One Tree Hill was an iconic show that ran for a whopping 9 seasons. It did a good job of epitomizing trends of the early 21st century – crop tops, web cams, and pop punk music – while at the same time continuing classic themes from dramas and soap operas since the beginning of television – sibling rivalry, betrayal, and extremely moody and troubled protagonists.
One Tree Hill was one of those television shows that went on for way too long, but that we watched until the very end. It was riddled with oppositions: Brooke vs. Peyton. Lucas vs. Nathan. Keith vs. Dan. Sports vs. art.
In that same vein, although even at the time of airing we could recognize that One Tree Hill had its faults, we still couldn’t help but be enticed with the dramatic storylines that sometimes went too far. Great TV can still have its flaws, and One Tree Hill is not an exception to this.
Even if you loved the show, it’s impossible to deny that there were some serious problematic parts, such as character portrayal, age differences, choices to make some episodes “supernatural,” and select plot holes that avid fans could spot immediately.
These are the 16 Things That Make No Sense About One Tree Hill.
16. Pete Wentz Dating A High School Senior
One Tree Hill loved introducing semi-famous musicians into the episodes throughout the duration of the show, including Gavin DeGraw, Jason Federline, and Nick Lachey.
One of the more up close and personal musicians introduced into the show was Pete Wentz, who, for a brief time, actually date Peyton Sawyer – who was still in high school.
Although we are never told Wentz’s age in the show, Wentz plays himself in the few episodes that he’s in, so we can assume that he is his own age – which was 26 at the time when the first episode with him in it was aired. Peyton, meanwhile, was a high school senior.
Peyton already suffers quite a bit in this show, and she hardly needs a creepy older musician preying on her while she’s still the in the process of finishing high school.
15. Nathan And Haley’s Wedding
Waiting until marriage is a personal decision, but it’s unlikely that the intention of this tradition is for people to get married at 16 so they can do it as much as they like.
In Naley’s case, though, this was the solution to allow Nathan to have relations and for Haley to wait until marriage. That’s all very well, considering that they do actually make it as a couple, through thick and thin.
Let’s be honest – most couples who got married at 16 would not make it.
Although Naley did, it’s not very realistic, nor is it necessarily a good message to be sending to the young and easily influenced.
Also, there was a consistency issue with their wedding. Haley and Nathan were supposed to have gotten married at night after the Ravens playoffs, but in flashbacks we see the couple getting married during the daytime.
14. So Many Ghosts
Many television shows introduce ghosts into their story lines, but One Tree Hill did it best by having more than one character coming back as a ghost to relay messages to the characters who are still alive.
One of the most memorable ghosts that comes back to visit in the show is Quentin Fields, mostly because his passing was so heartbreaking that we’re glad to see him return, even if it’s only temporary. Quentin comes back to encourage Nathan to pursue his basketball dreams.
Of course, there was also Keith, who came back on numerous occasions to haunt Dan, and would guilt trip Dan until he eventually admitted to taking Keith’s life.
Although Quinn and Clay never actually pass, they do experience somewhat of a supernatural experience while in a coma, when they have an out of body of experience.
13. Jimmy And Keith Have Different Dates On Their Tombstones
Keith and Jimmy lost their lives on the same day – Keith having been shot by his brother Dan, and Jimmy having taken his own life after bringing a gun to school.
In season 4, when Lucas goes to visit both of their graves, we see different dates on their gravestones.
Keith appearing to have passed on the 23rd of an unspecified month in 2006, and Jimmy appearing to have perished on the 1st of March of 2006.
The fandom of television, movie, and book series love to point out plot inconsistencies and mistakes made by writers, directors, and producers, and in this case it was no exception. Fans immediately noticed the issue and blogs and forums were flooded with articles regarding the mistake.
It’s a pretty difficult task to mess up, given how huge both of these characters’ passings were to the show.
12. Mouth Pressuring Shelley
Even though Mouth is a pretty likeable character for most of the show, playing the shy nerd who is befriended by Brooke, his relationship with Shelley has some serious problems.
Mouth pouted in another room after Shelley told him, time and time again, that she did not want to sleep with him. When she came in, he spouted off a long speech on how much he wanted to sleep with her and how hard it was for him. She eventually gave in, and they slept together.
Both people were allowed to feel the way they felt – it was fine for Mouth to want to have relations, and it was also fine for Shelley to not – but the way he delivered his guilt trip was questionable. Although Shelley had a choice, he did pressure her into it by making her feel sorry for him.
11. They Kept Going After Season 6
Season 6 of One Tree Hill was the season that should have ended the show – unfortunately, it went on for an additional three seasons, which were only good because we could still watch Brooke (Sophia Bush) slay.
From seasons 1-6, the show centred around the brooding Lucas, who was also the narrator of the show. Come season 7, Lucas (Chad Michael Murray) and Peyton (Hilarie Burton) left, and the narrator changed. In season 7, the show is narrated by Dan - possibly the worst step down in TV history. In season 8, the show is narrated by Haley (Bethany Joy Lenz), and in season 9, it is narrated by Nathan (James Lafferty).
The show wasn’t it what it was without Lucas and Peyton, and especially without Lucas narrating.
Not to mention that all the characters were happy at the end of season 6 – why did it have to go on?!
10. The Way The Girls Are Pitted Against Each Other
The core three women of the show – Brooke, Peyton, and Haley – are the best of friends, and each of them unique, strong, and independent. However, the way that they are pitted against one another in the show is so backwards.
Sure, TV loves a good girl fight, but One Tree Hill always took it one step too far with the number of scenes where one girl is slapping another. Why did it have to get physical? And why did they always have to call each other such terrible names?!
Obviously, the CW loves a good love triangle – but it was frustrating to watch the girls literally always fight over boys. We’re sure the writers could have come up with something more creative than that, but given recent allegations against One Tree Hill showrunner Mark Schwahn there seems to have been more going on behind the scenes.
9. Sophia Bush (Brooke) Was Denied The Role Twice
Brooke, played by the stunning Sophia Bush, was undeniably one of the best characters on the show. Despite being one of the main perpetrators of the cat fights and name-calling, she was still the strongest, sassiest, and funniest character in One Tree Hill.
Could we even imagine the show without her? Well, no.
But this could’ve happened, had the directors gone with their first two assessments of Sophia Bush. On her first audition, the casting directors said she was not allruing enough, and on her second audition, they dubbed her too alluring.
Thankfully she did not give up, and received the role after the third audition. We commend her resilience, but also question the judgment of the casting directors for their first two rejections.
8. Peyton Living Alone At 16
After Peyton’s adoptive mother perished in a car accident when Peyton was just 8 years old, she suffered from loneliness, guilt, and depression. None of this was helped by the fact that by the time that Peyton was an adolescent, her dad was going off on a boat for months at a time.
Obviously everyone deals with grief differently, but leaving your kid alone in a big house without a mother and in a shockingly dangerous small town seems to be reflective of some pretty bad parenting on Peyton’s dad’s behalf.
In her time living alone, Peyton forms an addiction, dates the adult lead singer from Fall Out Boy Pete Wentz, and is assaulted by a stalker. She clearly needed some parental guidance in her life.
7. Peyton’s Web Cam
One Tree Hill was first released in 2003, which means the internet was still a relatively new force in society, and was used in different ways than it is now. One particularly strange part of the show was Peyton’s web cam.
Throughout the show, there are at least two times when her web cam gets her in trouble.
Once when Brooke sees that Peyton and Lucas are romantically involved and Brooke consequently ends their friendship, and another time when Peyton develops a stalker that catches wind of her thanks to her web cam.
The whole web cam thing has some serious voyeurism vibes to it, and it’s pretty odd that nobody thought to warn Peyton against it. It was the early 2000s, but still, Peyton, her friends, and her family should have known better.
6. Dan’s Prison Sentence
Dan thinks that it is Keith’s fault that his car dealership burned down, and so out of revenge he decides to shoot his own brother and pin it on Jimmy, the boy who took his own life after bringing the gun to school.
For eliminating his own brother, Dan only serves 5 years in prison before he is released on parole.
How can that be? Dan shot Keith not out of self defense or to defend Jimmy; it was a cold-blooded attack. Yet he received only 5 years in prison – not to mention is later considered to be redeemed after he saves Nathan’s life.
Neither five years of prison, nor a selfless act (although considering that Dan had previously tried to take his own life, maybe it wasn’t so selfless) are enough to forgive the terrible things that Dan did over the years.
5. The Dog That Ate Dan’s Transplant Heart
There’s no denying that One Tree Hill was a bit over the top. From countless love triangles to murder, the show did not shy away from insane story lines that were a little – if not very – hard to believe.
Perhaps one of the most absurd moments on the show is in season 6, when Dan is just about to finally get his long-awaited heart transplant, and the careless health care workers drop the heart and a dog that is for some reason in the hospital eats it.
There are so many questions associated with this moment of the show.
Why was there a dog in the hospital?
Why were they carrying a heart through a public part of the hospital without any cover? Whatever the answers, this may have been the funniest, and weirdest, moment on One Tree Hill.
4. Rachel And Dan’s Relationship
Rachel was one of One Tree Hill’s more complex characters – she was beautiful, sometimes kind, and sassy, yet also had a serious mean streak inside of her. Overall, though, she was a good person and a good character, and was popular among the show’s fans.
When Rachel and Dan Strike up a relationship, then, everyone is left with their heads spinning.
How could Rachel stoop so low?
At this point, there’s no limits as do how low Dan will go, but we thought better of Rachel. Although they do eventually get a divorce, this relationship was one of the show’s worst romantic storylines, and we question the writers for their choice to make it happen at all!
3. How All The Characters Met Success Before They Turned 25
Nathan gets signed to the NBA, both Haley and Peyton get record labels, Lucas is a published author, and Brooke is the owner of a super successful fashion line – and all before they turn 25.
Really? Was this show purposefully trying to make the rest of us feel bad over here, or is that really how it works in Tree Hill? Everyone just pursues their dreams and makes it big, despite of trial and tribulation – and some people not really being all that talented anyway.
We understanding that having all the main characters meeting success by the end of the show made for a nice and convenient ending – but did they really have to make them all famous? It’s hardly realistic, especially given how young they were when the show ended.
2. The 1940s Alternative Reality Episode Of Season 6
TV loves creating alternative realities, but the eleventh episode of the sixth season of One Tree Hill is particularly odd, in that the episode is essentially a throwaway.
Having no effect on any previous or future episode, the whole episode is a dream that Lucas has where everyone exists and experiences a similar life to the one they experience in current day - it’s just that, in this world, it is the 1940s.
Compared to other television shows that have chosen to make alternative reality episodes, the One Tree Hill 1940s episode had no effect on anything else, which is especially strange considering how the show is so dependent on cliff hangers and ending episodes in a very dramatic way.
1. How Chad Michael Murray And Sophia Bush Worked Together After Their Divorce
After two years of knowing each other, Chad Michael Murray and Sophia Bush tied the knot in 2005 – but filed for annulment just 5 months later.
Unfortunately, this meant that Murray and Bush had to work together for another 3 years after their bad breakup, until Murray left the show in 2009.
We have to give them both kudos for doing this considering their sordid past. Special kudos to Sophia Bush, who must have had a hard time moving on after rumors that she had been cheated on.
But Bush actually did better than that, by not only being the bigger person and maintaining a professional relationship, but by dating two other co-stars after the fact! Murray, meanwhile, married an extra he met on the One Tree Hill set.
Did we miss something crazy about One Tree Hill that just doesn’t make any sense? Let us know in the comments!
