Dawn Atwood
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| Dawn Atwood | |
|---|---|
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| First appearance | Premiere (Episode 1.01) |
| Last appearance | The Graduates (Episode 3.25) |
| Created by | Josh Schwartz |
| Portrayed by | Daphne Ashbrook |
| Episode count | 5 |
| Information | |
| Gender | Female |
| Age | 40s |
| Occupation | Waitress |
| Spouse(s) | Frank Atwood (ex-husband) |
| Children | Ryan Atwood (son) Trey Atwood (son) |
Dawn Atwood is a fictional character on the FOX television series The O.C., played by Daphne Ashbrook. She is the mother of Ryan and Trey Atwood. She has a history of alcoholism and of forming relationships with abusive men who also drink. Her husband Frank Atwood is both abusive and an alcoholic. It is not clear if Dawn and Frank are still married or if they ever actually divorced. Dawn is an expert card sharp, and has passed on this knowledge to Ryan.
[edit] Season 1
Dawn first appeared in the pilot episode, where she arrived at a Los Angeles area courthouse to collect Ryan, who had just been released after he and Trey stole a car. Back at their house, Dawn proceeded to argue with Ryan and her then-current boyfriend A.J. about the theft. Eventually, she threw Ryan out of the house. When he returned later with Sandy Cohen, the house was empty. Dawn and A.J. had moved out, and Dawn had only left a note for Ryan. Sandy and Kirsten Cohen hired a private investigator to track her down. When they found her, she seemed genuinely regretful about having abandoned Ryan and returned to the Cohen household to try and repair her relationship with him. However, at a charity casino evening she got drunk again and caused a scene. Realizing she was unable to look after herself, let alone Ryan, she left him with Sandy and Kirsten, knowing they would take better care of him.
[edit] Season 3
Dawn reappeared in the third season, when she had been in trouble with the law for writing bouncing checks. Sandy visited her in jail and got her out and she was supposed to attend Ryan's 18th birthday party. However, she ultimately felt unable to do so and did not show up. Ryan later visited her in Albuquerque, where she was working as a waitress, to invite her to his graduation. When he heard that she had a new boyfriend, Ryan initially feared that this man would be another abusive alcoholic and retracted the invitation. However, after one of Dawn's co-workers explained to him that Dawn's new boyfriend was a recovering alcoholic and that together he and Dawn were staying sober, Ryan relented. In the season finale, Dawn came to Newport to attend Ryan's graduation, and gave him a present of a Toyota Land Cruiser SUV which her new boyfriend had restored. At the end of the episode, the vehicle was destroyed in the car crash caused by Kevin Volchok, which also killed Marissa Cooper.
| The O.C. | ||
| Episodes | Website | ||
| Primary characters |
Ryan Atwood | Marissa Cooper | Seth Cohen | Summer Roberts Sandy Cohen | Kirsten Cohen | Julie Cooper | Jimmy Cooper Taylor Townsend | Kaitlin Cooper | Caleb Nichol | Luke Ward |
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| Secondary characters |
Alex Kelly | Anna Stern | Dawn Atwood | Frank Atwood | Trey Atwood | Carter Buckley | Gordon Bullit | Sophie Cohen | Theresa Diaz Holly Fischer | Lindsay Gardner | Johnny Harper | Charlotte Morgan | Hailey Nichol | Neil Roberts |Kevin Volchok Zach Stevens | Veronica Townsend | Oliver Trask | Rebecca Bloom |
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| Locations | Newport | Orange County | Chino | Berkeley | Brown | |
| Music | Mix 1 | Mix 2 | Mix 3 | Mix 4 | Mix 5 | Mix 6 | |
| Related | Chrismukkah | |
| Key producers | Josh Schwartz | McG | Stephanie Savage | Allan Heinberg | |
