Seth Cohen is like the prototypical charismatic teenage nerd outcast of the modern era. His Jewish heritage and sarcastic sense of humor make him woefully out of place in Orange County, full of WASPs, fake tans, and beach bodies. Until Ryan Atwood moved into his house, Seth's best friend was his horse figurine, Captain Oats. He pretty much spent most of his time doing one of four things: playing video games, reading comic books, pining after a girl who didn't even know that he existed, and actively hating the rest of the people in Orange County. But then Ryan came along, and he blossomed into a slightly less withdrawn geeky little butterfly. Seth is one of those hilarious people who would probably be exhausting if you actually knew them in real life but works amazingly well on television, and his sweetly antagonistic relationship with Summer is a highlight of the show. At any given point during The OC's run, Seth and Summer could be counted on to be more entertaining than Ryan and Marissa, the leading romantic couple on the show.