-11-17). "Mischa Barton Bares Breast on The OC". People. Time Inc. Retrieved 2008-07-27.