How A Character That Wasn't Supposed To Exist Made The Show Work | The O.C.'s Summer Roberts

While Summer Roberts may have began The O.C. as a ditzy mean girl, she quickly became a beloved fan favorite (and even found the smart girl persona she had been forced to hide for so long!) In this video, we're unpacking how Summer went from a stereotypical side character to a multifaceted star! The O.C.’s Summer first appeared on the show as a stereotypical mean rich girl ditz – she wasn’t even a part of the main cast but instead just intended to be a glorified extra, a friend of Marissa Cooper’s with minimal impact to be essentially forgotten after the pilot. But even with the minimal screentime she got in the beginning, she quickly became a fan favorite and an integral part of the show. And over time, as her character was given room to grow, she broke free from those 'mean girl' confines and ended up getting one of the best arcs on the show. Summer is the perfect showcase of what can happen when a smart girl doesn’t have that side of herself fostered by her environment, but is instead pushed in the total opposite direction. She’s also a very underrated example of how we don’t have to be trapped in the boxes we’re put in as kids forever – and how learning to embrace our full selves can help us build a life even better than we could have ever dreamed of. So let’s take a closer look at how Summer evolved from a miserable mean girl into a successful smart girl! #TheOC #SummerRoberts #CharacterAnalysis #TV #Explained CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro 01:09 How she joined the main cast & changed the show 03:49 Balancing out the friend group 05:08 Seth & Summer - opposites attract 08:19 Finding & embracing her hidden smart girl nature 11:44 Summer, finally free from Newport 13:09 Why Summer's arc actually makes a lot of sense Join our Patreon to unlock the members-only series “Total Take," vote on what we cover next, and more:   / thetake   Read articles on film, TV and culture: https://www.the-take.com Follow our socials: https://linktr.ee/thisisthetake The Take was created by Debra Minoff & Susannah McCullough This video was narrated by Charly Bivona, written by Jessica Babineaux, & edited by Travis Martin