Dear One Tree Hill,
What happened? Why must you turn into a cheesy soap opera/bad horror flick? Please come back to us loyal fans.
Love, Sharon
Okay, maybe that was a little harsh. I mean, I do faithfully tune in every week regardless of my dislike for the show’s new direction. While I really enjoyed last year’s 5-year jump and thought it was innovative in a sea of post-high school failures, I think the show might have lost some of its originality and lost sight of its primary premise. Now on to the reasoning, which is pretty much self-explanatory in the episode summary…
We open with Jamie jumping on his bed and then Lucas and Peyton doing the same in their hotel in the midst of their new engagement. I don’t know. I love and rooted for this couple for a long time, but I dare say they lost their spark. Anyway, they spend the episode blissfully telling their friends and making wedding plans. My prediction? They will get married on the rivercourt.
While I usually don’t enjoy the Deb/Skillz hookup storyline, I was pleasantly surprised this week. It definitely provided some much needed comic relief in an episode drenched with dark themes. Jamie catches them kissing and they try to convince him otherwise. The two plan to tell Nathan about their relationship, but something tells me Jamie will get to him first. “Grandpa Skillz,” says Jamie. Hilarious.
Nathan is still struggling to get back in the game. With his back hurting, he’s been taking pain medication, which Haley wrongly accuses Deb of stealing and slipping back into her old junkie ways. Instead, Nathan agrees to go to the doctor and Haley gets scared when he tells Nathan he may be fine or he may be at risk for paralysis. In an overdue Naley moment, Nathan tells Haley that his family is more important than the basketball. It’s official. He is the perfect guy. “I have a really hot wife and awesome son at home,” he tells Q when leaving the gym. Oh, Nathan.
As for the darkness, last we saw of Brooke she was being beaten and tackled as her store was broken into. This week she is bruised and certainly broken, something we’ve never seen of her. While I think it’s finally time for her character to get a good storyline, it’s hard not to miss fun lovable Brooke. This Brooke doesn’t call the cops (Um, whynot?!?) and confides in Deb to teach her how to use a gun. In old Brooke fashion, she first tells Peyton that Lindsay came back to beat her up. But, that’s all we get. She ends up lying and telling Peyton that she fell down the stairs. Yeah, cause the last time I checked, stairs gave you two black eyes and finger marks all over your body. But anyway, my theory is she may have gotten raped. I just don’t see why she wouldn’t call the cops and why she keeps saying she was “violated.” I guess we’ll see. Either way, I know that crazy mother of hers is behind it.
As for Dan, he’s still stuck in Nanny Carrie’s faux hospital, but things are looking up depsite the cockroach soup she served him (Come on, really?) Dan is able to talk and tells her that her plan to kidnap Jamie and frame Dan is a bad one. Why? Because Dan has six months to live and if he dies and Jamie is still missing, he is no longer the prime suspect. That of course infuriates the psycho nanny.
Quentin and Jamie bond some more this episode and its nice to watch. We didn’t get the hilarious dancing like last week, but we got a few cute moments where he and Q rap, and Q gives him a keepsake box that he used to put stuff in when he was a kid. At that point, I knew something was up. Then, we see Q tell Nathan he’s going to make it to the NBA and Nathan thanks him. Another heartfelt moment. And then we see Skilliz say he needs to talk to him, but it can be put off because, “he will see him tomorrow.” That’s a clear cut sign that something bad is going to happen. And, I was right…
Quentin is shot and killed. Yes, you read that right. At the end of the episode, we see him buying gas and being shot. Next week’s episode will deal with the aftermath of his death and particularly Jamie’s reaction. It actually looks good!
So yes, this new side of One Tree Hill is hard to like at first because we are so used to the old, but I do find some redeeming stories once you get past the initial apprehensiveness. I just hope that we can get rid of some of the corniness as well as some of the darker stuff. And come on, what about some throwbacks to us crazed fans who just want a small glimpse back into the old Tree Hill? It’s not asking too much, is it?
Sharon Tharp is a freelance writer who has contributed to a variety of publications including HotIndieNews.com and the Web sites of both Marie Claire and CosmoGIRL! magazines.
