“Confidence Cohen” – Anna
This show will always hold a special place in my heart. It’s one of those rare shows that will stick with me for the rest of my life. Certain moments, certain songs, which I still jam to. The OC, it’s been 10 years since the series finale, so I thought why not blog about it. It kind of came into my life at the perfect time, I was just starting high school or entering my second year, it was cool, hip and a great conversation starter with girls, and quite frankly I needed all the help I could get. I loved this show and there is a ton of “what ifs” when it comes to The OC. What if they never killed off Marissa? What if the each season was only 13 episodes instead of 24? They burned through so much in the first two seasons that it was hard for them to keep making 24 episode seasons after that. One of the shows biggest downfalls for sure, was not milking these awesome stories for everything they were worth. If the show were to come out today and be released on Netflix, it would be one of the best binge watches of all time, I know that much. With great TV shows, comes great characters and for me that was Seth Cohen. What a guy eh?! Seriously I’ve never resonated more with a TV character and honestly probably now more than ever. I wanted nothing more than to be him, and sometimes I wish Adam Brody were in more stuff. I’ll never forget this promo for the show, because I knew when I saw it, this was going to be an all-timer television show. If there’s one thing this show did incredibly well it was blending in soul crushing scenes with music. So many awesome bands even got their start on this show (The Killers). For me, The OC had the best music and it’s one of the many reasons why I love it so much. Here are just some great moments to take you down memory lane.
Season 2, Episode 3 (The New Kids on the Block)- Racheal Yamagata “Worn Me Down”
Seth and Summer, one of TVs greatest love stories people! Honestly, remember how mean Summer was to Seth, actually she never even talked to the guy at first and then totally married him. Seth had major game, and yes their relationship hit some bumps along the way, but what relationship doesn’t. This is a soul-sucking scene, after Seth leaves for the summer, without telling anyone, only to come back and see Summer dating the new guy Zach. I really hated Zach, that water polo playing douche. Any who, Seth goes to confront Summer and tell her he’s sorry only to see this and it was really hard to watch, still is to this day. The scene raps up beautifully with Seth and Marissa sitting on a bench together both realizing what they’ve lost.
Season 2, Episode 23 (The O.Sea) — Coldplay “Fix You”
“But he’s a tool!”
First of all don’t insult Coldplay they have some bangers. Secondly if this song doesn’t make you emotional in anyway shape or form, visit your nearest doctor because you simply do not have a heart. All right I forgot how much of an emotional punch this scene packed. My god, a lot of crap just went down. Where to begin, the Seth and Summer romance finally blossomed in this episode after the shit storm of a season they went through. Zach decides comics are more important than girls, and Seth goes to confess his undying love for Summer only to find out she was happy he was the one who showed up to prom. Julie wants to kill Caleb, and is about too, until she realizes she can’t do it and finds him floating at the bottom of the pool. Fun fact I actually wrote RIP Caleb on MSN Messenger and multiple people told me they were sorry for my loss. It wasn’t until I told them what was actually going on and the conversation ended abruptly. No joke, that’s how serious I was about this show and I actually kind of liked Caleb and felt bad for the guy. Lastly we had the booze hound Kristen shitting all over Sandy for what felt like the 1000th time that season, poor Sandy, without doubt in the HOF (Hall of Fame) for TV Dads! Shout out to Absolute Vodka!
Season 1, Episode 21 (The Good-Bye Girl) Nadasurf “If You Leave”
“Who am I suppose to play Jenga with?”
Seth and Anna, what a friendship, but in the end she had to go to Pittsburgh. With only a tiny backpack and a little carry on? Something seems fishy about that…Also this episode I gained a ton of respect for Ryan for loving Journey, even tough guys can’t resist Steve Perry. Anna was really the first girl Seth ever clicked with, they had so much in common, but the heart never lies, and it was tough for Seth to truly get over Summer. In the end he picked Summer and felted devastated that Anna was leaving, because he felt responsible. This episode really showed the progression of Seth from the first few episodes when all he cared about was Magic the Gathering, to now having two strong beautiful women in his life. High school really picked up for that guy once Ryan showed up. Seriously he owes everything to that guy. I think Seth just knew that he was losing a great friend and someone he could relate to, and that’s always tough. This song captured the moment perfectly.
Season 2, Episode 24 (The Dearly Beloved) Imogen Heap “Hide & Seek”
HOW IS THIS NUMBER 16 ON THIS PERSONS LIST? This episode man, this song still gives me goosebumps sometimes. Trey always in the wrong place at the wrong time. This was the conclusion to the second season, the final confrontation between Ryan and Trey. Things were brewing all season and you knew it was going to end in some tragic way. After Trey sexually assaults Marissa and keeps it from Ryan, it wasn’t long before he found out the truth and had to put this Chino brotherhood on the line. I’ll never forget how rattled I was once this scene ended, and had to wait the entire summer to find out what the fate of these characters would be. One thing was for certain; Marissa shoots a gun like all rich white girls.
Season 2, Episode 12 (The Lonely Hearts Club) Bell X1 “Eve is the Apple of My Eye”
One, Olivia Wilde is smoke show. Two, I really dig this song that’s playing here. Alex was the badass chick who shows up in season 2 and just starts kissing everybody. She was actually a really great character, and I’m pretty sure this is where it all started for Olivia Wilde. Marissa and Alex were both just feeling neglected and wanted some attention, and the show was doing things that really no other show was doing at the time. They really should have tried to keep her around longer than they did, really dropped the ball on that one.
Season 1, Episode 13 (The Best Chrismukkah Ever)
This guy even invented a holiday! One of the best openings to an episode ever, and without question one of the best episodes the show ever aired. Guys remember Summer in that Wonder Woman outfit?? Seth just wants everyone to get into the holiday spirit, but there’s so much going that no one has any time. THEN BOOM a Chrismukkah miracle baby. Just what a fantastic episode, I hope there are people who celebrate this joyous holiday around the world and if so I’d love to be apart of it. How money is Seth’s sweater in this scene though!
I could have gone on forever listing memorable scenes, it’s really hard to narrow it down and pick a select few. Those are just some that really stick out to me, along with 15 more that I can think of (New Years Eve first season). So many great memories come up when thinking about The OC, and it’s crazy to think it’s actually been 10 years since it went off the air. So many shows have tried to replicate what this show had, but nothing could ever come close. I always forget how incredible the cast was, and how many young actors got their start on this show. Chris Pratt for example was in this show, I had completely forgotten that and he’s probably Hollywood’s biggest star right now. I even tuned into Gotham for 2 seasons just so I could see what Ryan Atwood was up too on a weekly basis. I miss this show, so I think I’m going to do myself a favor a rewatch it from start to finish, it just feels like the right thing to do. Another thing that felt right was to wear a white beater while writing this and that’s exactly what I did. So I guess California here I come!