| ← S2 | The OC Season 3 | S4 → | ||||||
| #01 | "The Aftermath" | #10 | "The Chrismukkah Bar Mitz-vahkkah" | #19 | "The Secrets and Lies" | |||
| #02 | "The Shape of Things to Come" | #11 | "The Safe Harbor" | #20 | "The Day After Tomorrow" | |||
| #03 | "The End of Innocence" | #12 | "The Sister Act" | #21 | "The Dawn Patrol" | |||
| #04 | "The Last Waltz" | #13 | "The Pot Stirrer" | #22 | "The College Try" | |||
| #05 | "The Perfect Storm" | #14 | "The Cliffhanger" | #23 | "The Party Favor" | |||
| #06 | "The Swells" | #15 | "The Heavy Lifting" | #24 | "The Man of the Year" | |||
| #07 | "The Anger Management" | #16 | "The Road Warrior" | #25 | "The Graduates" | |||
| #08 | "The Game Plan" | #17 | "The Journey" | |||||
| #09 | "The Disconnect" | #18 | "The Undertow" | |||||
"The Party Favor" is the twenty-third episode in the third season of the Fox drama series The O.C.. The episode aired on the twenty-third of April, in 2006.
Synopsis[]
Harbor School's Senior Prom brings out the best and the worst in everyone. Taylor hits a high at prom, while Summer falls flat with her surprising prom date. Seth and Anna come up with a prom plan to win Summer back. Meanwhile, Marissa convinces Volchok to go to the prom and Ryan brings an unexpected old flame. When one of the girls is elected prom queen, it truly becomes a night to remember. Later, when Taylor's prom funds are missing, Ryan returns to his old ways and prom night turns brutal.
Plot[]
Seth and Ryan are in preparation for the Senior Prom. When discussing possible dates Seth is determined not to miss out on the Prom, and that he and Summer will go together. Ryan on the other hand, doesn't seem interested in attending, yet Seth is set on Ryan being present. Throwing around some options, Ryan is glad that Seth has not posed the idea that he should take Marissa as "friends."
While the conversation continues, Seth sees Volchek making out with someone who looks nothing like Marissa, points this out to Ryan, and we know that the Senior Prom will be undeniably eventful as only the O.C. has to offer.
Seth tricks Summer into meeting him at the restaurant for pancakes in a veiled attempt to woo her back and ask her to prom by having her chocolate chip pancake read “Prom?” Unsurprisingly Summer says no in the only way Summer knows how to, in a truly gruesome and detailed way involving feeding Seth’s bones to sharks. Upon Summer’s exit, Anna & Seth converse on the phone, and Ryan asks Teresa to Prom while they sit in the pool house and debate over when they had their first kiss. Teresa, hesitant at first, changes her tune and loves the idea of going to prom with Ryan because of a possible ‘thing’ at work. Meanwhile, Marissa heads to Volchek’s and upon a very welcoming kiss, pries Volchek’s tongue from her mouth and asks the question of the hour…”will you go to prom with me?” For different reasons, Volchek has no desire to go, yet Marissa convinces him in the end.
In the Cohen’s bedroom, Sandy and Kirsten discuss the impending weekend, and Kirsten has a few tings on her mind: her marriage and her slip at the hospital dinner the other night. Sandy says that they will have time talk about everything, but he wants to get through the monumental weekend first.
Back on Harbour Campus, Summer runs into Taylor and she tells Summer about the after party and that it will cost her 50 dollars, and informs Summer that she has hooked her up with a date for prom. Taylor’s date is a relative of the biggest “K-Pop” singer from Korea and has decided that he is the perfect guy for Summer to take to the prom to spite Seth. Ryan and Marissa sit down between classes, and let each other know who they will be bringing. Foreseeing the possible chaos that could ensue, Ryan later heads to Volchek’s place to confront him on who exactly he & Seth saw kissing the previous night on the pier, when Marissa walks in and is curious as to why Ryan is at Kevin’s. He passes along an invitation to come to the Cohen’s before prom so that everyone can take pictures, Marissa accepts for both her and Kevin Volchek.
At the Roberts’ home, Summer is skeptical about Taylor’s decision to set her up with “big Korea” as her prom date. While in the process of getting ready, she finds Seth’s ‘Napkin of Sin’ and moments later Anna knocks on their bedroom door. There to try and explain the situation to Summer, Anna ends up starting a new plan when Summer won’t listen, by asking for Summer’s approval in Anna asking Seth to prom. Summer says she doesn’t care, and when Anna leaves, Summer heads to her desk, stuffs Seth’s napkin into an envelope, and is determined to give it to Sandy & Kirsten.
Meanwhile, Seth’s in the pool house relaying the new plan to Ryan as Anna walks in all ready for the prom. Summer and Marissa reminisce over an old picture of back when they were with Seth and Ryan, while getting ready to head off and pick up their dates then go to the Cohen’s for photo opportunities.
Taylor collects money for the after party at the Bait Shop from Sandy, for Seth and Ryan, with Kevin standing right there, observing Taylor produce a wad of money from her purse and add the hundred to it. They all head outside, while Volchek heads to the washroom, with the idea of stealing the post-prom party money. When Marissa is concerned with Kevin missing all the photos, Ryan heads off to find him, and walks in just as Volchek is trying to get the cash. Ryan doesn’t see, but knows that Volchek is up to something and warns him that if he ruins Prom for Marissa, Ryan will have to beat him up.
Once the kids are off on their way, Neil, Julie, Kirsten and Sandy sit down to dinner and talk about the old days when their kids were in fact just kids. Kirsten and Sandy apologize for not having thrown Neil & Julie and engagement party, while dinner is interrupted by a business call that Neil takes about the Newport Group and the hospital deal.
At the Prom, Summer appears to be drinking away her sorrow over Cohen. This leads to her falling off the Pirate ship stage, after accepting her Prom Queen crown and kissing her date in front of all the grads to try and make Cohen jealous. Once Marissa and everyone makes sure Summer is alright, Teresa gets a call from her co-worker and tells Ryan that she is exactly where she wants to be, and intends on telling that to the other guy. So Ryan goes off after volunteering to find Volchek…AGAIN, and sees him kissing yet another girl outside the prom. Marissa catches up to Ryan, he attempts to lead her away from seeing Volchek without any luck. Marissa sees what is going on, slaps Kevin across the face, and starts to cry for ever thinking that Volchek had any redeeming qualities. Ryan sits her down and is there as a shoulder to cry on.
Kirsten informs Julie that she relapsed the other night at dinner and that things aren’t as well as they seem between her and Sandy. Julie thinks that Kirsten must tell Sandy she drank the other night, but Kirsten doesn’t want that to be the reason they don't stay together. She feels that her and Sandy are only one incident away from going under. Later, Neil informs Sandy that the board is going to criminally investigate him and Mr. Griffin come Monday.
During the after party at the Bait Shop, Taylor fusses over the mess that is being made, and whether or not she will get her security deposit back. Depressed at the outcome of the evening, Marissa heads for the booze, while Anna convinces Seth to come clean with Summer, even in her inebriated state. Summer, laying face down in a pillow on the floor, listens to Seth as he tells her about how he wasn’t accepted to Brown, how he went there to see if they would let him in, and that Anna got him into the art school. After listening to his reasons and accepting his apology, Summer tries to tell Seth that she left his “Napkin of Sins” on the desk back at his house for his parents to find, yet all she can muster out is “I Love you Cohen” before she reaches for a barf bucket and gets sick. Seth feels the same way and informs Summer that they can kiss later.
Outside of the after party, Marissa is drinking alone on the pier. Inside Teresa informs Ryan that both he and Marissa have changed in the time that has passed, and that Marissa is stronger now, and that she will be fine…just as Taylor shrieks in horror at uncovering that the $5,000 she had collected in her purse to pay for the after party has been stolen. Knowing who has taken the money, Ryan sets off for Volchek’s place. Ryan bangs on the door, Kevin opens it up, and Ryan walks by, picks up the money that is on the table and heads to leave. Volchek stops him and insists that Ryan is there for a fight. Ryan holds his composure and Volchek makes a comment about Marissa, so he punches him. The fight intensifies, and seemingly looks very similar to the brawl Ryan and Trey had, when Ryan is about to deliver the final blow to a bloodied Volchek, when he stops and realizes what he has done…
Ryan tries to keep his composure but Volchok pushes his limit.
Cast[]
Starring[]
Guest Starring[] |
Co-Starring[]
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Music[]
- "Getting Hit On At The Bank" by The Briefs
- "Earthquakes and Sharks" by Brandston
- "Oregon Girl Someone Still Loves You" by Boris Yeltzin
- "One Day" by Bratsound
- "To All Of You" by Syd Matters
- "Random" by Lady Sovereign
- "I Can't Come Down" by Embrace
- "Gotta Reason" by Hard-Fi
Quotes[]
Trivia[]
Gallery[]
