The O.C.: 10 Worst Things Summer Roberts Ever Did

On teen drama The O.C., Summer Roberts started off as a spoiled rich girl but evolved over time . Still, she did plenty of bad things on the show.

When The O.C. aired its first episode, Rachel Bilson’s Summer Roberts wasn’t meant to be a main character. She was supposed to recur as the best friend to Marissa Cooper. But Bilson did such a great job in the role that the writing staff kept including Summer in the storyline. She evolved from a shallow party girl into one of the most compelling characters of the series.

As Summer changed, it became clear to the audience that she had a good heart and was a great friend. But that doesn’t mean Summer never did anything bad, or didn’t make any mistakes she would regret. Most of Summer’s worst acts occurred in the first two seasons of the series. Here is The O.C.: The 10 Worst Things Summer Roberts Ever Did.

10 Left Marissa Passed Out In Her Driveway

It was heavily foreshadowed in the first few episodes that Marissa Cooper had a drinking problem. Every minor setback in her life was chased with a bottle of alcohol — like the one she stole from her parents’ liquor cabinet for her and Summer to drink in the bathroom in the pilot episode.

When Summer and one of her friends brought Marissa home from a party in the early days of the show, Marissa was already passed out in the car. The two teenage girls couldn’t carry her in and didn’t want to get in trouble with the Coopers. Instead of trying to find more help, Summer opted to leave Marissa passed out in her driveway, not worrying about what might happen to her.

9 Hit On Jimmy Cooper

Summer was a bit of a flirt in the early days of the show. If she had even a tiny bit of interest in someone, she showed it. That included interest in people old enough to be her own parent — or her friend’s parent.

When she and Marissa were hanging out at the Cooper residence on one occasion, Summer had no problem showing her interest in Marissa’s father, even though he seemed blind to it. Summer flirted with him, despite Marissa’s admonishments, shrugging it off as no big deal.

Considering Marissa’s ex-boyfriend would go on to date her mother later in the season, it was all the more awkward.

8 Refused To Acknowledge Seth Publicly

As The O.C. began, Summer had no interest in Seth Cohen. She would pretend she didn’t know who he was when they interacted. Once she decided she liked him, she would frequently grab him and kiss him, then leave him with no explanation. She also refused to let anyone know she even knew him, let alone that she wanted to date him. 

Once fans understand Summer’s own mindset, her refusing to acknowledge her feelings for Seth — or later, their relationship — makes sense. However, before fans get her side of the story, it very much seemed like she was simply embarrassed by Seth.

7 Purposely Got Between Anna And Seth

Summer Roberts and Anna Stern were not the best of friends. They did get along when it came to school work and watching Golden Girls, but that was about it. The two also had the same taste in guys — both were interested in dating Seth Cohen.

When Seth and Anna got together after both girls initially chose not to date him, they all tried to be friends. But Summer took the idea of “being friends” farther than the other two expected. She showed up to hang out with them when they were supposed to be on a date, sat between them while watching movies, and constantly insinuated herself into their other activities.

6 Looked Down On Those Not In Her Circle Of Friends

Despite Summer clearly having a heart and being more understanding of people’s plights in the later seasons of the show, in the early days, she didn’t look kindly on anyone from outside of her Newport bubble.

Summer talked down to waitstaff, expected anyone with less money than her to wait on her, and promptly remarked “ew” when finding out Ryan was from Chino. She didn’t have a lot of tolerance for people outside of her wealthy circle of friends.

5 Deserted Her Boyfriend To Hang Out With An Actor

Once Seth and Summer started dating, they had some definite issues of insecurity. Both got jealous when they spent time with anyone who wasn’t Ryan, Marissa, or Luke. When Summer and Marissa got invited to a party by an actor from Summer’s favorite TV show, they scored invites for Ryan and Seth as well.

Summer, however, pretty much abandoned all of her friends and her boyfriend at the party. She wasn’t interested in the actor from a romantic standpoint, but she allowed Seth to think she was since she was jealous of him spending time with other girls at the party. It didn’t matter to her that she put Seth in that position to begin with. 

4 Stole Taylor’s Poem

When Seth was a little boy, he developed a crush on Summer after hearing her read her poem in class. The poem, inspired by The Little Mermaid, was called “I Wish I Was A Mermaid.” For years, Seth believed Summer wrote it, but that wasn’t true.

Summer actually stole the poem from Taylor Townsend. Summer spent years allowing people to continue believing she wrote the poem. Taylor wasn’t introduced until Season 3 of the series, and she used the knowledge that Seth first began crushing on Summer with the poem to try to convince him they were meant to be instead. 

3 Dated One Boy Despite Having Feelings For Another

The O.C. was well known among TV fans for its love triangles. No character could be in a relationship for long without a third party shattering their harmony. 

In Summer’s case, she was especially guilty of dating one person while having feelings for another. In order to help herself get over Seth, she started dating someone who reminded her of him, complete with his sense of humor — twice. Summer used other guys to try to get over Seth, which wasn’t fair to anyone involved. 

2 Pursued Ryan Despite Marissa’s Interest

When Marissa first met Ryan, it was obvious to anyone around them that there was a spark, even Summer. As Marissa’s best friend, Summer would usually put Marissa first throughout her time on the series. This was one time she didn’t.

Despite not liking that Ryan was from Chino, and seeing the spark between him and Marissa, Summer still tried her best to pursue Ryan. She flirted and put herself into positions that would force him to interact with her. It’s probably a good thing she eventually gave up on him. 

1 Aided Her Step Mom’s Addiction

Summer never got along with her stepmother. She frequently called her various insulting names instead of actually referring to the woman as her stepmother. Despite disliking her, Summer still did her one very big favor.

When Summer and friends paid visits to Mexico, she made sure to get whatever prescription drugs her stepmother was addicted to. Though many of Summer’s comments about her stepmother were played for laughs, it was clear the woman was an addict. All Summer did was keep her under the influence. 

NEXT: The O.C.: 5 Times Seth And Summer Were Relationship Goals (& 5 Times They Weren’t)

Next 10 Predictions For The Obi-Wan Kenobi Finale