The Heavy Lifting

Infobox Television episode
Colour = #ffaa44
Series = The O.C.
Title = The Heavy Lifting


Season = 3
(2005-2006)
Caption = Sadie and Ryan
Episode = 15
Airdate = February 9, 2006 (FOX)
Writer = Stephanie Savage
Director = Ian Tonyton
Production = 2T6265
Prev = The Cliffhanger
Next = The Road Warrior

"The Heavy Lifting" is the 66th episode of the FOX television series, "The O.C.". The episode was written by Stephanie Savage and was directed by Ian Tonyton. It originally aired on Thursday, February 9, 2006.

Guest starring

Plot

In the wake of Johnny's fall from the rocks, the gang waits for news from the hospital. Summer thinks no news is good news except, adds Seth, in the case of severe head injuries. The call comes from Johnny's mom. Ryan takes it and both Marissa and Kaitlin can tell from his face that Johnny didn't make it.

Marissa and Chili hang out at Johnny's mom's house, helping out, when they come up with the idea of an outdoor memorial service on the beach during daylight. No black. And no shoes.

Meanwhile, Kirsten's feeling a little guilty about planning a Valentine's Day Dance while the kids are going through something so horrible. Julie thinks that's exactly why they need it.

Marissa's coming out of Johnny's house as Sadie, Johnny's cousin, is coming in with a lot of stuff. Her mom thought it would be a good idea for Sadie to come down and stay with her aunt for a while.

Justin stops by the trailer to see if he can give Kaitlin a ride back to boarding school. Kaitlin tells him it's not a good day before slamming the door.

At the Newport Group, Sandy is out of options so he asks Matt to call Maya, the daughter of the head of the board of physicians but with a couple of caveats. No lying and no leading her on. Matt says that's not a problem. He actually likes her.

Summer stops by Seth's room and confronts him about the pot she found in his desk drawer. She's not mad about the pot, because it's just pot, but she's mad about him lying to her for like the gazillionth time. Seth doesn't know what he can do except tell her the truth from now on. She's just going to have to trust him. Yeah, well, she doesn't. So he's going to have to come up with something else.

Marissa gets a call from Sadie and heads off to the diner to meet her. After a little small talk, in which Marissa finds out that Sadie just graduated high school and has started her own jewelry-making business, Marissa says she really should be with her boyfriend right now. Boyfriend? Sadie assumed Johnny was her boyfriend. Uh, no, where did you get that idea? Well, last week Johnny called Sadie and asked if she'd make something special for Marissa for Valentine's Day. And, well, here it is. Marissa's birthstone, Johnny's birthstone, and an angel in the middle. Sadie tells Marissa that Johnny thought she might think the angel was cheesy, but that's what she was to him.

At the beach, the kids all pay their respects to Johnny by signing his surfboard and placing flowers on the altar made of sand. Volchok shows up and heads towards the waves with his board.

Sandy and Matt head into the kitchen after a little game of one-on-one. Sandy asks if he ever got in touch with Maya. Uh, yeah, but apparently she wasn't too thrilled to hear from him. Turns out, after following Sandy's instructions and not calling her after their last date, she got a little ticked off. Kirsten comes in and tries to play Cupid until she finds out that they're talking about Maya Griffin. Sandy thinks it's their best shot at the hospital deal, so Kirsten makes him a deal. She'll get Maya to the party if he agrees to embrace Valentine's Day. No whining, no snarky comments. Candies, candles, lingerie. Nice lingerie.

At The Bait Shop, Summer encourages Marissa to make Valentine's Day plans with Ryan since this is the first Valentine's when they're neither fighting nor kissing another girl. Suddenly Volchok shows up and starts talking to Sadie. He claims he just wants to see how she's doing, but she can't remember the last time he meant what he said. Fortunately wherever Volchok is, Ryan's not far behind and he tells him it's a private party. Volchok heads out and Ryan and Sadie strike up a conversation. Turns out she's not a stranger to wakes and funerals. Her father died of cancer when she was 14, then her dog Rocky a month later, then last summer her best friend. Ryan's sorry. And she thinks he's 1 person who means what he says.

Julie drops by Dr. Roberts's house under the auspices of having left her cake knife at Kaitlin's birthday party, but shockingly there's no cake knife to be found. Julie drops enough hints to crack the kitchen floor but the good doctor doesn't bite.

Justin returns to the trailer to see Kaitlin, only this time he comes bearing a Valentine's Day gift. A cute and cuddly stuffed animal. And this time Kaitlin tells him the story of Johnny's tragic fall. And how she blames herself. Jason thinks if Johnny were alive he would be the first to take responsibility for his own actions. Kaitlin actually seems grateful for his reassurance.

In the pool house, Ryan asks Marissa what she wants to do for Valentine's, which is tomorrow. But Marissa can't plan that far ahead. She doesn't think Ryan understands what she's going through. And Ryan doesn't understand why she thinks he doesn't understand since he was right there with her when it happened.

In the morning, Seth drops by the pool house and tells Ryan to ignore everything Marissa said the night before. No girl wants to be alone on Valentine's Day. And he knows this because inside his manly exterior beats the heart of a 14-year-old girl.

Kirsten takes Maya out to lunch and tells her about her new dating service and the upcoming Valentine's Dance. Kirsten makes it clear that they're the ones who need her - a person who's young and smart and active in Newport's business and social life would be great for their image. But because Maya really is smart, she cuts to the chase and asks how badly Matt Ramsay wants to go out with her. In the end, she agrees to give him a second chance.

Ryan stops by Mrs. Harper's house and tries to give Sadie a hand moving in. At first she hesitates because she doesn't like the awkward conversations that go along with letting strangers help out, but somehow spending thirty seconds with Ryan changes her mind.

Seth hands Summer her Valentine's gift but it doesn't quite get the response he was hoping for. She makes it clear that he can't fix the situation with lingerie especially lingerie that is neither age appropriate nor the correct size. But before Seth can explain that the gift bags got mixed up and this lingerie was actually purchased by his father and intended for his mother, Summer tells him he was supposed to rock her world. Then he leaves and she reads the card he drew for her, which doesn't quite rock her world but is definitely heading in that direction.

Ryan drops by the trailer to give Marissa her Valentine's gift - a sweet necklace - and to convince her to go to the dance. But she still needs more time. Ryan wonders when the last time was that they hung out together alone. She takes that to mean, "without Johnny" and then accuses Ryan of being glad he's dead. Ryan refuses to dignify that with a response and takes off.

At the party, Seth finds Summer and gives her a cocktail napkin. But not just any cocktail napkin - one on which he's written every lie or sin he's ever committed. And if he screws up again, she can show it to his parents. He may have just rocked her world.

Marissa finds Chili at the beach getting wasted. They decide they're the only ones who really understand what the other's going through.

Justin shows up at the party and Kaitlin decides to drive back to school with him. Justin assures Julie that he'll drive under the speed limit, make sure she buckles her seatbelt and stop for coffee several times. Julie apologizes to Kaitlin for her trip not being all she'd hoped for. But hey, she's a Cooper. She'll survive.

Neil Roberts shows up and apologizes to Julie for all the mixed messages. He lost his nerve, but he really does want her to be his Valentine.

Ryan tells Kirsten that he and Marissa have been fighting a lot lately, mostly about whether she and Johnny were more than just friends. He doesn't think she's been lying to him, but he thinks she may have been lying to herself. Kirsten suggests that the night's not over. Maybe he can make a stop on his way home.

Which he does...only it's not to see Marissa. It's to see Sadie. Ryan wonders if there's anything he could've done to save Johnny. Sadie thinks it's just hard for people to accept that life is completely out of their control. Then she heads into the kitchen. Volchok shows up at the kitchen door and tries to persuade Sadie to let him in, but right on cue, Ryan shows up and he takes off.

Marissa opens her drawer with both Ryan and Johnny's necklaces and she takes out one and holds it tight. It's Johnny's.

Music

*"For The Widows In Paradise, For The Fatherless In Ypsilanti" by Sufjan Stevens
*"Grand Machine #12" by Electric President
*"White Daisy Passing" by Rocky Votolato
*"Neverending Math Equation" by Sun Kil Moon

External links

* [http://www.fox.com/oc/recaps/315.htm Recap from the official website]