#TheOC S1E3: The one where Ryan and his birth mom reconnect, casually count some cards, and then agree to disagree about sobriety.
Thirty days in the hole
We open with Sandy signing the visitor log at the juvie facility where Ryan and Luke have been taken. "We've got to stop meeting like this," he says to Ryan. Ha! It's funny, but also sad because it didn't have to go like this. Looking at you, Luke. This is all your fault. It's also not accurate to refer to this as a juvie facility because the background actors mostly appear to be grown-ass adult men. With facial hair and scary tattoos! Yikes! Anyway, Sandy tells Ryan that Kirsten's company has dropped all arson charges so if everything goes their way, he'll be out on probation in no time. Well, some time. Thirty to sixty days to be exact. Yikes! That's actually a lot of time. If they could just find Ryan's mother, Sandy could get him sprung much sooner. If only ... sigh. Ryan sees Luke being released into the custody of his parents and Sandy is pretty much like, Sucks to be you, bro. Brooding glares between Luke and Ryan are exchanged.
Sandy makes to leave but sticks around to watch as Ryan is returned to Gen pop. Dozens of inmates are clustered around the door entrance, which is something I'm pretty sure would never happen in real life, and Ryan has to fight his way through the throng. He accidentally bumps into someone—Oooh! It's Weevil from Veronica Mars! But not the nice Weevil from later seasons. No, it's the bad Weevil from season 1!—and now Weevil is threatening Ryan's life! Yikes! Sandy sees it all go down—which is also something I'm pretty sure would never happen in real life—and looks on in horror. But his hands are tied. Kirsten has made it clear that Ryan has to stay locked up.
Ain't no party like a West Coast party
Back at the Cohen house, Kirsten is hosting a School Fundraising Party Planning Committee Meeting (SFPPCM). Casino Night is coming up, and events like that don't plan themselves! But while Kirsten and company are sipping Belinis and pretending to eat hors d'oeuvres, Bad Weevil is holding a plastic fork to Ryan's neck! Yikes!
Seth is brooding on the patio outside now (there's a lot of brooding in this show, if I haven't already mentioned it) because his connection to coolness is in the slammer. His sad face makes Kirsten sad. She agrees to take Seth to see Ryan. Sandy clearly has not shared the events from that morning with her. As Kirsten is getting rid of the SFPPCM, Seth heads next door to see if Marissa wants to go visit Ryan with them. Summer is also at the house, and she's trying on clothes. Seth sees her in her bra! It is the greatest day ever! Marissa says she can't go, so it's a Kirsten-Seth road trip.
Welcome to the Jungle
Kirsten and Seth arrive at juvie, but there is no fun and certainly no games. Ryan is sporting his plastic-fork-neck-scar and doesn't seem particularly thrilled to be seen in his navy blue Parisian night suit. Evil Weevil, coincidentally also loose in the visitor area, immediately takes a liking to Kirsten, making Seth, Ryan, and your reviewer super uncomfortable. To the surprise of exactly no one, there are only so many jeers and catcalls that can be tolerated before Ryan dispenses with his own brand of justice. With no guards around—again, that's not how any of this works—Ryan shows Evil Weevil what's what. Aaaaaaand now the guards rush in. Kirsten is horrified!
Sandy arrives home from work ... to find Seth and Ryan on the couch playing video games! Yay! Kirsten has seen the light! But then she tells Sandy that he has to find Ryan's mom. Boo!
You Dropped a Bomb on Me
Sandy gets a tip from a private detective on where to find Dawn, so Kirsten takes the guys with her to help set up for Casino Night. Kirsten discovers that Ryan has an interest in architecture, making her see him in a new light. Is there hope for these two after all? The Buddhist in me says 'We shall see.' Julie Cooper runs into Sandy at the coffee shop and expresses her displeasure at having a violent offender in the neighborhood and Sandy reminds her that she's basically from the same hood, but look at her now! Julie is unamused.
Julie returns home and immediately begins complaining to Jimmy because Sandy basically called her poor white trash and because Kirsten brought Ryan to the club and says she has half a mind to call her and tell her ... at which point Jimmy stops her and tells her to leave Kirsten alone because she's pretty much the only thing between him and prison right now. Julie is NOT pleased to discover that they basically are poor. Someone will pay for this! In a way that's different from how Kirsten is literally paying for them now.
You Spin Me Round
Sandy finds recently sober Dawn working at a laundromat and convinces her to come home with him to see Ryan. She stays for an awkwardly silent dinner and because we all love to be as uncomfortable as possible, Kirsten suggests that she stay the night with them.
Ryan and his mom spend the next day bonding, so it probably makes sense to invite them both to Casino Night, right? Booze and gambling—what could go wrong?!? Spoiler alert: a lot. Dawn starts off the night being responsibly sober, but gets a little heady after experiencing some success counting cards. She orders a drink. And then another. And another. Not everything is craps at the event. Summer superstitiously has Seth blow on her dice, and she wins! She makes Seth spend all evening by her side and, even though she doesn't know his name, it's still a win in his book. Pot-stirrer Julie corners Sandy to "thank him" for the ginormous check Kirsten gave them to keep the Cooper family afloat. Sandy is no actor and it's clear that he had no idea this had gone down. Ha! Julie has landed her blow! Hell hath no fury like a redhead in a designer dress.
Sandy confronts Kirsten about the secrets she's been keeping just as Dawn gets fall-down drunk. Chaos ensues.
The next morning, Dawn is up and has her bags packed. She meets Kirsten outside by the pool and explains that she's just not ready to be a mother. "Take good care of him." And that, kids, is the story of how Kirsten became Ryan's mother.
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