Unpopular Opinion: ‘One Tree Hill’

It doesn’t matter what you say about bad acting, cliché plot lines, or creating an unrealistic image of high school and life beyond: “One Tree Hill” was a masterpiece of our youth. This series centers on two half-brothers who play basketball, but the show itself brings something to the table for both jocks and fans of rom-coms. With romance, literature, fashion, basketball, and music, “One Tree Hill” has something for everyone.

Characters become superstars in their own right. Over the course of the series, Haley and Peyton climb to the top of the music industry while Brooke is designing clothes for her successful “Clothes Before Bros” line. But the three of them always make it home in time to read their buddy Lucas’ new book and catch Nathan’s basketball game on TV. Is it likely that everyone in your high school friend group will be this successful in their careers? Probably not. Your buddy on the football team will more than likely not make it to the NFL, and your classmate who starred in all the school plays won’t be a Hollywood star. But there is something so fun about imagining a world where everyone achieves their loftiest dreams.

“One Tree Hill” also manages to pair up almost every possible couple among the five main characters. In fact, the only boy-girl match that doesn’t happen—Haley and Lucas—is only hampered by the facts that they had been best friends for years and that Haley gets married before she even graduated high school. Yes, Haley and Nathan somehow manage to get married and have a kid before they have a diploma. Despite all this, everything turns out okay in the end. “One Tree Hill” is an idealistic world where all five of them can sleep with each other and still remain good friends.

Throw in some kidnappings, parents with drug problems, and untimely deaths, and you have arrived in Tree Hill, North Carolina. To an early high schooler, “One Tree Hill” is what life could be like if they were more attractive, had more problems, and had prettier—and crazier—friends.

The greatest part is that the characters still become hugely successful despite their massive flaws. So of course young viewers feel the hope that they too can visit their celebrity friend’s mansion while working on their latest novel or fashion design. Myself included: I don’t wanna be anything other than a fan of “One Tree Hill.”

—Staff writer Caroline E. Tew can be reached at caroline.tew@thecrimson.com.