REACTION: Welcome to the OC, Bitches Episode 11

It was Thanksgiving on Tuesday’s “Welcome the OC, Bitches.”

In the 11th episode of “The O.C.,” “The Homecoming,” Ryan (Ben McKenzie) reluctantly returns to Chino on Thanksgiving to carry out a favor for his imprisoned brother — and Marissa (Mischa Barton) tags along, meeting Ryan’s ex, Theresa (Navi Rawat). At the Cohens, Seth (Adam Brody) juggles hooking up with both Summer (Rachel Bilson) and Anna (Samaire Armstrong), and Julie (Melinda Clarke) and Caleb (Alan Dale) unexpectedly join Kirsten (Kelly Rowan) and Sandy (Peter Gallagher) for the holiday, where Jimmy (Tate Donovan) and Rachel (Bonnie Somerville) are also in attendance.

This is the only episode of the series written by Bryan Oh, along with creator Josh Schwartz. It was directed by Keith Samples, who was also behind the camera for episodes of “Dawson’s Creek” and “One Tree Hill.” Rachel and Melinda now discussed the memorable hour with Rowan, the third series regular they’ve had on the podcast after Peter and Tate.

Welcome to the OC, Bitches Episode 11, “The Homecoming with Kelly Rowan”

• Melinda did one of her great intros for Kelly, calling her “the better half of Kiki and Juju.” Kelly said Rachel is “all grown up.” She congratulated them on the podcast. She was surprised to learn that Rachel doesn’t remember storylines. Kelly’s daughter is 13, so she’s “monitored” parts of the show as her teen watches the series for the first time. She was “pleasantly surprised” the show holds up.

• Kelly said Ben and Adam were “like rock stars” with the attention they received. She recalled traveling to Milan with Ben for press and being caught in a “sea of people.” Melinda said she and Kelly got “very close” during the first season and have spent “a lot of time together” and “talked about everything under the sun.” But she didn’t know until now that Kelly studied acting in London. She did. Paul Rudd was involved. Kelly left school to pursue her career… and is back in school today, if I understood correctly.

• Kelly noted she wasn’t a mother when she was on the show, so she used her “imagination.” Funnily enough, she, Rachel, and Melinda all have one daughter. Kelly’s daughter is upset with Josh for killing Marissa. She explained to her daughter that “there’s a lot of events that take place in a series.” I’m assuming she meant behind the scenes. Melinda and Kelly used to hang out a lot after filming wrapped each day.

• Rachel asked Kelly how her audition came about. She was in Los Angeles for pilot season. At a party at Eric McCormack’s house, he was advising her to do a TV series and settle in L.A. Her manager read the script for the show, calling it a “really good part.” So she auditioned, but didn’t think she “made any lasting impressions.” She believes casting director Patrick Rush said they should see her again “and the rest is history.” She said Josh and Stephanie were “gracious enough” to let her audition again.

• Kelly called Adam “charming” and “funny” and “so fun to work with.” She was only 13 years older than Adam. Rachel recalled her saying, “I could technically date my son.” Kelly noted, however, that it was believable when they were on camera as a family. Rachel said she always “looked up” to Kelly and called her “tremendously talented.”

• After a break, Rachel revealed Kelly was the first person to encourage her to get a facial and recounted that experience. Kelly relied on green juice to get through the show’s filming schedule and people would “laugh” at her. They were responsible for their own lunches, which is crazy to me. Melinda said she did a few fasts. Kelly noted she never had to wear a bikini on the show.

• Melinda said she was excited to discuss this episode with Kelly because it’s such a great one for her and the rest of the cast with so much of it taking place at the Cohens. Kelly: “The comedy blended so well with the drama… The music was always so brilliant on the show… The ensemble of everybody.” She emphasized the importance of listening to your co-stars and using their acting to inform your own.

• Kelly cracked that the episode was “the beginning of my alcoholic demise on the show.” Melinda said Kelly has a lot of great lines in it. Rachel revealed Thanksgiving is Josh’s favorite holiday and said that informed Seth. Rachel gave the episode’s director and writers and read the synopsis. This was a little over 20 minutes in. Rachel: “There’s a lot to unpack in this episode.” Kelly then jumped to the end, saying Caleb’s line, “Julie, it’s Thanksgiving,” said “so much.” She thought the episode did a great job of representing holidays and all their “hopes and disappointments.”

• Melinda brought up the kitchen scene at the start of the episode and how it was longer than they usually are. She wanted to know Kelly’s experience filming them. Kelly said you “develop an acting shorthand” when you work with people again and again as you do in serialized television. Kelly: “As we moved around that kitchen… it became our second home.” Rachel and Melinda were surprised to hear Ben was the one who made her laugh the most… though Kelly couldn’t recall now what they laughed about. But she did remember one late shoot where she couldn’t stop laughing and everyone just wanted to go home and she apologized. 

• Kelly insisted she herself is not funny and doesn’t actually think Ben is either. But Melinda said Ryan had some humorous moments in this episode and she thought they were a credit to Ben himself. Kelly also admitted she auditioned for a half-hour show (a comedy, it seemed) and she apologized afterward for making the people “sit through that” and told her agent “never again.” When Melinda said Kelly “came off humorous” on the show, Kelly credited that to the writers. Melinda then made a good observation about Ryan being the straight person to Seth and Kelly being the straight person to Julie.

• Kelly brought up the Spider-man kiss and said it was “the best moment” and “such a great teen moment.” Rachel said it was “not romantic” filming it, but she looks forward to getting to that episode. Kelly then apologized because that’s not the episode they were discussing. Rachel got them back on track, noting how Kirsten can’t cook but Kelly can. She noted the funny lines with the turkey and other cooking-related things. They weren’t sure if Seth’s line about Kirsten being too close to the corn was improvised. Melinda: “It would be nice to get the scripts to know.” She and Rachel were shocked to learn Kelly still has all her scripts from the show.

• A bit of a tangent: Kelly sold her house in L.A. right before the borders closed due to the pandemic and has been living in Victoria. She wanted her daughter to “grow up in a gentler existence.” Rachel revealed their makeup artist just moved to Vancouver. Melinda said they were “spoiled” on the show, with the hair and makeup people touching them up after every single take. Kelly said the series “became such a beauty show in a way.” Rachel loved Kelly and Melinda’s hair in this episode. Kelly said everyone was “really committed and wanted to be there” and that “makes a big difference.”

• Melinda brought up the Ryan storyline and liked getting to learn more about his life in Chino. Rachel was surprised when it was stressed in the episode that the kids are 16. Rachel called it “awkward but accurate” when Ryan went to Theresa’s house and it was weird between them. She revealed that the part about Ryan playing Snoopy in a musical was “something Josh did when he was a kid.” Kelly figured there’s a lot of Josh in the episodes that they don’t know about, but Rachel said now that she’s rewatching it after she’s gotten to know Josh so well (they’re BFFs), she’s realizing all that he put in the show that’s related to himself.

• Rachel thought it was funny that Marissa drove in the episode because Mischa didn’t have a license. They wondered how that was filmed. Melinda said Mischa had “mishaps” with the car and there’s a bit on the blooper reel where she’s struggling with the seatbelt. Melinda called it “very endearing.” With Seth giving Ryan comics for Trey, it made Melinda realize that Ryan has “a lot of the same interests” as Seth but does it “more quiet.” Kelly observed that Ryan and Seth come from such different backgrounds but “find their humanity and like each other as people.”

•  Kelly: “The audience is rooting for Ryan to succeed in life… This episode gives you a chance to see what’s going to happen to the brother and what he has to leave behind.” She was moved by Trey telling Ryan to not end up like him. Kelly: “The audience gets to go on a journey and see this kid, what his life’s going to be. Of course you have all the craziness of Newport and what it looks like on the outside isn’t necessarily what it is on the inside. We’re all screwed up too, just it looks prettier.” Melinda also drew a parallel between Ryan saying goodbye to his “blood brother” and accepting his adoptive brother, “which is healthier.”

• After another break, Melinda brought up Jimmy arriving at the Cohens and said he “didn’t have much of a fashion sense.” She also said that when Kirsten opens the door, people think Kelly screwed up and said “Hey, Tate.” Melinda thought it was maybe “Hey, hey.” Rachel said the episode was “big for [her] personally” because it’s when she learned about tryptophan. Kelly remembered she used to call Rachel “Scrunch” because she was “so cute” and “just so adorable.” 

• Rachel thought it was “funny” that Seth becomes the “ladies’ man” in the episode. She said the part where Summer and Seth are laughing as they hook up was her and Adam actually laughing through it. She also said that when rewatching one of the Seth-Anna kissing scenes, she saw Samaire slip in her tongue. Rachel: “I get transported back to 18 years ago and I’m like, ‘What are you doing slipping tongue in his mouth?!’ It was like the real-life triangle playing out. I’m like, ‘There’s no tongue in television!’ Anyway.”

  • I’ve wondered how they’re going to handle Samaire coming on the podcast — specifically, if they’ll have her on at all given her disturbing right-wing views. Same with Kevin Sorbo. More here.

• Melinda highlighted the music that accompanied the alternating hookups. She called Adam “endearing” and suggested he was personally enjoying it, but Rachel said he was “very professional. Kelly highlighted how relatable it was, to have this unrequited crush for so long, and how well the show built up to Seth finally getting Summer’s affection after so long. She called Anna a “great character,” but added, “It’s gotta be Summer.” Rachel said the triangle played out a bit in real life and that there was “tension” with her and Samaire.

• Kelly said she still has a Captain Oats shirt and a Teen Choice surfboard. Rachel explained how she has an “impostor” Princess Sparkle because Josh wouldn’t give her the real one. Melinda got things back on track by bringing up the introduction of Theresa. Rachel called it “ballsy” for Marissa to offer to stay back with Theresa. Melinda argued Marissa was just curious about Ryan’s past and “seeking connection.” Kelly agreed, saying Marissa didn’t want to waste the opportunity to learn more about Ryan’s background.

• Kelly to Melinda: “How many boyfriends did you have on this show?” Melinda rattled off all the last names Julie had. Melinda wondered why she played Julie as so mad when she came to the Cohens. Kelly argued it was because Julie wasn’t over Jimmy and had trouble fitting in. She also theorized that “Kiki and Juju” came from Josh learning they had become friends off-set. Kelly found it challenging at first to play a friendship between such different characters. She amusingly called Melinda “naughty” and called out how Julie would throw Kirsten under the bus.

• Melinda brought up how Caleb is a trigger for Kirsten. Kelly called it a “nice setup” with the intergenerational family and how Caleb was “the reason why we all were the way we were.” She said the storylines were “quite fun” and there was “so much opportunity” with the character of Caleb. Rachel thought it was funny and real how Kelly looked when she portrayed Kirsten as passed out. Kelly herself, rewatching it, thought it really did look like she had a lot to drink.

• Kelly recently reconnected with Peter and said how he shared how happy he was at how their onscreen marriage was portrayed. She said they had a good “tennis partner” in each other and the relationship was written well. She called it a “conscious decision” that Kirsten and Sandy never crossed the line despite temptations. Kelly also thinks their relationship is one of the reasons the show “still resonates.”

• Kelly said she would watch the episodes back in the day, not because she likes seeing herself, but because she likes seeing the technical aspects and how it all comes together. Melinda: “It’s great when we can be fans of our own show.” Kelly noted that’s not the case with all the shows on their résumés. Rachel brought up Kelly being in Hook and Kelly recalled meeting with Steven Spielberg for the part and what that project was like, calling it a “really extraordinary experience as a young actor.”

  • They misspelled “Spielberg” in the podcast description and I cannot get over it. How does no one catch that?!

• They laughed over the scene where Sandy and Summer happen upon each other outside the pool house. Kelly also liked Sandy’s reactions as he and Seth compared Summer and Anna. She liked that Sandy provided boundaries as a parent but could also have a real conversation with his son about his love life. Kelly: “All those things got blended together so beautifully and I think that’s why kids could relate.” Melinda: “Everyone wanted a dad like Sandy.”

• Melinda pointed out that the film crew could be seen in the reflection of the Range Rover in one of the driving scenes toward the end of the ep. Kelly said there is a ladder visible in another episode. Melinda said that at the end of this episode, she felt “really good” and thought the episode was “very satisfying television.” Kelly and Rachel agreed. 

• Kelly said the show hit people “viscerally” in the 2000s. Kelly: “If you get to do that in your career on a show and make people feel good and entertain them and make them laugh and cry or think about their life in  any way, then I think you’ve done something really good. I’m really proud of all the work we did and I had a really great time. I’m amazed that I’m here with you guys today.” Kelly further called it a “special time” and said there’s no one she wouldn’t want to catch up with.

• The first quiz question: How much money does Trey owe people? Kelly said it was $5,000 or $6,000. The latter was correct. The second question: What game was Anna beating Captain Oats in? Kelly rightly said Jenga. The third quiz question: Why did Kirsten tell Jimmy she was breaking up with him in high school? Kelly didn’t remember and thought it was “terrible” that she didn’t. Rachel said the reason Kirsten gave Jimmy was that she was going to Berkeley. But the real reason, Melinda said, was that she was pregnant and decided to have an abortion. Kelly gasped: “Oh, right, I remember that! Oh shit.”

• Kelly couldn’t remember if the abortion was discussed on the show, saying how there’s “conversations around the monitor that blend into your subconscious” as background info for the character but aren’t necessarily explicitly mentioned on the show. But Melinda rightly remembered that Kirsten discussed her experience with Theresa later in the season.

• The first fan on the voicemail wanted to know if Kelly loves chardonnay as much as Kirsten does and what she loves most about her character. She said she does like the wine, but “probably not as much” as her character. She thought the second part was “hard” to answer, but she liked all the things she got to do and the journey her character went on, including getting to do both drama and comedy. When she couldn’t pick one thing, Melinda quipped, “Working with me. C’mon.” That made Kelly laugh and she added, “We still talk, so something was good.” Kelly said she liked going to work and doesn’t “take that for granted.” She lamented a 3:30am call time, though.

• The second fan wanted to know if there was a correlation between Kirsten’s hair when she was an alcoholic (wavy) versus when she was in recovery (straight). They thought that was an “interesting observation” and Kelly didn’t remember if it was a choice, but Rachel thought it would be. Kelly: “I had so many different hairstyles on that show. It’s a great question. I don’t know if that happened deliberately.” 

• The third fan was Melinda as Juju asking, “Does Kirsten smoke pot?” Kelly: “Okay, Melinda. I don’t smoke pot. That would not be my drug of choice.” She doesn’t like that weed makes you sleepy. Melinda asked the question in reference to a blooper reel moment with Kelly and Tate. Kelly theorized that Kirsten did smoke pot at Berkeley and possibly in her younger days with Jimmy.

  • They really do reference pot a lot on this podcast!

• Melinda: “Kirsten is such a great character on the show and one of the most important puzzle pieces to what we’re doing here with the show.” Kelly and Rachel said they want to meet each other’s daughters. Kelly said her daughter would “probably hyperventilate” upon meeting Rachel.

• Kelly also shared how one of the crew members from the show that she’s still friends with, Janel Sammelman, gave her daughter something signed from Elisabeth Olsen for her birthday recently and she loved it while not caring at all about what Kelly got her. In talking about how no parent is cool to their own children, Rachel made a funny reference to Hayden and Star Wars but, as usual, didn’t mention him by name.

I must begin by saying I have even more respect for “Welcome to the OC, Bitches” after last week’s private Zoom chat with Melinda. While it was already clear she goes into each edition of the podcast well-prepared, during our conversation Melinda detailed some of the research she does and why she dives even deeper into episodes she isn’t in, how she likes to look at each installment from different points of view, like that of the editor or the music supervisor, and how those greatly affect the end result. She also explained why not every edition is a scene-by-scene breakdown and I appreciate having that insight now. For everything that Melinda shared (including teases of upcoming podcast installments), premium TDW subscribers can watch the full video of our chat here.

Next I want to say that someone needs to cast Kelly in a role where she is playing the daughter of Caroline Lagerfelt (Sheila, Beverly Hills, 90210 / CeCe, Gossip Girl) because as I watched this, I kept seeing Caroline in Kelly! The resemblance was uncanny. Anyway, it was nice seeing Kelly stroll down memory lane with Melinda especially, as it’s really sweet they have such a close friendship. A commenter on YouTube said how great it would be to see Kelly and Peter discuss the show together and now I want to see that too!

I did think Kelly steered them off-topic at times, but Melinda and Rachel did a good job of letting her say whatever she was going to say and then getting back to the episode at hand. I really appreciated their deep assessment of Ryan and his brothers in Trey and Seth, as well as Kelly’s analysis of the show and why it was such great television. Once again, it wasn’t a surface-level conversation. And it’s really remarkable that they’re only 11 podcasts in and they’ve all already had on three main cast members. To all of that I say… job well done.

Reminder: TeenDramaWhore premium subscriptions include perks like exclusive content, fan interviews, trivia parties, and Zoom chats with the genre’s key players. Subscribe here!