Seth Cohen

Seth Cohen
File:Adambrody.jpg Adam Brody as Seth Cohen
First appearance	Premiere (episode 1.01)
Last appearance	The End's Not Near, It's Here (episode 4.16)
Created by	Josh Schwartz
Portrayed by	Adam Brody, Tristan Price (flashbacks)
In-universe information
Gender	male
Occupation	comic book artist
Family	Sandy Cohen (father) Kirsten Cohen (mother) Ryan Atwood (adopted brother) Sophie Rose Cohen (sister) Caleb Nichol (grandfather, deceased) Rose Nichol (grandmother, deceased) Sophie Cohen (grandmother) Dr. Neil Roberts (father-in-law)
Spouse	Summer Roberts (wife) Anna Stern (ex-girlfriend) Alex Kelly (ex-girlfriend)

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

Background

Seth Ezekiel Cohen lives in Newport Beach, California, though he was born in Berkeley. He 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 sarcastic character, and enjoys constantly making dry, witty jokes about the situations around him. He is a self-proclaimed geek and likes comic books, science fiction, video games, and old movies. He also has a toy horse named Captain Oats. Seth is the adoptive brother of Ryan Atwood and the older brother of Sophie Rose Cohen.

Seth is the son of Sandy and Kirsten Cohen. 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. Soon after Ryan's arrival, Seth became friends with Marissa Cooper (Mischa Barton) and started dating Summer Roberts (Rachel Bilson)Seth's goal was to attend Brown University but he ends up going to RISD and continuing work on his comic book, Atomic County.

Relationships with other female characters

Summer Roberts

Summer Roberts (Rachel Bilson) and Seth had barely spoken, seeing as Summer was popular 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 Seth grew annoyed with the way Summer was using him, he stood up to her and reminded her 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 liking him, and traveled to Tijuana together. She quickly shut him down for a date after seeing a few cheerleaders eying 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, but after Seth dated Anna quickly thereafter.

Summer found out about the relationship and tried to sabotage them and attempted to date another boy (unintentionally making Seth jealous). Anna and Seth broke up and he confessed his true feelings to Summer. The pair then lost their virginities to each other and became a couple, although Summer still wanted it to be secret. Seth refused to put up with this, and declared his love for her atop a coffee cart in front of the school. Seth and Summer's relationship continued 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, who 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 Spider-Man.

Seth and Summer at their Junior Prom in "The O.Sea" (episode 2.23)

Zach 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. They stayed together and started to apply for colleges, deciding on Brown University, Seth's dream college. After Seth didn't get in but Summer did, he lied because he wanted her to have a better education. This led to their break up, but he surprised Summer in the season finale with his acceptance to RISD for the spring semester. The couple ended high school happily, 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 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 voice mail 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 made Summer realize how important Seth was in her life and their relationship grew stronger. 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 were still dating. Their relationship is again questioned when the Summer is offered a job at GEORGE, while Seth has nothing set for him. An earthquake hits, 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 five years later in The End's Not Near, It's Here with the couple getting married.

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

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. She soon left to go home in Pittsburgh. Stern returns in season three, when she helps Seth deal with his problems with Summer Roberts. She did not appear in season four, Anna in fact did attend Brown University as both Seth and Summer met her at the Brown orientation.

Alex Kelly

Alex Kelly (Olivia Wilde) worked in The Bait Shop 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 relationship was short lived however, since Alex too realized that Seth truly loved Summer, not her. It was also revealed that Alex was bisexual. 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.

Family tree

• Caleb Nichol (maternal grandfather)
• Sophie Cohen (paternal grandmother)
• Julie Cooper (ex step-grandmother)
  • Marissa Cooper (ex step-aunt)
  • Kaitlin Cooper (ex step-aunt)
  • Sandy Cohen (father)
  • Kirsten Cohen (mother)
    • Sophie Rose Cohen (sister)
    • Ryan Atwood (adoptive brother)
  • Hailey Nichol (aunt)
  • Lindsay Gardner (aunt)
• Dr. Neil Roberts (father-in-law)
  • Summer Roberts (wife)

Trivia

• Seth Cohen is prime time television's poster boy for Indie music. The "Seth Cohen Starter Pack", which contains The Goonies DVD, a copy of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & 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. His room has posters of punk rock bands such as The Ramones and The Sex Pistols and of grunge band Nirvana and frontman Kurt Cobain. Other posters include Ben Folds and Death Cab For Cutie (with a NoFX sticker). He was surprised to find he listened to the same punk rock as Marissa Cooper.
• 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.