One Tree Hill is a show that a lot of people grew up watching. A show with interesting, likable, and—for the most part—relatable characters, lots of romance and friendship drama, outstanding music, at times outrageous yet often enough compelling plotlines, and the inspiring and moving voiceovers usually done by Lucas. One Tree Hill still has passionate fans even though it ended back in 2012.
For nine years, these characters have been viewer's friends, and their stories have been an escape from the audience's own problems. In the course of those nine years, One Tree Hill delivered some rather tear-jerking episodes, and these are the ten that got us the most.
"One Tree Hill" (Season 9, Episode 13)
While the series does end on a happy note and the final episode is upbeat, hopeful, and joyful from start to finish, it broke our hearts by simply being the last one. This show has been with us for nine years—we grew up with it, learned about life from it, and went back to it for comfort when needed. So, to see it end, as much as it did need to end, was heartrending in a way. It was the end of an era.
Named after the U2 song, much like the show itself, “One Tree Hill”, the thirteenth episode of season nine, ended with a flash-forward showing us the happily-ever-after the characters we’ve spent so many years with finally got to have. The episode had almost everything we could have wished for: a happy ending for everyone, Gavin DeGraw and “I Don’t Want to Be”, flashbacks and flash-forwards—the only things missing were Lucas and Peyton.
"All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone" (Season 4, Episode 22)
When season four of One Tree Hill rolled around, we knew that by the end of the season we’d be saying goodbye to the familiar high school setting. In the emotional season finale “All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone”, the characters say goodbye to Tree Hill High as they make plans to head out into the world in pursuit of their dreams and happiness with everyone officially graduating from high school. Haley finally has her baby, and two weeks later they throw a party to celebrate the graduation. The girls dance to Spice Girls’ “Wannabe”, they spray paint their names on the river court vowing to be back in four years, and, in a callback to the pilot, Lucas and Nathan begin another basketball game with everyone cheering them on. Just as the characters are uncertain about what comes next, so were we. The shot of them standing on the river court felt final, and the realization that nothing will ever be the same hit hard.
"4 Years, Six Months, Two Days" (Season 5, Episode 1)
And, indeed, nothing ever was the same. Titled “4 Years, 6 Months, 2 Days”, the first episode of season five opens with the same shot of the group standing on the river court, but then switches to just Lucas standing alone four years later. Not everything worked out as they had so innocently hoped it would. Lucas and Peyton broke up, Brooke found success but not happiness, and Nathan and Haley struggled the most.
Without explanation, we find Nathan in a wheelchair, desperate, drunk, and angry, while Haley does her best to keep it together and give Jamie a happy life. Towards the end, we discover that Nathan was in a bar fight and was thrown through a window, resulting in the injury that landed him in the wheelchair. Watching Nathan and Haley and everyone around them struggle through this tragedy broke our hearts.
"The Show Must Go On" (Season 3, Episode 22)
In the season three finale, Nathan and Haley got married again—this time with their family and friends in attendance. Of course, their guests each had their own problems to deal with during the ceremony, but in the end, it all went according to plan. Well... almost. Rachel and Cooper’s drama had the biggest repercussions.
When Rachel lied about being pregnant, the two started arguing and struggling over the wheel, losing control of the car, almost crashing with Nathan and Haley’s car, and plummeting to the bottom of the lake. Nathan heroically jumped after them, despite Haley’s pleas not to do it, and seemingly got trapped in the submerged car himself, leaving us shaken, heartbroken, and worried until next season.
"Some You Give Away" (SEASON 4, EPISODE 9)
The ninth episode of season four, “Some You Give Away”, is one of the standout episodes of One Tree Hill. It’s the episode in which the Ravens finally become State Champions, Lucas tells Peyton that it’s always been her, and Haley tells Nathan they’re gonna have a son. However, it is also the episode in which a pregnant Haley gets hit by a car driven by Daunte who was aiming for Nathan because Nathan owes him money which he should have repaid by throwing the game.
While explaining to the paramedics what happened, Lucas—who hasn’t been taking his heart medication—goes into full cardiac arrest. It’s one of the most shocking and devastating final moments of any One Tree Hill episode that no fan will ever forget.
"The Last Day of Our Acquaintance" (Season 7, Episode 18)
One Tree Hill has seen its fair share of death. In season three we said goodbye to Keith and Peyton’s mom Ellie, in season six Quentin was killed, and in season seven Haley and her sisters lost their mom. Part of the journey is the end, but the fact that death is inevitable doesn’t make it any easier to deal with losing the people we love.
Haley has been through a lot, more than any person ever should, yet she’s always managed to stay strong for others, until now. When her mom gets sick, Haley finally breaks down, and it’s painful to see this character that we’ve considered larger than life fall apart. In “The Last Day of Our Acquaintance”, Haley, Quinn, and Taylor say goodbye to their mom, and it’s just heartbreaking to watch because... well, death is sad.
"Danny Boy" (Season 9, Episode 11)
While a lot of fans weren’t quite fond of the whole Nathan getting captured storyline from season nine, it did give us some pretty amazing, albeit heart-crushing moments. The eleventh episode, titled “Danny Boy,” is one of One Tree Hill’s most emotional episodes, and it revolves mostly around the death of Dan Scott, who got shot saving Nathan from his captors.
Despite all the horrible things Dan has done, watching his final moments with Nathan, Haley, and Jamie, and his conversation with Keith is incredibly moving. While it may still be difficult to feel sorry for Dan, we do feel sorry for those who have loved him and lost him. Aside from all the Dan scenes, the scene in which Haley and Nathan are finally reunited is one of the most beautifully soul-crushing moments of the entire series.
"Darkness On The Edge of Town" (Season 8, Episode 11)
In "Darkness on the Edge of Town", lives hang in balance as a massive storm strikes Tree Hill. After a car accident flips Lauren’s car, Brooke comes to her rescue and helps her get Chuck, Madison and herself to a hospital while she stays behind to free Jamie. Unfortunately, things go from bad to worse, and Jamie and Brooke end up sinking to the bottom of the lake in the car. Luckily, Julian manages to get to both of them in time, but he very nearly loses Brooke.
While all of that was tearing our hearts apart, Clay’s stalker Katie made a surprise comeback and attacked Quinn. After a fierce struggle with an armed and crazy Katie, Quinn barely managed to stay alive. These two plotlines make "Darkness on the Edge of Town" both touching and shocking.
"Geat Cape. Wear Cape. Fly" (SEASON 6, EPISODE 3)
The previous episode ended with Lucas getting a phone call telling him that Quentin Fields had been shot and killed, so “Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly.” deals with Q’s untimely and tragic death. From the people closest to Quentin, his mother and brother, to the people who have helped him become a better version of himself—everyone is coping with Q’s death the best they can.
Try not to get choked up when Nathan and Haley have to tell Jamie, when Brook and Jamie are standing by the coffin and Jamie covers it with the cape he made, and when Q’s mother thanks everyone for what they did for her son. Watching these characters deal with such a tragedy gets to us every time because it's easy to relate—we’ve all lost someone.
“With Tired Eyes, Tired Minds, Tired Souls, We Slept" (Season 3, Episode 16)
When it comes to picking the most heartbreaking, gut-wrenching, tear-jerking episode of One Tree Hill, there’s absolutely no contest because it’s “With Tired Eyes, Tired Minds, Tired Souls, We Slept”. The episode tackles the issue of school shootings by telling the story from the eyes of the shooter—a kid who used to hang out with Lucas and Mouth at the river court, Jimmy Edwards.
It’s an intense, emotional, and resonant hour of television that culminates in the death of a fan-favorite character, Keith Scott, at the hand of his brother Dan, as well as Jimmy Edwards' death. The message is heartfelt and poignant, and Lucas’s words at the end stick with us to this day.