Blurry images and muddled voices fill the air as Ryan wanders through the hospital in the opening scenes. Trey is unconscious, the police are questioning Marissa. Then ... Ryan wakes up in a cold sweat. Was it all a dream? No, of course not, he was just reliving those awful, true events. It's actually a couple months later and Seth is informing him that the lawyer is waiting to depose them both. During the deposition, the prosecutor attempts to pin the shooting on young Mr. Atwood.
Meanwhile, Marissa and Summer are lying by the pool, lamenting the circumstances surrounding their final weekend before senior year. Marissa isn't too excited about the whole attempted murder of Trey - who is alive, but in a coma - and her mood sours even more when she is interviewed by this prying lawyer. During this time, Julie is plotting to remove the blame from her daughter. In rehab, Kirsten is congratulated by her doctor on a successful recovery and cleared to return home. She also befriends Charlotte Martin, a fellow alcoholic who claims to have a very similar past to our favorite blonde bombshell of a mother.
Back in a different kind of hospital, Trey awakes from his coma. He instantly wishes he were back in la-la land, however, because Julie is standing over him with a pillow. She threatens to kill him, and offers him a bribe, if he tells the police that Ryan actually shot him. Unaware that this plot is being hatched, Seth, Summer, Marissa and Ryan attempt to put their problems behind them and have a fun day together on Jimmy's boat. Marshmellows are roasted, laughs are shared and it appears as though everything will be ok for the friendly foursome.
Everything is far from ok with Kirsten, however, as she doesn't tell Sandy that she is free to go home. She reveals to Charlotte that she's afraid of letting down her family again and Charlotte stares at her in a questionable, sadistic manner. We'll have to keep an eye on this vixen. Similarly, the cops have kept an eye on Ryan and track him down trying to flee with his buddies on Jimmy's boat. Just when it appears as though this kid from the wrong side of the tracks is headed back to a familiar place (i.e. jail), Marissa intervenes, talks Trey into telling the truth and even shows her mother the confession that proves he was coerced by her into the initial lie.
At the end of the hour, Trey is on a bus out of Newport. Ryan is sad. He finds comfort in Marissa and the couple hold each other on the lifeguard deck at we fade to black.
"The Aftermath" File: