Ryan Atwood is a troubled, 16-year-old kid living in the rough, crime-ridden neighborhood of Chino located in San Bernadino, California, who gets thrown out of his own house by his alcoholic and neglectful mother and her abusive, alcoholic boyfriend after Ryan gets into trouble with the law when his self-destructive older brother, Trey, implicates him in the theft of a car. Ryan is appointed, Sanford 'Sandy' Cohen, a public defender, who takes the homeless youth to his house in the posh and picturesque neighborhood of Newport Beach, Orange County, (the OC) and lets Ryan stay in the guest house against the protests from Sandy's wife Kristin and their bumbling and socially inept son Seth. Ryan forms a bond with Marissa Cooper, a friendly, but similarly emotionally troubled teenage girl living next door who introduces Ryan to the world of beach parties and life of the idle rich in Newport Beach. But Ryan's feelings for Marissia are hampered by Marissa's egotistical jock boyfriend, Luke Ward, whom takes an instant dislike to Ryan. Marissa's father Jimmy, a financial stockbroker, begins having problems with his business and tries to get out of the hole he's in to keep his narcissistic, gold-digging wife, Julie, from finding out.
This episode contains examples of:
- Bridal Carry: Ryan carries Marissa inside after her friends leave her passed-out drunk on her door step.
- Can't Tie His Tie: Ryan. Sandy ties it for him and tells him he didn't know himself how to tie a tie until age 25.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: Jimmy is hinted as being this when the Feds come to his door.
- Ethnic Menial Labor: The Hispanic maid. Also the only POC in the episode.
- Disappeared Dad: Ryan's dad is mentioned to be in jail.
- Girl Next Door: Marissa.
- Hard-Drinking Party Girl: Summer. However, she might possibly be using Contrived Clumsiness to cop a feel on Ryan.
- Ignored Confession: When Ryan tells Marissa who he really is at their first meeting, she assumes it's a joke.
- Man Hug: Used to show how close Ryan and Seth have become by the end of the episode, though Ryan is shown to be uncomfortable with the intimate gesture (he playfully swats Seth moments later).
- Nothing Personal: Kristen says this to Ryan when she tells him he's going back to his family.
- Parental Abandonment: After kicking Ryan out of the house, Dawn moves away, abandoning Ryan.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: Luke tells Seth to "Suck it, queer."
- Smoking Is Cool: Marissa is immediately charmed by Ryan, who looks very cool smoking outside.
- Troubled, but Cute: Ryan. He also has traits of The Stoic and Delinquents. Summer and Marissa are both into him, displaying All Girls Want Bad Boys.
- Verbal Backspace: Seth, pretty much in any conversation, but here when he tries to tell Ryan about Grand Theft Auto.
- Wild Teen Party: Complete with alcohol, lines of coke, a threesome, and a fight.
- Would Hurt a Child: Dawn's deadbeat boyfriend. Dawn is an example of Parental Neglect in that she allows it to happen, and kicks him out of the house.
- Wrong Side of the Tracks: Ryan's entire character arc, pretty much, at this point.
