One Tree Hill

If there's one common problem that many television creators face, it's the difficulty of creating lead characters who are relatable, sympathetic, and interesting.  On many shows, the main characters are sticks in the mud, while the supporting players get all the best scenes and the funniest lines.  Most people would rather hang out with Jack and Karen instead of Will and Grace, or Blair and Chuck instead of Dan and Serena.  We'd rather watch flashbacks (or flash-forwards) of Locke and Ben than Jack and Kate.  There are exceptions to this rule of course, but there's no denying that supporting characters are often the most fun.

I was thinking about this while watching last night's episode of One Tree Hill, which tried (and failed) to make me care about Lucas and his love life for the umpteenth time.  Would the show be better off if Lucas (Chad Michael Murray) went to Vegas and never came back?

Things between Lucas and I weren't always so strained and awkward.  The elder Scott brother was certainly essential to the show during the first few seasons, especially since many of the events were told from his point of view.  Those early years focused heavily on the complicated relationships between Lucas, Nathan (James Lafferty), and Dan, and Lucas was the one who would often guide us through those troubled waters.

Things changed quite a bit in season 5.  The adults disappeared for the most part, and the characters became sectioned off in their own separate worlds.  Lucas hardly had any interaction with Nathan, Haley (Bethany Joy Galeotti), or Dan all season long.  Looking back, he didn't share many scenes with Peyton either, despite all of their interpersonal drama.  It was like Lucas was adrift in his own boring spin-off, while the rest of the Scott family, along with Brooke, Mouth (Lee Norris), and Millicent, had more interesting stories going on.

When Lucas did get his time in the spotlight, the show became all about his love life.  Was he really in love with Lindsey?  Would he go through with the wedding?  Did he still have feelings for Peyton?  Was he developing feelings for Brooke (Sophia Bush)?  I know that some One Tree Hill fans are heavily invested in the answers to these questions, but I cannot possibly explain how much I don't care about these things.  No matter what anyone says, it seems obvious that Mark Schwahn has always intended Lucas and Peyton (Hilarie Burton) to end up together in the end.  I may not like it, and you may not like it, but I'd be shocked if things ended differently in the final episode of the series.

With the "Leyton" pairing seemingly inevitable, why bother wasting so much time with Lucas' romantic troubles?  I can understand wanting to create suspense and debate among the fans, but Lucas should have at least one other plot line going on throughout the season.  This year he had nothing else to do, and it became tedious to watch.

At this point, I truly feel the show would be more interesting if Lucas moved to Las Vegas to become a reclusive author.  There'd be more time to devote to the rest of the Scott family, Brooke could get back to sexing it up, there might be time for Skills (Antwon Tanner) to have a plot line, and Peyton could finally move on and obsess over someone else.  One Tree Hill has become one of the many shows where the supporting characters are far more interesting than the leading man.  It's time to either give Lucas something to do, or get rid of him altogether.

Many OTH fans will spend the summer wondering who Lucas invited to Vegas for a quickie wedding at the end of the episode.  As for me, I'll be worrying about Dan's (Paul Johansson) fate, Nathan's basketball career, Haley's musical dreams, and Mouth's future in broadcasting.  Those characters have all progressed forward and become more interesting over the past year.  The same cannot be said for Lucas Scott.


- Don Williams, BuddyTV Staff Writer
(Image courtesy of the CW)