Imagine having your teenage years captured on film for a major network reality series: the friend fights, the heartbreaks, the hairstyle experiments you’d rather forget. Enter  Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, a show that followed a group of real teens and drama in an upscale beachside community in California. The series, which ran for three seasons from 2004–2006, became an MTV phenomenon thanks to its charismatic, quotable cast (see: Kristin Cavallari’s “dunzo” and Lo Bosworth’s “goachie”) and almost-cinematic visual style. At times, it was hard to tell if what you were watching was reality or “really bad acting,” as many have called it over the years. But rest assured, as the title card promises: “The people, the locations and the drama… are real.” Read on for 10 Laguna Beach episodes that will let the rain fall down and wake your dreams. 

Laguna Beach

Season 1, Episode 1: “A Black and White Affair”

In the very first scene of the pilot, we meet Lauren, Christina, Lo and Morgan, who plot out a black and white cocktail party at a hotel for all their friends — something all teens surely experience in high school, right? The episode also introduces us to the seaside mansions of Laguna Beach (“This reminds me of the houses on The O.C.,” Stephen casually observes). We’re also given a sneak peek at the drama ahead: the love triangle of Lauren, Stephen and Kristin. While Lauren is the girl next door (in the mansion next door, of course), Kristin is our relentless party girl who has Stephen’s heart — for now at least. 

Laguna Beach

TV-MA   2004

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Laguna Beach

Season 1, Episode 5: “What Happens in Cabo”

The gang heads down to Mexico for spring break and, naturally, drama follows them. For the uninitiated, relationships apparently do not matter once your plane lands in Cabo. Or, as Kristin so succinctly explains, “What happens in Cabo, stays in Cabo.” Mostly, Stephen toys with the emotions of his paramours: He shames Kristin for dancing on top of a bar and openly flirts with Lauren at a group dinner. His behavior definitely should stay in Cabo. (To Stephen’s credit, on his podcast Back to the Beach, co-hosted by Kristin, he has called this Laguna Beach episode his greatest regret of the entire series so there’s that!) But this episode is also perhaps the most memorable of the season, replete with cut-off denim skirts, pin-straight flat-ironed hair, and… what exactly is in those Solo plastic cups? 

Laguna Beach

TV-MA   2004

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Laguna Beach

Season 1, Episode 9: “Graduation Day”

Finally, a break from the love triangles and shadiness, this episode delivers a sweet (dare we say, moving?) countdown to the seniors’ graduation ceremony. Witnessing the teens get ready and reminisce with their parents is enough to make anyone nostalgic for their own graduation. But watching the teens receive their graduation presents (for example, in the form of a brand-new “baby Jetta”) adds a glitzy entertainment factor. While Laguna Beach is technically a reality soap opera, this episode feels like a video yearbook for these teenagers taking a big new step in life. But by the end of “Graduation Day,” things are back to the show’s status quo: Lo and Lauren are tanning and talking about meeting water polo players in college.

Laguna Beach

TV-MA   2004

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Laguna Beach

Season 1, Episode 11: “Dunzo”

One more beach bonfire for the seniors as the gang begins to depart for college. This episode contains one of the most iconic (read: millennial) reality TV scenes: Stephen and Kristin have a sweet sunset chat about their relationship, holding each other on the beach wearing hoodies and giving each other forehead kisses. Meanwhile, Morgan and Christina have an emotional goodbye (side note: these two are still the closest of friends today!) while Lo’s farewell to Lauren involves mocking LC’s faux Gucci (or is it faux Coach?) clutch (“goachie”), which pretty much sums up the goofy and endearing relationship between our two sweet blonde protagonists. The final scene teases a potential happy ending for stans of Stephen and Lauren, when — spoiler alert — Stephen picks her up from the airport in San Francisco and they drive off into the college-bound sunset together.  

Laguna Beach

TV-MA   2004

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Laguna Beach

Season 2, Episode 5: “Winter Formal”

Season 2 reintroduces some old favorites (Lauren and Stephen) and some new drama-packed triangles (Alex M., Jason and Jessica). You might remember Jessica as Dieter’s girlfriend from Season 1 (she and Kristin spent a long time trying to figure out if boys “like feta cheese”). Well, Jessica is now in the trenches of a new love triangle with bad (very bad) boy Jason. Kristin is also back, now as narrator, and in Episode 5, the ladies are getting manicures and absurdly long hair extensions so it can only mean winter formal time. Traditionally, the girls invite the guys to the dance in elaborate ways, like scavenger hunts. But the biggest twist this year is that Alex M. has asked Jason to be her date — despite Jason being in a relationship with Jessica (the timeline of all of this is fuzzy). Predictably, this does not end well for the previously mentioned couple. Most of the gang has fun, even including a hilarious attempt at walking through a fast-food restaurant drive-thru. But this is really where things go from worse to somehow even worse for Jason and Jessica. 

Laguna Beach

TV-MA   2004

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Laguna Beach

Season 2, Episode 6: “Valentine’s Day”

The love holiday hits Laguna Beach but with mixed results, and most of our main cast reject this “dumb” tradition. The toxic Jessica–Jason pairing finally hits its breaking point, despite the former spending $100 on candles and cookies for her beau. And this gives Jason a perfect opening to run to Alex M., but more on that later. Stephen also returns home for a visit and once again plays with the hearts of his two ladies, Kristin and Lauren. He takes Kristin on a proper V-Day date and then delivers Lauren flowers and chocolate on his way out of town. The most tragic part of the episode, though, is coming to terms with the fact that Kristin and Alex H. have not yet taken out those hair extensions (looking back on this season, Kristin, too, has publicly admitted to really hating the extensions, so at least we’re not alone here).

Laguna Beach

TV-MA   2004

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Laguna Beach

Season 2, Episode 9: “Cabo Cabo Cabo”

What happens in Cabo definitely does not stay in Cabo this time around. It’s like déjà vu with Alex H. and Kristin opening the episode by debating who they’re going to hook up with during spring break in Mexico, and with Kristin and Talan eventually falling back into old habits and hooking up (sorry, Taylor, we were all rooting for you!). But the real tea this episode? It’s Jessica and Alex M. of course. Rumor has it that between filming episodes, Jessica and Jason hooked up. The problem? It was after he made things official with Alex M. So while in Cabo, Jessica seems to essentially hide from Alex M., worried that she will “beat her up” for hooking up with Jason behind her back. Jessica certainly had reason to be scared: Alex M. unleashes holy hell when the two run into each other at a club, while other friends beg Alex to leave it alone and let everyone have a good time. Another relaxing vacation for the Laguna kids, because who doesn’t end up in a Cabo nightclub fight during senior year spring break, really?

Laguna Beach

TV-MA   2004

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Laguna Beach

Season 2, Episode 15: “I Saw You Kiss Her”

The socially responsible cast members of Laguna throw a fundraiser to help victims of a local mudslide, and the original players from Season 1 all return home to help. In a preview of things to come on The Hills (complete with a cameo from Heidi Montag), Lauren takes the reins of the fashion show portion. She has a nasty surprise waiting, though, when she catches current boyfriend Jason (yes, the same Jason) kissing his ex Jessica (yes, the same Jessica). It’s all pretty heartbreaking and sadly just the beginning of betrayals for Lauren (see: The Hills). It also gives us our titular line: “I saw you kiss her!” And so did we, Lauren, so did we.

Laguna Beach

TV-MA   2004

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Laguna Beach

Season 2, Episode 16: “Nothing More to Say”

Before everyone leaves town again, Lauren decides to throw a final party at her parents’ ocean-view mansion. Jessica and Jason are notably absent from the guest list, but that’s not shocking given their backstage fashion show kiss. One surprise attendee is Kristin, who decides to show up in a move that could have repaired two seasons of rivalry between our two protagonists. But Kristin doesn’t end up interacting at all with the hostess, and she actually leaves with Stephen (the déjà vu is real, folks). Lauren at least gets some closure with Jason and delivers one of the all-time great Laguna kiss-offs (“How would you feel if I kissed an ex-boyfriend right in front of you? But I was sorry”).

Laguna Beach

TV-MA   2004

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Laguna Beach

Season 3, Episode 1: “The Thrill of the Hunt”

Laguna gets rebooted with an entirely new class of teens in flared jeans. Thankfully, there are still some Season 2 folks lingering around town, like Jessica, who has graduated from high school but stays in Laguna Beach and now has the hots for junior Cameron. Some of our newly graduated Season 2 favorites return to try and talk Jessica out of that relationship. The other problem? This season’s popular girl Kyndra also has a crush on the newly hot Cameron, thus setting up a brand-new love triangle. Meanwhile, narrator Tessa must decide whether she will attend frenemy Kyndra’s BBQ (this town loves a gathering involving a grill). It all culminates in an awkward party at Kyndra’s with the two friend groups trading shady looks on opposite sides of the chips and guac. But this season is far less wholesome — the cast understood the assignment this time around — and the girl fights only get more and more intense. 

Laguna Beach

TV-MA   2004

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