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EPISODE 7.18: The Last Day Of Our Acquaintance
- Previously On: Lydia has cancer, Brooke finds Alex in Julian’s bed, Mouth asks Lauren out, Clay meets Katie Ryan, who looks like Sara
- This is the last episode until April 19 24 26. Starting next week, Life Unexpected will air in this timeslot.
- One Tree Hill over a blue background, not the usual black. Odd.
- Alex is outside of Josh’s trailer.
- Julian’s dad is pissed off because Josh won’t come out because he has a “wardrobe malfunction.”
- Julian is an hour late to set and has just arrived.
- Julian threatens to tell everyone who Josh slept with last week if he doesn’t come out.
- He does and everyone is shocked by Josh being dressed in half a tank top and short shorts.
- Julian calls to Brooke, saying this is not the outfit they discussed.
- Q1: I guess I made a huge stupid unforgivable mistake….I guess I’m also a dirty no good liar.–Brooke
- I guess she’s sabotaging things as revenge for what she thinks happened between Julian and Alex.
- Lydia has left a message for Taylor.
- Lydia is making Haley’s favorite birthday soup since they didn’t speak on her birthday. Apparently that’s the first time ever.
- Haley tells Lydia she loves her.
- Lydia says she’s been saying that constantly, as if she’ll keel over any second, but she understands and “I love you to..”
- Katie Ryan is in talking to her roommate about meeting an agent with a “very naked ring finger.”
- Q2: This might just be the first day of the rest of my life.–Katie
- She predicts he’ll sign her or marry her.
- Lauren and Mouth are walking in town.
- He apologizes for asking her out.
- He explains he was drunk and inspired by a speech Haley gave.
- Lauren says she’s flattered but she’s concerned about Millicent, not Skills.
- Q3: I would rather be your partner-in-crime than your rebound.–Lauren
- He accepts.
- Nathan is looking at Lydia’s funeral plans when Haley comes in.
- She’s surprised by how in-depth it is.
- He says he’ll read through it all. Aw.
- Haley wonders how she’s going to do this.
- Q4: The same way you always do. Graciously and courageously and with me by your side every step of the way.–Nathan
- Clay takes a picture of Katie.
- She says she hopes it’s the beginning of a beautiful relationship.
- Haley goes into the kitchen and finds Lydia passed out on the floor.
- She freaks out, calls for Nathan and dials 911.
- Alex is talking about a good day versus a bad day has to do with getting enough sleep.
- Brooke is dressing her and stabs her with a needle.
- Alex realizes Brooke is upset about “the sex.” I’m sure she means sex with Alexander.
- Katie says she’s training a lot but looks great and could appear on a Wheaties box.
- Clay says he sees her talents but he can’t represent her.
- She’s confused.
- He says he thought he could but he can’t and he can’t explain why.
- Q5: If you can’t sign me, the least you can do is take me out on a consolation date. I saw the way you were looking at me last night. You were practically imagining our babies.–Katie
- Have to say Amanda Schull isn’t working for me as a brunette with dry-looking hair. Anyway.
- She puts her hands on his and they’re interrupted by a phone call.
- I assume it’s Quinn. He says he’ll leave right away.
- Katie gives him her number but he says nothing will happen and calls her Sara.
- She’s confused–who is Sara, she asks.
- Brooke drops clothes in CoB, where Victoria is looking melancholy.
- She makes clear she’s having a bad day.
- Q6: It was fine until the ex love of my live and the current bane of my existence made it clear they did the wild thing last night.–Brooke
- Victoria apologizes and admits she was stood up.
- Brooke assumes it was Paul, though Victoria tries to say she never said it was Paul she was dating.
- Q7: It’s clear the Julian apple didn’t fall far from the sleazy Paul tree.–Brooke
- Haley and Quinn walk into Lydia’s hospital room.
- She’s awake but looks tired. She’s still talkative and making jokes, though.
- But she says the doctors spoke to her and she knows she doesn’t have much time.
- She says it’s okay because she had wonderful visits for each of her kids.
- Oh, really? I would like to know more about that.
- Quinn says it’s not fair because the doctors said she had a few more months.
- Lydia says she wanted to stick around until they made things right with Taylor.
- I guess Taylor and the other siblings are okay?
- Lydia reminds them that they and Taylor used to be inseparable.
- Quinn makes a comment about Taylor not being human.
- Q8: Two out of three ain’t bad.–Lydia
- WHAT?! How about two out of four?! There’s another daughter, Vivian. Unless they are rewriting history, which has become the norm with this storyline. Hmmm.
- Gossip Girl promo.
- Quinn is at Taylor’s door. Looks like a nice house. Where does Taylor live?
- Quinn says Lydia collapsed and “this is it” and she should say goodbye.
- Taylor says no and Quinn says she doesn’t understand this.
- Q9: I don’t know when or why you became such a colossal selfish bitch.–Quinn
- But she still loves her and she knows mom loves her and wants to see her.
- Taylor says she will continue to be a failure.
- Quinn leaves but not before leaving a picture of them.
- Taylor cries, saying she “doesn’t want this.”
- Haley is by Lydia’s bedside.
- Lydia says she was dreaming about Jimmy.
- She reminisces about meeting him.
- Q10: You’d be surprised what you don’t know about that man or both of us, actually.–Lydia
- Haley wants to know.
- Their song was Don’t Think Twice by Bob Dylan.
- Haley points out it is a break-up song but Lydia says it was the first time they…yeah.
- Lydia talks about their first kiss and winning his heart and how he loved her soup.
- Haley says she doesn’t have the recipe and Lydia says she will write it down.
- Haley gets into bed with Lydia as she explains it.
- Jamie is stroking Chester.
- Nathan comes in and tells him they need to talk.
- He tells Jamie that Lydia got sicker while he was at Andre’s and she’s in the hospital and wants to see him.
- Q11: “She’s going to die now, isn’t she?” “Man-to-man? Yeah, buddy, pretty soon.”–Jamie and Nathan
- Jamie says he has Chester because of Lydia.
- Nathan says he and Haley bought Chester.
- Jamie points out Lydia taught him to wish upon a star and he wished for Chester. Aw.
- Alex is talking on the phone about having sex.
- Brooke overhears and is obviously dismayed.
- Alex comments that the last girl “he” was with “nearly qualified for a senior citizen discount.”
- Brooke asks Julian if he did final hair and makeup call yet. He says no.
- Brooke then turns around and punches Alex in the face!
- Oh boy. This is terrible. I am sure Alex is talking about Alexander and has no idea Brooke is getting bothered because she thinks it was Julian or even that Brooke is bothered at all.
- But Brooke keeps assuming it’s Julian–perhaps rationally so–but she’s wrong so she’ll be the “bad guy” when all is said and done.
- 90210 promo.
- Julian is trying to get Alex is come-to.
- Her eye is red.
- She says she’s fine but keeps saying ouch.
- Julian tells Brooke to “get off my set.”
- She keeps trying to defend what she did but he yells again and again to get off his set.
- Haley is making the soup.
- Nathan says it smells good.
- He tells her he told Jamie.
- Q12: Of course he did. He’s so familiar with death.–Haley
- Hmmm. Quentin died. Jimmy died. Grandpa Dan almost died. Okay, Haley.
- But he’s how old now? Not THAT uncommon. Of course, still sucks regardless. I don’t think you get used to it at any age.
- Q13: Yes, it’s bad! My mom is dying and I’m making soup! And I can’t stop it! Because nothing can stop it! There’s just so many moments that go with her when she dies. I don’t know the right questions to ask and I’m not ready. I’m just not ready for this.–Haley
- Brooke walks into CoB with frozen vegetables on her hand. Makes me flashback to her and frozen vegetables on her eye. (Season 4)
- Alexander is wondering what happened.
- Brooke explains that she found Alex naked in Julian’s room with him in the shower.
- Alexander explains that he was with a naked Alex last night.
- Brooke realizes her mistake. That, yes, it was Julian’s room for whatever reason but it wasn’t Julian who was in here with Alex.
- She walks off and Alexander wonders “how bad can it be?”
- Julian’s dad says they are “screwed” because it will be weeks until the swelling goes down on Alex’s face.
- Julian says everything will be fine but his dad isn’t having it.
- Josh hits on Alex. And it is going on way too long. Next scene, please.
- Katie googles “Clay Evans” and then adds Sara to the search. She finds a picture of them from their wedding.
- She smirks.
- Haley is dishing Lydia soup in her hospital room.
- Haley is nervous about how it tastes.
- Lydia says it’s perfect.
- Haley says it’s not perfect because it’s a two-person recipe.
- Q14: I realized it’s not the soup I love. It’s making it with my mom and she’s leaving me.–Haley
- Q15: I may have some unconventional beliefs about the after life but I am not leaving you. Prepare to be haunted Haley James Scott.–Lydia
- Jamie comes in cheerful and Lydia is happy to see him.
- Jamie is in bed with her and has a book Haley reads to him when she’s sick. He begins to read it to her.
- Nice that Haley isn’t crying in front of Jamie right now. That takes strength.
- Brooke is laying on the floor in the store.
- Victoria comes in.
- Q16: I’m trying to find a place to hang myself.–Brooke
- Victoria says not to be dramatic.
- She joins Brooke on the floor. Aw. Cute. So un-Victoria.
- Q17: I’m the donkey in a big stupid Shakespearean mix-up.–Brooke
- Wow. So true! This is so Shakespearean tragi-comedy.
- Brooke explains what happened with Alex/Alexander and how she screwed things up. I missed an awesome quote. Damn.
- She does say Julian is the one boy that makes her world turn. Take that, Lucas Scott! (And Jamie Scott! Aw, sad.)
- Victoria says she’s overlooking the best part: Julian didn’t sleep with Alex.
- And she reminds Brooke that the ass turns into a human again when he makes up for his mistakes.
- Clay and Quinn come into Lydia’s room. He has a Proxima (projecter).
- He excuses himself.
- Q18: You know I loved David. But I have the same feeling I did with Nathan. He’s one of the good ones.–Lydia.
- Groan. So contrived. This is an example of them pushing Quinn and Clay on us and this is an example of when I can’t stand it.
- Quinn says she really loves him but hasn’t told him yet.
- Lydia tells her not to be afraid to do it.
- She says Quinn has been the girl with the most passion.
- Q19: Give your head permission to follow your heart.–Lydia
- Quinn promises.
- Taylor walks in.
- Brooke goes to Alex’s hotel room.
- Q20: Didn’t know your own strength, did you, Bam Bam?–Alex
- Flintstones reference!
- Alex asks Brooke why she punched her because she knows they aren’t close friends but she thought they were okay.
- Brooke explains she came by last night and found her in Julian’s room and yada yada yada.
- Q21: Whether you continue to push each other away or not, he knows what it’s like to really be in love. I never had a chance.–Alex
- Brooke apologizes “for everything” and Alex does the same.
- A new beginning for them? I kind of hope so. I would buy them as friends here on out. Like Brooke and Rachel did.
- Brooke leaves. Alex cries.
- Lydia tells Taylor she’s glad she came and it’s okay to be upset. She admits she’s upset, too.
- Taylor apologizes for being such a disappointment.
- Q22: “All my siblings are talented or smart or both. And I’m just Taylor. Nobody likes Taylor.” “I do.” “You have to say that. You’re my mother.”–Taylor and Lydia
- Lydia says Taylor reminds her the most of herself.
- Taylor doesn’t believe her.
- Lydia explains she used to be Taylor-ish and because she knows how she turned out, she knows Taylor will be fine.
- Q23: You can fight this all you want but you will end up happy.–Lydia
- Lydia asks how long will it take for Taylor to love herself.
- Wherever she goes from here, she says, “I will never ever let go of you.”
- They are both crying. Taylor is hysterical.
- It’s pretty sad that this is the scene that made me cry. Not any of the others. Not any of the ones with Haley.
- And odd how much emphasis the show has put on this relationship.
- Alexander goes into CoB and starts to apologize to Victoria. He is the one that stood her up!
- He starts to say how they’re different and it won’t work. She kicks him out.
- Lydia wakes up. Taylor is sleeping besides her.
- Jamie says he has a surprise for her.
- He flips a switch. The projector shows stars all in the room.
- Quinn and Haley are there, too.
- It’s kind of like the “planetarium room” Silver created for Jackie earlier this season on 90210.
- Taylor wakes up. She apologizes for being a lousy sister. She says she doesn’t deserve it but wants another chance.
- Q24: For now on, I’ll be better.–Taylor
- They all join hands.
- Okay, so their mother is on her deathbed. Where the hell are her other kids?
- Lydia whispers thank you to Jamie.
- Brooke walks on to the set, saying she know she’s banned but she wants to clear something up.
- Julian said it better be good because he cost her $100,000. Brooke says it has cost her her dignity.
- She explains what happened.
- Q25: “So basically you still don’t trust me.” “No basically I got jealous because I’m in love with you and I always will be.”–Julian and Brooke
- She explains her thinking: she was so afraid of Julian falling for Alex and then she thought that that indeed happen.
- He kisses her.
- Q26: You think too much, Brooke Davis.–Julian
- They keep kissing. Aww. Not what I expected. At all. Not complaining. Just surprised.
- Everyone is in Lydia’s room with her. They are looking at a slideshow of pictures.
- Landslide is the song playing in the background. You’re killing me, Lindsey Wolfington!
- Alex is in her room, texting someone.
- She texted Alexander, asking where he is.
- He’s sitting outside CoB.
- Victoria comes out, surprised to see him.
- Q27: I like you. I know I slept with Alex. But I like you. A lot.–Alexander
- Victoria slaps him!
- And then pulls him into a huge hardcore kiss! Woah!
- Alex goes to Josh’s room. As soon as he opens the door, she kisses him.
- Q28: Ssh. If you talk, I can’t pretend you’re somedoy else.–Alex
- She takes off her shirt and gets on his bed.
- Josh has a laptop with a webcam going!
- Woah! Photoshopped pictures galore of Haley and the girls and Lydia.
- One is presumably of Haley and them at college graduation.
- Lydia comments how she did everything right. Haley or someone says else says she did.
- Then she presumably dies. Or fell asleep/drifted from consciousness. But you know show she died.
- And it fades to black.
- And now Haley and a bunch of people are dressed in black by a lake or something.
- Haley dumps ashes into water.
- Everyone throws in roses.
- Haley pulls Taylor close to her. Quinn is on the other side.
- WHERE ARE THE OTHER SIBLINGS, GODDAMMIT?!
- Ball dropped, OTH. Ball dropped!
- There’s actually a bunch of people there but we have no idea who they are, other than the ones they did close-ups of.
- Julian is holing Brooke.
- Nathan is holding Jamie.
- Haley is crying.
- Now she’s at home, looking at her mom’s recipe.
- Wow. This has gone way too fast. Way to rush through the rest of the storyline, folks! And conveniently avoid showing the rest of Haley’s siblings!
- I wonder if it was planned that way or if they had to do rewrites/edits. Pure unnecessary speculation on my part.
- She smells her mom’s apron and puts it on.
- She opens the fridge and smiles.
- Lauren comes into Mouth’s apartment.
- She admits she wasn’t worried about being Mouth’s rebound. She was worried about him being hers.
- She kisses him. It’s kind of hot.
- Mouth pulls back, shocked.
- And in walks Skills! He’s happy to see Lauren and asks if he missed her.
- I guess they weren’t quite broken up.
- Julian brings Brooke wine on her couch.
- She puts it down and pulls him into a kiss.
- They start to make out. And it’s very hot. And sweet.
- Jamie comes into the kitchen and says it smells good.
- Haley says she’s making soup and it requires a “handsome 7-year-old boy” to help.
- He is happy to and Haley looks upwards. She then explains to him what to do.
- Clay and Quinn are somewhere. His house? I dunno.
- Q29: “What’s up?” “What’s up is that I love you. In case you didn’t know.” “I love you too. And that’s never going to change.”–Clay and Quinn
- Never? Ever? Hm.
- Katie is looking at a memorial page. Sara’s.
- She says, presumably to her roommate, that she will get the agent.
- She unwraps a towel and her hair is now blonde, just like Sara’s.
- Fade to black.
- Preview: There’s a sex tape with Alex and Josh going around. Julian’s dad says someone is blackmailing them. Alex accuses Josh of filming them having sex. Somebody bought a portrait Quinn did of Clay–Katie and she looks just like Sara. Clay drops his beer in shock. Skills punches Mouth, knocking down a sheet revealing Victoria and Alexander gettin’ busy. Brooke is shocked.
- Woah! It says One Tree Hill returns April 26th with “the final four episodes.”
- April 26th?!
- Final four episodes?!
Those are my thoughts. What’s yours?
TeenDramaWhore 
My take on the Taylor, Haley and Quinn being the three Lydia talks about as being close, isn’t that they are forgetting about Vivian, but the three of them were in fact the closest and inseparable. In my mind Vivian is a lot older than the three of them, and the three of them are the babies of the family and closest in age. So they spent the most time growing up together and all their time together as kids. In other words, not necessarily revisionist.
I thought there were James brothers also?
Where’s the rest of the family when mom is dying?
Also, re: the other siblings. I kind of assumed all those other people at the funeral were the other siblings. We just don’t know them so they didn’t concentrate/zoom in on them. I’m the queen of rationalization tonight. 🙂
ok i cried my eyes out tonight with oth. i mean wow, what an amazing storyline and acting. i am so hoping that the final four episodes are just for the season, and we get a s8. this just showed that oth can still produce amazing tv.
add one more thing….skills walking through the door. what?! my mouth dropped because i thought he was gone. now i feel bad for him, and am mad at mouth and lauren. 😛
Amy, you are totally Queen of Rationalization tonight. And while I one trillion percent respect it, I don’t accept it. This is pure sloppiness and carelessness and disrespect by the show, in my opinion. My guess is they very purposefully said 2 out of 3 because saying 2 out of 4 or 3 out of 4 would open up a can of worms by revealing that, oh yeah, there is indeed another sister and they’d have to explain where she’s at, etc. Instead, it’s easier for them just to not mention the other sister and the brothers. I’m sure many viewers, old and new, are none-the-wiser. But for those that ARE, sorry, that’s messed up. Very messed up. And they should be catering to the fans that do remember everything and do expect no mistakes, no sloppiness, no “we’ll do sketchy wording so we somewhat cover our ass.” And sure, yes, there’s an implication that the other siblings were among the people at the funeral, but not showing them then or before then (and I assume they won’t be shown after this) or explicitly mentioning it is also messed up. This has not been a quality storyline. It was cheap storyline that preyed on our emotions and manipulates you into thinking it’s a good storyline because it makes you cry or it makes you feel sympathy for the characters or because it deals with a real-life problem. But that’s not enough for me. That’s not enough to make this a quality storyline. One Tree Hill used to show a lot of concern and care for their viewers. I didn’t see that here and, well, that’s indicative of this whole season for me. But I realize that’s just me and I know plenty of people feel differently and you know very well that I respect those people and the myriad of opinions out there. ::deep breaths:: That so wasn’t as eloquent as it should’ve been. I just feel frustrated right now. My apologies.
ed fury, yes, there are James brothers also and your question is one, clearly, that I have, too.
Michelle, I will agree with you on the acting. All the females were in strong form tonight. It very may well be the final four of the season, not series. Time will tell! While I knew Skills wasn’t gone for good, that was still an interesting twist and I look forward to seeing this storyline unfold.
Don’t apologize, everyone is entitled to feel what they feel and have their opinions. I think it’s good that we all feel so passionately about the show that we can sit here and discuss it so much. Honestly, the non-recognition or non-specific recognition of the other family members doesn’t bother me. Like I said, that was the whole James family at the funeral to me and we know Taylor, Quinn and Haley so we should see them. I’d be irritated if we didn’t/hadn’t. And it seemed like Lydia actually dying came up pretty quick; they thought she had a few more months. There probably wasn’t time for the rest of the family to come in from wherever they were for the end. I think that as soon as Lydia saw Taylor make up with Haley and Quinn she felt it was ok to go. But if you’re frustrated, you’re totally entitled to that; hopefully you’ll find a way to make peace with it!
I honestly thought this episode was a melodramatic waste of my time. Brooke and Julian are tiresome, Mouth and Lauren are pointless, Alex and Josh, Victoria and Alexander… what show am I watching?
The Lydia storyline has done nothing but let the Joy, Shantel and Lindsey cry a lot (personally I’ve found most of it to be overacting), trying to convince me I should care when they’ve given me no good reason to do so. Yes, I like, or perhaps I should say liked, Lydia. But that’s not enough when you bring back a character for three episodes just to kill her off and give her daughters a storyline. It is manipulative; I’ve previously called it emotional blackmail.
Nathan, meanwhile, not only has no storyline whatsoever, he’s barely even involved with what anyone else in his family has been doing.
Thanks, Amy. I think it’s also good that we can discuss it respectfully! That doesn’t always happen in some places. Yes, it does seem Lydia’s death was rather sudden but I would think there was *at least* a day or two between her death and the funeral, allowing plenty of time for other relatives–and friends–to come to town. But I would guess the funeral was purposefully shown the way it was to avoid the sibling issue. But, to give a different example, where was Deb? Sure, she and Lydia had a shaky start but I would hope she would attend the funeral of her son’s mother-in-law. I guess, like you said, we could assume she was there and just not explicitly shown but that doesn’t work for me. And I probably even shouldn’t get started on Leyton being MIA (in body and spirit) on this. So, yes, I am frustrated but I do see why the storyline worked for you.
T2AC, of the storylines you mentioned in your first paragraph, the only one I really find myself interested in and eager to see more of is Mouth and Lauren. I don’t know what that says about me and what that says about the show right now. I do think emotional blackmail is FABULOUS way to describe the Lydia storyline. I guess that’s what I was trying to say in my previous comment but you summed it up very well. It has been low on Nathan lately. I don’t know if that to do with being high on him in the beginning or what. A lot people have been saying they don’t know how the show can be wrapped up in 4 more episodes if this is indeed the last season. It looked to me like two big storylines–Brulian and Lydia–were wrapped up tonight and that everything else very well could be handled in 4 episodes. And, frankly, I hope it will be.
I’m a glutton for punishment, because I want another season for the simple reason that this one has left me completely cold. This isn’t how I want to remember the show. Another season could be ten times worse, but I’m almost willing to risk that.
The saddest part is that I thought the season had potential and started out fairly well. If the show ends after this season I’m going to have a strong feeling that the writers spent too much time catering to the online fans, shoehorning in the storylines they’d been clamoring for, without considering what the much larger “real life” viewer base would want to see. The ratings have been slipping since January and it’s obvious the storylines haven’t been drawing any interest.
A show about the Scott family once drew 5 million viewers. Nathan’s now the only original Scott left; a show about the James and Davis families has finally slipped below 2 million, a figure nobody can ignore.
T2AC, I can understand not wanting to remember the show this way. But if it ends this season, this will just be “the lost season” to me, the season that never should’ve been, the spin-off-like season that was just a big mistake. The more it continues, the more it takes away from the first 6 seasons for me and the more it legitimizes this version of the show which may be One Tree Hill in name but isn’t OTH to me. As you noted, a season 8 might be even worse and where we differ is that I rather not risk it. They had a chance to go out on top last year. They chose not to and I worry that continuing for another year will further drag the show’s memory/legacy down. But, of course, I can’t say for sure this will happen. Their could be a total creative resurgence with an eighth season. But I rather just cut my losses now and be grateful for seasons 1-6.
It’s interesting that you mention catering to online fans because I’ve seen some things that I’ve been “asking” for occurring but not occurring well, not with a quality level that makes it worth it. And, I guess more to your point, anyone can come up with storylines. There will never be a dearth of storylines they could do. But just because there’s stories you could possibly tell doesn’t mean they’re worth telling.
In regards to the ratings, the first half of the season (all the episodes up to and and include 7.12) averaged 2.5 million, which is a small drop from the season 6 average. But these episodes since the hiatus have brought the average down even more. And while we know ratings isn’t the only thing The CW looks at (90210 and Gossip Girl are proof of that), it is jarring to think about what was and what currently is. (Then again, many shows decline in ratings in their later years.) But I was jarred even more just before when I saw that the Keeping With the Kardashians finale had more than 4 million viewers and their season average was a 3.7 or something. It puts things into perspective, I think.
i do agree about nathan, but i am happy that finally haley got her time to shine with some material. she has always been behind nathan in everything, so now he got to stand behind her. now that lydia’s storyline is over i hope they do foucs more on nathan….and of course naley.
as for the james family. this is one tree hill, and the show has always left many things out or just dropped them. remember in s1 when nathans grandfather came in looking for karen? did we ever find out what he wanted, and what his connection was to her? or what about that girl nathan raced against in s2, whatever happend to her? from the looks of it nathan had a pretty good friendship with her, and we have never heard of her since.
i loved the first half of this season, and i hated s6. so i am willing to give the show another season…if we get one…because i know that the show can do better. i have seen the drama and the emotion of last few episodes that was about family and heart. almost what oth used to be.
I think I remember you posting on OTH Blog, Shari, mentioning that you didn’t like the way the show dealt with the death of Haley’s father. That’s the kind of thing I mean when I talk about catering to the fans. There had been so many complaints that Haley didn’t have a family, and that Haley was neglected; clearly a lot of this season has been intended to “fix” that. But the show had tried to get Huey Lewis and Bess Armstrong back before, and they simply couldn’t do it. The problem was never lack of caring about Haley, it was not wanting to settle for doing something halfway. And that’s exactly what they’ve done now. Huey Lewis wasn’t available, so Jimmy was killed off in a completely contrived way, all because they just HAD to bring Lydia back and couldn’t do it without explaining Jimmy’s absence. The fans got what they had asked for…almost, but not really.
Bring the show back closer to its roots, and focus on quality writing that tells a good story. Nobody dictated the storylines in Season 1, and it’s by far the most “real” season there’s ever been.
Michelle, yes, this was more Haley leaning on Nathan than Nathan leaning on Haley. I know there are a lot of people who feel that Haley hasn’t gotten her fair share of storylines but I don’t think she’s been neglected at all. That doesn’t mean, of course, that I’m not happy to see a storyline showcase her now or again in the future. I enjoy BJG quite a lot and that’s probably what I’ll remember most about this storyline. If that was their goal, then I guess they succeeded. IMHO, I don’t think the examples you gave are comparable to Haley’s brothers and sisters being MIA and her father’s death being completely glossed over. In regards to Nathan’s grandfather, I’m pretty sure we found out–and someone please correct me if I’m wrong–that he always checked in with Karen when he was in town and had concern for Lucas, or at least that was the implication. I never had any unanswered questions with that. In regards to the girl who raced against Nathan in season 2, Daytona, I can’t remember the specifics–did he know her before he went to that race with Uncle Cooper? Or was that the first time they met? Regardless, there’s been other random friends introduced in one episode and never heard from again such as Lucas and Faith and the basketball player whose family Lucas and Nathan visited together one time. I will say it can be frustrating to meet a character that you know will have no lasting relevance but seems to take up a lot of time in that episode but in the grand scheme of things, I harbor no resentment about those friends never being heard from again. And again, I don’t see how that compares to part of Haley’s immediate family being missing in a storyline that’s actually about her immediate family. Well, I completely loved season 6 but I didn’t love the first half of this season and I don’t see what you see in these last few episodes. Well, yes, I see drama and emotion but I don’t see what I would call good drama and emotion. I know the show can do better, too, and I will of course stick it out to see if they do. I have to say it totally fascinates me how people can watch the same show and feel so differently about it. It’s so true what they say about different strokes for different folks and one person’s junk being another person’s treasure and all that and, of course, that you can’t please everyone. I guess this is me saying thank you, Michelle, for reminding me of a different and completely legitimate viewpoint.
T2AC, thanks for giving an example of what you meant with the show catering to fans. Yes, you did read that I was upset with how Jimmy’s death was handled. And I agree with that you about it just now. I do think there were other ways (storylines) to bring Lydia back without Jimmy that would’ve “worked” but for the cancer storyline, it could only work if he was dead. And I can only guess that they went the cancer route for the “cheap thrill” (i.e. the emotional reaction, we talked about) that they knew it would get. I guess I would’ve preferred them not doing anything with Lydia at all if it meant, as you said, settling for it being done halfway. But I’m sure plenty of people feel just the opposite–they rather this instead of nothing at all.
the song that played during the funeral was in season one! it was in “i shall believe” obviously.im pretty sure it played when haley finally went to go see lucas after his accident and nathan and brooke stood in the background watching them. i cried then and im crying my eyes out right now.
I’ve been reading the comments and I gotta say that I kinda agree and kinda not, I asked myself about Vivian in this episode too and there’s just not right answer, I remember reading Shantel (Quinn) said in an interview something like (and I’m quoting the wikipedia article) *SPOILER ALERT*”While speaking on the return of Taylor, VanSanten also revealed that her character’s mother, played by Bess Armstrong, along with several other family members would be appearing on the show including ‘[some] of our brothers and sisters — we didn’t necessarily know we had before’.”
I’d like to think this means we’ll get to meet Vivian and maybe even other James original family members (I say originals ’cause of the obvious spoiler in the interview), so maybe the funeral is what brings them back?
Regarding the Lydia storyline, I’m afraid I’m gonna have to disagree with most comments– I thought it was really good but not because of the cheap thrill but because since she came back, it felt like One Tree Hill again; don’t ask me why I felt that (specially considering Lydia was a very minor character), but I did and it felt AWESOME.
The fact that Lucas wasn’t on the funeral was just insulting, it’s just totally not something the characters of Karen, Lucas or Peyton (or maybe even DEB) would do! I mean Lucas and Haley were like brother and sister, how can he NOT be in this moment of her life?! That was just too wrong.
On season eight, I really wish there is one, ’cause I’m liking where the characters are going even Alex feels human, there were actually times I kinda liked Quinn and the Clay storyline seems to be going to a great place, BUT am I the only one who’s noticed how they’re moving new episodes of One Tree Hill to SATURDAYS? that’s like dooming the show! it’s one of the worst nights in television! I have no doubt this episode did good in ratings, and I honestly hope even if OTH moves to a Saturday, people watch it ’cause it’s finally feeling (at least to me) like the great show it used to be…
sorry, I just noticed it’s 26 not 24(like it says in the post, btw) that One Tree Hill comes back, so it’s not really being moved to Saturdays! 😀
anyway in the promo says the final 4 episodes, please tell me they’re not cancelling OTH without at least adding some episodes to this season, in order to give it a proper ending :S
So I know I’m a little late on the commenting tonight, but as you know I’m away, but I promised myself I would comment before I went to sleep and here I am! I agree with all you on Vivian, and her whereabouts, but I have to admit I had completely forgotten about her until I read your post. As I watched tonight, I did wonder about the other siblings but I thought they were boys, I forgot there was an additional girl. I remember Vivian being mentioned once? Or twice?
Aside from that slip-up, I really thought this was a well-done episode, especially for a little finale. It was very emotional and heavy on the James sisters and mom. The acting was great with all of them. Little interesting side note- I spoke with Shantel here this week about her emotional stuff with the mom storyline, because for me, she’s the one who’s making me cry with her most, and she said she always worries about not doing it justice enough because she knows someone now who’s going through something very similar and it’s painful and only those who go through it can know right? But I said she definitely is doing it justice! It’s really sad to watch, all of them really. I still believe this whole storyline could have been stronger had they brought Lydia back before, but for tonight and what they could do with it, it wrapped up very nicely to me. Loved the last scene with the whole family around her.
With all the sadness in this episode, it was great to see a little bit of comedy between Brooke and Alex in the beginning, and then to see Julian and Brooke get their happy ending was just perfect for me! lol
Alexander and Victoria, not so surprised, but should be interesting to watch unfold. Victoria’s always fun for me to watch so I don’t think/hope I’ll be disappointed with this storyline for her. And as for Alex, all I have to say is poor girl. I really feel for her situation, don’t want her to be with Julian, but it’s sad that she’s so in love with him and will keep doing stupid stuff to help her deal with that.
Worst part of tonight; I can’t believe the next new episode is not until two months from now!!!!
maybe they did have haley’s family there and there was a scene but it got cut out during editing. last season on the dvd there were a lot of scenes that should have stayed in, but ended up getting cut. maybe we will see once the s7 dvd comes out.
This was the BEST episode OTH has had in a long time. Bravo Mark!
Kevin, the quote you have came from an interview Shantel did with TVGuide.com last month (https://teendramawhore.com/2010/01/24/news-roundup-9/). I suppose it is possible she is referring to something we haven’t seen yet, a storyline that springs from the Lydia storyline–especially since she said siblings they “didn’t necessarily know we had before.” I just assumed last night this storyline was done and while we’d maybe see Haley still grieving a bit when the show comes back, that that would be it and the next storyline for Naley–perhaps one more about Nathan and maybe about basketball–would start. Obviously I could be completely wrong. I am completely with you on Lucas, Peyton, Deb and Karen being MIA. I already mentioned the first three but Karen is a good one to mention, too. Of course we’re supposed to think that Leyton and Karen are in some foreign country but I would think they would have time to come back for a funeral, even if it was just a day later. (Maybe we’ll find out in the next episode that they came back afterward and stayed for a few days during the time we missed. Man, that would suck.) Regarding Leyton specifically, I don’t think anyone is surprised they weren’t there–CMM and HB have no plans to return right now and I think people know that–but we’re still disappointed anyway because it’s just not right given the past. And that’s not to say they have to avoid all storylines where Leyton should be mentioned or involved ’cause, hell, IMO, they wouldn’t have a show then, but there are some ways and some reasons to incorporate them. Both Lucas and Peyton have experienced the death of a loved one and Peyton’s was also her mom and also from cancer. But even besides that, there’s the fact that they’re supposed to be best friends, especially Lucas and Haley. I’ve been bothered all season that there hasn’t been a one-sided phone conversation or an e-mail exchange during some of the other storylines (like “normally,” Haley and Nathan both would’ve vented to Lucas during the Renee thing) but this takes the cake. This is a major life-changing crisis-like event. Like you said, it’s just wrong. I do agree that we’re seeing more human sides of Alex and I do like that and have been liking that. I’ve been saying I want to see more about Quinn and I was looking forward to the storyline of her opening her gallery but the preview for the next episode looks like we’ll be skipping over the nitty-gritty and that her storyline will probably more focus on the Clay-Katie debacle. Ah, yes, it does say the 24th up at the top. I will fix that. The correct date is at the end of the blog, though. But also, just for knowledge’s sake, The CW couldn’t put OTH or any of their shows on Saturday night because they don’t have the “rights” to broadcast then like other networks do. While we don’t know yet if this is the last season (I’ve seen some saying elsewhere that the “final 4” thing has been done in past seasons), even if it is, I don’t think they will or even can add additional episodes. Filming of the finale is scheduled to wrap by mid-March and that’ll be that. (I suppose it would be possible, though, that if it is announced after that they are canceled, to do some re-shoots, if necessary. I don’t know about full-on additional episodes.)
Meriam, thanks for taking the time to comment while you’re away. I hope you’re having a great time! Vivian was mentioned at least once by name–specifically in Taylor’s first episode, which happened to air on SoapNet Friday and yesterday. Not sure if her name came up any other the time and the brothers were never given names. Oh, goodness, I’ve been talking about the show and talking about new episodes being a while from now but I’ve completely forgotten that that means this was, as you said, a little finale. I don’t know why I didn’t make the connection. Well, I guess last night’s ending was a bit more “OMG” cliff-hanger-y than 7.12’s last scene. I think I would’ve preferred it to end on the funeral scene. That may have been more powerful. Thanks for sharing your conversation with Shantel! I think that was a nice, humble thing to say, particularly because it’s true: only those of us who, unfortunately, have been through it can really “know” the depths of how painful and emotional it is. Yes, it definitely could’ve been stronger if Lydia had been back before this or for longer than this. (I also think, alternatively, it could’ve been stronger if Lydia had a sudden, non-cancer death either off-screen or on, which would of course eliminate all the Lydia scenes we got but also eliminate some of the problems they presented and still allowed the girls to have many of the non-Lydia scenes that they did have.) Couldn’t help but smile during Brulian’s two last scenes. I am wondering where they will go from here. What surprised me about Alexander and Victoria was the emotional component. If they ever did a cougar storyline for her, I thought it would be more about fun and sex–and not because that’s what Deb and Skills started out as, too, but because that just seemed more Victoria. So it threw me for a loop that Victoria was genuinely hurt by Alexander’s actions and that they may have genuine feelings for each other. Whether that will continue to be played up going forward, I don’t know. It does suck to be Alex. Absolutely. When that last scene happened, I had definite Brooke-Felix in the closet vibes. I don’t expect the storyline to unfold the same way–as in, I don’t expect Josh’s part on the show to grow and for it to turn into a genuine relationship, though who knows?–but it was interesting to see shades of Brooke. And I know people have said for a while now that Alex is like old Brooke. I also realized late last night that Millie wasn’t in the episode. Yes, the break is 8 weeks–and it was supposed to be 6! When The CW announced the schedule in November and re-announced it in December, the last OTH episode before the break was March 1 and the first episode after it was April 19. And now the last episode was Feb. 22 and the new episode is April 26. Why it’s changed, I don’t know. They didn’t even really announce it.
Michelle, you have a good point. There could be deleted scenes with Haley’s family on the DVD. That won’t make me feel any better, though. We’re supposed to be judging the show based on the finished episodes that air. And, as is all too clear by now, I have a problem with what’s been seen on air or, rather, what’s not been seen on air. Having those scenes on the DVD won’t make up for it. It might even make it worse.
Lexy and Wes, it seems I missed your comments before. Sorry about that.
Lexy, yes, I’ve seen a few people saying that it was the same Sheryl Crow song. I’d love to know about the decision to use that song again because a lot of people said they are flashing back to that Lucas-Haley scene and I’m not sure what resonance, if any, that is supposed to have with the scenes it was used in last night. There’s no connection I can really draw, which makes me think it was just “coincidence.” They liked the song and thought it would fit here so they used it again–which, IMO, takes away from it being used here and in season 1. Not sure if that make sense. Hope you get what I’m trying to say.
Wes, I’m glad you liked the episode.
This episode had some very moving scenes that I really enjoyed. I loved the Lydia-Haley-Quinn-Tay storyline, and the performances from Bethany Joy Galeotti and I forget her name (the one that plays Taylor) were so spectacular.
Thats about all I can say was good. Like you TDW, I am deeply disapointed about the storyline writing in this episode. With Lydia’s death, this would have been the PERFECT opportunity to introduce us to the rest of the James children. I was half expecting them to be introduced during the Funeral and so saddened that they weren’t. I agree when u say the episode felt rushed. It really did. One minute Lydia’s dead, the other minute her ashes are being spread into some lake/river, the next Haley is making soup. I would have loved to see a carefully played out James reunion. I HATEDD that they allowed the Mouth-Lauren storyline to intersect right after the funeral. Horrid timing. There was such a morose feeling with those scenes, to have them end so abruptly and move on to some age-old love triangle scene was down right rude in my mind. It didn’t give the audience time to absorb what was happening, I had to wipe my sad feelings clean off the slate to pay attention to the new scene. I didn’t appreciate that at all! Indeed, I feel OTH is getting sloppy and rushed; signs I think mean that the show is coming to close. If so, I hope they allow the show to end on a high note and not on the crapfest trend that this season has (mostly) been. {I say mostly because some of the storylines and scenes I’ve enjoyed, but I feel that the show has so much more potential that the producers/writers choose not to play out.}
absolutely amazing episode. Truth be told that i haven’t seen an episode of this season twice but this one i had to. It was so well written and surprised the hell out of me about every 5 minutes. Defiantaly one of the greater ones. One tree hill has to come back for a final season or ill die alittle inside lol. I love one tree hill and even if it goes off air, ill be watching it all the time ❤ Great recap -btw the last part about April was rediculous. I cant wait that long! ha
Did anyone else notice where the funeral for Haileys mom took place? was that not totally “The Ruins” from Dawson’s Creek?!
wasnt that also the place of the party from s4 when they got together in the last episode?
i admit what i didnt like last night was how is went from lyida dying and then ta-da her funeral. they should have saved that for the next episode, than maybe we would have gotten to see the rest of haley’s family.
I’m short on time so forgive my brief responses:
g90210th, I pretty much agree with all that you said and I’m glad you mentioned something I didn’t: the timing of the Mouth-Lauren stuff was weird. I mean, as I’ve said, I enjoyed it, but it was just two scenes in the whole episode and I wonder why they didn’t do it in a previous ep or later ep. As you said, the second scene really didn’t work that well with the pacing and the mood at that point.
Lizz, glad you liked the recap and the episode. I will say the only one I’ve watched twice this season was 7.07, the one with the Clay-Sara flashbacks. And I guess I should admit that it was really only those scenes I watched again.
Manda and Michelle: You are both right. Those were The Ruins seen on Dawson’s Creek and the location was also seen in the season 4 OTH finale, particularly when Lucas and Peyton were pow-wowing and then Nathan and Haley came over. And, yes, Michelle, I agree with you on the pacing of the storyline. I wasn’t expecting it to be wrapped up that quickly. I know we sometimes complain about things being dragged out but it felt kind of abrupt or, at the very least, it caught me off-guard. I would think we’ll still see Haley grieving some but still. Though I wonder how long after this episode the next one takes place…
Wow, to think I almost didn’t watch this epsiode! I have not kept up with the show nearly as much as in past seasons. This is really the first season that I haven’t scowered for spoilers or general info about the episodes. I have to say it’s so different when you “blindly” go into an episode. That is probably the biggest reason as to why I enjoyed this episode as much as I did.
I read through the majority of the comments and am sort of shocked that I’m in the minority with liking this episode a lot. Of course there are storylines that I, personally could do without:
-Alex’s co-star, how many times have we seen this kind of character on OTH? His personality and story did not fit this meloncholy and bittersweet episode in the least.
-Alexander, who is he? Do the writers have even the slightest idea of who he is and what he’s all about? first he is a potential love interest for Brooke, then he turned sleazy, now he has feelings for Victoria?! It feels like they just use him to fill in missing pieces to a few storylines instead of creating all new characters, if that makes any sense.
-And although I don’t completely hate the Mouth/Lauren storyline (mostly cause I’m a fan of Allison Munn) I can’t really explain why, but I don’t really care. Most likely Mouth and Millie will get back together. And I’m tired of too much emphasis on Mouth and/or Millie. Maybe I just miss the days of only focusing on the core 5.
Onto why I enjoyed the episode :). So, I didn’t watch yesterday and I almost put off watching it again tonight. I could give a long drawn out explanation as to why I’m not as bothered by no real/specific mentions of Haley’s other siblings, but I’ll just say there is only 40 odd minutes an episode and I would rather them not waste time on unimportant, non-interesting characters. An introduction to Haley’s family would be character/storyline overload.
Honestly this episode had me sobbing. The acting was great by the three sisters and by the actress that plays the mom (forgot her name) I think she is wonderful for a character we have seen and heard very little of. There were times that I saw the old OTH shine through and that made me cry even more lol.
Having “I Shall Believe” at the end just threw me over the edge. It conjured up some truely fantastic moments from season one: Peyton drawing the #3 heart surrounded in flames on the rivercourt, Karen going to hug Dan to thank him, Keith feeling rejected holding the engagement ring and Haley finally making it to the hospital to see Lucas. Awe, the memories ♥ So what if they may have unfairly used that song to manipulate loyal viewers? I bought into it lol.
I want this to be the last season, but ideally I would also like to end the series with the core 5 together. Since that’s not going to happen I guess I will have to live it. I wanted the show to end last season because I knew that it could’t live up to the glory days, so why try? Having said that, I’m still able to enjoy the epsiodes like this one that remind why I used to love this show so much even if I don’t anymore. I guess it’s all about expectations and mine are not that high anymore so episodes like this one can still affect me in a postive way.
Alyssa, thanks for the in-depth comment! I’m glad you watched the episode. I get what you’re saying about a lot of it–Alex is a waste of time, Alexander isn’t being a clear character, there should be more focus on the core, etc. All legit complaints that I pretty much agree with. (And I do think it’ll be Mouth and Millie back together eventually. But I, too, ❤ Allison Munn.) And I see why you liked this episode. For the record, it did have me sobbing, too. I'm not saying I didn't feel the emotion of it but as I was trying to say above, the episode making me cry doesn't mean it was a good episode, you know? And I kind of think that's where we get tricked and where the whole emotional blackmail comes into play, as it did again with the song choice. (And I think you really illustrated my point–that song conjures those memories; sigh!–and what did that have to do with last night? Nothing. So I don't get it being used for any reason other than because they happen to like the song and think it fit but lord knows there's other songs out there that they could've used without messing with our minds and our memories.) But I completely understand what you're saying, especially with expectations playing a role.