Diary of a One Tree Hill Virgin – Karen returns to a tragedy

If the number of episodes of One Tree Hill that I’ve watched since my last entry (that would be nine) is any indication, I am hooked on this show! So much so that it’s difficult for me to stop watching long enough to write down my thoughts. But I reached a climactic stopping point at the end of S1E13 (“Hanging By A Moment“), and figured this was a good opportunity for my next post.

I just left Lucas, well, hanging by a moment in the hospital after a collision also involving his uncle Keith (injured but fine), and his dad Dan (the driver of the other car). Well, I know that Lucas can’t just die on us now, but what will happen to him? And did Peyton actually tell Brooke about the affair? If so, how will this accident affect how either of them feels about everything?

I don’t know how it happened, but Nathan is slowly growing on me as a character. I am understanding a lot of his feelings and motivations for why he acts the way he does. This is cleverly done by way of his relationship with Haley. When they talk and he reveals his feelings, the audience understands him better. I think that he and Peyton were way too destructive as a couple. I’m not saying that Peyton was to blame for Nathan acting like a jerk, but something about them just didn’t click the way it does with him and Haley.

As far as Lucas and Haley, I am over my initial conviction that “they have to get together at some point.” I mean, they probably will, but they are not seeming like star-crossed lovers right now. They are doing the buddy thing very well, probably because they are each occupied with a significant other and aren’t really hanging out as much anyway. And Haley is annoyed with Lucas for turning into someone she isn’t liking too much right now (she caught him kissing Peyton in the library).

Now on to the love triangle between Lucas, Peyton, and Brooke. Of course we knew that was bound to happen! I thought it would take a bit longer, though. The entire development of Lucas pining for Peyton (and vice-versa), then bonding with Brooke while taking care of Peyton when she got drugged (“The Search For Something More”), then getting together with Brooke, then Peyton coming around and quickly retreating, then Lucas cheating on Brooke with Peyton, all happened very quickly. Well, I guess it is high school (which also may explain how oddly fine Peyton seems to be with Haley dating Nathan so soon after their breakup).

I knew as soon as everyone kept building up Karen’s return to Tree Hill that something was going to stand in the way of her and Keith getting together right away. I hadn’t realized it would take something as tragic as a car crash to divert everyone’s focus away from their being together. (I haven’t watched “I Shall Believe” yet, so I’ve yet to see how this unfolds, and who shoulders the blame for this accident. Didn’t Keith make an illegal left turn? I remember he had been drinking earlier, and the doctor mentioned it, too.) I was actually expecting something to happen to Karen, not to Keith and Lucas.

I really like Deb’s character and what she has done not only for Karen and the cafe, but also for herself. She realizes that her marriage is not what it used to be, and that perhaps it never was really that great in the first place. And who is that annoying tramp that Dan met on the beach? Something tells me she’s going to be involved a great deal, although if she is, I don’t know how I’m going to stand watching her.

Finally, I really am loving Whitey’s character. I can tell that he is as conflicted as the Scotts are in terms of whether he is “doing the right thing” by staying a high school coach, and he obviously doesn’t feel confident that he is making a difference. I liked how Nathan gave him a pep talk and convinced him that he helped the team immensely and has had an impact on their lives. Also, the side story with Coach’s wife Camilla passing away the same week that Peyton’s mom died was very touching. I enjoyed the conversation that Whitey and Peyton had while visiting their respective loved ones at the cemetery (“All That You Can’t Leave Behind“).

Well, this has been fun, but I have more One Tree Hill to watch!

Clacked by Rachel Blum-Jose
on Jun 08, 2012 @ 10:00 EST5EDT