THE MOTHER
Julie Cooper (The O.C.) played by Melinda Clarke
“When I was little, and a limousine would
drive by, I would always try to see through the tinted windows. To see who the
people were inside, what kind of life they lived, glamorous, and lucky. You
were probably in there staring right back at me. Which means I've been jealous
of you since I was eight.”
I’m always shocked by how many people dislike Julie
Cooper. Despite perhaps the shows first season, Julie always had the best
interest of others at heart. Yes, they benefitted her as well, but she was a
protector. There were no means she would not meet to keep her family together.
I think I adore Julie so much because I see her, not as
the manipulative tyrant that Marissa sees her as, but as someone who genuinely
cares for her and is trying to help (this may have something to do with my
disdain for Marissa, but hey). Most of the things Julie does throughout the
seasons is to protect her daughters, her friends or her (many, many, many)
marriages. She is willing to give up being with the man she loves when her
daughter prefers another suitor. Whilst Julie may see potential for personal
gain in situations, she is definitely not selfish.
Julie is also such a survivor. She escaped a life of
poverty, and even when she lost the money, she found any way she could to keep
her family alive, even when it meant she had to go back to life in a trailer
park. She may be the protective mother, but she is also a fighter. This is
proved when she goes to Trey’s hospital bed in the third season, and with a
gentle gesture, hints that she will not hesitate to kill him if he threatens
her daughter’s life again. We know Julie has a rough exterior, but here we see a
real dark side in Julie, and is not a sole instance in which we are aware of
the lengths that Julie will go to fight.
The scene in which I feel really highlights Julie Cooper
is in the third episode of season four.
After 6 months of anger towards her daughter’s death, Julie visits Ryan
and simply asks him to tell her about Marissa. It’s such a contained scene, yet
so emotionally charged. It is also one of the few instances in which we truly
see the softer side of Julie,
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