“Poor little rich kid” might be a cliched way to describe a TV or film character at this point, but it does apply to the teenagers on two incredibly popular dramas: Gossip Girl and The OC. It almost feels like one show picks up where the other leaves off; The OC was on the air from 2003 to 2007, and GG lasted from 2007 until 2012. Both series have a creator in common (Josh Schwartz) and Stephanie Savage also wrote and produced both shows.
While the majority of people understand that money isn’t the most important thing in the world and that treating people with respect and kindness will always be in style, these high schoolers need to learn a thing or two about being better people. Here are five ways that the Gossip Girl teens are the worst rich kids ever and five reasons why The OC teens are.
Gossip Girl: They Operate In A World Of Queen Bees And Minions
While Marissa Cooper (Mischa Barton) and Summer Roberts (Rachel Bilson) are definitely popular, they aren’t mean girls and they aren’t really out to get anyone. The same thing can’t be said about Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester). She is literally the Queen Bee of the series and loves nothing more than having a group of minions around her.
These are younger girls who also attend the prestigious Constance Billard School for Girls. They spend their lunch hours sitting on the steps of The Met, the girls hang on Blair’s every word, and it’s all totally ridiculous.
The OC: They Judge People Based On Their Zip Code
Although Marissa is drawn to Ryan Atwood (Ben McKenzie) as soon as she sees him outside of the Cohen house, it takes Summer a little bit longer to warm up to a newcomer in the area. Specifically, Summer can’t handle the fact that Ryan grew up in poverty and that he’s had a lot of obstacles to overcome.
The fact that these rich kids are so incredibly judgemental about someone’s background is really uncool. Of course, Ryan ends up proving everyone wrong and before they even know it, the gang in Newport loves him and can’t imagine their lives without him.
Gossip Girl: Serena Thinks She Committed Murder
Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively) says, in the 16th episode of season one called “All About My Brother” that she thinks that she committed murder. It turns out that she gave drugs to a character, Pete, and it wasn’t on her that he passed away, but this has been a dark moment from her past that she has been keeping close to her chest.
Thinking that you killed another person? That definitely makes you a terrible rich kid. That never happened to anyone on The OC. Those teens seem so innocent in comparison.
The OC: Marissa Puts Herself In Harm’s Way Constantly
Kevin Volchok (Cam Gigandet) is not only one of the worst and most irritating characters on The OC but he’s the one who is responsible for Marissa’s tragic death. They’re in a very confusing relationship and he even cheats on her.
It’s clear that this character is trouble and that Marissa should stay far away, but because of her wealth and background, she honestly does whatever she wants. She constantly puts herself in harm’s way, also flirting with Oliver Trask (Taylor Handley) despite her friends’ warnings that he’s super creepy. Marissa acts like nothing bad will ever happen to her, but of course, it does.
Gossip Girl: Serena And Blair Are Fake Best Friends Who Are Jealous And In Constant Competition
It’s clear from the very first episode of Gossip Girl that Blair and Serena don’t have a great, easy friendship. They claim to be best friends but, instead, they’re envious of each other and want to be more loved and popular than the other person.
Constantly competing with your supposed best pal and wanting to one-up them no matter what the situation? That makes someone an awful rich kid, and this is a lot worse than Summer and Marissa’s friendship on The OC.
The OC: Taylor And Summer Are Awful To Each Other
Taylor Townsend (Autumn Reeser) isn’t a big part of The OC until season three and it becomes clear that she and Summer basically hate each other. In one awkward storyline, Summer is setting up a school dance and Taylor acts like it was all her.
Summer isn’t innocent in this, though. Taylor and Dean Hess (Eric Mabius) have been secretly seeing each other, and Summer wants to make sure that everyone knows about it, setting some blackmail in motion. This just isn’t the way that normal people behave.
Gossip Girl: Chuck Tries To Force Himself On Jenny In The Pilot
Jenny Humphrey (Taylor Momsen) is young, naive, and innocent… so much so that in the pilot, she likes that Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick) has noticed her and is actually paying attention to her.
What actually ends up happening is he tries to force himself on her, and that makes him a much worse rich teenager than anyone on The OC. Chuck is a truly bad guy who puts his wants and needs above other people’s and he doesn’t think twice about hurting other people.
The OC: The Characters Have So Much Trouble Admitting Who They Like
Seth Cohen (Adam Brody) and Summer seem so made for each other and yet it’s so tough for her to admit her feelings for him. She’s so caught up in what people think since he’s a bit on the nerdy side (but, of course, that is what makes him so charming and cool).
Seth isn’t immune to this, though, as he isn’t that nice to Anna Stern (Samaire Armstrong) and he really goes back and forth between which girl he actually likes. The characters aren’t always kind when it comes to matters of the heart, and they prove that being wealthy doesn’t make someone a good person.
Gossip Girl: The Teens Constantly Manipulate Each Other
From Georgina Sparks (Michelle Trachtenberg) acting like she’s going to spill everyone’s secrets to all of Blair’s schemes, the teenagers on Gossip Girl are always manipulating each other. They truly can’t help but want to get revenge if they feel that they’ve been wronged and they live in a constant “cat and mouse” game.
Blair is perhaps the worst for this as she has a super long list of terrible things that she has actually set into motion. One example? When she can’t believe that she didn’t do well on an assignment and wants Miss Carr (Lauren Breckenridge) to lose her teaching position. The teens in Orange County would never do something like that.
The OC: They Can Be Selfish
Marissa is definitely a troubled character, but she really makes a lot of decisions on The OC that prove how selfish she is. She gets into the car even though she’s been drinking heavily and also gets in trouble for shoplifting.
Marissa is an incredibly selfish person as she doesn’t seem to care about Ryan’s background. He finds it difficult to deal with her suffering as he grew up in such a bad environment and he’s trying to move on with his life and find a clean slate. Marissa doesn’t always treat him the way that he should, and she’s always self-destructing. Because of this behavior, she’s one of the worst rich kids on TV.
