The Journey (The O.C. episode)

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“The Journey”
The O.C. episode
Ryan and Seth
Episode no.	Season 3 (2005-2006) Episode 17
Written by	John Stephens
Directed by	Roxann Dawson
Production no.	2T6267
Original airdate	March 16, 2006 (FOX)
Episode chronology
← Previous	Next →
"The Road Warrior"	"The Undertow"

"The Journey" is the seventeenth episode of the third season FOX television series, The O.C.. The episode was written by John Stephens and was directed by Roxann Dawson. It originally aired on Thursday, March 16, 2006.

1 Guest starring
2 Plot
3 Music
4 External links

[edit] Guest starring

[edit] Plot

Ryan Atwood is turning 18. So what are the Cohens going to do for the big party? Well, if it's up to Ryan, nothing. Sandy encourages Ryan to do at least a little something to acknowledge one of life's big milestones. Ryan reluctantly agrees and Seth immediately begins planning a blowout.

That night, Ryan and Marissa each pick up their phones. Neither has the courage to dial. At school the next day, Summer catches up with Marissa, wondering if this Ryan stuff is getting to her. Marissa assures her that she's moving on. Summer is about to break the Dr. Roberts/Julie news to Marissa, but when Ryan enters the hallway, Marissa takes off.

At home, Kirsten tells Sandy she thinks an Atwood should be at the big birthday party. With dad in jail and Trey no longer welcome in Newport, that only leaves mom. Of course Sandy will have to track her down first. Meanwhile, Summer tracks down Seth in the student lounge and says they need to make a decision on Ryan and Marissa. Get them back together or finalize the breakup? And it'll be up to Seth to handle it, since Summer is busy with her dad and Julie.

Speaking of which, the new couple just wrapped up a nooner and decided now is the time to reveal their relationship. But first, they need to determine how serious the relationship is. Ah... roadblock. The doctor gets a call. Putting a title on their fling will have to wait.

Ryan drops in on Sadie after school. She quickly asks how the breakup is going. Ryan says he needs to determine his own feelings first. Elsewhere, Marissa is relaxing at the trailer when she notices Volchok creeping around out front. He takes off before she can say anything.

In the pool house, Seth reveals to Ryan that he reserved The Bait Shop for the party. Now, about the invitations. Send one to Sadie? Yes. Send one to Marissa? Hmm. The next day, Seth is discussing party themes with Summer. He seems to be favoring a future theme. A package arrives for Dr. Roberts and Summer opens it. It contains tickets for a lovers' cruise to Cabo. Summer immediately IDs a cruise as her father's favorite marriage proposal setting. She determines to stop this travesty from occurring on the open seas.

Ryan continues helping Sadie work on her aunt's house. He slips her the invite to his party, but she can't make it because she's heading into LA to meet a friend. And that's when Sadie notices the invitation for Marissa. Curious. Ryan admits that he doesn't know what to do with it.

Summer swings by the trailer and sees that Marissa is working on a CD for Ryan as a birthday gift. Picking up on her best friend's feelings, Summer reveals the party plans and tells Marissa to come along. Marissa knows she can't without an invite directly from Ryan.

Sandy informs Kirsten that he tracked down Ryan's mom. She's in Albuquerque and possibly in a spot of trouble. So Sandy is heading off to New Mexico to see what he can do. At the same time, Summer runs into Julie at the Roberts' home. Julie tries to dodge, but Summer says she knows all about it, including the cruise. A cruise that apparently is news to Julie. Summer warns Julie that when her dad is on a cruise, a proposal gets on board with him. Julie assures her that an engagement is far off.

Sandy meets up with Dawn Atwood in an Albuquerque jail. She tearfully admits that she got picked up for passing bad checks and asks that Sandy not tell Ryan where she is. Sandy promises to look at her case file and see what he can do. That night, Matt takes Marissa down to the pier to tell her the police ruled out her involvement in Johnny's death. He then hands her the letter she wrote to Johnny before he died. The police no longer need the evidence.

Matt walks off to take a call and Marissa notices Volchok again stalking her. She confronts him, which leads to an argument, which leads to Matt intervening. A police officer steps in, sends Matt and Marissa on their way and demands to see ID from Volchok. No doubt, Volchok's license photo is super rad.

Ryan swings by the trailer with a party invite for Marissa. He stares at the door, then leaves, invite still in hand. The sun rises on Ryan's birthday. Seth greets him with birthday wishes and Ryan greets him with the news that he didn't invite Marissa. And also the news that Sadie can't make it. Seth warns Ryan that a surprise at the party may make his head explode.

Julie and Marissa are enjoying breakfast when Julie finally breaks the news to her daughter. Although stunned at first, Marissa is actually pretty okay with the relationship. In Albuquerque, Sandy tells Dawn that he got the charges dropped and he even paid the restitution she owed to the aggrieved parties. All she has to do is enter rehab and show up at Ryan's birthday party. Not in that order. She balks at going to the party, but Sandy assures her that it'll work out just fine. She wants to shower and change clothes first, so Sandy offers the use of his hotel room.

Sadie gives Ryan a nice little birthday present. A hammer. Aww. He tells her that he didn't invite Marissa to his birthday. In case...um...you change your mind. Or you bring your friend by. Or whatever. Sadie tells him that the friend she's meeting is the guy she was seeing before Johnny's death. He wants to talk, so she has a decision of her own to make.

Down at the beach, Marissa tracks down one of Volchok's friends and asks where he is. The friend tells him to check one of Volchok's former employers. At lunch, Julie tells Dr. Roberts that the girls know about them. And she knows about the cruise. He...uh...doesn't seem all that happy about this revelation.

At home, Kirsten finds out that Ryan didn't invite Marissa to the party. While she's okay with that decision, she implores Ryan to at least tell Marissa personally. Don't wait for her to figure it out when no invitation arrives. Back in Albuquerque, Sandy looks for Dawn in the hotel room, but she's gone. Only a letter to Ryan is left behind. At the same time, Ryan has an envelope of his own for Marissa. But she's not at the trailer. Ryan goes inside, sees the CD she made for him, sees the photos of the two of them she has out and starts thinking.

And the reason Marissa isn't at the trailer is because she's still tracking down Volchok. She finally finds him at a job site, working construction, cool as ever. Interestingly enough, the job is at the model home Ryan and Luke accidentally burned down two years ago. She apologizes for the run-in at the pier the other night. Then she starts to realize just where she is. Memories comes rushing back. They come back to Ryan as well as he listens to the CD in the trailer. Overwhelmed, Marissa passes out and tumbles halfway down the stairs.

It's party time. But not for Marissa. Ice pack on her head, she's being walked home by Volchok after a trip to the emergency room. And only the ice is cooler than Volchok right now. Just barely, too. Volchok begins to open up to Marissa. He always thought Johnny was better than him, but Johnny's the one who died. Volchok gives Marissa his number in case anything happens, then takes off.

Inside, Marissa finds her party invite. At said party, Dr. Roberts tells Summer he had different plans for the cruise. He was going to invite her ex-stepmom in an attempt to get back together with her. But maybe Julie finding out is all for the best. Sandy finally makes it to the party and comes clean with him. He went to see Dawn, but she couldn't make it tonight. Then he hands Ryan the letter she wrote.

Ryan heads outside to read the letter. In it, he finds a photo from younger, happier days. As he stares at it, Marissa sees him. She loses her courage and takes off before he sees her. Which is fine, because that spared her from seeing Sadie make the party. She told her guy that she couldn't make it to LA tonight.

Julie and Dr. Roberts prepare to leave for the trip. Before stepping outside, Dr. Roberts looks at the ring he has in pocket one last time. Elsewhere, Volchok finds Marissa on the lifeguard stand after she called him. He pulls out his flask again, and this time Marissa takes a pull.