416 - "THE END'S NOT NEAR IT'S HERE"
Aired: 02/22/07
Ryan and Sandy make crepes for breakfast, following Kaitlin’s instructions. Through the chatter, we quickly learn that it’s been months since the earthquake, Taylor is back in France – which is where the crepe griddle came from – Ryan hasn’t thought about her since she left and is fine with it being over. Oh, and the Cohens are living with Julie and Kaitlin now. Julie comes down for breakfast and she and Kirsten discuss morning sickness and Julie’s impending wedding. And then her fiancé walks in. The Bullit.
An inspector visits the Cohen home for an inspection. He’s got bad news. The cost of repairing of the home is more than the home’s market value. There’s no saving it. So the Cohens go house shopping. Sandy and Ryan lament that none of the places they’ve seen have felt like a home, but Kirsten is ready to make an offer on the latest place anyway. If every house in Newport looks the same inside, who cares which one they buy?
Seth and Summer are up in Summer’s room, where they’ve basically spent every minute of the last two months watching television and sitting in recliners. They’re packing for Providence when Summer notices an old flyer for a sea otter rally. Ryan comes to Seth in need of a plan which involves leaving the city. He needs to leave because Taylor is coming back to Newport and neither wants to see the other.
Summer picks up Taylor at the airport, and Taylor quickly makes it clear that she has no desire to see Ryan. Too bad for her, because Ryan and Seth are at the airport too. Awkward conversation ensues until Ryan and Seth walk off to their gate. And it’s at this point that Taylor and Ryan realize they’re still in love with each other.
Ryan and Seth arrive in Berkeley, specifically at the old house Sandy told Ryan the Cohen family started in. The boys knock on the door and tell the all-male couple that lives there that they would like to buy their house. The men laugh and close the door. Seth hammers the doorbell until the men open the door again and he launches until a full explanation of what they’re doing on the porch. This is the house the Cohens started in, they moved when Seth was two, their current home has been condemned and they want to buy this one. The men are touched, but explain that this is their home now and isn’t for sale. Ryan and Seth think they need to get Sandy to make this argument for them.
But Sandy’s busy signing the papers on his new house. Just before he puts pen to paper, the Bullit bursts in and tells him to stop. Ryan and Seth called from Berkeley with an emergency, so Bullit has his private on standby for the Cohens. Kirsten points out that she shouldn’t be flying in her ninth month, but Bullit mentions that his son Amarillo is a female doctor and he’ll be flying up with them.
Taylor discusses Ryan with Summer and thinks they can make things work even with Taylor living in France. Summer is more interested in reading about The Valley, which sets Taylor off. She berates Summer for no longer being passionate about the environment or active in…anything. It’s time to get off of that recliner. The girls hear a noise and when Summer looks under the bed, she finds a bunch of baby bunnies. She had no idea Pancakes was pregnant. Or female.
Ryan and Seth tour Berkeley and Seth ponders the future. Including the future of Ryan and Taylor’s relationship, since Seth realizes Ryan’s quietness since seeing Taylor at the airport means he’s still in love with her. Ryan smiles and just asks if Seth wants some coffee. Seth then bumps into some guy handing out flyers on behalf of GEORGE. When Seth mentions that his girlfriend, Summer, turned down GEORGE, the guy gives Seth a flyer for Summer before remarking that he’d hate to see somebody like Summer waste her passion.
Taylor calls Ryan with an invitation to get together and discuss their relationship. Ryan says he’d love to, but he’s in Berkeley right now. Taylor realizes the house shopping means Ryan would never be in Newport during her breaks from France and is crestfallen.
Julie and Kaitlin are preparing the chapel for the wedding when talk turns to Julie’s embryo. Kaitlin is shocked to learn that the baby is actually Frank’s, but Julie assures her that the Bullit is well aware of that fact. Kaitlin asks Julie if she really loves the Bullit, and Julie replies that she does.
The Cohens stand in front of the Berkeley house. Sandy rings the doorbell and the men, Todd and Patrick, answer once again. The guys again state that they’re not interested in selling, but they do allow Kirsten to use the bathroom. And when she’s inside the house, she screams out in pain. Her water has broken. She says there’s no time for an ambulance, this baby is coming now. Fortunately, Patrick is a midwife. Unfortunately, Todd is disgusted by the thought of what this means for his bedsheets.
After a successful birth, Kirsten and Sandy recover in Todd and Patrick’s bed. Back in Newport, Kaitlin intercepts Frank on his way to work and asks why he bailed on Julie. Frank admits that he initially panicked, but by the time he was ready to be a dad, Julie was having dinner with Bullit. Kaitlin says she thought Frank was a good fighter before walking off.
Outside, Seth and Sandy talk about life, with Sandy wondering why his son is in such a rut lately. Seth observes that it’s been too much change lately, although he and Summer might need a change in relationship status. Being together these days might not be the best thing for them. But Seth is afraid to let her go.
Wedding time. Behind the scenes, Summer talks to Julie about lengthy relationships, and Julie says she got married too young to really learn what she was like or what life was all about. Summer’s a great girl and she should get out there and see what the world has to offer. Don’t settle for comfortable. Summer then pulls out of a gift for Julie. A locket with a photo of Marissa in it. Bullit comes in and tells Julie it’s time to start the wedding and they’ll have to do it without Kirsten. Julie is adamant that she can’t get married without her best friend present, so…
…when Todd and Patrick answer the doorbell once more, an entire wedding party is standing on their porch and in their front yard.
Fortunately, Todd is a wedding planner. The wedding’s going to be in the backyard. You know, Taylor’s at this wedding. Looks like Ryan and Taylor will have to chat it out. They decide to be just friends, but passion gets in the way. Their tear each other’s clothes off and go at it until Todd comes in and interrupts.
In another room, Seth and Summer are analyzing their own relationship with much less passion. She wonders if they’re stuck in a rut, so Seth pulls out the GEORGE flyer he was given earlier. He implores her to go work for GEORGE. For both of them.
The wedding commences and Frank runs to the chapel in a scene reminiscent of The Graduate. Only, in that movie, the wedding wasn’t moved to Berkeley without anybody telling Dustin Hoffman. Frank can only yell at an empty chapel. So he calls Kaitlin’s cell phone, tells her to put him on speaker and begs Julie to come back to him. Bullit throws the phone away, but Julie asks for a minute and runs inside. Kaitlin chases after her and tells her to just be sure whatever she decides is what she really wants.
With the wedding on hold, Todd and Patrick tell the Cohen they can’t fight fate. They’ve just been keeping the house warm for the true owners. They’re going to sell.
Days later, the Cohens are packing up their old home. Julie and Kaitlin eat some cereal and put off the future until later. Until Julie sees an undergrad class catalog and maybe has some thoughts. At the beach, Seth, Ryan and Taylor are saying goodbye to Summer, who is about to board the GEORGE environmental college bus tour, which we must assume, is powered by biodiesel. Taylor hugs Summer, saying she’s the only real girlfriend she’s ever had. Ryan and Taylor retreat so Seth and Summer can have a moment. Summer assures him that this isn’t goodbye because he’s her destiny. They kiss and she boards the bus.
That night, sitting on the train Taylor is taking to New York, Ryan and Taylor wonder what the future holds for them. They both thank each other for the happy memories. As they’re saying goodbye, the train leaves the station, giving them one last hour together before San Bernardino.
The next day, the house has been fully emptied. Sandy and Kirsten pull out, leaving the boys behind. This will probably be a kiss-free goodbye. The boys wish each other luck, hug and Seth hops in a cab to the airport.
Ryan walks back into the house for one last look and the memories come flooding back. Curiosity satisfied, Ryan walks out of the house, starts his car and heads north to a new life.
Everybody settles into their new lives. Ryan registers for classes, Summer joins in a protest, Seth hangs a newspaper photo of said protest in his new dorm room and Sandy lectures his new class at Berkeley.
Years later, Julie graduates from college. Frank, Kaitlin, their son and Bullit all cheer wildly from the audience. Seth and Summer get married, with Ryan standing in as the best man. The maid of honor, Taylor, smiles at him knowingly.
Ryan leaves his job at a construction site. His white collar foreman job. Heading to his car, Ryan notices a sullen young boy sitting on a wall by a pay phone. The troubled boy looks a bit like a young Ryan. Ryan calls out to him, asking if he needs any help. His expression indicates that he most likely does.
And then it was over. For good.
Reply With Quote
Maisie Mouse 
Originally Posted by *-Rooney-*
