The Telenovela

Telenovela
February 25, 2004
Just friends
Seth is amused that Ryan and Marissa are going back to being friends: "When exactly were you friends? When you were beating up her boyfriend, or spooning in a Tijuana hotel?" They are interrupted by a call from Theresa - she's going to be working in Newport, and does Ryan want to hang out? She doesn't mention the semi-naked hunk she's sharing a room with.

Schooled
Seth thinks Summer will be all over him at school, but she ignores him, agreeing to staff a kissing booth to raise money for the water polo team. Anna overhears and isn't impressed by Seth and Summer's relationship. She wants to offer advice, but restrains herself.

Help
Caleb needs help - his old friend and employee "Uncle Sean" got arrested for drunkenly blundering into the wrong hotel room. Does Kirsten think Sandy could make it go away? You'll have to ask Sandy yourself, Kirsten replies. Caleb finds Sandy at the restaurant and, after sniping, begs for his help. Sandy agrees to take a look at it.

Here's to you
Julie shows up at school for a parent-teacher conference. Luke is thrilled, until Julie says they can't do this. "You mean, it's over?" "No, I mean in the hallway. I'll see you tonight." Later, Julie and Luke get together at a seedy hotel. They are interrupted when Luke has to get to homeroom, and Julie gets a call from Caitlyn. Julie realizes this won't work, and breaks it off.

Private lives
Seth wants to know why Summer ignores him in public. After an extended Bennifer riff, Summer distracts him with her breasts. Marissa works on the friend thing with Ryan, getting her butt kicked at Playstation. They are interrupted by Theresa, and Marissa flees.

Just friends, part 2
Marissa grills Ryan on Theresa. They're just friends, he says. Anna quizzes Seth on how things are going with Summer. "Great!" he lies, then asks for advice. She tells Seth not to be a coward. Later on, when he and Summer are alone, Seth goes on sexual strike. Summer ain't gettin' any until she acknowledges Seth in public.

Uncle Sean
Sandy meets Uncle Sean, who turns out to be a fixer. He was probably breaking into the hotel room to get information for Caleb. Sean obliquely threatens to go to the DA with dirt about Caleb if Sandy doesn't make the charges go away. Sandy tries to refuse to help Caleb, but Caleb drops the bomb: Kirsten may not know what Sean does, but she still signs his paychecks. If Caleb goes down, she does too.

The trouble with Eddie
Theresa tells Ryan she and Eddie are taking a break. Eddie has a different story - he asked Theresa to marry him, and she just took off. Has Ryan seen her? Ryan lies that he hasn't. Ryan confronts Theresa, who says that she needs time to figure things out. Eddie loves her, and can give her a good life (for Chino).

Booty call
Caleb shows up at Julies door with flowers, wondering if they can come to "an arrangement." Julie can't believe he's making a booty call, and shuts him out. Later, she makes her own booty call to Luke, who doesn't have a problem with it.

The telenovela
Ryan brings Theresa home for dinner. Sandy and Kirsten pump Seth for information, and he informs them that they have their very own telenovela. Jimmy finds Marissa sulking at home, and recommends that she not give up on Ryan. She appears at the Cohen's and joins them for dinner. Ay, carumba.

Dear Anna
Summer asks Anna for advice about her Seth situation, and reveals that she's convinced Seth will get bored with her and leave - like all the other guys do. Anna tells Seth that Summer is scared, and tells him to do something about it. Seth takes her advice to heart. He climbs up on top of the kissing booth and announces that he really likes Summer, and she can take it or leave it. She - and every other girl in the school - is charmed.
Love?

Ryan tells Eddie that he has seen Theresa. Does Ryan love her? He doesn't know. Eddie does - and if Ryan doesn't help him get Theresa back he's going to have a fight on his hands. Marissa confronts Theresa - does she love Ryan? Theresa doesn't know - she knows that Eddie will take care of her, and it's the practical thing to do.

The aftermath
Ryan comes to Theresa's hotel room as she's packing up to go back to Eddie. They both resolve to do the right thing by their respective loves, then end up making out. Oops.