One of the best things about streaming services is that you get to dive back into some of your favorite shows from the past. Hulu offers that to One Tree Hill fans with all nine seasons available to stream. One Tree Hill was one of the most popular teen dramas back in the early 2000s, and is still considered one of the all-time most enduring teen TV shows with fans still as engrossed in the world of Tree Hill as they were almost two decades ago. As we hit eighteen years since the show debuted, we thought it would be a great idea to take a look back at seven episodes that captured exactly what fans loved about One Tree Hill.
“Pilot” (Season 1, Episode 1)
The first episode is all about getting to know the characters and establishing a story that helps the audience know exactly what is going on, and the first episode of One Tree Hill does this perfectly. We are introduced to Lucas Scott (Chad Michael Murray), a sensitive and reserved high school student at Tree Hill who lives at home with his mother, Karen (Moria Kelly). She owns her own cafe downtown and has been on her own ever since her high school sweetheart, Dan Scott (Paul Johansson), abandoned her and Lucas right after he was born. Dan, the show’s main antagonist, is now married to Deb (Barbara Alyn Woods) and they have a son, Nathan (James Lafferty). Nathan is your typical high school jock. He is the captain of the Ravens’ basketball team, and he, of course, is dating a cheerleader, Peyton Sawyer (Hilarie Burton), and in episode one, we see that their relationship isn’t the strongest. Despite being half-brothers and the same age, Lucas and Nathan are far from friends, in fact, you can feel the hatred radiate off the screen. The one thing they do share is a love for basketball. Once Lucas decides to join the Ravens, Nathan challenges him to a pickup game at the river court. With tensions and rivalry on the line, but also hope that the two half-brothers may soon see eye-to-eye, this epic battle is a great way to kick off One Tree Hill.
“With Tired Eyes, Tired Minds, Tired Souls, We Slept” (Season 3, Episode 16)
Talk about an episode that is filled with all kinds of emotions and twists, nothing compares to the very real and raw circumstances that take place in this episode. dealing with the aftermath of the time capsule getting released. A lot of people’s secrets come to light and many are affected by it which leads to the tragic school shooting. We quickly learn that a troubled student, Jimmy Edwards (Colin Fickes), arrives at school with a gun a day after the time capsule video gets released. Not only is the school on lockdown as Jimmy is holding students and teachers hostage inside, but Lucas and Nathan also enter the school to search for Haley (Bethany Joy Lenz), Brooke (Sophia Bush), and Peyton. The episode tackles some tough conversations and the last few minutes kick into high gear, emotionally. The episode ends on a tragic note as the series says goodbye to Keith (Craig Sheffer) one of the show’s most beloved characters who is shockingly shot by his brother, Dan. The writers did a great job of not only putting a tragic situation on screen but also dealing with the trauma and aftermath of such an event in the next episode. One Tree Hill was one of the first tv series to dive into this tragic subject back in 2006 that still remains an important topic of discussion today. Season 3, Episode 16 remains at the top of fans’ list when they’re talking about the most pivotal and poignant episodes of the series.
“Some You Give Away” (Season 4, Episode 9)
This is an episode that had all of the hype and emotion to be a season finale, but for some reason, the creators decided to slap it right in the middle of Season 4. In episode nine, the Tree Hill Ravens have finally made it to the North Carolina state championship game, which fittingly happens to be Lucas, Nathan, and Skills (Antwon Tanner) senior year. There are so many storylines that are going on during this episode, but eventually, they all fall in line with each other. Nathan has gotten involved with a bookie that wants him to throw the championship game. Lucas finds out and is furious but refuses to tell Coach Durham (Barry Corbin) and leaves it up to Nathan to make the right choice. But right before the game, Haley tells Nathan that they are having a boy which makes him come to his senses, and he leads the Ravens to win the state championship. During the past few episodes, Lucas has been fighting his true feelings for Peyton but they become clear and he makes his love known to her. Despite making the right decision to not throw the championship game, Nathan pays for his consequences as the bookie hits Haley with a car putting her life and their unborn baby in danger.
“All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone” (Season 4, Episode 21)
Despite the excitement of graduating high school, this episode starts out in a pretty negative way with Haley and Karen rushed to the hospital. Not only does that have an impact on the people in Tree Hill, but the town is rocked when they find out that Dan Scott confessed to murdering his brother, although some are not totally surprised. As the last episode of Season 4 comes to an end, we all have the question of “what’s next?” What happens to the people we loved watching over the past four seasons now that high school is over? The excited graduates couldn’t leave high school without one last party to celebrate the closing of this chapter in their lives. While at the party we see Lucas and Nathan try to come to a decision on whether or not to visit Dan in prison. In the end, we see them decide together that going to see their father would be feeding into the control that he has had over them both and so they decide to take back control in their lives and agree to not visit him. Although the party was a celebration of achievement, all good things must come to an end. Having the entire crew meet up at the river court, where it all began, was such a fitting way to end Season 4. Not to mention we get the rematch between Nathan and Lucas that we saw in the first episode of the series. There was something special seeing everybody stand together on the river court and having Mouth (Lee Norris) say “Good evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to another historic night.” There’s no better way to wrap a season than how Season 4 came to an end.
“The Wind That Blew My Heart Away” (Season 3, Episode 13)
One Tree Hill is known for its tragedy and heartbreak throughout each season, but there are episodes that contain a lot of passion and love to offer fans some lighter moments. In this particular episode, we feel all the love despite a storm rolling into town. The storm causes a power outage across the town, which forces people to shack up together, specifically the ones we want to see together. Nathan and Haley take shelter together and when the power is out and there’s nothing to do, you are forced to talk to each other. Having a lot of issues to work out, Nathan and Haley work their way back to a healthy relationship. Brooke and Lucas have their own issues to work on as well as Lucas tries to reassure Brooke she is the one that he wants. Karen and Keith also spend an evening together in the cafe while the city is in a blackout. For the most part, we see happy endings on this night between the couples but you know there had to be a little tragedy attached to this episode as Peyton makes the heartbreaking discovery of her birth mother passing away.
“Get Cape. Wear Cape. We Fly.” (Season 6, Episode 3)
Almost as tragic as the shooting episode, Season 6 Episode 3 will be remembered as one of the saddest episodes of the show. Up until this point, we’ve said goodbye to characters on the show that have had a huge part in keeping this series going, whether due to tragic events or happily ever afters and unfortunately, we have to do the same here. Tree Hill is rocked to its core when Quentin Fields (Robbie Jones) is murdered in cold blood by the hands of the same man who attacked Brooke at her store. We were introduced to Quentin in Season 5 as he was a disruptive student in Haley's class. Throughout this season, we saw the growth and maturity with Quentin not only on the basketball court but in the classroom as well, and he formed a special bond with Nathan and Haley's son, Jamie (Jackson Brundage). Nathan and Haley have to not only deal with their own hurt but also tell Jamie that one of his close friends has passed away. The writers do a great job of showing not only the vulnerability of Nathan and Haley but their strength and growth as parents. Showing that there is no handbook on how to parent death and real-life situations to your kids. As sad as Jamie was about the passing of his friend, we see the strength and maturity he has at such a young age throughout this episode. Not only does the episode mainly pertain to death, but we also see the struggle and recovery Brooke is having after being attacked. This episode pulls at your heartstrings, but it’s one of the best in the series at displaying loss, grief and trauma.
“Forever and Almost Always” (Season 6, Episode 23)
Shockingly, not a lot of lists include this episode, but if you think about it, it’s one of the most complete and rewarding episodes of One Tree Hill. You can also include the episode following this as they really go together, telling one pretty big story. We’ve been in love with Lucas and Peyton since episode one. Ever since she uttered those memorable words to Lucas, “First of all, you don’t know me. Second of all, you don’t know me”, we knew that it was only a matter of time before they ended up together. Granted through the first few seasons the writers did a great job of keeping fans on their feet with this love story. In this episode, we finally get to see Lucas and Peyton get married on the lake where they first talked to each other. Despite some surprises on their big day, it was the wedding that we thought it would be. Peyton finally got the man she has always wanted and the wedding of her dreams. Up until this point, Peyton has been through a lot of trauma throughout this series, so the fact that we get to see her truly happy in the end makes this episode one of the most rewarding and satisfying of One Tree Hill.