One of the interesting things about watching One Tree Hill is seeing how the relationships between the characters have changed over the years. It’s hard to believe that Nathan once dated Peyton before moving on to Haley, or that Lucas (Chad Michael Murray) and Brooke (Sophia Bush) once had a thing for each other. We’re so used to Nathan and Haley being married and Lucas and Peyton being on again, off again that it’s strange to look back to the beginning. Now, after the latest episode, the marriage between Nathan and Haley may finally be coming to an end, while Lucas is trying to move on from Peyton and settle down with Lindsey. The question is, should either of these couples be together, or is time for One Tree Hill to shake things up?
I’ve always felt that Nathan (James Lafferty) and Haley got married too early into the show’s run. I’m all for people getting hitched in real life, and shows like Friday Night Lights have proven that a happily married couple can be wonderful to watch, but One Tree Hill started as a high school drama. I want to see my high school students sleeping around, doing drugs, getting syphilis, having crazy drunken nights, and basically running into a whole host of problems that you’d see on Degrassi: The Next Generation. Having Nathan and Haley settle down in domestic bliss at the end of the first season robbed their characters of some fun story possibilities.
Of course Nathan and Haley (Bethany Joy Galeotti) have had their problems over the years, some of which seemed a lot worse than a crazy nanny. Is it really going to end because of some super slut? I think it should, at least for a while. The show should break Nathan and Haley up and allow their characters to go in new, exciting, more scandalous directions. Let bad boy Nathan come back and let Haley go off on her own for a bit. Then, in about a season, bring them back together, have them realize they never should have split up, and have them get married all over again.
As for Lucas and Lindsey, I’m afraid that storyline is going to play out in the most predictable way possible. There will be a wedding, Peyton (Hilarie Burton) will interrupt, Lucas or Lindsey will realize it’s all a mistake, and off Lindsey goes to New York, never to be seen again. I hope the show doesn’t go that route. What if Lucas and Lindsey actually did get married? Seeing Lucas trapped in a loveless marriage for a while would at least be interesting and less predictable than option number one. I hope those two kids make it work, at least until the end of the season.
One Tree Hill could explore exciting new story possibilities if they broke up the married couple and married the broken couple. Much like TV shows, sometimes relationships need to go in unexpected directions to make them more interesting.
– Don Williams, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
(Image courtesy of the CW)
Staff Writer, BuddyTV
