i’ve spent the last few months watching every one tree hill episode. i’ve seen a few episodes here and there over the years, but lately i’ve been getting really into it. i guess i’ve kind of worn out my office and dawson’s dvds. funny how i used to hate this show merely on principal. so here are some thoughts on tonight’s season finale…

first, i am loving that nathan and haley are having fun again. after watching the past seasons recently, it really puts what’s happening now into perspective. for a while, nathan and haley were on the rocks and i wasn’t always sure that having them marry at 16 was a smart decision script-wise. it can get boring quickly. but, i think it turned out to be one of the better ideas, albeit slightly unrealistic. it is a good balance from the never-ending triangle or rectangle or whatever you call the drama surrounding lucas. besides, who doesn’t love the adorable history these two have? the only thing about nathan and haley…as cute as their son is, the actor who plays him drives me nuts sometimes with the over-the-top acting. though, he is a kid after all.

dan’s life is on the line. again. we see dan almost bite the dust in every finale. and this time…he might just die. he got hit by a car, and surprise, the next second later his beeper goes off to tell him a new heart is waiting for him. i’m sorry, but with his heart condition, there is no way he is still alive. and if they keep him alive, that’s tv for ya. but anyway, the fact that he was for once a little redeeming before he got hit is a key sign that he might have died. that and the fact that the upcoming season will most likely be the last. it will be nice to see how it pulls nathan and lucas closer together. i always thought that their relationship, the real story behind the entire series, is the strongest. that last scene in season 1 when nathan finally calls lucas his brother is heart-wrenching. love it.

now for the drama…we have been pulled between lucas and brooke, and lucas and peyton for 5 years now. and it just keeps on going. being a dawson’s creek fan, i always thought that the dawson/pacey/joey thing was a little overbearing at times, but i actually think oth takes the cake. i mean, these people literally can not make up their minds. even though it is sometimes really melodramatic, it’s something i think this show has done better than dc and other shows. it’s kept it a little more real. it always bothered me how people just pretended to be okay with their ex dating their friends on other shows, but here, the pain doesn’t go away. peyton can’t just watch lucas with brooke and vice versa. that’s real as opposed to joey not caring that pacey is dating her roommate (which will forever bother me).

anyway, as i suspected, we were left hanging. with nothing. lucas calls up someone and asks to go to vegas to get married. but who is it? brooke, peyton or lindsay? we were supposed to find out. surprise! we didn’t. i threw my remote. literally. the cw always does this to us.

i am hoping it is peyton. and i think it is peyton. when you watch the earlier episodes, you realize how much lucas was always in love with her. brooke always came second to him and i honestly don’t think she should have to settle with that. it just doesn’t make sense for their characters. besides, their friendship is a good one and i don’t think brooke (this new brooke we’ve been seeing) would do that to peyton. and lindsay…i think her time on the show is up. she was a nice distraction for lucas, but i have a feeling she is done, for now. for some reason i thought she was going to reveal she was pregnant tonight. i’m still not ruling that out.

as for peyton, she drew a comet and wrote all over the river court how she will always love lucas. and come on, did you read the dude’s novel? if not, here is a refresher of the ending…

“Suddenly it was as if the roar of the crowd, the echo of the final buzzers, the cheers of my teammates were all sounding from 1,000 miles away, and what remained in that bizarre, muffled silence was only Peyton. The girl whose art, passion, and beauty had changed my life. In that moment, my triumph was not a state championship, but simple clarity. The realization that we had always been meant for each other and every instinct to the contrary had simply been a denial of the following truth – I was now and would always be in love with Peyton Sawyer.”

if that doesn’t point to the answer, i don’t know what does. and after hearing their conversation about her wanting to get married, i will be shocked if it turns out to be someone else. i will also be disappointed because like i said, as much as i love brooke, she shouldn’t have to settle for him. i called pacey and joey ending up together, and now, i am calling a peyton/lucas ending. it might take the rest of the series to happen, but it’s guaranteed.