About:
The O.C. S4.E16 “The End’s Not Near, It’s Here”
Drinks Taken: 12
Welcome to the very LAST installment of The O.C. Rewatch Project! I want to thank you guys for reading along, and Meredith for having me on this wacky and sometimes dramatic and always wonderful experience. Last week, Meredith asked one final question of me – who is my favorite character, and what’s my favorite season AND episode? Ugh this is hard, but I have to say that Seth is my absolute favorite character (I do love cute Jewish boys) because even though he’s melodramatic and neurotic sometimes, he brings so much humor to this series, especially in its darker moments when it’s sorely needed. My favorite season is season 4, of course, because it’s just so joyful and lively. And my favorite episode is… well, it’s either “The Groundhog Day” for maximum Che delight or the episode where Seth gets stoned for the first time and watches Save the Last Dance.
I’m also a big fan of “The Night Moves,” which you’ll read about below.
Let’s drink to the final episodes and to the lovely Meredith for having me as her O.C. co-pilot!
The O.C. Drinking Game
Drink once every time:
The ladies have a convo while primping in front of a mirror
Seth makes a nerdy reference
Ryan wears a white tank top
Anyone plays a video game
Summer says “ew”
Anyone eats a bagel
Anyone references The Valley
Drink twice every time:
Someone says “Newpsie”
Fisticuffs occur (three times for pool fights!)
Someone grabs a cup of coffee
Ryan and Seth read comic books
Kaitlin is a stone-cold badass
4.15 “The Night Moves”
“The Night Moves” is one of my favorite episodes – it’s kind of an odd choice for the penultimate episode of the series because it doesn’t feel like a penultimate episode, aside from the general destruction of Newport, which is kind of a brilliant move. Like, sure, let’s just destroy the town at the end of the series. Why not. But I love the intimate moments between characters, especially Julie and Kaitlin, who spend almost the entire episode locked up in an ice cream shop (THE BEST PLACE TO BE IN A DISASTER) and singing to each other and giving the ice cream dude a makeover.
Turns out Ice Cream Dude has a crush on Kaitlin, obvi, and is keeping the ladies there by telling them that the store has basically become an island and they’re stuck. But Frank proves how much he cares (and impresses Kaitlin a bit) by coming to the rescue. Ugh, I guess Frank is OK. I still miss Bullit.
Meanwhile, Sandy and Kirsten are stuck at the plaza and Kiki is mostly fine aside from a bump on the head – but the aftershock knocks her over and the two of them have to run to the hospital for emergency help. When the doctor tells them they won’t be seen anytime soon, a guy with a busted neck and casts covering like, half his body gives Kirsten his spot in line and it fills my heart with such joy.
Over at the Cooper house, Ryan sends an SOS to Seth because he has a GIANT SHARD OF GLASS stuck in his side and he doesn’t want to freak Taylor out – as it turns out, Taylor does not handle crises very well. How bad is it?
So Seth and Ryan head off in search of emergency services, while Summer and Taylor stay at the house and search for Pancakes. When they finally recover him, our favorite furry friend is wounded, so it’s off to the hospital for the ladies. Summer convinces the very busy and important doctor from earlier to help Pancakes, and Seth and Ryan finally make it to the hospital where Seth gives Ryan a blood transfusion and they become BLOOD BROS.
Everyone turns out okay, but when the Cohen clan arrives home they discover their entire house is in ruins on the inside. Looks like Sandy and Kirsten may be moving after all.
How many times did I have to drink?
5
Most recognizable song
Bob Seger’s “Night Moves,” of course.
Best Julie Coopery
(She’s not v bitchy anymore!)
Julie: “Young man, what is going on?”
Taylor Loves Guns
ILU Taylor Townsend
Taylor shot her mom! By accident, but still. IT IS THE BEST. And her mom is fine tbh.
PANCAKES!
Pancakes.
4.16 “The End’s Not Near, It’s Here”
The end is most definitely here. But first! A LOT of stuff happens. We jump ahead a few months and the entire Cohen clan has moved into the Cooper house, which means Sandy makes tasty breakfasts for everyone, which sounds absolutely perfect. I wish they could stay this way forever. Julie is knocked up and getting ready to marry Bullit, Kirsten is just about ready to pop, and Seth and Summer are living like an old, comfy married couple who never leave their recliners.
But maybe they’ve gotten a little TOO comfortable, as Summer feels adrift without an anchor to anything meaningful – gone are her activism days as she’s settled in with Seth for daily viewings of a game show called Briefcase or No Briefcase, which sounds p fun to me, but Summer needs purpose. And so does Seth. To be honest, their comfy life looks great, but they’ve been so oblivious to everything else that they didn’t even realize that Pancakes was pregnant AND HAD BABIES UNDER THE BED. If you’re so absorbed in your daily lazy-routine that you didn’t notice an adorable bunny had ADORABLE BABIES then yeah, something is wrong with your lifestyle.
The Cohen house isn’t fit to live in anymore, so Kirsten and Sandy have to find a new home, but all the places in Newport are generic and the same (sing it with me now: little boxes on the hillside, little boxes made of ticky tacky…), so Ryan and Seth head off to Berkeley to try and convince this charming gay couple who are living in the Cohens’ old home to sell it back. Soon Kirsten and Sandy join them (courtesy of Bullit’s private jet), but Kirsten goes into labor in the bedroom and everyone spends the rest of the episode ruining this gay couple’s lives and IT IS THE BEST. To be fair, these guys are sweet and patient and total good sports about the whole thing. One of them happens to be a midwife and helps Kirsten deliver, and the other happens to be a wedding planner, which is great because…
Julie relocates her wedding with Bullit to the house in Berkeley so Kiki doesn’t have to miss it. But just as she’s saying her vows, stupid Frank – inspired by Kaitlin’s meddling – calls Julie and asks her to reconsider, even though he ditched her when he found out she’s pregnant. Sandy Cohen’s eyebrows say:
After a heart to heart with Kaitlin, Julie decides that the best thing for Julie is to be alone and work on her life with her family… and maybe go to college!
Seth and Ryan visit Berkeley college, where Seth runs into a guy from GEORGE and takes it as a sign, so he urges Summer to follow her dreams and run off with the activists – even though she thinks this is selfish on her part, Seth UNSELFISHLY reassures her that this isn’t just for her, it’s for both of them and their future. They can’t be happy together if they’re not happy apart. I LOVE YOU SETH COHEN.
And it all works out! Taylor decides to continue college in Paris, while Ryan finishes at Berkeley. That lovely couple sells the old Cohen home back to Kirsten and Sandy, and Sandy becomes a professor of law at Berkeley. Julie goes to college and GRADUATES, and dumb Frank is there with their son and Kaitlin on her big day. It doesn’t seem like Julie married Frank though, so I’ll allow it. I still think Bullit was the best, TBH. Ryan works in architecture and has his life together, and Seth and Summer get married! It’s so beautiful, but Summer keeps it real:
And the very last scene brings the entire series full circle, as Ryan leaves a construction site and spots a kid who looks very much like a young, scruffy Ryan Atwood, sitting on the corner with his bicycle and looking quite lost. Ryan flashes back to his younger self, so desperate for someone to care and guide him, and remembers how Sandy rescued him from a life that was going nowhere – and Ryan asks the kid, “Hey kid. You need some help?”
California, guys. Californiaaaaa.
How many times did I have to drink?
7
I feel you, Seth
PANCAKES!
Pancakes had baby pancakes! Little silver dollars!
Best callback
Seth and Ryan visit Berkeley, where Seth tells Ryan, “Take a look around, man. In a few weeks you’ll have all these new faces to punch.”
Best Julie Cooper bitchery
Okay, she may be sweeter now, but she can still pull off telling Summer, “It’s nice to see you looking so… showered again.”
ILU, Bullit
He refers to Kirsten’s delivery as “she dropped child.”
Meet the Bullits
Bullit has 12 sons from 12 different women, all named after the cities in which they were born. There’s Austin, San Antonio, Houston, Amarillo, a bunch of other Texas cities, and Hanoi. Obvi Taylor thinks Hanoi is real cute.
Remember Marissa Cooper?!
Summer gives Julie a locket on her wedding day, and inside is a photo of Marissa. Later, as Ryan looks through the Cohen house for the last time and remembers the first time he arrived, he has a vision of Marissa standing in the driveway next door. BYE MARISSA.
That’s it for… well, for ALL of The O.C. Rewatch Project. Thanks again for coming along with us to Californiaaaaa! AND Meredith and I are excited to announce the next Rewatch Project we’ll be embarking upon: Dawson’s Creek! So meet us back here the first week in January, because we’re going to Capeside.
About the Contributor:
Britt Hayes is a writer and sensible sweater enthusiast living in Austin, Texas. She loves movies, watches too much television, and her diet consists mostly of fruit snacks and revenge.
