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The O.C. leaves behind several legacies. Comic-book geeks scoring untold wins. Parents with subplots as interesting as their randy kids. An indie band soundtrack. And of course, Chrismukkah. But it's bigger than Seth's genius Christmas/Hanukkah fusion. Across all four seasons, The O.C. honored pretty much every holiday, save Halloween for some odd reason.
We all remember the Thanksgiving when everything changed for Seth Cohen. Kirsten Cohen is ride-or-die for Valentine's Day. There's a Chrismukkah episode for every season. "The Countdown" may be the most relevant New Year's Eve-themed special in all of television. Hell, season four even did Groundhog Day. As the holiday season draws to a close, spend the last of '14 reminiscing on how one of your favorite series growing up showed out for just about every holiday in style. (And some losses. Season three does still exist, after all.)
“The Chrismukkah Bar Mitz-vahkkah”
Holiday: Chrismukkah
Episode: Season 3, Episode 10
Or, as originally titled, "How a Grinch Named Johnny Ruined Chrismukkah."
Need a reminder that season three was a narrative slog populated with basics? Look no further than Marissa's latest simp suitor effectively ruining Seth Cohen's great holiday invention with an episode tailored around his Tiny Tim woes. Dude was even about to throw his life away in the most boring manner imaginable: holding up a liquor store. (Which movie did you get that from, dude?) Caleb Nichol didn't die for this, fam. —Frazier Tharpe
“The Heavy Lifting”
Holiday: Valentine's Day
Episode: Season 3, Episode 15
The O.C.'s third season is like a drunken, drug-addled bender, so unpleasant for most of its duration that you start to wonder why you did it to begin with. Oh, and also, shoddy memories.
Yeah, there's a dour mood in Newport because... Johnny died, or something. Cue the world's smallest violin, and also the exit of the best thing the season had going for it, recurring troublemaker Kaitlin Cooper. Even Valentine's Day enthusiast Kirsten Cohen would have to chalk this one up to a big, fat brick. —Frazier Tharpe
“The Groundhog Day”
Holiday: Groundhog Day
Episode: Season 4, Episode 12
Season four, on the other hand, is about as good a comeback as one could've hoped for. The caveat? In lightening the mood from previous season's unnecessarily dark tone, things got inevitably sillier.
And so you have a Groundhog Day, of all themes. In four years, The O.C. never got to Halloween, but the show did find time to put Taylor Townsend in a Punxsutawney Phil costume while Seth goes on a vision quest with Chris Pratt. Points for thinking outside of the box, but if there was ever any indication that the first season's highs would never be matched again, even in a comeback year... —Frazier Tharpe
“The Lonely Hearts Club”
Holiday: Valentine's Day
Episode: Season 2, Episode 12
"The Lonely Hearts Club" is a Valentine's Day episode, but it's not particularly romantic. We check in on Ryan as he's trying to smooth things over with Caleb so that he can spend time with new flame Lindsay—remember her? Meanwhile Seth, Summer, and Zach are headed to Comic-Con to try to get their project off the ground. Most memorable, though, is Marissa's plot-line which involves taking things to the, err, "next level" in her relationship with bisexual super babe Alex (a.k.a. Olivia Wilde).
The O.C. had a lot of different romantic arrangements over the years, but Marissa and Alex's fling was a serious curveball at the time and a hell of a lot more fun than Volchok. —Nathan Reese
“The Case of the Franks”
Holiday: Valentine's Day
Episode: Season 4, Episode 13
Another low-key series gem in season four's comeback tour, "The Case of the Franks" is a V-Day episode focused mainly on the lingering misgivings Summer feels about her relationship with Seth, as well as Kirsten and Sandy's imminent new baby. 2007 was a long way from The O.C.'s debut, but "The Case of the Franks" shows that Seth and Summer were the show's core from the beginning and remained that way until the end. —Nathan Reese
“The Earth Girls Are Easy”
Holiday: New Year's Eve
Episode: Season 4, Episode 8
It's true in real life and it's true on The O.C.: New Year's Eve is almost always a disappointment. The stakes are just too high, the expectations too great, the drinks too strong. Still, a rocky NYE can make for a great episode of television.
Case in point: "Earth Girls Are Easy," a reference to a zany Jeff Goldblum comedy that's also a fourth season highlight set at a rave full of people dressed as aliens. The episode centered on the unplanned appearance of Seth and Summer on Ryan's own surprise date with maybe-possibly-new-girlfriend Taylor. If that doesn't cause enough problems, there's also a subplot involving a mixed-up pregnancy test and stolen purse. Yikes!
While things get sorted out by the end, there are no true resolutions. Just like at a real New Year's party, the resolutions remain up in the air. —Nathan Reese
“The Nana”
Holiday: Passover
Episode: Season 1, Episode 23
"The Nana" could be criticized for capitalizing on the classic overbearing-Jewish-mother character, but then again, it's a stereotype I've seen witnessed all too many times at my family's own Passover dinners. And then there's the fact that The Nana isn't quite what you'd think: Sure, she's overly critical, abrasive, and downright mean, but she's also a three-dimensional character hiding the tragic secret that she's dying of cancer.
The episode's darker elements are bouyed by Summer's well-meaning but unintentionally hilarious attempts to show The Nana that she understands Jewish traditions. There's also a melodramatic subplot involving Marissa running away from home that I'll choose to ignore, if only because Passover should be all about the Cohens. —Nathan Reese
“The Chrismukk-huh?”
Holiday: Chrismukkah
Episode: Season 4, Episode 7
Alternate-reality-while-comatose plots can be tedious. Thankfully, The O.C.'s pleasantly surprising fourth season keeps the comeback momentum going with a poignant episode that gives Marissa (off-screen—rest in obscurity, Mischa Barton) her due closure, while also imagining what Newport would look like if Sandy never adopted Ryan. Surprise: Everyone's life sucks.
There's really no way for a melodrama like The O.C. to drop the ball on playing "What if?" with all the various relationships that have played out over the course of the series, which gives the final Chrismukkah installment a fun energy but an ultimately somber tone. Holidays only magnify loss, so in a way it's fitting that Ryan and Julie would finally begin to fully move on from Marissa on Seth Cohen's great day. —Frazier Tharpe
“The Cold Turkey”
Holiday: Thanksgiving
Episode: Season 4, Episode 3
And so The O.C.'s fourth season's redemption tour begins. The final bit of business from the Marissa Misery Tour™ is squared away on Thanksgiving when Volchok returns to town to turn himself in. While Ryan and Sandy play Spy vs Spy over the dirty surfer, Kaitlin Cooper and Taylor Townsend step up and reveal themselves as series savior MVPs with dinner hijinks at Cohen Manor.
The episode's real heart, though, is away from the dinner table. Instead (as usual), it's in the pool house, where Ryan and Julie are just sitting and talking about Marissa, and in the process finally gaining some much-needed closure. It may be the realest moment the two share across the entire series. —Frazier Tharpe
“The Chrismukkah That Almost Wasn’t”
Holiday: Chrismukkah
Episode: Season 2, Episode 6
This Chrismukkah sequel takes a risky gamble, placing the family drama squarely on new character Linsday's shoulders.
The big reveal: She's Caleb Nichol's illegitimate daughter. Which means Ryan's spent the last few episodes trying to holler at Kirsten's sister, or, better yet, Seth's aunt.
As unmemorable as Lindsay herself turned out to be, though, her character works here because the bombshell surprise is mostly told through Kirsten's perspective, and her blow-up at her father turns Seth's charming holiday very ugly very fast (while also rendering the petty drama between the kids moot for the moment). Yet, this being a Christmas special, there must be a family reckoning, and what's more, the Chrismukkah spirit comes back twofold when Seth presents Lindsay with a yarmaclaus.
Welcome to the family, indeed. —Frazier Tharpe
“The Best Chrismukkah Ever”
Holiday: Chrismukkah
Episode: Season 1, Episode 13
"There's drinking, crying, cops—well, it must be Christmas."
Why was The O.C. arguably the best thing on television in 2003? What other series could keep up a running, poignant undercurrent of holiday malaise while launching the most ingenious holiday fusion ever? Aside from the latest hijinks in the escalating, increasingly awesome Cohen-Summer-Anna triangle, the first Chrismukkah special is a reminder that, amidst lavish parties where geeks gas dimes to fight over them, trophy wives plot and punches are thrown, The O.C. is actually still about that kid from the hood who came up. And his new girl's own holiday woes are turning her into a very potent reminder of the life he's trying to leave behind.
It's a good thing he's got Jesus, Moses, and, most importantly, Sandy Cohen on his side. But also, Summer Roberts, a.k.a. Wonder Woman. —Frazier Tharpe
“The Heartbreak”
Holiday: Valentine's Day
Episode: Season 1, Episode 19
This episode is absolute fire, despite being lightweight overshadowed by the blockbuster Oliver arc.
The epic love story of Seth Cohen and Summer Roberts would be consummated on Valentine's Day. But what plot development isn't so obvious? Summer said it best herself, much to Seth's confusion: "There were two virgins in the room." "What, you mean someone was watching us?" Yep, Newport's resident dime was a little more reserved than her reputation implied—until Seth Cohen came along, in a series of hilarious recurring scenes, all scored to "Hello Sunshine." (The O.C.'s storied soundtrack isn't just great—it's a crucial part of the narrative, man.)
Equally surprising is the show's decision to make Ryan genuinely feel some kind of way towards Marissa in the aftermath of Oliver Trask. The psycho's in jail, everyone gives Ryan props for calling it, and things are copacetic again, right? Not quite. Your boy feels rightfully betrayed that it took Oliver sticking a gun in her face to believe his warnings and he's hurt enough to put the relationship on ice...just as OG Girl Next Door Theresa conveniently starts taking waitressing jobs in Newport.
The resolution of one love triangle just gives way to another. It never ends with these kids. Meanwhile, across the street, narrative dead weight Luke suddenly comes up. Miss him with the teen melodrama—fam is playing in the cougar leagues now. Here's to you, Mrs. Cooper. Cue the Seger. —Frazier Tharpe
“The Homecoming”
Holiday: Thanksgiving
Episode: Season 1, Episode 11
Like Brad, Jennifer, and Angelina or King Henry VIII, Catherine of Aragon, and Anne Boleyn, the Summer-Seth-Anna love triangle was one for the ages. But while "The Countdown" and "The Best Chrismukkah Ever" (both higher on this list) are some of the most dramatic peaks in the trio's storied drama, "The Homecoming" has to be my personal favorite, if only because it's just so fun to watch.
With Summer and Anna vying for his attention at Thanksgiving, Seth must juggle his two paramours like only a socially awkward comic book nerd can: very poorly. The resulting shenanigans are both a nightmare for the baffled Cohen as well as a fulfillment of an unlikely fantasy.
Seth, of course, eventually learns his lesson, but it's fun to enjoy the ride while it lasts. —Nathan Reese
“The Countdown”
Holiday: New Year's Eve
Episode: Season 1, Episode 14
What comes to mind when you think of The O.C.'s most iconic moment? For most it's Luke welcoming Ryan to Newport with a nice right hook. [Bitch!] For others, maybe it's Ryan carrying a near-catatonic Marissa to safety in a Tijuana alley. But the show's defining moment, as far as I'm concerned? It's Ryan racing up an endless flight of stairs to the penthouse, scored to the dulcet sounds of Finley Quaye's "Dice."
It's New Year's Eve. Girl-next-door extraordinaire Marissa Cooper is in said penthouse, and she's feeling choosy and Ryan knows it. And who can blame her, when dude spent the entire episode bricking the crucial "I love you" moment. In a rare occasion, Seth Cohen's Danny Glover drama (you know, twooo womennn) takes a backseat to Ryan and Marissa—it might even take a backseat to Cool Parents™ Sandy and Kirsten, who flee to a swingers party out of fear that their marriage needs spicing.
Guiding each storyline are two of the series best guests: the villainous Oliver Trask, who declared himself Public Enemy Fuccboi #1 the minute he taught Marissa how to drink a "mo-hee-tow," and Kirsten's smoking hot younger sister, Hailey, an equally impactful troublemaker who throws what's easily the show's most "this would be amazing IRL" banger. (I can still hear Summer Roberts adage that the way you spend New Year's Eve dictates the way you'll spend the rest of your year ringing in my head every December 31st.)
The most relevant New Year episode across all of television? You bet. But forget holiday themes—this is The O.C.'s best episode, hands down. —Frazier Tharpe