TV Hot Spot: One Tree Hill

One Tree Hill Episode 10: Songs to Love and Die By (Mid-Season Finale)

Review by: Sal & Shai

Hello everyone! Me and Shai are here again to review this weeks episode of "One Tree Hill". As I expected, the season-finale of "America's Next Top Model" (ANTM) helped "One Tree Hill" break another record. Last week, their episode averaged at around 4.15 Million Viewers, which was the highest rating for the series in a long time. This week, that number rose to a 3.0/5, meaning that around 4.2 Million Viewers tuned into this episode. It maintained the audience ANTM deliverd, obviously not as much but just enough to break another record. So congratulations to all of the "One Tree Hill" fans out there, and lets just hope The CW notices this and renews it for another season!

Sal: Ok Shai, I think we can start off the review. I liked the episode. Overall I thought it was a great addition to the season. It didnt include suspense like the last episode, but it had something that kept you wanting to watch. It had an emotional aspect to it. I think we can go through the different topics one by one in the next few paragraphs. So to start off, my general thought on the episode as a whole is excellent. Bravo to Mark (the Creator) for this episode. It was like we were watching a puzzle, and as the minutes went by, those pieces of the puzzle came together and designed this bigger picture.

Shai: Hey Sal! Glad I could do this review with you again (Almost didnt make it lol). Ok so, first thing! Congrats to "One Tree Hill" for scoring a season high again. The numbers are impressive and I hope they keep it up. I have become such a huge fan of this show and am really hoping they renew it for a season 5. The show has a strong fanbase, and the CW should realise that now with their growing numbers. So besides that, I will give my overall thought about the episode, and I LOVED IT! The whole episode was put together very well, but the ending...could have been better to be honest. I think we spoke about this before the review Sal, about the Cast members?

Sal: Yah. About that. We were both talking and I am extremely pleased with the writers on this episode. They managed to put each character into the episode, and even managed to give each character an emotional part to play. No Rachel, or Skills in this episode, but that didn't really bother me, and I actually didn't even realise that until the end. One character I was sad about not seeing, was Karen. I love her character and she would have been perfect for this episode. We did see a bit of her, but it wasn't enough for me. Oh and we also welcome back Keith! Of course, he is a 'Guide' for Lucas as he lies between the thin line of life and death, and they interact with each other very well.

Shai: I never knew how much I missed Keith until I watched this episode. His character was such a strong thing on this series, and when I saw him again, I actually wanted him to come back (lol). Oh and another thing I noticed in this episode. I felt 'sorry' for Dan! I actually did. I never felt 'sorry' for him before. Seeing him in that jail cell and taking the blame for his son was an amazing thing to do and so unlike the Dan we used to know. I think the writers are showing us that Dan wants to re-pay his debt. To every bad thing he has done. He obviously has done alot of bad things in his past, and I think it will take some time for him to come to terms with it.

Sal: I see what you mean about Dan, and I felt the same actually. But another thing I wanted to comment upon was this 'other world' we were introduced to in the episode. The one where Lucas wasn't as 'nice' as he really is. Peyton would have been dead, Brooke would have turned into a goth, and Haley would have never come back for Nathan and stayed on her tour with Chris Keller. This is what I liked, it increased the meaning and underlined the storyline in a way where they showed everything Lucas has done, and made it a mirror-image of what the world would be like without him being the way he is now. It was a smart thing to include and definetly worth an episode to watch. I thought there was a bit too much Lucas at first, but after I watched the whole thing, I understood why the writers did it and appreciate them for that. I think Shai, you should comment on Brooke/Peyton?

Shai: Oh yes! Brooke & Peyton. Well in this episode we see the two...bonding. I think thats what we can call it. Peyton asked Brooke to be her friend again, and Brooke accepted. Although when Peyton confessed that she wanted them to be like they were before, Brooke denied it and said that it could never be. I was happy about that, not because they are not friends, but if Brooke had said yes I would have been very mad at the writers. They spent alot of episodes basically showing the Brooke/Peyton fued, and they couldn't just give it all up now. And thank god they didnt stick to that, because it made it look more realistic. If I were Brooke I would have said the exact same thing! And I still stick to my feeling that something is going on with Brooke! I feel she is hiding something from us...I dont know what, but something...

Sal: (lol) Yes, well we all have our theories Shai. About that, I agree that it made it look more realistic, and I am a strong Brooke-supporter. The thing I found cool though, was when Peyton went to Haley, and Brooke went to Lucas. And they were both saying similar things about the other. Peyton wanted Haley to wake up to look after Brooke, and Brooke wanted Lucas to wake up to look after Peyton. It was a cool move for the writers, and I enjoyed that part alot. And I think we can include this here...I placed a bet with Shai that Haley's baby wouldn't make it through that accident...and...

Shai: YOU LOST! (lol) I am glad I won that bet actually. I knew the writers couldn't let the whole baby stroyline go. The doctors still gave us a hint that they are unsure about the baby, BUT Haley's baby boy is alive! Oh and on a final comment, I wanted to say that I loved Nathan in this episode. To me it was one of his most emotional episodes ever. He stood by his wife and blamed himself, and I felt so sorry for him. His acting was good and his lines were even better. I can't even imagine the old & selfish Nathan now. He is so much different than how he was in the first season. Thank god.

Sal & Shai: (lol) Ok so I guess that is it from us. Dan is in jail, Lucas & Haley are both alive. Brooke & Peyton are ok. Oh and we got to see the Creator of "One Tree Hill" in the episode. The guy at the Record Store where Peyton goes to is Mark himself! So it was so funny to see him in it, because as soon as he came on the screen, we both noticed him straight away. So that was a nice surprise. So our final thought on the episode is, it was excellent. One theory I (Sal) have about it, is in the end. I felt Keith was sort of telling Lucas about who really murdered him. But I guess that is just a theory, and you never know if anyone will find out. (Remember someone already knows!) Thanks for reading guys, leave your comments if you want!

P.S. "One Tree Hill" is scheduled to return on the 10th of January! So not long until we get those new episodes!

Take Care!