‘The O.C.’: 3 of the Most Absurd Plot Lines From the Series
Fox’s teen soap, The O.C., blew everyone’s socks off when it debuted in 2003. (Okay, fine. Maybe not everyone’s, but if you were a young adult in the early aughts, you definitely watched this show.) However, even the most hardcore fan has to admit that some of the plots in the series were just a little too far out there to ever come across as believable. Here are the five most absurd storylines from The O.C.
‘The O.C.’ Season 4 starts off with Ryan taking up cage fighting
Listen, when you lose your on-again-off-again girlfriend who cheated on you multiple times and was essentially trouble in human form, you turn to cage fighting to alleviate the emotional damage. At least that’s what Ryan Atwood (Benjamin McKenzie) did. The O.C. Season 4 picks up several months after Marissa Cooper’s (Mischa Barton) death by fire.
Apparently, Ryan’s preferred method of grieving involves punching other people inside a cage. So, that’s what he does. Thankfully, his stint with cage fighting didn’t last long.
That time everyone just forgot Theresa may or may not have given birth to Ryan’s son
Ryan came from a broken family, so it makes sense he grew so close with his former girlfriend’s family. Before Ryan lucked out by moving in with the Cohens, he and Theresa (Theresa Diaz) were in a serious relationship. However, the two parted ways before he left, which was a good thing because once he laid eyes on Marissa Cooper, he was in love. But it wouldn’t be The O.C. if something didn’t pop up at the last minute and ruin a potentially happy ending. Just as Ryan and Marissa decided they should test the dating waters, Theresa dropped the bombshell that she was pregnant with Ryan’s child.
Ryan moved back in with Theresa at the end of The O.C. Season 1, but by the time season 2 rolls around, she knows he’s miserable. She lies and tells him she miscarried, giving him an out to return to the Cohens. He did so. We don’t see Theresa again until The O.C. Season 3 when Kirsten (Kelly Rowan) spots her in the airport with a child who looks suspiciously like Ryan. Then the series just never mentions it again. Does Ryan Atwood have a child out there? The world may never know.
The ‘alternate universe’ episode in ‘The O.C.’ Season 4
There’s no denying that The O.C. Season 4 is a far cry from the greatness of season 1. However, the episode where Ryan and Taylor (Autumn Reeser) wake up in an alternate universe might earn the title of weirdest plot in the series.
As the holidays near, Ryan and Taylor decorate a Christmas tree, but they fall as they do, knocking them unconscious. When they wake up, they live in a world where Ryan never existed, and wackiness ensues. In this reality, Kirsten married Jimmy (Tate Donovan,) while Sandy (Peter Gallagher) and Julie (Melinda Clarke) got together. Seth (Adam Brody) has no friends, and Summer (Rachel Bilson) is exactly how everyone thought she would be when we first met her in season 1. However, the real kicker is the fact that Marissa died in both scenarios. Ouch.
