Top 10 Times One Tree Hill Got Real

In season two, Nathan is devastated about Haley being gone and goes on a racing trip with his Uncle Cooper. While driving, he decides to push the limits and breaks the rules, going faster than they’ve been cautioned to. As he imagines his relationship with Haley, he loses focus and subsequently loses control of the car, slamming into a barrier. He’s taken from the car by his uncle and rushed to the hospital, with the episode ending before we find out what his fate will ultimately be.

It seems like accidents involving cars are commonplace in Tree Hill. We can’t forget the day of Nathan and Haley’s wedding in season three where the limo goes over the side of the bridge, with Cooper and Rachel inside. The following season, while she’s pregnant, Dante intentionally hits Haley with his car in an effort to get back at Nathan. Not only that, Nathan drags Dante out of the car and beats him to death. As if that wasn’t enough drama for a single episode, the entire incident causes Lucas to collapse on the scene due to his heart condition.

“One Tree Hill” pulled off a unique concept in its fifth season, jumping forward by four years and essentially skipping over the college portion of the show, showing our characters' lives as adults. Nathan’s dreams of playing professional basketball have been dashed and he’s paralyzed, forced to live in a wheelchair. We see a flashback to what happened to him when he got into a bar fight (despite Lucas begging him to walk away and think of everything he has to lose) and was thrown through the glass window of the bar.

We feared for the lives of nearly every character on this show once we started to realize how many awful things seemed to go down in this small town. But one constant throughout all of the drama was Lydia, Haley’s mom. She was the quintessential maternal figure, always being a positive influence in her daughter’s life. But in season seven her health deteriorates and her family has to deal with her impending death. Her final episode is a devastating one to watch, especially as young Jamie has to learn about the difficulties of life.

As if there wasn’t already enough drama on this show, in season five, after the flash forward, we were introduced to a new character: Nanny Carrie. While at first she seemed innocuous enough, episode by episode she started to become more of a threatening presence as she tried to seduce and frame Nathan. Things escalated throughout season five and six however, with her first kidnapping Jamie in an attempt to keep him as her own and then when she’s thwarted by Dan, kidnapping HIM and keeping him hostage. Luckily, she got what was coming to her in the end.

In one of the most shocking and terrifying moments to ever air as part of a teen drama, Quentin’s death was not only senseless and scary but also completely unexpected. “One Tree Hill” usually builds up to major events over many episodes, but this random act of violence came completely out of nowhere. Quentin was just stopping at a gas station when he was shot. The fact that Jamie had been bonding with him only makes the entire situation all the more heart wrenching, as we have to see the incident through his eyes as well.

In the very first season of the show, we see that Peyton and Brooke can get a bit wild when they get together. In this episode, the two friends go to a college party together and end up being separated. Peyton bonds with a guy who’s interested in her taste in music and they chat and drink together, but what she doesn’t realize is that his intentions are sinister. He roofies her and tries to take advantage of her, but luckily Brooke has her back and manages to get her out of there before things can get even worse. Hoes before bros, always.

One of the most memorable and terrifying storylines in “One Tree Hill” history had to be Peyton’s stalker from season four. Ian Banks pretended to be Peyton’s long lost half brother named Derek after seeing her online and proceeds to be an absolute creep for a long run of episodes, getting more and more violent and disturbing as the season wears on. He tries to assault Peyton and kill Brooke but luckily the girls manage to overpower him. This plot line kicked off something of a “One Tree Hill” tradition of terrorizing its characters with psycho stalkers.

After Ian, Xavier has got to be one of the scariest characters that the show ever introduced. He kills Quentin, and then begins targeting Brooke, first attacking her outside of her store at the beginning of season six. While we may have thought we were rid of him, he ultimately came back (as is the tradition with the crazies on OTH) and his subsequent brutalization of Brooke was even more disturbing. He follows her into a parking garage and their interaction is one that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Fortunately Brooke prevails, as she always seems to.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Dan Chokes Lucas
“First Day On A Brand New Planet”

Haley Tells Nathan She’s Pregnant
"I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness"

Katie Impersonates Clay's Wife
Various Episodes

Julian Forgets Davis in the Car
"Love the Way You Lie"

Brooke & Jamie Are Trapped in the Car
"Darkness on the Edge of Town"

Without question, the most intense episode in “One Tree Hill” history takes place in season three, when bullied student Jimmy pulls out a gun at Tree Hill High School. This episode was released in 2006 and addressed many issues that were present in the real world at that time including gun violence and bullying. While the main part of this narrative was extremely difficult to watch, the show’s creators added an extra layer of drama when they took this opportunity to have Dan kill his brother Keith and try to pass it off as being done by Jimmy.