The Best Episodes of The O.C.
Last Updated: May 24, 2019
The O.C. is an idyllic paradise, a wealthy, harbour-front community where everything and everyone appears to be perfect. But beneath the surface is a world of shifting loyalties and identities, of kids living secret lives hidden from their parents, and of parents living secret lives hidden from their children. 'The O.C.' tells the story of the Cohen, Cooper, and Nichol families, and Ryan Atwood, a troubled teen from the wrong side of the tracks, who is thrust into this world, and who will forever change the lives of the residents of The O.C.
#1 - The End's Not Near, It's Here
Season 4 - Episode 16
Six months after Mother Nature grabbed everyone by the neck and shook, events return to normal. Very normal. But complacency is never the Cohen or Cooper way. Time to follow the head and heart to what's right.
8.71 
#2 - The Dearly Beloved
Season 2 - Episode 24
Familiar faces show up for a final farewell to Caleb. Meanwhile, Sandy takes action to help Kirsten. And when Ryan learns about the Trey-Marissa incident, a showdown - if not a tragedy - is inevitable.
8.64 
#3 - The Rainy Day Women
Season 2 - Episode 14
Rain - and it seems there are as many problems as raindrops. Kirsten, Sandy...and Rebecca. Julie, Marissa...and Alex. Lindsay, Ryan...and Chicago. Summer, Seth...and Italy. Can't rain forever, can it?
8.44 
#4 - The Chrismukkah That Almost Wasn't
Season 2 - Episode 6
Friends, festivities, 8 days of gifts, another day with a whole lot of gifts. Seth's formula for the perfect Chrismukkah may come undone when Caleb's confession rocks the Cohen world.
8.39 
#5 - The Ties That Bind
Season 1 - Episode 27
Summer is near and that means sun, surf and rejuvenation. Or to Ryan, Seth and Marissa, it may mean none of the above as each faces a critical crossroad. Just the same, Newport society rises to the occasion when Caleb and Julie do the "I do."
8.28 
#6 - The O.Sea
Season 2 - Episode 23
Heads: Seth takes Summer to the prom. Tails: Zach does. Whoever's dateless takes a meeting with George Lucas to discuss Atomic County. That'll settle things, right? The Julie-Caleb union ends...not the way anyone expected.
8.27 
#7 - Pilot
Season 1 - Episode 1
Just a freeway's drive away. And yet worlds apart. Rejected by his parents after a brush with the law, Ryan Atwood moves temporarily into the pool house of his attorney's posh Newport Beach home...and finds both friends and foes among the privileged O.C. youth.
8.24 
#8 - The Power of Love
Season 2 - Episode 8
Sandy didn't forget his 20th anniversary. Honest. Just ask him. And just watch him squirm as he tries to make things right. Also, Seth and Ryan are grounded; DJ calls it quits with Marissa.
8.23 
#9 - The Countdown
Season 1 - Episode 14
As the New Year looms, Ryan doesn't know how to respond when Marissa says those three meaningful words. Sandy and Kirsten are wallflowers at a swingers' party. And at home, Seth thinks of what might have been.
8.19 
#10 - The Graduates
Season 3 - Episode 25
Graduation: A time for friends, family, celebration, remembrance, letting go, and moving on to tomorrow. Odd man out in all the events is Volchok. Then, it happens...
8.18 
#11 - The Night Moves
Season 4 - Episode 15
Everything's okay. As okay as anything can be after a major earthquake. Now come coping, staying calm, helping...and somehow getting Ryan to the hospital before he bleeds to death.
8.16 
#12 - The Aftermath
Season 3 - Episode 1
Trey's in a coma, Marissa pulled the trigger, who's going to take the fall? Ryan? But maybe there's a way out for Kid Chino.
8.15 
#13 - The Man of The Year
Season 3 - Episode 24
Sandy's picture will be on the cover of Riviera. Or, if the DA has his way, on a mug shot. More troubles: Volchok blackmails Ryan into a crime, Kirsten is drinking, and Seth burns down his dad's office. Didn't mean to. Honest.
8.15 
#14 - The Best Chrismukkah Ever
Season 1 - Episode 13
It's part Christmas, part Hanukkah and totally a Cohen-family way to celebrate the holidays. But a time out for the holidays doesn't mean time away from Marissa's personal problems or Caleb's business tactics.
8.09 
#15 - The Way We Were
Season 2 - Episode 2
The boys are back. Every status is quo. Except: Summer won't kiss and make up, Ryan catches Marissa in a clinch, the DA busts Caleb, Hailey bails and the remodellers are like a wrecking crew. Home sweet chaos.
8.09 
#16 - The Debut
Season 1 - Episode 4
Ryan promised to stay out of trouble. But trouble finds him as he, Seth, Marissa and others take part in one of the biggest events on the Newport social calendar: the Debutantes Ball.
8.08 
#17 - The Distance
Season 2 - Episode 1
Come home, Seth! If Sandy can't persuade his alienated son to return to the family perhaps Ryan can. Meanwhile, Theresa realizers her relationship with Ryan is on life support. Time to pull the plug?
8.08 
#18 - The Case of the Franks
Season 4 - Episode 13
Julie and Gordon? Or Julie and Frank? Summer and Seth? Or Summer and George? No, make that GEORGE. Mysteries of the heart (and the meddling of others) unfold as Valentine's Day nears.
8.08 
#19 - The Shake Up
Season 4 - Episode 14
Make a movie: Summer challenges Seth's passivity. Make a move: Taylor wants to hear Ryan's profession of love. Make a mess of it: Kaitlin floats rumours about Frank and clown porn. Make way for Mother Nature...everyone!
8.06 
#20 - The Heights
Season 1 - Episode 9
Calculus. AP Enlgish. History. The ways of the human heart. Not everything learned at Harbor High is on the schedule of classes. The Cohen casa is a house divided when Sandy takes an environmental case against Kirsten's father.
8.06 
#21 - The Chrismukk-huh?
Season 4 - Episode 7
Sandy is married to Julie. Kirsten is Mrs. Jimmy Cooper. Summer is engaged to Winchester. Seth is in full geek mode. It's a parallel Newport. And Ryan, stuck there after a conk to the head, must change it.
8.04 
#22 - The Rager
Season 2 - Episode 19
Marissa throws a birthday party for Trey - an event that may or may not smooth things between the two Atwood brothers. Julie gets cozy with Lance, her long-ago lover and recent extortionist.
8.03 
#23 - The Homecoming
Season 1 - Episode 11
Used to be Seth couldn't find a girl. Now he has two - Anna and Summer show up for Thanksgiving. Ryan also has double trouble, as he and Marissa visit his old neighborhood and encounter an ex-flame.
8.03 
#24 - The Earth Girls Are Easy
Season 4 - Episode 8
Seth is clueless about what to do for New Year's Eve. Solution? Crash the Ryan-Taylor road trip to Vegas. Now add pregnancy tests, a space alien rave, thefts, misunderstandings, pursuits and a marriage proposal and it's time to welcome 2007!
8.02 
#25 - The Cold Turkey
Season 4 - Episode 3
Julie is no longer invited. But guess who is coming to dinner: Homeless men, recruited by Summer, show up for the Cohen Thanksgiving. Ryan will be there, too - if he doesn't first commit murder when he learns where Volchok is.
8.02