The Homecoming

		The OC Season 1					S2 →
#01	"Premiere"		#10	"The Perfect Couple"		#19	"The Heartbreak"
#02	"The Model Home"		#11	"The Homecoming"		#20	"The Telenovela"
#03	"The Gamble"		#12	"The Secret"		#21	"The Goodbye Girl"
#04	"The Debut"		#13	"The Best Chrismukkah Ever"		#22	"The L.A."
#05	"The Outsider"		#14	"The Countdown"		#23	"The Nana"
#06	"The Girlfriend"		#15	"The Third Wheel"		#24	"The Proposal"
#07	"The Escape"		#16	"The Links"		#25	"The Shower"
#08	"The Rescue"		#17	"The Rivals"		#26	"The Strip"
#09	"The Heights"		#18	"The Truth"		#27	"The Ties That Bind"

The Homecoming is the eleventh episode of season one which aired November 19, 2003.

Summary

On Thanksgiving Day, Ryan ventures to his hometown in Chino to help his imprisoned brother, Trey, with some business he has, while Marissa tags along with Ryan to get a look at the neighborhood where he was born and raised, but it brings out some bad situations and unpleasant trips down memory lane for Ryan. Back in Newport, Kristen invites Caleb and Julie over for Thanksgiving dinner where Seth takes the player role of playing both Summer and Anna. But he does not play it well, leading to both of the girls running into each other and learning about Seth's two-timing act.

Plot

Thanksgiving has come to Newport, and as Sandy, Ryan, and Seth are trying to talk Kirsten out of cooking Thanksgiving dinner to make it special for Ryan, Ryan gets a call from his brother, Trey, in jail, asking him to come and visit. Ryan decides to go. Seth offers to go, but Ryan keeps him from going, using the excuses that someone has to keep Kirsten away from the food, and reminding him that Anna is coming over. Meanwhile, Marissa is trying to get out of going to Thanksgiving dinner at her mom's house due to Julie and Caleb's relationship, which is creeping her out. Her father talks her into going, but only for an hour, and she reluctantly agrees.

Back at the Cohen household, Seth tells Ryan about Summer kissing him on the yacht during the Children's Hospital Charity Event the night before. Marissa and Jimmy stop by on the way to Julie's house, and Marissa and Ryan go off to have a make out session in the pool house. Ryan tells Marissa about going to visit Trey in prison, and nearly gets into an argument after he tells her that he doesn't want her to go with him. Not too long before Ryan leaves, Rachel drops by, and Sandy and Kirsten go into the kitchen to avoid the awkwardness. Ryan tells everyone he's leaving, and Kirsten gives him a pie to give to Trey. As Ryan is getting into the car, he sees Marissa sitting in the passenger's seat, waiting. She tells him that Julie gave her permission to go, and Ryan reluctantly lets her tag along.

Later, Ryan and Marissa make it to the prison where Trey is. As Ryan sits down to talk to his brother, he finds out that when Trey went to jail, he'd borrowed money from some people before hand. The people he owes has friends in the prison who tend to beat him up to remind him about it, and he tells Ryan that it's only going to get worse. Ryan tells Trey that he doesn't have the six grand Trey owes the people, and Trey tells him that it's not the money he's asking for. They leave, and Ryan tells Marissa that he's taking her to a bus station so that she can go home. When she protests, he tells her what Trey asked him to do to pay off the debt for him. He's supposed to pick up a stolen car and drop it at a chop shop to pay off the debt for Trey. Marissa worries about him getting caught, and refuses to go home.

Meanwhile, back at the house, Anna finally arrives. Rachel and Jimmy realize that Sandy and Kirsten are trying to hook them up, but after they both get into a football game, they realize that they have more in common than they'd thought. Caleb and Jimmy end up eating with everyone after the cater they hired can't come due to his truck breaking down. Ryan and Marissa end up at a girl named Theresa's house, and it's revealed that she and Ryan had been together off and on as they'd grown up together. Theresa's brother, Arturo has the car that Ryan is supposed to be delivering for Trey.

While Marissa gets to know Theressa and her mother better, Jimmy and Julie argue due to the fact that neither of them knows about where Marissa went. Anna has a brief conversation with Caleb about the construction that his company is doing on the wetlands, and Summer happens to drop by unexpectedly, looking for Marissa. When Seth tells her that she's not there, she suggests that they talk about the kiss on the yacht, and they go to the pool house to do so. When they get inside, Summer kisses him unexpectedly.

At Theresa's house, Marissa begins to find out more about Ryan's past. Kirsten is frustrated at her father practically letting himself in during their Thanksgiving dinner. Anna tries to make a move on Seth, who's hiding Summer in the pool house. This time, Seth doesn't shy away, leading to a make out session with Anna in his room. He calls Ryan for advice, but Ryan tells him that he'll call back when him and Marissa are on the road. Seth then announces to the entire house, by accident, that Marissa's in Chino.

During the phone call with Seth, Ryan figures out that Marissa lied to him about Julie giving her permission to go with him to Chino. They get into an argument outside of Theresa's house, and he tells her to go to the bus station and go back to Newport, which she does. Seth and Summer continue to make out in the pool house, and he prevents her from going into the house by making excuses, going back to do the same thing with Anna. Inside, however, tensions are arising between everyone, from Caleb and Kirsten, to Jimmy and Julie. Ryan manages to drop off the car, but when the guy doesn't keep his end of the bargin as far as clearing Trey's debt to him, he tries to beat Ryan up as compensation for "interest". Fortunately, Marissa had followed him, and they manage to get away without any major damage.

At the house, everyone is still arguing, and Seth tells Sandy about his being unable to pick which girl he was more into. During the arguing and Seth talking to Sandy, the turkey that Kirsten had put into the oven burns. Summer and Anna come to see what's going on, and catch onto what Seth had been doing. Both of them leave, to Seth's dismay. Marissa and Ryan go back to visit Trey again. Ryan tells him that the car was delivered, and the debt was paid off, but that he was never doing anything for him again, due to the fact that he could have been killed. Trey tells him that he gets it. Ryan promises to visit more, and Trey tells him not to because he has a chance at something better, and to have it he has to leave everything that was in the past behind, even him. Ryan and Marissa talk in the car on the ride back to Newport, and things are fixed. Jimmy and Rachel make plans to watch another football game together, and Ryan and Marissa end up hanging out with Seth in his room.

Music

• "We Drink on The Job" by Earlimart
• "Breathe Easy" by Minibar
• "Different Stars" by Trespassors William
• "Caravan" by The Josh Buzon Trio
• "Caravan" by Gordon Jenkins
• "Latinos Mundial" by Mellowman Ace
• "Orange Sky" by Alexi Murdoch

Episode Quotes

"You know what I dream about when I dream of Thanksgiving? I dream about eating food that has so much flavor that when I eat it, all the blood rushes to my stomach and I pass out at the table. Don't deny me that." -Seth

"Would you mind holding on for one second? I've got some green beans in the house that I need to check on." "You're passing me up for beans?" "No." -Seth and Summer

"I was just expressing awe and delight. Now it'll be replaced with a bruise....on my ass." -Seth to Summer

"Does anyone want another drink?" -Kirsten

"Ew. I mean, not ew. You're very attractive....for a dad....uh, very distingushed..." -Summer to Sandy

"I always knew you were a late bloomer sweetie." -Kirsten to Seth