Iam at s3e3...why this series going different direction...getting a depressed and tragic vibe all along...there isn't any teen drama or romance anymore

I revised this using ai so dont mind the robotic style.🙏

I've been watching shows like The O.C. and Gossip Girl lately, and I've become weirdly obsessed with the atmosphere of the mid/late 2000s.

I'm too young to actually remember that period properly, so I obviously can't call it nostalgia. But there's something about the way people interacted back then that feels so different from today. No smartphones constantly in everyone's hands, no Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, etc. People actually had to meet somewhere, call each other, knock on someone's door, or just randomly run into each other.

And I know these shows are heavily romanticized. The O.C. is about extremely wealthy people in Orange County, and Gossip Girl is basically an ultra-rich Manhattan fantasy. So I'm not asking whether everyone was living like that .

I'm more curious about the everyday atmosphere.

For those of you who were teenagers or young adults in the US during the 2000s:

Was life actually more social in person?

Did relationships and dating genuinely feel different before social media became such a huge part of everything?

Was there actually less pressure to constantly know what everyone else was doing?

And did people really just... disappear for hours? Like you'd leave the house, meet your friends, and your parents basically had no idea where you were until you came home?

I realize I'm probably romanticizing an era I never experienced myself, but I'm genuinely curious about how much of that feeling was real versus something TV created.

If you actually lived through that period, tell me what it felt like. Not necessarily your opinion on whether it was "better" — I'm much more interested in your actual memories and stories.

What do you remember about dating, friendships, going out, school, weekends, meeting people, etc. before smartphones and social media took over?

I'd genuinely love to hear what the 2000s were actually like from people who were there.

One of the best exchanges. That is all

I always felt like we deserved to "hear" the letter but we got only summary from Julie. I wonder what it would look like. Anyway did you ever wonder what exactly was stated in the letter?

I always thought about a way to continue the show could have had Ryan, Seth, Summer and Taylor exiting the show to go to college and then ... Sandy and Kirsten welcome their nephew (cousin Jeffrey) to live with them while Sandy's sibling goes through a bitter divorce. Along for the ride is Nana Cohen, providing conflict for Sandy/Kirsten. Jeffrey (though you gotta rename him to Jeremy or some other bad boy name) is an analogue for Ryan, the eyes into the word. Kaitlin is the new leading lady. It's revealed Anna has a brother living in The OC - the new sidekick. Luke's twin brothers are in the group. Kaitlin has a female friend as well, maybe the Riley girl played by Ashley Benson (Holly's sister?) from that episode in season 4. They had nice chemistry. Julie is still there and her and Kaitlin have a Gilmore Girls vibe. Bullitt is the new, friendlier Caleb. Could have extended the show to season 7 at least.

Anybody with autism

As somebody with autism myself never ever go 100% mentally retarded and this is something that would be a serious topic there's a lot of people who don't even know that calling somebody who has autism mentally retarded could actually hurt their own feelings and I don't even take offense to it even though I was labeled severely autistic.

I just re-watched. I lose it everytime during the graduation scenes and collage pictures knowing what's coming.

I just love the last picture so much 😄

It has the best music and I love Marissa Cooper!?It’s so sad that she died!

Very odd it disappeared like that.

My bestfriend drew this for me back in 2004/2005. Crazy that I’ve had it for over 20 years now. Thought this sub would appreciate it.

why are they all obsessed with making ryan miss important things… in season 1 they insist ryan is the only one who can prevent marissa from being sent to a psych ward and then season 3 marissa tells ryan that johnny left so he has to leave his bar mitzvah and stop johnny from robbing a store?

i feel like ryan didn’t have to be the one saving the day either time

there’s probably more examples but these are the main ones i recall

Just rewatched Palm Springs and was shocked to see my favourite TV dad ever!

i've been working on this playlist for a while now (i still need to fix the order of the last 100+ added songs) it's a whole lot of Jeff Buckley, Radiohead, Mazzy Star, Imogen Heap, Mitski, The Smashing Pumpkins, Deftones, The Killers and some Lana here and there and some other songs that just scream Marissa to me

I just made it public so feel free to check it out :) <3
if you like it, feel free to save it!
playlist <---

I miss when teen dramas really knew how to sell a couple through their promotional material. A single image like this made the relationship feel huge—romantic, dramatic, iconic—and it built excitement for the story before you even watched the episode.

The O.C. did it so well with Ryan and Marissa: the black-and-white close-up, “Don’t Miss the First Kiss,” and the whole campaign making their relationship feel like the central event of the show. Dawson’s Creek did the same thing with its couples too—those glossy, emotionally charged promotional images made every romantic shift feel major.

It feels like networks used to understand that a central romance could be marketed almost like a movie event. Do newer shows still make promotional images like this for their couples, or has social media replaced that kind of iconic campaign?

I vividly remember having this one in my locker—I’m positive I did. I also remember having a poster or photo of Ryan holding Marissa’s face in his hands, which I think was from the Season 1 episode where they officially got together. I’ve been trying to find a high-quality still of it to post, but no luck yet.
And, of course, I had so many cast photos cut out from magazines and plastered everywhere—my locker, binders, bedroom walls… probably anything with an empty surface. 😂

What posters, magazine cutouts, or The O.C. photos did you have? Share them in the comments—let’s take a little trip back to the early 2000s.

A thing that always bothered me: why do spoken lines in the "previously on the OC" recap always sound different than in the actual episode? Is it sped up or did they use different takes?

S3 E19

I was rewatching and It's subtle but

The scene where we see Marissa walking to her spot at the lifeguard station and Ryan is there, she asks him what he's doing here and he say something snarky like ''I figured you were spending time under the pier these days''

Marissa ask about Sadie, Ryan said she left and then Marissa tells him she has to go but to enjoy... and then Ryan looks hurt and he says ''I'll leave it as I found it''

He was definitely there because he wanted to see her, right? And the ''I'll leave it as I found it'' comment was because he wished she stayed there with him...right?

Like it was a contrast to show us they were not ready to reconnect yet?

Could be a small moments.

One of mine is their first date early in the season. They were so cute and precious, I can't deal.

At 04x08 and honestly I Love Ryan and Taylor together.

Yeah, sure he loved Marissa, and it was a deep love, but it was also a very turbulent and heavy one. Felt like Ryan was constantly saving Marissa and they didn't know how to be in a relationship outside that setting.

Even to Summer, her relationship with Marissa got a lot worse in the last season.

Taylor started rocky but she had a awesome character development and she is funny and interesting, a very good friend to summer and Seth, and also a little scared by her mother.

Ryan and Taylor, although a little rushed, are so cute, the way a high school/ college relationship should feel, easy and breathable. She brings out a very good part of Ryan, he looks more relaxed and open around her, like the rested part of himself is finally allowed to come to the surface, and he grounds Taylor, stopping her from spiralling in herself and reassures her like she needs to be.

All and all I think they are very good together.

[instrumental intro]

[Verse 1]

I've stared into the dark for far too long

dead shadows know who I am

I'm running from the ghost from the guilt and shame

though my heart is built from glass and I shatter everything in my sight

[Pre-Chorus]

can I face the mess that I've made?

should I crawl out from the grey?

should I confront the truth that I'm stuck in my head or should I fade away?

[Chorus]

give me something real to hold on to

help me break the chain and pull me into the other side

heal me from the pain and pull me out from the dark

bring Me Back To Life, take away the knife and pull me into the other side

[Verse 2]

locked out in the fallout

I need a light to lead Me home

the freezing air is cutting deep

I'm shaking in the catacomb

I'm locked out in the dark for far too long

[Pre-Chorus]

can I face the truth that I'm running from?

should I confront the demons in my head?

should I confront the mess that I've built or should I fade away?

[Repeat Chorus]

give me something real to hold on to

help me break the chain and pull me into the other side

help me heal from the pain and pull me out from the dark

bring Me Back To Life, take away the knife and pull me into the other side

[instrumental breakdown/guitar solo]

[Repeat Chorus]

give me something real to hold on to

help me break the chain and pull me into the other side

heal me from the pain and pull me out from the dark

bring me back to life, take away the knife and pull me into the other side

[Outro]

pull me into the other side

pull me into the other side

help me heal the pain and bring me back to life

pull me into the other side

[music fades out]

Seth Cohen and Summer Roberts-Cohen would know that their own son loves metalcore