Seth Cohen

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Seth Cohen
Adam Brody as Seth Cohen
First appearance	Premiere (episode 1.01)
Last appearance	The End's Not Near, It's Here (episode 4.16)
Cause/Reason	Series Finale
Information
Gender	Male
Age	24 (flashforward) 19 (last appearence)
Occupation	Comic Book Artist
Episode count	92
Portrayed by	Adam Brody
Created by	Josh Schwartz

Seth Ezekiel Cohen is a fictional character on FOX series The O.C., played by Adam Brody.

Contents 1 Introduction 2 Girlfriends 2.1 Summer Roberts 2.2 Anna Stern 2.3 Alex Kelly 3 Family tree 4 Miscellaneous

[edit] Introduction

Seth is a 19-year-old who lives in Newport Beach in Orange County (O.C.), California. Seth is Jewish on his father's side, and connects and identifies with his father's religious and cultural background (though he embraces the 'mutual' holiday of Chrismukkah). Seth is a very comical and sarcastic character, and enjoys constantly making dry, witty jokes about the situations around him. He is a bit of a geek and likes comic books, science fiction (Battlestar Galactica), video games, and old movies. Seth is the older brother of Sophie Cohen and the adoptive brother of Ryan Atwood.

Seth is the son of Sandy Cohen (played by Peter Gallagher) and of Kirsten Cohen (Kelly Rowan). He was befriended at the start of the series by Ryan Atwood (Benjamin McKenzie) and has enjoyed a rise in popularity ever since then. Before Ryan's arrival, he was basically ignored by most of his peers.

[edit] Girlfriends

[edit] Summer Roberts

Summer Roberts (Rachel Bilson) and Seth had barely spoken, seeing as Summer was a part of the popular crowd and Seth was certainly not. Seth had a huge crush on her regardless (even naming his sailboat the Summer Breeze), and saw that she was more than the shallow girl she appeared to be. Their first romantic encounter was when Summer asked Seth to take her to his grandfather's birthday party, both aware that Summer's intentions were only to use Seth to meet older, cute guys. When Seth grew annoyed with the way Summer was treating him, he stood up to her and reminded her that none of those guys really knew her, noting the way she fed a squirrel who always got picked on (to which Summer responded, "I hated that mean squirrel!") and was scared of what other people would think of her sixth grade poem. Seth began to recite said poem to her, but was interrupted when Summer gave him his first kiss.

The pair seemed to grow closer after, despite Summer's denial of their poolside kiss and even liking him, and traveled to Mexico together and then Seth comforted Summer after her best friend Marissa Cooper's overdose. She quickly shut him down for a date after seeing a few cheerleaders eyeing the pair. School began thereafter, and Summer grew jealous of Seth's friend Anna Stern, whom he shared many interests with. Summer finally admitted she liked Seth on a boat benefit, but their relationship was far from becoming uncomplicated. After Seth dated both Summer and Anna, usually to the girls' dismay, he was forced to make a choice on his favorite holiday, Chrismukkah. He chose neither, but ended up dating Anna quickly thereafter when she showed up at his house on New Year's Eve, Summer being left alone to kiss a boy but stopped because "you're not Seth Cohen". Summer found out about the new relationship and pretended to be okay with it, but was clearly not. She tried to sabotage the relationship on a golf trip, and attempted to date another boy (unintentionally making Seth jealous) but dumped him quickly. After the three spent time together, Anna dumped Seth, realizing she wasn't the girl he wanted. Seth knew this as well and confessed his true feelings to Summer. The pair then lost their virginities to each other, although it was anything but ideal. They worked past this and became a couple, although Summer still wanted it to be secret from anyone at school. Seth refused to put up with this, and declared his love for her atop a coffee cart in front of the school. Summer stood up there with him and kissed him, finally unafraid. Seth and Summer's relationship continued happily until Seth's best and pretty much only friend Ryan Atwood announced he'd be returning to his neighborhood, Chino. Seth couldn't face the idea of becoming a loner again and sailed away for the summer, leaving his girlfriend with only a note.

Once he returned, Summer had moved on with Zach Stevens. After accepting the fact that it was over, Seth started dating Alex Kelly although it was sometimes obvious the pair were still in love. The tension came to a breaking point when Zach, Summer and Seth went on a trip to sell their comic book. Seth subtly admitted his feelings about Summer. She was about to leave on a trip to Italy with Zach a few weeks after, but Seth begged for her to be with him. She couldn't deny her feelings and left Zach for Seth at the airport, sealing the new relationship with a rainy kiss in the style of Spiderman. Zach was

at their Junior Prom an obstacle for the couple again but ultimately gave Summer up at Prom, and Seth swooped in to once again tell the school how he loved Summer when she was named Prom Queen. The second season ended with a stable relationship and Summer comforting Seth over his mother's drinking. They stayed together, dealing with the aftermath of the shooting and started to apply for colleges together. They decided on Brown University, Seth's dream college. Summer said she wouldn't attend if Seth didn't, and after he didn't get in, he told her he didn't want to go anymore in order for her to not miss out on such a good experience. This lead to their break up, which ended after Seth confessed the whole truth about Brown with guidance from his visiting ex, Anna. Seth surprised Summer in the season finale with his acceptance to RISD for the spring semester and meant that there would just be a few months for them to be apart. The couple ended high school happily, and had sunny outlooks to what the future held for them. But things got difficult when Marissa Cooper died and Seth and Summer were separated.

As the story continues five months later, Seth worked at a comic-book store and had problems with Summer, who turned into a tree-hugger at college and would not answer his phone calls. He left long messages on her answering-machine. When they met in Newport, Summer acted very cold towards him. With a visit from Taylor, Summer began to realize that she was isolating Seth because she couldn't deal with what was in Newport -- the memory of Marissa. She visited home for Thanksgiving and he confronted her with this concept as well which she eventually gave into, telling him via voicemail as she left to return to Brown to deal with it on her own.

Though Summer came to terms with Marissa's death through therapy and seemed to return to her old self, she and Seth quickly discovered that her tree-hugging ways had left a deep imprint. Seth chose to support her by stepping back and giving her space to pursue her new interests; however, this instead made Summer realize how important Seth was in her life and their relationship grew stronger as a result. False pretenses led to Summer's suspension from Brown just as Seth was to start at RISD, but Seth decided he would put off college until the following Fall so they could return to Providence together. On the eve of the New Year, a pregnancy scare ultimately caused Seth to ask for Summer's hand in marriage. Although the scare turned out to be a false one, plans for their marriage remained. Later on Summer backed out of the engagement but they are still dating. Their relationship is again questioned when the Summer is offered a job at GEORGE, while Seth has nothing set for him. After a comedic attempt at making stock film for Summer, she admits that she really wants him to be excited about something for once. An earthquake hits in "The Shake Up," and they both get out of harm's way when a light pole falls on Ryan's car (which Seth was driving with Taylor's birthday presents in the back) during the event. The series concludes six months later in The End's Not Near, It's Here with the couple in a rut.

At Seth's urging, Summer joins up with GEORGE. He goes to RISD. In the end, they marry each other years later in a Jewish ceremony.

[edit] Anna Stern

Anna Stern (Samaire Armstrong) was Seth's first girlfriend, whom he met during a cotillion dance practice. They started dating after Seth decided in her favour during a contest for his affection between her and Summer Roberts. They had a lot in common such as listening to Death Cab for Cutie, graphic novels, and sailing. Their relationship was short lived as they broke up when Seth made it obvious that he truly wanted Summer instead and had made the wrong choice. Anna had felt that there is no chemistry between them as lovers, and their ideal relationship is as friends. Anna Stern returns in season 3, when she helps Seth deal with his problems with Summer Roberts. She did not appear in Season 4, though it was assumed that she was to attend RISD with Seth (even though Seth delayed his Spring acceptance to RISD due to Summer's suspension from Brown University).

[edit] Alex Kelly

Alex Kelly (Olivia Wilde) worked in a club in Newport Beach, had emancipated from her parents and rented her own flat. She portrayed a tough image, which made Seth believe she was out of his league. Alex, however, found Seth's innocence appealing and the pair started dating shortly after he got a job working at The Bait Shop with her. The relation was short lived however, and it was also revealed that Alex was bi-sexual. Seth broke it off with Alex in The Ex-Factor, and she later dated Marissa Cooper. After Alex and Marissa broke up, Alex returned home to reunite with her family and to finish school.

[edit] Family tree

Family

• Summer Roberts (Wife)
• Sandy Cohen (Father)
• Kirsten Cohen (Mother)
• Ryan Atwood (adopted brother)
  • Sophie Rose Cohen (sister)
    • Caleb Nichol (grandfather)
    • Sophie Cohen (grandmother)
    • Hailey Nichol (Aunt)
    • Lindsay Gardner (Aunt)
      • Dr. Neil Roberts (father-in-law)

Spouses

• Summer Roberts (wife)
• Anna Stern (ex-girlfriend)
• Alex Kelly (ex-girlfriend)

[edit] Miscellaneous

• Apparently feeling depressed after Ryan Atwood decides to return to Chino, Seth left Newport Beach on a sailboat aptly named "Summer Breeze" representing Seth's long crush on Summer Roberts. In the second season premiere, it was revealed that after sailing to Santa Barbara, he apparently ran out of snacks, freaked out, sold his catamaran, and took a Greyhound to Luke's house in Portland where he stayed during the summer until Ryan convinced him to go home to Newport.

• Seth Cohen is prime time television's poster boy for Indie music. The "Seth Cohen Starter Kit", which contains The Goonies DVD, a copy of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, and albums by Death Cab for Cutie, Bright Eyes, and The Shins, says a lot about his tastes and pop culture sensibilities. He likens his friendship with Ryan to Kavalier and Clay. He's also passionate about comic books, citing Brian Michael Bendis as one of the greatest comic book writers of all time.

• Art done by Seth Cohen is actually done by artist Eric Wight.

• Despite Chrismukkah appearing to be Seth's favorite holiday throughout the series, Seth's favorite holiday is actually Thanksgiving, as he stated several times in the eleventh episode of the first season, "The Homecoming."

THE OC
EPISODES   |   CATEGORY   |   BROADCASTERS  |   SONGS  |   WEBSITE
Primary Characters	Ryan Atwood | Kirsten Cohen | Sandy Cohen | Seth Cohen Jimmy Cooper | Julie Cooper | Kaitlin Cooper | Marissa Cooper Caleb Nichol | Summer Roberts | Taylor Townsend | Luke Ward
Secondary Characters	Dawn Atwood | Frank Atwood | Trey Atwood | Taryn Baker | Lance Baldwin Rebecca Bloom | Carter Buckley | Gordon Bullit | Sophie Cohen Theresa Diaz | D.J. | Holly Fischer | Lindsay Gardner | Johnny Harper Alex Kelly | Charlotte Morgan | Hailey Nichol | Neil Roberts | Anna Stern Zach Stevens | Veronica Townsend | Oliver Trask | Kevin Volchok
Places	Newport Beach | Orange County | Chino | Berkeley | Providence
Music	Mix 1 | Mix 2 | Mix 3 | Mix 4 | Mix 5 | Mix 6
Related	Atomic County | Chrismukkah
Key Creators	Josh Schwartz | McG | Stephanie Savage | Allan Heinberg
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