Before the beautiful music hits, the Cohen men are discussing Lindsay. They decide that Kirsten should not know about Ryan and Lindsay's romance. After school that day, Kirsten picks Lindsay up at school and brings her back home for dinner. This adds to the awkwardness between Ryan and his pseudo aunt/wanna-be girlfriend.
Before that ill-fated dinner, Seth had tried to surprise Alex. A scruffy, topless guy answered the door, however, and Alex was hung over and short. This prompts Seth to attempt to change his image from "nice" to "bad boy." Acting badly, meanwhile, was Zack during winter vacation. He admits to Seth that he kissed an ex-girlfriend (and math tutor) during his break and Seth recommends telling Summer about it.
When Marissa brings DJ along to meet Jimmy, they see him kissing Julie. This leads to a confrontation between Marissa and her father. In response to his mistake and his lack of life, Jimmy tells Sandy and Kirsten that he is moving to Maui to charter yachts. Later that night, the gang heads to a Modest Mouse concert. Once there, Seth gets drunk in order to impress Alex and winds up telling Summer about the tutor in front of Zack. He also vomits in the bar and is caught being wasted at home by Sandy.
The Cohens then host a going away party for Jimmy. Marissa shows up drunk, calling her parents a "thief" and a "slut." Also at the shindig, Ryan and Lindsay kiss to see how awkward it feels. It grows passionate, but they agree to keep it a secret from Kirsten. At the end of the episode, Jimmy comforts Marissa on the beach. She proceeds to bring bagels to the Cohens and is welcomed with open arms and cream cheese schmearing technique.
"Family Ties" File: