‘One Tree Hill’: 5 Dramatic Storylines That Were Way Too Extra

There were many words to describe One Tree Hill — romantic, suspenseful, and nostalgic, to name a few — but boring was rarely in the vocabulary. That’s because the CW teen drama always managed to keep fans hooked with love triangles, rivalries, murders, and many, many hospital visits. Still, as entertaining as these wildly dramatic One Tree Hill plot lines were, some of them were a little too unbelievable. Here are just a few storylines that took the drama too far.

Haley James Scott’s high school rock tour

Nathan Scott (James Lafferty) and Haley James (Bethany Joy Lenz) getting married at 17 after a few weeks of dating was unrealistic enough, but many fans let that one slide because the teens were such a sweet couple. However, not long after that, in season 2, Haley added to their unusually accelerated lifestyle by going on a rock tour with Chris Keller (Tyler Hilton).

Young teens starting their music careers early isn’t entirely unheard of — just look at Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo. However, Haley went on tour as practically the starting point in her music, which is rare. Plus, the tour was made even more dramatic with her marriage troubles and the possibility of an affair with Chris. Perhaps the storyline would have been more believable in a later season of One Tree Hill when Haley grew older.

Nathan Scott, a loan shark, and point-shaving

And speaking of out-of-place storylines, Nathan’s point-shaving scandal was also too extra for high school. Desperate for money to pay for his apartment with Haley, Nathan took out a loan with the not-so-kind loan shark, Daunte Jones (Rick Fox), in season 4. In exchange, Daunte had Nathan shave points in a few of his Tree Hill High School basketball games.

As The Atlantic explains, point-shaving scandals have occurred in the NBA and even college basketball. However, it doesn’t seem to be so common in high school.

Again, as if that wasn’t enough, One Tree Hill packed in the drama with the aftermath of Nathan’s decision not to throw the championship game: Daunte hit Haley with his car on purpose, and Nathan beat the loan shark to death (though fans later learn he died in the accident). At the same time, Lucas (Chad Michael Murray) had a heart attack. Was that last part really necessary?

A dog eating Dan Scott’s new heart

Although it’s not an extensive storyline, this dramatic One Tree Hill moment is worth mentioning because it’s probably the wildest moment in the entire series. In season 6 episode 18, “Searching For a Former Clarity,” Dan Scott (Paul Johansson) visited the hospital after receiving word that a heart became available for his transplant. However, what would have been an exciting day turned into a cruel joke when the paramedic tripped over a dog’s leash at the hospital, and the dog ate the heart.

There’s a lot to unpack in this scene. Firstly, there’s no way a dog would be allowed to stay in a hospital. Dan also likely would have been prepped for surgery in another room, so he wouldn’t have witnessed the dog eating the heart. But, as the writers told The Ringer in an oral history of the scene, they wanted to hurt Dan in the worst way possible after all his evil.

Nathan’s kidnapping in Europe

One Tree Hill Season 9 took the cake for the most dramatic season. In just 13 episodes, fans watched as Russian mobsters kidnapped Nathan and beat him — all because of basketball. Nathan tried to sign a player to a team, but another team already “owned” that person. They wanted Nathan killed because of it.

Out of all the reasons for a kidnapping plot, the writers went with basketball? The storyline was certainly outlandish, but it was fun to see the unconventional team-up between Dan, Chris Keller, and Julian Baker (Austin Nichols).

Clay forgetting he had a son

While Nathan and his family dealt with the kidnapping, Clay Evans (Robert Buckley) had his own problems. He went through a phase of sleepwalking to places like parks, the beach, and the pool. He even somehow bought drugs in his sleep.

After seeking professional help, Clay learned that these fugue states were his mind’s way of trying to remind him that he had a young son, Logan (Pierce Gagnon). When Clay’s wife, Sara (Amanda Schull), died, he shut out the fact that they had a baby together. For six years, he forgot that he had a child.

Many viewers found it hard to believe that could be possible. Logan’s grandparents and Clay’s doctor knew, but they never once tried to remind him? And he had zero clues about his son in his belongings? It all seemed very unlikely. But, then again, the story made for interesting entertainment.

All episodes of One Tree Hill are now streaming on Hulu and HBO Max.