History YMMV / TheOC

** And Oliver.
*** Who was kind of an intended Scrappy, except not really - his personality and arc was always meant to go the way they did, which for fans and critics alike equalled EpicFail. If nothing else, the writers certainly acknowledged the viewership's dislike towards the Oliver Arc, if taking [[SelfDepreciation jabs at it several times]] is any indication.
** Lindsey
*** YMMV on that. Some people liked her, and during Season 2 a number of fans probably preferred her to Marissa. Not a buttload of course, but she certainly wasn't universally hated.

*** Taylor and Ryan can be good ShipMates to Malex for those who don't [[DieForOurShip want Ryan to die a painful death]]

** Taylor.

*** Taylor can provide a good ShipMate to Malex for those who [[DieForOurShip want Ryan to die a painful death]]

* MemeticMutation - ([[{{Narm}} Mmm whatcha]] [[ImogenHeap sa-ay...]]]])

* {{Narm}}: Marissa [[spoiler: shooting Trey]]. The creators obviously meant for this to be a dramatic moment, but they inadvertently replaced all the drama with unintentional hilarity by the sudden and out-of-place activation of ImogenHeap music as soon as the bullet hits Trey (as if the bullet had hit the play button on some kind of sound system hidden inside Trey's ribcage), followed by slow-mo as Trey slooowly figures out that he's been shot. Adding to the unintentional hilarity is the fact that the looks on everyone's faces looks less like "Oh my God," and more like "Hey, do you know where that music is coming from?" The scene has to be seen in order for its hilarity to be completely understood: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saEzQcayEPM. All together now: [[{{MemeticMutation}} Mmmmmmmmmmmm.....whatcha SAAAAA-AAY!]]

* {{Narm}}: Marissa [[spoiler: shooting Trey]]. The creators obviously meant for this to be a dramatic moment, but they inadvertently replaced all the drama with unintentional hilarity by the sudden and out-of-place activation of ImogenHeap music as soon as the bullet hits Trey (as if the bullet had hit the play button on some kind of sound system hidden inside Trey's ribcage), followed by slow-mo as Trey slooowly figures out that he's been shot. The scene has to be seen in order for its hilarity to be completely understood: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saEzQcayEPM. All together now: [[{{MemeticMutation}} Mmmmmmm.....whatcha SAAAAAY!]]

** Taylor, [[YourMileageMayVary for some.]]

* ItsPopularNowItSucks - Kaitlin Lampshades this in season 3 with "Death Cab's playing on the valley now? Never Listening to them again."

** And again towards the end of Season 3. In one episode she becomes so bratty that she walks out on her (recently very sympathetic) mother's engagement party, and later Summer finally calls her on her {{Wangst}}y bullshit, telling her to grow up. Yet a few scenes later, Ryan tells Volchok to treat her right "because she deserves it".

* SpoiledBrat: Marissa, for much of Season 2. Made especially bad when Lindsey, who lives in a tiny bungalow and grew up without a father, shows up. And yet the audience is still meant to have sympathy for Marissa simply because she doesn't like her mother.

* UnpleasableFanbase - The 13-year-old radio-listening girls and the male/female indie-rock-loving college-age fanbase watch for many different reasons. Teenage Girls love Mischa Barton, Adam Brody, and the show's soapy drama. The others love Autumn Reeser, Adam Brody, and the show's quick wit. When the show relies too much on drama, it gets chastised. When the show relies too much on comedy, it gets chastised.
** And don't forget Peter Gallagher fans. And Rachel Bilson fans

* YourMileageMayVary - Taylor Townsend is possibly the main character who inspires the widest range of fan opinions: some fans hate her, others find her their favourite character. She probably has more supporters than detracters, but the detracters are still a sizeable chunk of the fanbase.
** Arguments rage on whether Season 2 is underrated, fairly rated, or awful. Similar arguments arise over whether the Oliver storyline was some good fun or incredibly annoying. Fans who liked Marissa and Season 3 seem to despise Taylor and Season 4, and vice versa.