As this action-packed hour begins, Seth laments losing Summer for the 423rd time. Seth expresses his desire to escort her to the prom, cleverly titled "Enchantment Under the O. Sea," and Ryan tells him to keep dreaming. All attention soon shifts to Kirsten, as Sandy calls the boys to inform them of her accident. At the hospital, a member of the law enforcement community informs Sanford that Kirsten was under the influence during the crash. The cops let it slide, but Sandy won't. Neither will Caleb. Both confront Kirsten about her drinking problem. She screams at her dad, then promises her husband that she is finished with the bottle.
Julie, meanwhile, reads over her prenuptial agreement and discovers that should she and Cal divorce after a year of marriage, she gets $3M. But if they divorce before a year elapses, she gets served. Naturally, she devises a plan to keep him from filing the papers on time. At school, Seth and Zach argue over who gets to take Summer to the prom. Equally sick of both, the object of their affection tells them to make up their minds. Coincidentally, comic book rep Reed informs Seth and Zach that George Lucas, creator of Star Wars, has an interest in their graphic novel - but can only meet with one of them! They decide the best way to divvy up responsibilities is a good old-fashioned fist fight. Just kidding. They flip a coin, though we don't find out the results until later!
Increasingly worried about what went on between Tre and Marissa, Ryan asks her to explain. She convinces him nothing happened and to trust her, and he relents, asking her to the prom. All is well until a later conversation with Jess at school arouses his... suspicion once again. Told by the skank that Marissa hooked up with Tre, Ryan calls off his prom date and rolls up to Chino to find his brother. Speaking of said prom, it's about that time and Zach arrives in a limo to accompany Summer. Both look genuinely thrilled. Not! During his meeting with George Lucas, Seth can't think about anything but the prom. In a conversation that would totally happen in real life, Lucas recants his own prom experience (or lack thereof) and how it inspired his film American Graffiti.
Julie pilfers some of Caleb's sleeping medication and schemes to delay the divorce by slipping it into some drinks. Once he comes over for one last dinner, however, she can't bring herself to do it. The Atwood Brothers meet in a Chino dive, where Tre insists that Marissa threw herself at him. Confused, Ryan shuffles out of the bar and runs into Theresa, who's in town visiting from Atlanta. She reminds him that Tre is a trouble-making liar and assures him that Marissa is the one to trust. Then she returns to her Mom's house, where we see a newborn baby being cared for. Is this just some random infant, or are we now looking at Mother Theresa?
The producers do not explain at this time, so we'll just have to wait and see. Oh well. Back in Newport, Zach bails on the prom, Seth bails on George Lucas, and everything works out great. Lastly, Sandy and Kirsten are about to watch Shaun of the Dead and order takeout, but things go awry as he finds a flask in her purse. Then they get a phone call explaining that Caleb suffered a heart attack, fallen into Julie's pool and died. Cal, on behalf of all of us here at The OC Files, let me just say that I can't believe you ever married that cheap hoe. And may you rest in peace.
NOTE: You'd think we would just remove Matthew Richenthal's name from the top of this page when he does not write the Episode Guide, but we can't. And anyway, this is not about us. It's about you. Fans of ocfiles.com, and more importantly, of the show itself. We go all out for you, whatever it takes. When Matthew's computer is taken away, we don't shut down the site. We find solutions. It's not about who did what on our end. Nevertheless, for the fourth time this season, it has been an honor for Stephen Marsi to fill in for his good friend and complete the weekly recap.
"The O. Sea" File: