The O.C. is one of the landmark teen dramas of the early 2000s. The Fox series was full of memorable characters and storylines. They weren’t always the most realistic narratives, but they kept fans watching throughout most of its four-season run.
One of the most controversial decisions was the death of Marissa (Mischa Barton), a narrative choice that still gnaws at The O.C’s creator Josh Schwartz to this day. For her part, Barton also has complex feelings about her time on the show.
Marissa’s death was a shocking twist at the end of ‘The O.C.’s’ third season
On the surface, Marissa has it all. Her family’s rich, she’s conventionally attractive, and she’s popular. But her propensity for partying and indulging in drugs and alcohol came from a deeply depressive place.
It all came to ahead in the finale of season three. Marissa gets a letter from her father inviting her to live with him in Greece. She agrees and is all set to go after graduating from Harbor School.
Ryan Atwood (Ben McKenzie), her on-again, off-again boyfriend since season one, drives her to the airport to reminisce on their relationship. While on their way, a drunken Kevin (Cam Gigandet) repeatedly hits their car, running them off the road.
The vehicle flips over multiple times and lands upside down in the street. Ryan pulls a bleeding Marissa out of the car right before it explodes. He begins to leave her to get help, but she asks him to stay, knowing that it is already too late for her. Ryan stays, and Marissa dies in his arms as an Imogen Heap cover of “Hallelujah” plays in the background.
Schwartz is still unsure that killing her was the right path for the show
Killing off one of the Core Four was a big move that wasn’t entirely accepted by the show’s fandom (or Adam Brody). It’s not a coincidence that ratings for the fourth and final season of The O.C. fell off a cliff without Marissa. Even Schwartz isn’t sure it was the right thing to do with the story.
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He defended the decision in the immediate aftermath of the show but has become progressively remorseful about the situation over time. In a 2017 interview with The Daily Beast, Schwartz admitted that interference from upper management informed his thought process;
“It had as much to do with creatively feeling like this was always in the cards for this character and she was an inherently tragic heroine, and part of the Ryan/Marissa story was him trying to save her from a fate that she couldn’t be rescued from, and part of it had to do with pressure from the network in terms of ratings, and what we could do for the show’s fourth season.”
He went further during an Instagram Live session with Rachel Bilson last year, he admitted that he now regrets killing the character. “You know, it upset a lot of people in a way that the show was designed to bring pleasure,” Schwartz recalled.
“And it was very final in the way that we could never resolve it. It was a decision that was made for a lot of reasons that seemed like informed reasons at the time and then over time you know…”
For her part, Barton was given a choice to stay on The O.C. or let Marissa die and decide she would rather not be on the show anymore.
Barton was already looking for a way off of ‘The O.C.’
As divisive as Marissa’s death was, Barton was more relieved to be off The O.C. than the wider world realized at the time. Barton was only 17 when the show began, and while experiencing a high level of success must be pleasing on some level, the actor never really liked playing Marissa.
She considered leaving after season one, quickly developing some wanderlust about the opportunities she could explore if so much of her time wasn’t committed to The O.C. “I just had a lot in my career that I wanted to do and accomplish. I felt like things were really heavily reliant upon me, and I was getting no time to do any of the other offers that were out there,” Barton told The New York Times in 2019.
She was also reportedly annoyed by the addition of Rachel Bilson as a series regular, lowering her salary, and accused some of the men on the set of creating a bully-friendly atmosphere. Barton’s opinions on the show have softened over the years, saying in 2019 that she would be “more than willing” to appear in a reboot of The O.C. should that ever become a reality.
