So I was wrong, guys. In my last recap I said that Marissa was drunk when she passed out (I was thinking alcohol poisoning) but many of you commented and kindly reminded me that no, she had actually overdosed on painkillers. In my defense, I wrote that recap several weeks after I’d seen the episode, but at any rate, I do apologize for getting that wrong, and I wanted to make sure I corrected my mistake before moving forward. Because…you know, that’s kind of a major detail, considering that the next episode revolves around the aftermath of that event.

Episode eight ‘The Rescue’ focuses not only on Marissa’s recovery, but also on the shaping of her character. She is in the hospital for several days, and the more we hear her talk, the more we begin to see just how messed up this poor girl really is. Apparently this isn’t the first time she has done something drastic. Granted, she’s never tried to kill herself before, but she has also shoplifted (cigarettes and lighters, mind you) and her mother claims that she suffered from anorexia in the ninth grade. Usually I wouldn’t believe anything Julie says, but in this case I do. Marissa is very unhappy, and clearly has been for quite some time.

Of course, Julie blames her daughter’s recent suicidal behavior on Ryan, but it could not be any more obvious that this is not the case at all. If anything, Marissa’s home life is the problem. This is addressed later on, near the end of the episode, but I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself.

Meanwhile, everyone is worried about Marissa, particularly Ryan. Unfortunately for him, though, he’s got a lot of other things to worry about in addition to Marissa. In order to attend the same school as Seth, Marissa, and Summer, he has to pass a placement test, and in order to pass this test, he’s got to study his ass off. Problem is? Marissa needs him right now. Julie is insistent on sending Marissa away to receive psychiatric help, but Marissa doesn’t want to go. She wants to be with her family and friends rather than be shipped off to some place with doctors that treat her like she’s some kind of crazy person. Jimmy is strongly opposed to sending Marissa away, but of course Julie ends up being the one to take charge by approaching Marissa’s doctor and saying, “Well, we talked about it, and we both agree that the best thing to do is send Marissa away.” Ugggh. Jimmy, why do you have to be so gutless?! It’s driving me insane.

When Marissa tells Summer and Seth that her mother is going to send her away they immediately take action. They burst in on Ryan while he is taking his placement test, and when they tell him what’s going on he drops his pencil and walks right out the door. All I’ve got to say is…wow. If that’s not dedication to a girl, then I don’t know what is.

When they arrive at the hospital Seth and Summer create a diversion while Ryan slips into Marissa’s hospital room. They escape, following Luke’s advice to take the back stairs, and successfully manage to make it out without getting caught. Ryan takes Marissa home to her dad, where she confesses that she doesn’t want to live with her mother once the divorce goes through. She wants to stay with him. And I don’t exactly blame her. I mean, I’ll be the first to say that I don’t care for either one of Marissa’s parents, but if I had to pick one, I’d probably pick Jimmy, too. Unfortunately, however, Marissa might not get what she wants. Julie has recently informed Jimmy that she is going to sue him for full custody of her children, meaning (of course) that he might never get to see Marissa ever again when it’s all said and done. Deciding to take matters into her own hands, Marissa rushes next door to Ryan and Seth’s house, and has them call her mother and tell her to come over. “Maybe if I just talk to her,” she reasons, “she’ll understand.”

And so Julie arrives at the Cohen house all pissed off, demanding to know where her daughter is. Marissa reveals herself after watching her argue with Ryan and Kirsten for several minutes, and that is when she tells her mother everything. In a nutshell, she more or less tells Julie that she is making her life miserable, and that she wants nothing more than to live with her dad when the divorce goes through. How does Julie respond? Not very well, as one might figure.

“This isn’t over, Marissa!”

That’s what she says before stomping out of the house. I think I’ll take her word on that. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in these first eight episodes, it’s that you do not mess with Julie Cooper.

Aside from all that, there’s one other thing I would like to mention. I am getting so sick of Sandy’s boss. I can’t be the only one who thinks that she’s into him. (Am I?) I don’t know, I just think this woman needs to jump off a bridge or something. I was mad for Kirsten when she and Jimmy saw him having a drink with her alone. I was like, what the hell? Kirsten and Sandy, in my opinion, are the most adorable couple on this show so far. If Sandy and his boss have an affair I am going to be so pissed. Just saying.

Oh, and of course, despite walking out in the middle of his placement test, Ryan manages to make it into the rich kid school after all. The principal (or whatever she is) reluctantly admits him with the promise: “I’ll be watching you.” Oh, okay…sure. If this were real life that bitch would’ve been like, “Sorry. No can do. You had your chance, but you decided that helping your friends in an urgent situation was more important.” Or maybe that’s just because I went to a high school where the staff was really mean and unforgiving? I don’t know, but in any case I’m sure it would not have worked out so nicely in real life. But it’s a teen drama, so I guess I’ll allow it.

For the record, I’m going to stop promising to post these things on certain days. I always say “oh, I’ll post Wednesday” or “I’ll do it Monday” but it’s always on those days that something ends up happening where I’m required to leave the house and don’t  have a moments peace all day. So from this point on, all I am going to do is promise that there will be at least two recaps every week. Coming up next we’ve got episode nine ‘The Heights’. I’m really excited about this one, because we finally get to see how these kids interact with one another at school. I imagine that there are a lot of great Seth/Summer moments in the near future. Or at least I certainly hope so!