Summary ep 20

It's another school day. Seth presses Ryan for details on the status of his Marissaness. Ryan says they'll be friends again, but Seth counters that they were never friends. At the same time, Summer is having the same talk with Marissa. She doesn't want him as a friend, so she needs to regain his trust. Meanwhile, Seth and Summer have their own issues. Summer hopes she doesn't run into him, Seth hopes she can keep her paws off him when they inevitably run into each other.

Seth gets a buzz on his cell phone. Who does he know in the 909? Well, nobody. It's Ryan's old flame Theresa calling to let him know it just so happens that she'll be swinging by Newport today. For work, of course. So maybe they could hang out tonight. Tonight? Sure. She'll be by after dinner. Seth is highly amused by this turn of events.

The first meet up goes down in the hallway. It's just as awkward as imagined. Ryan and Marissa are quickly left alone and things get even more awkward. But not as awkward as this: Some guy named Brad wants to recruit Summer to work the kissing booth at a fundraiser the water polo team is having. This Brad tried to think of a chick that wouldn't mind making out with tons of guys and Summer's name came to the fore. And you know what? She'd love to do it. And Seth would love her to not do it. Summer takes off and Seth sees that Anna was standing behind her the whole time. Can things possibly get even more awkward? Sorta.

Caleb calls Kirsten in for a quick meeting. Seems that "Uncle" Shaun was drunk last night, stumbled into another guest's room at a hotel and got himself arrested. Kirsten notes that Shaun has been drunk pretty much ever since Caleb met him. Fine. Whatever. Caleb just wants Sandy to handle his case because he can make this whole thing go away through his friends at the D.A.'s office. Kirsten refuses and says that if Caleb needs Sandy's help after all these years, he needs to ask him himself.

Back in school, Seth is by himself, watching Summer fraternize with water polo players when Anna joins him. Anna marvels at the obvious closeness of Couple Summer & Seth. Seth maintains that Summer isn't ignoring him. Sure.

Julie Cooper is prowling the halls. Parent-teacher conference. Luke is surprised to see her and more than a little nervous. Julie says they can't do this. In the hallway. She'll see him tonight. Luke perks up until…Jimmy Cooper walks up and joins the party. Luke un-slickly makes his exit. Elsewhere, Marissa and Ryan run into each other in the student lounge. Friends? Yeah, we should hang out. But not tonight. Ryan's…busy. How about after school today? Sounds great! See you then!

Sandy's enjoying lunch at his soon-to-be restaurant when Caleb pays him a semi-friendly visit. Caleb explains the situation with his friend Bill Shaughnessy, "Uncle" Shaun. After mocking Caleb for not having any friends he doesn't pay for, and seeing right through the fact that he only wants help because Sandy has friends in the D.A.'s office, Sandy offers to look at the report. But that doesn't mean he's going to help!

Ryan and Marissa while the afternoon away with video games until Ryan calls it quits. They sorta laugh about how amazingly awkward their interactions have become. And then Theresa walks in. She's a little early. Marissa decides that she has to go anyway. Theresa eagerly picks up the still-warm controller (symbolism!), while Ryan just sits there in stunned silence.

In the kitchen, Sandy and Kirsten discuss Uncle Shaun and his tipsy ways. Sandy wonders why he's never met him. What's he do, anyway? Kirsten says he's the company's liaison. He knows people. Seth and Ryan swing by and the conversation turns to relationships. Particularly Ryan/Marissa/Theresa's. The Cohens can't quite grasp that a) Ryan and his old flame are just friends and b) Ryan and Marissa are friends, period.

Down at the $79 a night Mermaid Inn, Luke and Julie are greeting the morning together. The harsh light of morning makes Julie realizes that being a mom dating a high school kid maybe isn't as romantic as she first thought. Luke heads off for school and passes another Mermaid Inn guest. Theresa!

Ryan grabs himself some lunch and joins Marissa at her solo table. Ryan admits he should've told Marissa that Theresa would be dropping by. She presses him for all the pertinent details and makes a date for a video game rematch. Across campus, Anna is still quizzing Seth about the openness of his relationship with Summer. He begs her for some advice. Reluctantly, she tells him he can't let her get away with this. Take a stand, or else she'll realize her boyfriend is a coward.

Down at the restaurant, Uncle Shaun and a bottle of hooch are waiting for Sandy. So, Sandy read the police report and, lo and behold, the man whose room Shaun stumbled into is one of the biggest lumber suppliers in the country. And, double lo and behold, he was in town to do some business with one of Caleb's company's biggest rivals. Well how about that? Sandy supposes that the room contained some documents that might prove very helpful to Caleb. And if Shaun thinks Sandy's going to help out, he can forget it. Shaun tells Sandy not to judge so fast. After all, Shaun's known Caleb for years, and if Shaun sat down with the D.A., well, who knows what they would talk about. You know?

Ryan and Theresa stroll down the beach, talking about Newport and starting over. And…Eddie, Theresa's boyfriend. But, coincidentally, they're taking some time apart to figure things out. Just like Ryan and Marissa! In a less sandy place, Summer and Seth are about to lay down again when Seth balks. Until she acknowledges him publicly, i.e. at school, he's on strike from lovin'.

Ryan comes home to find Eddie waiting for him in the driveway. Hmm. This isn't normal. Eddie says he's looking for Theresa. Through their conversation, it comes out that Eddie and Theresa are engaged. Ryan congratulates him on the news, but claims that he hasn't seen Theresa lately. Which, you know, is a lie.

Down at the Mermaid, Ryan confronts Theresa. You just took off on Eddie?! Theresa knows that Eddie's a good kid, but isn't sure if she loves him. Or the simple Chino lifestyle. Ryan asks if she's hungry and they head to the Cohen's for dinner. Speaking of the Cohen house, Summer comes barging in. She tries to coax Seth out of his strike, but he ain't budging.

Next door, Caleb is paying a social call on Julie Cooper. And he brought flowers. Caleb romantically explains that they're both adults, so they should be able to come to some sort of arrangement where they each get what they want from a relationship. Julie isn't swept off her feet by Caleb's business-like tack.

Back at home, Sandy quizzes Kirsten some more about Uncle Shaun. Is he mobbed up? Who knows? Anyway, it's dinner time and here are Ryan and Theresa. Ryan's a little antsy about this whole first meet. But he breaks the news to Seth that Theresa's engaged. See? We are just friends! But as the Cohens watch Ryan and Theresa flirt as they set the table, they all realize something more is afoot.

Marissa sits in the dark watching TV and moping. Jimmy comes home, surprised to find her there. She doesn't want to talk about it. They're just friends. Down the road, the Cohen family is enjoying dinner and stories about Ryan's past when Marissa drops in. Is it okay if she joins them for dinner and some social awkwardness? Sure!

The next morning, Seth talks with Ryan about his telenovela-like friend/love triangle. Seth, speaking from experience, informs Ryan that triangles always hurt somebody. It's obvious that Theresa likes Ryan. It's obvious that Marissa likes Ryan. What's not obvious is how Ryan feels about all of this. Ryan pleads that it's complicated, but Seth says the whole Eddie factor should make his decision obvious.

Sandy meets with Caleb about Uncle Shaun. Caleb claims that construction is a tough business and guys like Shaun are invaluable. Unmoved, Sandy still isn't helping. Caleb tries laying the same line on Sandy that Shaun did. If he starts talking, who knows what he'll say. And if the Newport Group goes down, Kirsten, who signs Shaun's paycheck, is going with it.

Over at Harbor, Anna is rocking some Ms. Pac-Man when Summer comes by. She's sorry about what happened with Seth. But, more importantly, Summer knows that Anna is Seth's unofficial consigliere, so she starts opening up about the relationship. Look, she's just not one of those people who can kiss and hold hands in the hallway. It's nobody's business! Dear Anna advises her that if she went to the trouble to dress up as Wonder Woman, something else must be going on. Summer admits that she's baffled that Seth likes her. He's way smarter, they have nothing in common and pretty soon he'll get tired of her like all boys do. And everybody will know they're dating and everybody will know she was dumped by Seth Cohen, which is not good for one's reputation.

Luke gets a cell call in school. It's Julie with very explicit instructions. Show up at the motel, same room, knock twice, and be discreet. Down the hall, Anna approaches Seth at his locker with the inside scoop about Summer. She's afraid of losing him. Seth can't imagine why that would happen. He's not going anywhere. Anna advises him to maybe let her know that.

And then things get really interesting. Marissa drops by the Mermaid Inn to speak with Theresa. In her motel room. The motel room right next door to the one Julie just told Luke to meet her at. Theresa answers the door and Marissa drills her with questions. She needs to know. Are you still in love with Ryan? Because Marissa still is. Meanwhile, Ryan is visiting Eddie at the body shop. He confesses that he has actually seen Theresa. Eddie tells him that he loves her and wants to provide for her. So Ryan better make up his mind and be ready to fight for her. Because Eddie isn't giving her up. Back at the Mermaid, Theresa is glumly explaining how sometimes life doesn't work out perfectly and you need to hang on to the next best thing.

As Marissa is leaving, Julie opens the next door. No sightings. Over at the fundraiser, Summer is manning the kissing booth when Seth approaches. He climbs on the table and declares that Summer either has to acknowledge him or lose him forever. When the crowd starts buzzing with disbelief that Summer would be dating some emo geek, she's stuck. Who matters more to her? Seth does! She climbs up on the table and plants one on him.

Ryan shows up at the Mermaid to make sure Theresa goes back to Eddie. But there's a problem. Even though they both know it's the right thing to do, he doesn't want her to go, and she doesn't want to go. They kiss. And that's where it ends. For now.