So I finished One Tree Hill 36 hours ago.
I'm still kind of dazed about it because WOW what a good show.
I guess the main thing I want to say is... WHY THE FUCK DID NOBODY TELL ME EVERY SEASON WAS GOOD YOU INTERNET PEOPLE MADE IT SEEM LIKE SEASONS 7, 8, AND 9 WERE LIKE UNWATCHABLE OR SOMETHING
SEASON 8 WAS MY FAVORITE TO WATCH IN THIS WHOLE MARATHON
I was so afraid I wouldn't like the show once Lucas and Peyton left... but honestly? I think that made it better. I mean... I don't know what it would have been like if Peyton had stayed and just Lucas had gone. But man I'm just so glad Lucas left. I... I don't even think it's anything against him (even though the fact that An Unkindness of Ravens is a thing that exists and is praised as this amazing genius book annoys the hell out of me because he literally just described real life events. His life and the lives of everyone around him are eventful, but if it weren't so, his book would suck. yes, yes, I know it matters how it's written and maybe it was this deep introspective piece that nobody else could have ever captured quite so, but I don't KNOW that. And he fucking used the actual dialogue that was said in real life. And he wrote passages like "Brooke Davis is such and such." or "Peyton's amazing" or something equally as... mundane. The passages that Peyton read (and listened to) over and over again were a great booster for her, but for anyone else? why should we care about the fact that the author thinks Peyton is an amazing person? And I can't imagine that everyone around him was okay with airing their deep personal problems in a book for the whole world to see. Honestly, I'm not even sure if he asked them permission. The entire book just bugs me because it was never explicitly stated to be an autobiography. It was presented as fiction as far as I saw and that's not okay. The fact that he wrote The Comet slightly redeemed his writing abilities in my eyes, but still, his career and the attitude he has toward it makes me groan). But It's not personal, honestly. I'm just... I really really hate it when I'm supposed to love a character just because he's the main character, the unequivocal lead. He can treat people like shit and sometimes get called out on it (Karen is freaking great okay), but most of the time gets rewarded for it. When he's better and faster and greater and angstier and happier and more desirable than anyone else. For no discernible reason. When the degree of his (or her) supposed awesomeness gets shoved at me constantly. Really, it's rare that I actually love a main character in a TV show or a book. I usually like them moderately, but the fact that they stand out so much in how the narrative treats them (so special, so wonderful, so lovable) just instantly turns me off to characters I might actually love otherwise (Harry Potter is actually the first example that comes to mind. when I think about him as a character, he's a freaking great one. by all logic, I should fall over myself to love him and his sassiness and his struggle. but then I think about him in the context of the narrative and I'm just like "eugh no". it's been a while since I reread the books, so I won't be able to tell you exactly what it is that bugs me about his treatment, but I've felt this way ever since first reading them. also Bo of Lost Girl. Olivia of Fringe. I mean she's my baby but... :/ Emma of OUaT. and a bunch more. there are ones I actually do love, but few). So Lucas, the annoying little main character, left and it actually improved the show for me.
Also, I think I suffered from HIMYM SYNDROME with the last few seasons. Or maybe the show did it for me. I don't really know, but I really had a lot more fun watching the seventh and eighth seasons than the other ones. I think it's the fact that... before, characters did act goofy and funny, but it was amid a larger scene/plot/context of drama. Career drama, family drama, relationship drama, or life and death drama, but drama. There were always a bunch of engaging plots going around and they were exciting and that was fine, they brought us a lot of great moments and development and such.
But in seasons seven and eight, I think there were a lot more moments when it all slowed down and the characters just... spent time together. For no reason other than enjoying each other's company. No overarching plot (or little of it). And then we got such gems as the pot brownie episode with a side dish of men going camping, Quinn babysitting Jamie, Julian babysitting Jamie (everyone babysitting Jamie, really), the morning after the bachelorette party, the thanksgiving (CHASE I FREAKING DIED), Jamie's birthday party, and Puerto Rico, and the poker game, and just... lots of shenanigans.
Then season 9 picked up again in terms of great big plots and was angsty, but in seasons 7 and 8 enough time had been spent getting to know these characters that they could have sat around reading books and making commentary or asking each other to pass the popcorn and I would have liked watching it.
It's a certain state of... tranquility, maybe, in shows, that only comes when at least four or five seasons (and/or INTENSE attachment, likely accompanied by half a dozen rewatches of the entire series)have passed and most of the time you don't even know you've reached it because most shows don't slow down like that. I, myself, only know of a few cases for me, but I do know the first time I noticed it was with HIMYM. Back in... season 6, I think it was, when I realized that I did not care if the show was funny anymore (though it still was then; season 7 was when the humor went downhill). Or if there were any exciting plots; all I wanted was to see the characters interact. So yeah. I loved seasons 7 and 8. And 9 too, but slightly less.
Do people really not like them?
Although I will admit that my opinion would probably be slightly different if I had watched the last few seasons when they aired.
And also, I just... I really love the characters on this show. Especially the ladies. I love the ladies a lot. All of them.
And the issues. THE ISSUES! I mean, it's a little unrealistic that they're all sandwiched between ten or so characters (idek who to count as the main cast) and happen so close together even when you count the timeskips and once they're over they're rarely brought up again unless the characters have PTSD or depression or identity crisis after that (someone almost died twice in a chronological year during the high school years; can't remember who, but if it were me, I'd have paranoia and fear and nightmares for months. heck, it's been over two years since my apartment was broken into and I STILL jump at every noise when I go to bed in the middle of the night), but, while they're happening, I think they're handled gracefully and fairly realistically (though I'm not an expert by any means) and it's just a great resource for people who are struggling with all kinds of bad shit and need someone to identify with or get inspired by, even if it is a fictional character.
All in all, his is one of the greatest and most consistently good shows I've ever seen and I'm so glad I've finally seen all of it.
I recommend it a lot. To everyone.
