20 years ago, this defining teen show created a hilarious meme without even realizing it

Some TV moments stand the test of time, and that’s certainly the case for The COThe season 2 finale of. The current scene features Marissa (Mischa Barton) by pressing the trigger, with the bullet piercing Trey’s (Logan Marshall-Green) back while Imogen Heap’s song, “Hide and Seek”, plays. This shocking soap opera-style moment not only had an impact on the series, but has also become a pop culture staple. A few years later, we remember not only its importance for the series, but also its fame remembered once the scene was parodied on Saturday evening live.

‘SNL’ Made a Parody of the Iconic Season 2 Finale of ‘The OC’

According to Andy Samberg on Podcast The Lonely Island and Seth Meyershe, Jorma TacconeAnd Akiva Schaffer were OC fans before taking inspiration from the series for “Dear Sister” SNL Digital short film. “Every episode, so much crazy shit happened The CO It was the pinnacle of soap opera storytelling, but in a really horny teenager way…we loved it. It still is.” Watching the scene for the first time, he was not only fascinated by its dramatic appeal, but also by the way the music set the tone for Trey’s gradual downfall. He shared on the podcast that “Hide and Seek” was on repeat for him and his fellow comedians for a while, and two years later, NBC was able to authorize him to broadcast the sketch. Just as it happens in the early series, “Dear Sister” features gunshots in sync with Imogen Heap’s song.

The parody expands on its source material by following Bill HaderKeith’s character writes a letter to his sister and gets shot by his friend Dave (Samberg). This first shootout leads to a bloodbath, with Keith getting shot by Dave, Dave shooting their mutual friend Eric (Shia La Beouf), all three killing Keith’s sister (Kristen Wiig), and the cops (played by Jason Sudeikis And Fred Armisen) who arrive on the scene shooting each other.

As campy and unhinged as this sketch is, it amplifies the effect of The COThe scene had on pop culture. Each of these shots moves in slow motion, with a “mmm, what are you saying” sounding as the trigger is pulled. At the end, when the cops are shooting each other, the song is played twice in overlapping fashion, making “Dear Sister” even more absurd. Although the sketch was made without everyone intending to grasp its direct meaning OC reference, the audience was quickly able to make the connection between the parody and the original scene from the teen show. Over time, “Hide and Seek” not only became linked to Josh Schwartzhit series, but also for its relevance to pop culture. After all, the impact of the song has gone beyond SNL short.

The creators of “The OC” reused the song for another memorized scene in “Gossip Girl”

In addition to creating The COSchwartz and his producing partner Stephanie Sauvage joined forces to adapt Gossip Girl for the screen. Instead of following Newport Beach’s elite, the series focused on teenagers growing up on the Upper East Side, wearing designer clothes and having their lives destroyed by a mysterious blogger. In season 3, during a Thanksgiving dinner hosted by the Van Der Woodsens, tensions rise to a fever pitch when Serena (Blake Lively) and Trip’s (Aaron Tveit) the affair is disclosed in the middle of the meal, followed by other unexpected revelations from the guests at the table.

Rufus (Matthew Settle) discovers that Lily (Kelly Rutherford) lied about her whereabouts for months, Jenny (Taylor Momsen) calls out to Eric (Connor Paolo) for sabotaging her at Cotillion, Blair (Leighton Meester) accuses her mother of being pregnant, and Vanessa (Jessica Szhor) criticizes the way his mother tried to interfere in other people’s lives throughout the Thanksgiving celebration. It’s drama on top of drama, with the icing on the cake being several characters leaving the table one after the other. Although the version played in this scene is Jason Derulo“Watcha Say” by , with excerpt from Imogen Heap, it still holds the same level of intensity that Schwartz captured in his first hit series.

It is safe to say that no one, least of all Schwartz, knew that the events that took place in The COThe season 2 finale would spark a wave of memes long after it aired. Hilariously SNL sketch released two years later, for Gossip Girlthe iconic Thanksgiving scene released in 2009, The CO‘s influence and precise use of Imogen Heap’s song has survived the show itself. What started as Marissa trying to protect her boyfriend and get revenge on her attacker became a pop culture staple and is still discussed and shared to this day.