Summary
- The O.C. left some unresolved storylines, like the identity of Theresa's baby's father, which keeps audiences engaged and the show alive in cultural conversations.
- The open-ended nature of Theresa's baby mystery allowed for interesting narrative tension and kept Ryan and Theresa connected yet distant throughout the show.
- Along with Theresa's baby mystery, The O.C. also left other unanswered questions, such as the disappearance of household staff and the sudden reveal of Caleb's financial troubles.
Although The O.C. came to an end in 2007, it left a couple of unresolved storylines that some are still trying to figure out, including the question of who’s the father of Theresa’s baby, something that the series hinted at but was never resolved. Created by Josh Schwartz, The O.C. debuted on Fox in 2003 and concluded in 2007. Though it became one of the most popular teen dramas of the 2003-2004 season and received very positive reviews, ratings declined as the series progressed, leading to The O.C. being canceled after four seasons.
The O.C. followed Ryan Atwood (Ben McKenzie), a troubled teenager from an abusive home who was adopted by the wealthy family of the Cohens. Along with his socially awkward foster brother Seth Cohen (Adam Brody), Ryan dealt with life as an outsider in the high-class world of Newport Beach. The O.C. also focused on Ryan’s turbulent relationship with Marissa Cooper (Mischa Barton) and Seth’s relationship with Summer Roberts (Rachel Bilson). The series also gave viewers a look at Ryan’s life pre-Newport Beach, in which they met Theresa Diaz (Navi Rawat), Ryan’s childhood friend and off-and-on girlfriend. Theresa and Ryan briefly got back together when she and her boyfriend broke up, and Marissa learned that Theresa was pregnant, but the identity of the father wasn’t revealed.
Ryan Might Have Been The Father Of Theresa's Baby On The O.C.
When her pregnancy was revealed in The O.C., Theresa considered an abortion but ultimately decided to have the baby and went back to Chino, leaving the job she had in Newport at the time. As he wanted to give the baby a better childhood than his, Ryan left Newport to help Theresa and the baby, at this point believed to be his. Theresa realized Ryan wasn’t happy in Chino and told him she lost the baby so that he would go back to his life with the Cohens.
Theresa didn’t show up again until late in The O.C. season 2 when Ryan casually bumped into her and walked her home. Once inside, viewers learned that Theresa was living with her mother, who was helping her look after her baby. Theresa’s mother pointed out that the baby looked “more and more like his daddy every day,” and Theresa’s reaction implied that Ryan was the father.
Theresa appeared again in season 3 when Kristen saw her at the airport with her kid and told Ryan about it. Theresa told him Eddie was the father, but the kid looked more like Ryan. Audiences have since wondered if Theresa was being honest or not, with some choosing to believe she was (just to give closure to this matter), and others taking into account Theresa’s past lies.
As mentioned, she told Ryan she lost the baby because he was unhappy in Chino, and she wanted him to be free and continue his life on The O.C. in Newport. With that in mind, the easy way out could have been telling him Eddie was the father, as Ryan was about to go to college at that point. Theresa might have not been honest with her mother either, telling her the father was Eddie, hence the comment on him looking more like his father every day.
How The Theresa's Baby Mystery Improved The O.C.
In the end, every viewer of The O.C. will decide for themselves if Ryan was the father of Theresa's baby or not. This is the beauty of leaving the identity of Theresa's baby's father a mystery; despite The O.C.'s untimely cancelation, this question keeps audiences engaged and the show in the wider cultural conversation all these years later. By not definitively addressing who fathered Theresa's baby, The O.C. was able to maintain interesting narrative tension and use the possibility of Ryan being the father to keep him and Theresa connected but still distant throughout their respective arcs.
Cancelation is rarely a welcome intervention, but it sometimes reframes stories by cutting them short – and, just occasionally, it makes these narratives better. The uncertain ending provided for Theresa and Ryan is one of those instances. The Theresa/Ryan paternity debate will continue long into the future, keeping the show alive for its fervent fanbase.
Theresa's Baby Isn't The Only O.C. Mystery
The mystery behind the father of Theresa’s baby probably wasn't entirely intended to keep people talking years after The O.C. ending. It might have been left open-ended intentionally as something the show could eventually circle back to if it needed a dramatic storyline for Ryan had it not been canceled. The question of is Theresa’s baby Ryan’s, however, isn’t the only O.C. mystery left unsolved. The series left a lot of questions for viewers who stuck with the show from the beginning. Some of them go all the way back to the first season.
In the first season of the series, the Cohen family has household staff members. One of those is a woman who is often seen but doesn’t feature in many storylines. Rosa appears in the background of scenes doing her job, cleaning in the Cohen household. About halfway through the first season of The O.C., however, she vanishes. There’s no explanation as to why the Cohen family suddenly has no household staff, though perhaps the money they were paying them was then being used to care for Ryan. It’s not clear if Rosa was let go, if she quit, or if something else happened to end her time with the family.
Also, during the first two seasons of the show, Caleb was portrayed as supremely wealthy, never without a ready checkbook or credit card to solve a problem. After Caleb's season 2 death, however, he’s suddenly revealed to have been completely broke. It’s done for dramatic effect, but it’s never fully explained. What exactly was Caleb up to during his life that left him with no money, and why wasn’t it explored as part of his story when he was alive on the show?
One of the biggest mysteries, however, is just what happened with Seth’s writing partner (and once rival for Summer’s affection) Zach and their comic book Atomic County. Though Seth ended up being the one to find love with Summer, Zach was supposed to have a meeting with George Lucas (yes, of Star Wars fame) about their work, and then he never returned to the show. Seth writing his comic book was pretty much dropped as a storyline altogether at that point, so it’s never made clear if Seth goes on to become a comic book creator professionally, if he and Zach sell their story, or if he and Zach ever work together again.
In its four seasons on the air, The O.C. featured a lot of dropped storylines and mysterious teases that it could have circled back to in future seasons, much like who the father of Theresa’s baby was.