The BEST Episodes of The O.C.
Every episode ever - ranked by fan votes!
Last Updated: Dec 17, 2021
Network: FOX
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. Cohen, Cooper, 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 - Aired Feb 22, 2007
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.
8.82 
#2 - The Dearly Beloved
Season 2 - Episode 24 - Aired May 19, 2005
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.
8.55 
#3 - The O.Sea
Season 2 - Episode 23 - Aired May 12, 2005
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 
#4 - The Rainy Day Women
Season 2 - Episode 14 - Aired Feb 24, 2005
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?
8.23 
#5 - The Chrismukkah That Almost Wasn't
Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired Dec 16, 2004
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.
8.21 
#6 - The Ties That Bind
Season 1 - Episode 27 - Aired May 5, 2004
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."
8.13 
#7 - The Power of Love
Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired Jan 13, 2005
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.
8.09 
#8 - The Heights
Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired Nov 5, 2003
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.
8.07 
#9 - The Graduates
Season 3 - Episode 25 - Aired May 18, 2006
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...
7.98 
#10 - The Countdown
Season 1 - Episode 14 - Aired Dec 17, 2003
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.
7.97 
#11 - The Cold Turkey
Season 4 - Episode 3 - Aired Nov 9, 2006
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.
7.92 
#12 - The Earth Girls Are Easy
Season 4 - Episode 8 - Aired Dec 21, 2006
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!
7.92 
#13 - The Showdown
Season 2 - Episode 22 - Aired May 5, 2005
Dynamite with a lit fuse: Kirsten goes on a bender now that Carter's gone, Ryan can't figure what's up with Marissa, Caleb hits Julie with divorce papers, and the Seth-Zach rivalry turns into War of the Weirds.
7.92 
#14 - The Night Moves
Season 4 - Episode 15 - Aired Feb 15, 2007
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.
7.92 
#15 - The Distance
Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired Nov 4, 2004
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?
7.91 
#16 - The Lonely Hearts Club
Season 2 - Episode 12 - Aired Feb 10, 2005
Happy Valentine's Day! Seth's feelings for Summer destroy their comic-book pitch meeting, Ryan turns pool-table hustler in hopes of winning approval for his romance with Lindsay, and Kirsten distrusts Sandy.
7.91 
#17 - The Mallpisode
Season 2 - Episode 15 - Aired Mar 10, 2005
The Seth/Summer plan to help Ryan shake his Lindsay blues is...a mall visit? Hey, it can work. Because Marissa comes along. And everyone gets locked inside the place. An extortionist targets Julie.
7.89 
#18 - The Family Ties
Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired Jan 6, 2005
Time to move on: Jimmy decides to relocate to Maui. Time to make a move: Ryan and Lindsay wonder about a first kiss. Time to bust a move: Seth turns bad boy in an attempt to impress Alex.
7.88 
#19 - The Perfect Storm
Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired Nov 3, 2005
Is Ryan shipping out? Sandy's mind-meld persuasion skills fail to convince him to stay. But where there's a will, there's another Cohen way. Charlotte now zeroes in on Julie; Summer outwits Taylor.
7.86 
#20 - The Debut
Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired Aug 26, 2003
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.
7.86 
#21 - The Case of the Franks
Season 4 - Episode 13 - Aired Feb 1, 2007
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.
7.86 
#22 - The Escape
Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired Sep 16, 2003
What happens in Mexico stays in Mexico. But the secrecy surrounding a summer's-end teen trip to Tijuana can't stop Marissa from feeling the way she feels when she sees Luke with Holly.
7.84 
#23 - The Party Favor
Season 3 - Episode 23 - Aired Apr 27, 2006
Right dress. Wrong date. If you can't go to prom with the person you like, go with someone who makes the person you like jealous. There'll be many memories for the Core 4 after this prom. Not all of them will be happy.
7.83 
#24 - The O.C. Confidential
Season 2 - Episode 20 - Aired Apr 21, 2005
The evidence adds up. Trey is likely to do time for drug violations. But Sandy, Ryan and Marissa know he's innocent and develop a plan to catch the real culprit in the act. Seth meets a marketing...genius.
7.83 
#25 - The Second Chance
Season 2 - Episode 11 - Aired Feb 3, 2005
Try try again. A cardiac crisis gives Caleb a new outlook. Seth and Summer struggle to deny their attraction. And if, as Sandy says, Rebecca is dead, why does Kirsten find her in Sandy's office? Uh-oh.
7.82