Rachel and Melinda discuss “The Ties That Bind,” (S1 Ep27) with none other than the man who wrote it himself, Josh Schwartz! Hear from Josh his thinking behind the creation of this episode and the theme he based it on. Curious if he planned for this finale at the start of the series? Listen to find out! Josh answers questions the hosts have about this episode like, “was the word abortion not allowed on the show?” and “Is that Shailene Woodley as Kaitlin in the wedding?” Find out how Josh does in season one trivia. Do you know how much the kisses cost in the kissing boothing during “The Telenovela?” Does Josh? And, the strip club story mentioned in Episode 26 with Adam Brody is revisited and Josh clears the air on just what went down! At the end of the show, the hosts are joined by musician Jem, who performed “Maybe I’m Amazed,” in the season one finale. She shares what it was like being approached to do a cover of that famous Beatles song, her experience on the show, and where she was when the episode aired.   The Ties That Bind Synopsis: Difficult decisions are made. Theresa plans to get an abortion, but after speaking with Kirsten, who once dealt with this choice herself, she changes her mind. Ryan feels he must do the right thing and go back to Chino. Seth and Marissa grapple with losing Ryan. Julie and Caleb get married but unbeknownst to Julie, Caleb is heading towards bankruptcy.