Recap/Review: The O.C. Pilot (1.01)

                                        The O.C. Pilot (1.01 ) Review/recap
                                         
First Off The O.C. is my favorite T.V. show so if you want a review where someone bad mouths the show please look elsewhere because I love this show especially the first season. Also this review is also sort of like a recap in that I’m basically recapping with a lot more personal opinions. So without further ado onto the review.

On a dark abandon street in Chino we see two guys who are Trey and Ryan Atwood and we also see a car (that some person was stupid enough to abandon in a remote part of a bad neighborhood honestly they were kind of asking for their car to be stolen.). Trey the older brother decides he has to teach Ryan to steal a car because he’s his older brother and then smashes the window of the car. Ryan doesn’t want to steal the car and he sees a police car drive pass but Trey replies from the car “Stop being a little Bitch and get in.” and Ryan does get in. Then a car chase ensues and Trey is having a great time throughout and Ryan like any sane person would be is nervous about getting caught which they do when Trey crashes the car. I would also like to note that Trey is played by a different actor here then he was in season 2 and he has is eyebrow priced which bothers me, overall I’m glad he was recasted.

Then the scene changes to juvie in which Ryan is wearing a blue jumpsuit and he is led to meet his lawyer Sandy Cohen. Sandy introduces himself and says he’s going to help Ryan and “You could do worse.” Ryan asks were is brother is and Sandy tells him since Trey’s over 18 has priors, had a gun and drugs on him so he’ll be jail for a few years (obviously Trey was a bad influence). Sandy goes through information about Ryan such as he’s been suspended for fighting and has good test scores. Ryan’s good test scores makes Sandy ask Ryan what he’s planning for his future and when Ryan says he doesn’t have one yet Sandy says he needs one. Ryan replies in one of my favorite quotes of the episode “Where I come from having a dream doesn’t make you smart. Knowing it won’t come true? That does.” I love that quote because it just shows how hopeless things were for him while he was living in Chino. I don’t really remember what happens during the rest of that scene but I think it’s more about court dates and stuff.

Now outside of the police station Ryan has been released and Sandy reminds him when his court date Ryan says he’ll remember and then his mom shows up driving her car over the sidewalk and she is very angry(I also think she’s drunk which is kind of ironic considering that she’s at a police station but maybe that’s normal in Chino) saying that Sandy should of let him rot in there just like his dad and his brother. Sandy senses that things aren’t going to go well for Ryan so he decides to give Ryan his card just case.

Once at home Ryan’s mom continues with yelling at him as well as pouring herself a glass of what looks like vodka which only proofs my theory that she was drunk at the police station. She tells Ryan that she wants him out of the house in which Ryan noticeably upset ask “Where am I suppose to go?” honestly it kind of breaks my heart when he says that it’s in the delivery good job Ben Mckenzie. Then Ryan’s mom’s dead beat boyfriend tells Ryan to just listen to his mother in which Ryan replies “Why don’t you worry about your own kids instead of freeloading off my mom.” This causes the first fist fight of the series to ensue and then Ryan goes and packs his bags while the theme song California by Phantom Planet plays. Ryan leaves and we see his house from the outside and it’s a small slightly ran down and has a mattress in the yard and then Ryan goes off to a pay phone to call all his friends for a place to stay but none them can have him stay so he gets increasingly angry as he gets rejected. Then he remembers Sandy gave him his card and he calls him and Sandy being the best lawyer ever shows up and drives Ryan to his home in Newport which is far prettier then Chino and the film quality is better I really like the contrast between Chino and Newport. I also like that so much has happened so far and yet Ryan has just arrived in Newport which orange county aka the o.c.

When they arrive in the Cohen driveway Sandy saws he has to tell is wife about Ryan before he can come in. He hesitates weather or not leave the keys in the car or not Ryan seeing this says “It’s no fun if the keys are in the car.” Ha see Ryan can be funny we just don’t notice it because he’s around Seth but we haven’t met him yet so back to the present Sandy leaves trusting Ryan not to steal his car.

We cut to the Cohen kitchen which is entirely different in the pilot the cabinets look kind of grayish overall it’s not as nice as it usually is so it distracts me a bit. Kristen Sandy’s wife is upset that her husband brought home a felon but Sandy assures her is not a felon but rather a kid with no one and no where to go and after some convincing Kristen agrees and when she starts to walk away Sandy asks where she’s going she replies “ I’m going to lock my jewels in the vault, he’s going to need some fresh sheets.” This quote first off makes me life and second off it shows that despite Kristen’s hesitance for letting Ryan stay there she’s a warm caring person.

Outside in the Cohen driveway Ryan gets out of the car and heads to the end of the driveway for a smoke and down there he finds the neighbor girl Marissa who ask him who he is and Ryan tries to use a lame pick up line “Who ever you want me to be.” which just makes Marissa say okay and look at him weird. Really Ryan should have just been himself but he was clearly taken off guard by a pretty girl so I’ll let it slide. Then after a few seconds of silence Marissa asks for a smoke and then to light it she uses Ryan and there’s some sexually tension and they look into each other’s eyes and then once it’s lit they move apart. Then Marissa ask who Ryan really is and he tells her the truth about who he is and why he’s here and once again the delivery is very good and makes me really feel for him. Then for some reason Marissa says “Your there cousin from Boston right.” Ryan agrees to this and then Sandy comes down and Marissa puts out her ciggerattie.

Marissa says she was just getting to know Ryan and sandy then says he came from Seattle Ryan says his mom lives there and dad in Boston. Then Sandy mentions there excited for her fashion show tomorrow and she laughs and says really and then Sandy says no. Then Luke shows up in a pickup truck with music playing loudly and tells Marissa to hop in before Marissa does she tells Ryan he should check out the fashion show then gets in Luke’s truck and kisses him and Luke wonders who Ryan is. For some reason despite the fact the Luke has done anything yet I think of him as jerk maybe it’s because I’m already attached to Ryan or the that I didn’t watch the pilot first. They leave and Sandy tells Ryan if he stays at there house there’s no smoking so Ryan puts out his ciggerate and then Sandy goes down to stamp it out then they head into the Cohen house.

Then they enter the pool house which seems to being used as storage at the moment and in there is both Kristen and Rosa ( the Cohen’s maid or something that appears in a few episodes in season one and then disappears) anyway Kristen welcomes Ryan into her home and then they leave Ryan and he looks around then the scene ends.

Now it’s the next morning and Ryan gets up and out of the pool house and he sees the wonderful view the Cohen’s have of the ocean which is extremely view and there’s also quite a bit of green so overall Ryan’s having I’m sure not in chino anymore look around and then he crosses the yard and enters the Cohen’s main house. When he enters the house he sees the Cohen’s son Seth who’s playing video games and they say hey to each other and Seth asks if he wants to play. We cut forward in time a bit were they have been playing for awhile and Seth is narrating what is happening in the game he clearly won. Then Seth suggest they play grand theft auto then “Oh, hey, do you want to play 'Grand Theft Auto'? It's pretty cool. You can, like, steal cars and ... not that that's cool ... or uncool. I don't know.” it’s just so funny awkward but he seems like Ryan wasn’t offend. Then Sandy comes in saves Seth from his babbling and suggest they go out side then Seth and Ryan go sailing.

Then we cut to Seth and Ryan sailing the stop for a bit and Seth tells Ryan his plans to sail to Tahiti next summer and Ryan asks if he’ll lonely Seth replies “Well I’ll have Summer with me.” Ryan thinks Seth is talking about the sail boat which is named the Summer Breeze. Seth tells him it’s the girl the boats named after. Ryan “ She must be pretty stoked.” Seth “ Yeah I’ve never talk to her before in my life.” First off I love that Seth has liked Summer for so long and also like the expression on Ryan’s face when Seth says this he’s just has look that’s like okay that’s kind of weird, but he doesn’t say anything about it.

Then Seth and Ryan are on the beach taking the sails down from the sail boat or something when Sandy comes down the beach and tells them they should be getting ready for the fashion show. Seth doesn’t want to go because pretty much all the kids are jerks to him. Sandy brings up that Marissa invited him and Seth mentions that Marissa has barely said two words to him despite the fact they have lived next door to each other forever and that his mom and her dad almost got married. Sandy cuts in and says “They did not almost get married.” Then Ryan convinces Seth to go the fashion show by saying Summer might be there then Seth mentions Summer is Marissa’s best friend.

Then we see that Marissa was watching from the balcony and then the door bell rings and it’s two men in suits who have been here several times in the past and are looking for her dad. After the two men leave Marissa heads to her dad’s office which he’s in she asks who they are and Marissa’s dad Jimmy jokes around about it and Marissa asks if it’s anything to be worried about he says no but Marissa doesn’t seem convinced.

In the next scene Ryan is getting ready for the party he’s currently in a suit (which he looks really good in it and I love that we get to see everyone dress up almost every episode) but he can’t seem to tie his tie. When Sandy comes in he sees that Ryan doesn’t have his tie tied Ryan makes the excuse that open collar is a good look Sandy mentions how he couldn’t tie a tie until he was 22 and then helps Ryan tie his tie.

Then over at the Cooper house were introduced to Marissa’s mom Julie and her little sister Katlin we see that Marissa and her mom don’t have the best relationship then Jimmy comes downstairs and they leave and while going out the door he tells Marissa she looks great.

Then at the first Newport party Ryan looks around and feels out of place and Seth says “Welcome to the dark side.” Then there’s a couple of scenes of people asking if Ryan is from Boston, Seattle and Canada Ryan says he is from all those places. Then Ryan’s orders a drink but Kristen catches him so he gives her his drink then she says “I want my husband to be right about you.” She also has this smile on her face which makes it very hard not to like.

Then Seth awkwardly says hi to Luke who jerkly replies “Suck it queer.” and this makes my earlier hatred of him justified. Then Seth replies “My summer was thanks for asking.” which makes me love him because he’s just so adorable and dorky. Also there’s this part right before Luke leaves were he and Ryan stare each other down which I like because it shows that Ryan already protective of Seth. Then Seth sees Summer and says “Summer's right over there, look. Wait, don't look. I mean you can look, but don't look like you're looking.” and then over across the way Summer sees Ryan and becomes interested in him. Then back with the boys Sandy comes over and points Summer out which embrasses Seth so he walks away and then Ryan says “Way to salt his game Mr.Cohen.” I have no idea what that means.

Inside right before the fashion show Seth and Ryan find their seats at a table in which either middle schoolers or elementary kids are seated one them is named Chester and Seth teaches him sailing. The kids seem weird out by this as does Ryan but they all just go with it and the fashion begins Marissa makes some speech and then Summer comes out in dress that’s blue with pinkish purple triangles on it and a lot of blue eye make up . Seth “She’s got Tahiti written all over her.”

Then behind the scenes we see a bunch of girls getting ready then we see Marissa in the bathroom doing her make up and then Summer comes in with two glasses of wine and Marissa reveals she already stole a bottle of vodka and I assume the girls drink up. Then Marissa takes her turn on the catwalk and winks at Ryan which Luke sees and is angry about it.

Over at the adult table someone mentions how beautiful Marissa looks along with how expensive her dress is. Then an unnamed man says Jimmy’s managing his money and excepts to die rich and Sandy points out he’s bound to be half right then Jimmy gets up from the table. In the bathroom Jimmy has a breakdown in a stale it’s not over the top and think Tate Donvan did a very good job acting it out.

Outside after the fashion show Summer comes up to Ryan and invites him to a party at Holly’s beach house. Then Ryan tells Seth they should go to the party Seth isn’t convinced they should go but then Ryan mentions Summer invited him then says actually she asked for you. Seth’s replies “That makes absolutely no sense but we should go.” Then they off in the car to the party and Ryan watches Marissa a different car with Luke while Swing Swing by the All American Rejects plays.

Then they arrive at the beach house which has lots of sex, drugs and drinking once inside the house Ryan says to Seth “ Welcome to the dark side.” Ryan clearly feels more comfortable here then at the fashion show but Seth is clear uncomfortable when he sees people doing coke he sarcastically says “ Oh, hey cocaine. That's awesome.”

The girls are poring drinks and people mentions Marissa’s new purse and how her dad never says no. Then Summer says how she’s going to play Ryan hot and cold then she says “I got to pee you got to pee.” and then she and some other go head of to the bathroom. I really liked the way summer dismissed herself to go to the bathroom don’t know why though.

Then we see Luke hitting on some younger girl and they head off to the beach to you know and Ryan sees this.

Then we cut Kristen and Jimmy talking about their lives, who Ryan really is, how Kristen is worried about Seth because he never goes out and then Kristen tells Jimmy that if there’s anything wrong he can come to her.

Back at the party Seth walks into the bathroom “ I really should learn to knock incase there’s a threesome going on in the bathroom.” The threesome seems unaffected by his interrupting. Else where Ryan and Marissa meet up and Marissa asks Ryan what he thinks of Newport he replies “I think I can get in less trouble were I’m from.” she replies “You have no idea.” with a sexy smile then leaves.

Later on Summer drunkly hits on Ryan and Seth sees this and being drunk and upset he reveals that Ryan is from chino. After learning this news Summer says “Ew Chino.” Then Ryan leaves but everyone at the party seems to know already and he once again feels very out of place.

Then we cut to Seth wondering about down on the beach and then some water polo players found him and decide to beat him up. Seth “ You guys really wouldn't hurt me. Because that would be so clichéd. (they pick him up) Oh, I guess you're fans of the cliché.” Ryan sees this going from a distance and being the good friend he is he comes and rescues Seth. When Seth sees him he causally says “What’s up?” while being hung upside down. Then Luke comes around and then Ryan punches him and the second fist fight of the series began and Ryan and Seth get their asses kicked then Luke says possibly the most famous line of the series “Welcome to the O.C. bitch.”

Seth and Ryan return home and to the pool house Seth mentions how Ryan had his back and how he thinks if Ryan taught him some moves they could take them next time as he says this he makes these odd arm and leg movements that are extremely funny then Seth falls asleep.

The next scene Marissa is passed out drunk and her friends leave her on the ground outside her house Ryan sees this and then decides to take Marissa up to the pool house and lays her on the bed but he doesn’t sleep on the bed. All the while the song Into Dust by Mazzy Star is playing. Marissa is gone by morning.

The next morning Kristen comes in and is angry because she was very worried about Seth and thought he didn’t come home last night the bruise on his face only makes things worse.

Kristen then goes to tell Sandy who just came back from surfing that she wants Ryan out of the house. They remise about how they fell in love but ultimately it’s decided that Ryan should go home.

In the next scene we see that Ryan has made bacon which cause Kristen to feel guilty for kicking him out but Ryan says he understands and that she has a nice family. Then Ryan says goodbye to Seth and Seth gives him a map. Then Ryan heads back home to Chino with sandy and Ryan sees Marissa as he leaves and the song Honey and the Moon" by Joseph Arthur played. Then Ryan comes home and finds his home abandon with only a note left for him this scene is very quiet and well acted. Sandy then seeing this decides to invite Ryan to come back home with him.