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"The Outsider" is the fifth episode in the first season of the Fox drama series The O.C.. The episode aired on the second of September, in 2003.

Synopsis[]

Hoping to become financially independent, Ryan gets a job at the Crab Shack. At the restaurant, he meets Donnie. When Seth invites Donnie to a party in Newport, Donnie finds himself an outcast there and takes matters into his own hands in a violent manner. Moreover, Ryan finally finds the confidence to ask out Marissa. With Jimmy's scandal, he gives Julie a choice to decide what they will do that will change their lives forever.

Plot[]

The episode begins with Ryan and Seth cruising down by the beach of Newport on their bike and skateboard, where they come across the Crab Shack seafood restaurant. Seth asks Ryan what is going on with Marissa and Ryan says he doesn't think she wants to talk. Seth tells him to go for it and Ryan says he has no car or money to do anything with Marissa. Seth treats Ryan to lunch which makes Ryan feel bad as he feels like he is taking the Cohens money. Just as Seth reassures Ryan that his parents have the same obligations to him as they have to Seth himself, a waiter in the restaurant got into an argument with the management and quits on the spot. Ryan went in and applied for the job.

Kirsten and her neighborhood friends gathered at her house to make some final planning on an upcoming spa retreat. The group is reluctant on letting Julie, who paid for the trip well before the scandal surrounding Jimmy erupted, to accompany them on the retreat. Kirsten, however, reiterated that the trip was planned for months, and that Julie deserves to go. Sandy is listening to their conversation, waiting for them to disperse so that he doesn't have to talk to them. The woman continue to gossip about the Coopers and Kirsten is standing her ground to defend them. They say how Jimmy might be going to jail and Sandy tells Ryan and Seth that Jimmy stole a lot of money from a lot of people. Seth then wonders what Marissa will do without her dad.

Julie says she has to go on the spa retreat or else the women will spend the whole weekend talking about her. Jimmy thinks she is being paranoid to which Julie says they will think she orchestrated the whole thing. Julie asks for Jimmy to take care of the mess he has created and that they will figure out what to tell Kaitlin and Marissa when she gets back. Marissa and Summer are hanging out at the beach when Summer asks to go shopping. Marissa says she won't be able to pay for it because of Jimmy's credit cards getting cut off. Summer asks about Luke since he is her boyfriend but Marissa isn't sure anymore. Marissa hasn't talked to anyone besides Summer since cotillion. Summer tries to help Marissa as she doesn't want her to get depressed and says she will buy Marissa lunch.

Marissa & Summer - The Outsider

Summer and Marissa hanging out at the beach.


At the restaurant, Ryan is being trained by Donnie, who is of similar age and roots as Ryan (Donnie resides in Corona). Donnie tells Ryan he has worked there for too long and talks about the fancy residents when Marissa walks in. Ryan asks Marissa about her dad and she says he is okay and he follows with asking if she is okay. Summer calls for her attention when Ryan asks if she would want to hang out with him. Marissa tells Ryan that she can't right now and Ryan understands. Summer pretended to treat Marissa to lunch but instead, secretly arranged for Luke to meet her. Donne says hi to Luke and he just laughs at Donnie. Donnie tells Ryan how much he hates Luke and they talk about where they are both from. They decide to hang out after work later.

Donnie - The Outsider

Ryan meets Donnie who reminds him of his past life in Chino as he starts his new job.


Luke tries to work things out with Marissa and thinks the way to solve that is by not talking. Luke asks Marissa to go to Holly's beach house for yet another party. Marissa says she doesn't want to go since Holly's dad beat up Marissa's dad. Luke tells Marissa not to blame Holly since her dad stole their money and this makes Marissa storm out and leave. Seth is visibly bored and decides to go to the Crab Shack to pick up Ryan. When Seth gets there, he asks Ryan to go out with him to celebrate his first day but Ryan already made plans with Donnie. Ryan tries to ask Donnie if Seth can come but Seth stops Ryan and says he will see him later. Ryan starts to feel bad and makes sure Seth is okay. Seth rides his skateboard back home.

The next morning, Seth and Ryan share a very tense breakfast as Seth asks how his night was. Summer and Marissa are talking about how she should make up with Luke. Summer reassures Marissa that things will work eventually blow over and work out for her and her family. Ryan runs into Marissa on his way to work and tells her that he was trying to ask her out when he said hang out previously. Marissa says she knows and Ryan states how he wanted to make that clear because he plans on asking her out again. Ryan asks her out that night but Marissa is babysitting her sister, Kaitlin, and offers to cook him Macaroni & Cheese, her specialty.

Marissa and Ryan decide to go on a date - The Outsider

Ryan asks Marissa out on a date and she accepts.


Sandy sees Jimmy while Jimmy was walking his dog and offers some free legal assistance for him. As the two began exploring legal options in Jimmy's office, Jimmy still believes the whole scandal can be solved by some form of bankruptcy. Sandy starts to realize the true scale of Jimmy's troubles. The US Attorneys are involved in the case and Sandy states that they are likely to press for fraud and unauthorized transaction charges. Jimmy is also likely to lose his Series 7 license, which will end his career as a securities trader. On top of all that, Jimmy still needs to make restitution to his clients and pay fines to the SEC, which will cost at least $4,000,000. With Jimmy realizing that this scandal will be very difficult to recover from financially and legally, tensions began to rise, and Sandy suggests that they put down the receipts and blow off some steam.

Kirsten, Julie, and the other Newpsies are relaxing at the spa when the group (with the noticeable exception of Kirsten) begin to interrogate Julie on her level of participation in Jimmy's scandal. Julie put on an emotional show, stating that she had no knowledge of any of this, and that she is worried about her children. Only then did the group pensively give Julie their support and claim her the victim. At the same time, one of the women suggested that Julie should obtain a divorce from Jimmy.

At the Crab Shack, Seth tries to treat Ryan with tickets to an IMAX movie, but Ryan has already made plans with Marissa. Ryan tells Seth about their date. Seth then asks Donnie if he wants to go to the movies with Seth and he flatly refuses. Donnie asks Seth if he wants to go to a party in Long beach instead and Seth surprisingly agrees to go. Ryan tells Seth he can't go and warns him that it is a shady neighborhood. Seth thinks little of what he says and Ryan tells him that Seth doesn't know Donnie or what he is capable of. Seth insists on going with provided transportation (Kirsten's Range Rover) so that Seth can become friends with Donnie and finally get the chance to hang out with Ryan again. Feeling bad, Ryan agrees to with Seth and Donnie but only for an hour.

Ryan & Seth - The Outsider

Ryan tries to keep Seth out of trouble from going to a shady party with Donnie in Long Beach.


Jimmy and Sandy finally agreed on what to do for relaxation: eating and doing something that they have not ate/done for a long time. For Sandy, it was drinking beer (Kirsten drinks Chardonnay and Merlot), for Jimmy, it was eating a steak (Julie, Kaitlin, and Marissa are all vegetarians). While relaxing, Kirsten called to check in on Sandy and was surprised to hear Jimmy answering the phone. Kirsten asks if everything is okay and Jimmy isn't sure. Kirsten tells him how worried she is for her and ends the call. When she hangs up, Julie is standing there, not at all pleased by Kirsten's concern for her husband. Jimmy and Sandy end the night playing video games. Jimmy says the best year of his life was when he was 16. Sandy asks why and he says how it was the year he met Kirsten.

Seth and Ryan arrive at the party in Long Beach. As Ryan expected, the crowd and atmosphere is different than Newport's teens. Ryan calls Marissa to let her know that he is on his way to her but needs to get Seth out of there. Ryan tries to get Seth to leave as he tries to make an argument to stay there. When Seth and Ryan leave, they learn that someone demolished a Range Rover, which ends the night there. The next morning, Ryan, Sandy, and Seth are looking at Kirstens demolished Range Rover and they used the cover story of it happening in an IMAX parking lot. Sandy expects Seth to tell Kirsten later when she gets home. Ryan tried to call Marissa but she is not taking his calls. Seth apologizes for salting Ryan's game and Ryan leaves for work on his bike.

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Kirsten's demolished Range Rover after the boys visit Long Beach.

Back at the spa, the Newpsies are in a sauna session. The women (Kirsten, again, being the exception) continued to persuade Julie to file for divorce. Kirsten is noticeably upset and fed up, with the women and decides to start revealing dirty secrets of each of the women (one whose husband had an affair, one who once had a $500 per diem cocaine habit in college, one who is hiring a Guatemalan family as maids for less than minimum wage). Kirsten also criticized Julie for abandoning Jimmy since she believes Jimmy got into his troubles so that Julie and their children could enjoy the luxurious lifestyles that they enjoy now. Julie retorted that she should be the one who should be concerned about Jimmy, not Kirsten, who was Jimmy's former lover. Julie also made much out of the fact that Jimmy is still fond of Kirsten, as evidenced by the hanging of Jimmy and Kirsten's prom photos on the Cooper residence and Jimmy's decision to move into the house next to Kirsten's. Julie then tells Kirsten that it is her problem since she married Jimmy and that when he got Julie pregnant, it was the best thing that ever happened to Kirsten.

Back in Newport, Seth visits Marissa. She asks him about their night at the party and Seth tells her that it was his fault. Seth says that Ryan was upset that he didn't get to see her and apologizes for keeping Ryan to the point that he had to stand Marissa up. Marissa says how thoughtful it was that Seth did this and he says how mad Ryan is at him. Seth gets Marissa to agree to another date with Ryan. Jimmy and Sandy go to the golf course. Sandy tells him that after consultations with a securities attorney friend, they both agree that Jimmy can possibly avoid jail time if he makes financial restitution and surrender his Series 7 license. Mindful of the fact that Jimmy is in much debt, Sandy suggested that Jimmy should sell his family residence and liquidate their other assets to pay off the fine. Jimmy flat out refuses, saying that Julie will divorce him and take the kids if their present lifestyle is negatively affected in any way. He implores Sandy to look for other options. Sandy says that this is the only option and that Jimmy should be grateful. Jimmy lashes out at Sandy, lamenting at the fact that Sandy is not the sole provider of his family, and that he is married to Kirsten, who is one of the richest people in Orange County. Sandy responds by saying that he believes there is much more to providing for a family than just monetary providence.

Seth Cohen - The Outsider

Seth helps Ryan to a date with Marissa and tells her that Ryan will cook.


At the Crab Shack, Seth tells Ryan about his conversation with Marissa and that he fixed their date as it is back on for the night. Donnie asks Seth if he has anything going on and Seth mentions the party at Holly's beach house. Donnie says that they should go and Seth tries to say no. Donnie ignores this and says he will bring his friends over and have a good time. Ryan hears this conversation and is mad at Seth once again. Ryan says that taking Donnie to a Newport party is a bad idea due to Donnie's passionate hate towards the rich. Ryan does not think it is a good idea but Seth says it will be okay and that Ryan has a date to get to with Marissa.

Marissa is getting ready for her date with Ryan and arrives to the Cohens with Mac n Cheese. Ryan is cooking grilled cheese sandwiches, his own specialty. After they finish eating, Marissa jokes how her Mac n Cheese was better last night but they are both glad to be where they are now. Ryan asks how she is and she says how she doesn't know what will happen with her parents who are fighting all the time. Marissa tells him how imperfect her family is but she doesn't want her family to fall apart. Ryan suggests they do something fun and tries to push Marissa into the pool. As Ryan cleans up their mess, Marissa pushes him and herself into the pool.

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Ryan and Marissa by the pool on their first date.


Seth, Donnie and his friends arrive at Holly's beach house. Luke and Holly talk about Marissa and their strained relations as Holly seduces him. Donnie begins to enjoy himself at the party when he makes advancements toward Summer. Summer turns Donnie down but he won't leave her alone. Summer decides to make fun of him in order to keep him away from her which makes Donnie angry. Seth sees this happening and tries to persuade Donnie to leave. Donnie has other plans and shows Seth the pistol he has been carrying around.

After their time in the pool, Ryan is grabbing a towel for Marissa and tries to warm her up. They get very close to kissing when Ryan gets a call from Seth who tells him how psycho Donnie is. Seth tells Ryan it is very serious and asks him to intervene. Ryan tells Marissa that Seth is in trouble and needs to be picked up. Ryan apologizes to Marissa and she accepts it but leaves.

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Ryan and Marissa share a moment after their time in the pool.

Back at the party, Holly is hooking up with Luke when they hear what sounds like glass breaking. Holly goes downstair, and witnesses Donnie and his friends destroying her kitchen. She tries to stop Donnie before Luke steps in. Tensions began to escalate between Donnie and Luke and Seth tries to stop both of them. Luke tries to kick Donnie out of the party when Ryan gets there. Seth tells Ryan that they need to go when Luke tells Donnie to go back to the trailer park. Luke decides to pick a fight with Donnie when he pulls out his pistol. Everyone runs away as Donnie threatens Luke with the gun. Donnie asks Ryan and Seth how much they hate Luke. Donnie says how scared Luke is when Ryan tells him to put the gun down. Donnie doesn't back down and tries to wrestle the pistol away from Donnie when it accidentally goes off, shooting Luke in the arm. Donnie and his friends bolt from the house and Luke is taken to a local hospital.

Donnie - The Outsider 2

Donnie threatens Luke with a gun.


As the women arrive home from their spa retreat, Julie has a personal conversation with Kirsten, saying that she was always envious of her and how lucky she felt to be married to Jimmy when he got her pregnant. Julie knew that Jimmy loved Kirsten even when they got married and doesn't want to loose that to her anymore. Kirsten and Sandy cheerfully share a beer while wondering what happened to the Range Rover. At the Cooper residence, Julie comes home to a proposition from Jimmy: either they liquidate all their assets, sell the house, and start over to try and stay afloat or declare bankruptcy, keep the house, and Jimmy goes to jail for 8-10 years.

Ryan calls Marissa and tells her to come to the hospital. Seth and Ryan are waiting in the hospital when Seth asks Ryan if he was scared. Ryan says he was when Marissa gets there. Marissa asks Ryan if Donnie was his friend and Ryan tells her not really. Marissa thanks Ryan for calling and she goes to see Luke, telling Ryan not to wait for her. Seth apologizes to Ryan about bringing Donnie but Ryan thinks it is his fault since he met Donnie. Ryan says how he keeps making everyone's lives worse and Seth assures him he isn't going anywhere. Seth tells Ryan they need to stick together as they are unstoppable together.

Ryan & Seth - The Outsider 2

Seth and Ryan are unstoppable when they are united and they agree to stick together.

Cast[]

Starring[]

Recurring[]

Guest Stars[]

Quotes[]


Ryan: All I was thinking about in that ambulance was I'm so gone, back to Chino or worse.
Seth: Well, you're not going anywhere, so don't worry about it. I do think that from now on, though, we got to stick together because united we're unstoppable, but divided it's..
Ryan: People get shot.
Seth: That's what I'm saying. That's what I'm saying.

Jimmy: You know how long it's been since I had steak. I live with three vegetarians.
Sandy: You know how long it's been since we had beer in the house. I am so sick of chardonnay and merlot. 

Donnie: How much 'you hate this kid, Ryan? The way he talks to you like you're trash? What about you, Seth?
Seth: Yeah. He's definitely flawed.

(In front of a trashed Range Rover)
Sandy: So this happened in the parking lot of the IMAX movie theater?
Seth: Shark movies bring out a rough crowd.

Jimmy: Are we old? Cause if I didn't know better, I'd swear I was still 16.
Sandy: Oh, I'm still 22. It was the best year of my life.
Jimmy: Why 22?
Sandy: It's when I met Kirsten... And why 16?
Jimmy: It's when I met Kirsten.

Music[]

  • "The Way We Get By" by Spoon
  • "Sucka MCs" by The Grand Skeems
  • "Eya Eya Oy" by The Grand Skeems
  • "Let's Get Retarded" by Black Eyed Peas
  • "Brick By Brick" by Grade 8
  • "Rock Like This" by The Grand Skeem
  • "All Kinds of Time" by Fountains of Wayne
  • "Way Away" by Yellowcard

Trivia[]

Gallery[]

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