Commentary with a Co-ed: One Tree Hill delivered

by Ashley Gouveia

One Tree Hill is finally back (yay!) with its season five flash-forward. Tuesday night we all got to see where Lucas, Nathan, Brooke, Peyton, Haley and the rest of the gang ended up after college.

Can I just say that I am so glad Mark Schwann, the creator of OTH, decided to skip the college years? I think it’s a lot more interesting to have the flashbacks of the four years and concentrate more on the scary time that is life after college. Plus, the actors can now play closer to their actual age.

The two-hour premiere started off with a good ol’ Lucas Scott voiceover. Then we see a much scruffier Chad Michael Murray standing at the River Court. Me like! Lucas is not the only one with a new look. Nathan is sporting a new longer ‘do and facial hair. Not a favorite look for my Nate, but maybe it will grow on me. Ms. Brooke Davis, now the head of her own fashion company in L.A., is doing pretty darn well for her twenty-one year old self. But she’s learning that money doesn’t buy happiness. But it sure does help, doesn’t it?

Peyton was working her way up at a music label. But since she was still only an assistant to an assistant, she decided to quit and pursue her dream of signing new talent back in Tree Hill. I’m glad she did, because her storyline in L.A. was kind of boring me. At least back home she can mingle with old friends and angst over Lucas. Not that she wasn’t doing that in L.A. already. I’m thinking she should have taken a trip down to a place called October Road and visit another former flame. Jake come back!

Lucas was having serious writer’s block after completing his first novel. Hey, it happens. I was pretty surprised by how Nathan got himself in a wheelchair. My first thought was that he injured himself playing basketball, much like Dan did. But a bar brawl caused him to lose his dream of playing in the NBA. Haley started teaching at the high school and is trying to be good mom to their son, Jamie, while Nathan is drinking himself into depression. I have to give props to the boy who plays little Jamie Scott. He stole every scene he was in. The kid is adorable! He broke my heart in the scene with Nathan trying to walk. He had some of the best lines, too. I agree kid, Grover is way better than Elmo!

I can’t talk about the premiere without mentioning the music, because it’s such an important part of this show. It had some great stuff like, ‘Light up the Sky’ by Yellowcard. My favorite song had to be ‘The Freshman’ by The Verve Pipe that played during Nathan’s scene when he got up from the wheelchair. Not only was that my favorite song, it was also my favorite scene.

These two hours of One Tree Hill were such a welcomed treat during a dry spell of new, scripted TV. I’m anxious to see what else is going to be revealed about the last four years. Do you like the flash-forward idea? What was your favorite scene? ‘Til next week.

Commentary with a Co-Ed is a weekly column at Tube Talk new every Thursday.

Subscribe by RSS