How the cast of 'One Tree Hill' looked in their first and last episodes (2023)

For at least its first six seasons, Lucas Scott was the protagonist of "One Tree Hill."

Lucas, as played by Chad Michael Murray, was a sweet, sensitive teenage boy with a real talent for both basketball and reading. His mother, Karen, had him when she was a teenager with her high school boyfriend Dan, who almost immediately dumped her.

Dan had a son soon after with his college girlfriend Deb, and named him Nathan. The conflict between the two half-brothers made up much of the first two seasons' conflict, but by the time Lucas left the show in season six, the two were truly brothers.

Lucas' other big storyline was the love triangle between himself, the girl of his dreams Peyton Sawyer, and the most popular girl in school, Brooke Davis. Lucas switched back and forth frequently, but eventually he and Peyton worked it out.

Lucas left the show full-time in the season six finale, but returned for one more episode during the ninth and final season.

Lucas and Peyton tied the knot and welcomed a daughter, Sawyer, towards the end of season six, before riding off into the sunset in Peyton's convertible in the season six finale, "Remember Me as a Time of Day."

However, when his half-brother Nathan was kidnapped during season nine (long story), Lucas returned to Tree Hill in the seventh episode, "Last Known Surroundings," at the request of his best friend and sister-in-law Haley James to help take care of his nephew, Jamie, and his niece, Lydia.

Peyton Sawyer started off "OTH" as an edgy cheerleader with a secret love of art.

Peyton, played by Hilarie Burton, began the show as a true enigma — she was sassy, hard-edged, really into rock, emo and even metal music, but also a popular cheerleader dating the biggest jock in school, Nathan. It was clear to everyone the minute that they saw Peyton and Lucas interact, that she should be with thisScott brother, the moody one who shared her taste in music.

Peyton went through a lot during her six seasons on "OTH," including a stalker named Psycho Derek, the deaths of her adopted and biological mothers, an absentee father, a drug problem, losing her best friend Brooke over a boy (yes, Lucas), and getting shot during a school shooting in season three.

Peyton's last episode was the season six finale, "Remember Me as a Time of Day."

Along with her new husband and daughter, Peyton drove away from Tree Hill at the end of season six, never to return. However, she was frequently mentioned by her best friends, Brooke Davis and Haley James, and was missed by many viewers.

Lucas' best friend was Haley James, who was equally sarcastic and sweet — and one of the smartest people in school.

Haley, played by Bethany Joy Lenz, and Lucas are one of TV's great platonic boy-girl friendships. There was never even a hint of these two catching feelings for each other, which is great, because Haley and Lucas' half-brother Nathan, are alternately one of TV's best relationships.

Haley and Nathan got started after Nathan requested her as a tutor — originally, it was just to mess with Lucas, but over the course of season one, Nathan developed real feelings for "Tutor Girl." They even got married (as teens!) in the season one finale.

Over her high school career, Haley also became close friends with Peyton and Brooke, became a cheerleader, and gave birth to a son, Jamie, on the day of high school graduation. She also had a successful music career.

Haley stayed on "OTH" all the way through the series finale, called "One Tree Hill" after the U2 song.

Haley ended the series with two children, a recently returned husband, a semi-thriving record label called Red Bedroom Records, and was the new proprietor of Karen's Cafe, the place that Lucas' mom owned while they were in high school.

Haley also continued to release music through Red Bedroom Records and perform at Tric, the all-ages nightclub in Tree Hill.

Nathan Scott began the show as one of its biggest villains, but he didn't remain that way for long.

Nathan, played by James Lafferty, is the younger son of Dan, who he had with Deb during college. During season one, Nathan was shown to be arrogant, irresponsible, and downright unpleasant, although it became clear Nathan was this way because of the amount of pressure and abuse he was subjected to by his father.

But once he started dating (and later married) Haley, Nathan became a better man. In fact, the development of Nathan's character was one of "OTH's" best storylines.

By the series finale, Nathan had retired from the NBA and was working as a sports agent.

Between seasons four and five of "OTH," there was a four-year time jump, so the show didn't have to deal with the college years. Instead, we picked up with all of our favoritesaftercollege graduation. When we saw Nathan, it was rough. Due to a serious injury, Nathan never made it to the NBA, and was partially paralyzed.

But, eventually, Nathan recovered and made it to the NBA. But due to his injury, he was forced to retire, and so he decided to become a sports agent. This led to him getting kidnapped and missing half of the last season of "OTH." He was rescued by his estranged father, who was shot and died during the rescue mission.

Karen Roe was introduced in the series premiere as Lucas' mother, an independent woman who owned her own business.

Karen, played by Moira Kelly, gave birth to Lucas when she was still in high school — she thought she'd be raising her son with her boyfriend, Dan, but he instead abandoned her and never acknowledged Lucas.

Instead, she was helped out by Dan's older brother, Keith Scott, who was clearly harboring feelings for her. After seasons of back and forth, Karen and Keith finally got together during season three, but it wasn't mean to be: He was shot and killed by his brother during the season three episode "With Tired Eyes, Tired Minds, Tired Souls, We Slept."

Tragically, Karen was pregnant with Keith's baby when he was killed. She left the show as a series regular after season four to be with her daughter, Lily, and her new boyfriend, Andy.

Karen made guest appearances throughout season five and six. Her last episode was the season six finale.

Karen returned for her son and daughter-in-law's last appearance as series regulars on "OTH." In her final scene, she and Lucas reminisce about their experiences in Tree Hill, both the beautiful and tragic ones.

During season five, Karen also leases space in Tric to Peyton so she can start Red Bedroom Records, which Haley takes over after Peyton's departure.

In season nine, she's mentioned again by Haley, who's convinced Karen to sell Tric to Chase Adams, Tric's long-suffering bartender.

Keith Scott is introduced as Lucas' devoted uncle who's harboring a long-standing crush on Karen.

In all the ways that Dan was a demanding, downright evil parent, his older brother Keith, played by Craig Sheffer, was the exact opposite. Keith supported Karen when she was a teen mom, acted as a father figure to Lucas, and (usually) refused to engage with Dan's taunts.

Keith acted as a mentor to many of Lucas' friends, including Jimmy Edwards. Over the course of high school, Jimmy became more and more troubled, and during season three, he brought a gun to school. Keith, who knew Jimmy, went into the high school and attempted to talk him down before he shot anyone else, but ultimately Jimmy committed suicide in front of Keith.

At this point, Dan entered the school, and in a jealous, paranoid rage — Keith had slept with Dan's ex-wife Deb and Dan was also convinced Keith had tried to burn down his car dealership with Dan inside — murdered his own brother.

Keith appeared in a few episodes of season four in flashbacks and as a ghost, but made his final appearance in the 11th episode of season nine, "Danny Boy."

It was devastating for fans to say goodbye to Keith, which is why it was so lovely to get one more episode with him during the show's final season.

The six seasons following Keith's murder saw his brother (and killer) Dan go through a real evolution: He went to jail, he lost his entire family, he saved his grandson from a psychotic nanny (more on her later), and eventually saved his son Nathan from kidnappers.

Keith appeared to Dan on his deathbed, telling his little brother that he was Keith's "plus one" into heaven, finally having redeemed himself.

Dan Scott is the closest thing "OTH" had to a true villain.

Dan, played by Paul Johansson, could always be counted on to do the wrong thing. He was constantly scheming and manipulating those around him, bullied both of his sons into playing basketball and convincing them it was the only important thing in life, and eventually murdered his own brother.

But perhaps Dan's lasting legacy is a moment during season six, when he's called to the hospital to get a long-awaited heart transplant, and is instead forced to watch as an EMT trips and falls with the donor heart in a cooler. The heart comes skidding across the floor, and a dog promptly eats it.

Watch the scene for yourself here.

In the eyes of "OTH's" writers, Dan redeemed himself by his last appearance, the season nine episode "Danny Boy."

Even if fans might've disagreed, the show made it clear that Dan had been forgiven for his previous actions by almost single-handedly rescuing his son Nathan from a gang of Russian kidnappers. He was shot during the escape, and later died from his injuries.

Dan, in his later years, also somehow had a sweet relationship with his grandson Jamie, who healsohad to rescue from a kidnapper, Nanny Carrie, during season five.

Lucas' best friend Antwon "Skills" Taylor made his first appearance in the pilot, though he didn't become a series regular until season four.

Skills, played by Antwon Tanner, was originally introduced as one of Lucas' friends who he played basketball with on the River Court, as opposed to on Tree Hill High's basketball team. But, when Lucas joined, Skills soon followed suit. He soon evolved to be both a voice of reason and comic relief, when needed.

During high school, Skills' most notable relationship was with the ditzy cheerleader Bevin.

Skills went back to being a recurring character in season eight. His final episode was the series finale.

In the post-college years, all of Skills' best storylines were about his deeplysweet relationship with Nathan and Haley's son, Jamie. The two shared a special bond — although, that bond was tested when Skills began dating Jamie's grandmother (and Nathan's mom) Deb.

At the end of the finale, Skills is seen with Bevin, implying that the two eventually got back together.

Marvin "Mouth" McFadden was introduced in the premiere as another one of Lucas' River Court friends. He became a series regular in season three.

Mouth was one of the nerdier members of Lucas' friend group, but he was proven to have a have a heart of goldanda motor-mouth. His friendship with Brooke was one of the show's most heart-warming.

Notably, Mouth was best friends with Jimmy Edwards, the eventual school shooter. Though the two grew apart before the incident, Mouth still took it really hard when Jimmy died.

Mouth ended the show with a wife, Millie, and $500,000 inherited from Dan, in the series finale.

After Dan's death, it was revealed he left Mouth a substantial amount of money with the note, "What you do matters." Mouth hypothesized this was because Dan appreciated that Mouth quit his dream job as a sportscaster after refusing to report on cheating allegations about Nathan.

Mouth chose to use that money to create a sports scholarship fund named after Keith and Jimmy.

On the relationship front, Mouth and Brooke's former assistant Millie had an on again/off again relationship from season five onwards, but ended the show together and expecting a baby.

Tree Hill High's lovable basketball coach Whitey Durham made his debut in the series premiere.

Whitey, played by Barry Corbin, was seemingly the only person who could stand up to Dan, which made Dan resent him all the more.

Whitey also acted as a parental figure to many of his players, including Lucas, Nathan, nad Jake Jagielski, and other students like Peyton and Brooke. Whitey was also shown to have a close relationship with former students like Keith and Karen.

Whitey retired from high school coaching after Tree Hill finally wins the state championships in the season four episode ""Some You Give Away."

Whitey also made his final appearance during the season six finale.

After making sporadic appearances in seasons five and six, Whitey had a final showdown with Dan. Dan made the trek out to Whitey's ranch to ask him to kill him and put him out of his misery, but instead, in an extraordinary show of grace, Whitey forgave Dan and told him to try and use the time he has to make a difference in the world.

Arguably the show's most famous character, Brooke Davis didn't pop up on "OTH" until its second episode.

We said that Nathan's character development is one of "OTH's" best — we were saving the spot for B. Davis herself. Brooke, as played by Sophia Bush, started the series as a mean girl with a penchant for starting chaos — in one of her first appearances, she forces Peyton to admit she has a crush on Lucas in front of her ex-boyfriend, Nathan.

But over the course of the show, Brooke was shown to be a fiercely protective friend of Peyton, and later Haley, and a person who was just desperately looking for love.

Most of Brooke's romantic life was tied up in Lucas and Peyton, but "Brucas" finally came to an end during season four.

Brooke ended the series finale with a husband, twin boys, healthy relationships with her parents, and multiple successful businesses.

After the four-year time jump, viewers found out that, while Brooke was immensely successful with her clothing line Clothes Over Bros, she was miserable and alone in New York City.

Viewers watched as she found love with a movie producer, Julian Baker, repaired her relationships with her parents, continued excel with Clothes Over Bros and a baby clothing line called Baker Man, and welcomed twin boys, Jude and Davis.

Ifanyonedeserved a happy ending on "OTH," it was Brooke.

Nathan's mother Deb made her first appearance in season one, episode four, "Crash Into You."

During the first few episodes, Nathan's mom Deb, played by Barbara Alyn Woods, was mentioned as being away on business a lot. She made her debut in the fourth episode of season one, and made a decision to stop traveling so she could be around more for her son.

As time went on, Deb and Dan's marriage crumbled, and Deb also became close friends with Dan's ex, Karen. Things got so bad between the two ex-spouses that Deb almost murdered Dan by burning his car dealership down.

Deb left the main cast in season six, but returned for one more episode in season nine, "Danny Boy."

Just as Keith returned for Dan's final episode, his ex-wife Deb also made a trip to Dan's bedside — although she wasn't a ghost. The two finally found closure and Dan forgave Deb for trying to kill him.

Before that, Deb had been a nanny for her grandson Jamie, and dated Nathan's friend Skills. But the two broke up when Deb realized that Skills wanted to get married and have kids, and she wasn't interested in doing that again.

The egotistical musician Chris Keller first popped up in the season two episode "We Might as Well Be Strangers."

Chris, played by real-life musician Tyler Hilton, made his way to Tree Hill to audition to play at Peyton's all-ages club, Tric. In the process, he and Haley (who was married to Nathan) develop feelings for each other and Haley left Tree Hill to go on tour with Chris.

Chris popped up throughout seasons two, three, and four, but wasn't seen again for awhile after his last appearance in season four.

Chris returned as a series regular in the ninth and final season to help run Red Bedroom Records. He appeared in the series finale, like the rest of the main cast.

During season nine, Chris helped save Nathan from his kidnappers, bonded with Haley (sort of) about music, and became close friends with Chase Adams after inadvertently causing Chase's girlfriend Alex Dupre to break up with him.

Chris' story ended with Haley firing him as co-runner of Red Bedroom Records to sign him as a musician.

Rachel Gatina made her debut during the season three episode "A Multitude of Casualties."

Rachel, played by Danneel Ackles, was brought in during season three to be a version of Brooke — she was a cheerleader who was comfortable with her sexuality and had a crush on Lucas. But, she was careless with people's feelings in a way that Brooke never was. In fact, the school shooting can be indirectly tied back to her, as she was the one who released the time capsule video which led to Jimmy's breakdown.

After joining as a recurring character in season three, she became a main cast member in season four and ended up becoming close friends with Brooke and Mouth. She was also a guest star in season five.

Rachel returned during season seven as Dan's new wife and the producer of his talk show. Her last appearance was in the season seven mid-season finale, "Some Roads Lead Nowhere."

We'd last seen Rachel stealing money for drugs from Brooke in season five, so when she resurfaced as Dan's new wife in season seven, many were shocked. Over the course of the season, viewers saw Rachel's manipulative nature come back, and she stopped at nothing to make Dan's talk show successful.

But, in a rare show of integrity, Dan was disgusted by Rachel's actions and divorced her, while giving all his money to charity, leaving her with nothing. She was never seen again.

Chase Adams first appeared in season four, episode 12: "Resolve."

Chase, played by former "Laguna Beach" star Stephen Colletti, debuted as a member of an organization called the Clean Teens, a group of teenagers who pledged to wait until marriage to have sex. He ended up dating Brooke throughout season four, though it was revealed the two broke up during the time jump.

Chase appeared sporadically throughout the next three seasons until he became a series regular in season eight. His last appearance was the series finale.

After Chase and Brooke had a final break-up, Chase began dating one of the musicians who was working with Peyton and Haley, Mia Catalano (played by real musician Kate Voegele). They broke up after Mia went on tour, and Chase then began dating actress Alex Dupre.

At the same time, Chase began working at Tric as a bartender, while training to become a pilot. After he was discharged from the Air Force, Haley convinced Karen to sell Tric to Chase.

Nathan and Haley's son Jamie Scott made his debut in the season five premiere, "4 Years, 6 Months, 2 Days."

Jamie, played by Jackson Brundage, was born during season four, but was aged up during the time jump between seasons four and five. Jamie is inarguably one of the cutest TV kids of all time, and his relationships with his parents, his godmother Brooke, his uncle Lucas, his friends Skills and Julian, and his grandfather Dan were all high points of the show's final seasons.

By the series finale of "OTH," Jamie was nine years old. We also got a very small glimpse of him as a high-schooler.

Your mileage may vary with how invested you were in Jamie's stories with his friend Chuck or his crush Madison, but it was undeniably sweet to watch Jamie grow up over the course of five seasons.

Viewers also met Brooke's assistant Millie Huxtable in the season five premiere.

Millie, played by Lisa Goldstein, started off as Brooke's sweet but painfully shy assistant at Clothes Over Bros. When Brooke decided to leave New York City to return home to Tree Hill, Millie accompanied her and helped her open a store in her hometown.

Millie went on a real journey — Brooke ended up giving her a makeover and hiring her as a model for Clothes Over Bros, she befriended actress Alex Dupre, developed a drug problem, and had an on again/off again relationship with Mouth.

Millie was last seen in the series finale heavily pregnant and married to Mouth.

After finally getting together in season nine, Mouth and Millie begin hosting a daytime talk show together, but Millie eventually forces Mouth to quit so he can begin reporting on sports again, his passion.

In the last scene of the finale, Mouth and Millie are seen both wearing wedding rings, and Millie is visibly pregnant, meaning the two got married at some point in the future.

When viewers first met Julian Baker in season six, episode eight, "Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe," they thought he was just a producer looking to adapt Lucas' book.

During the four-year gap between seasons four and five, it was revealed that Lucas wrote a novel about his high school experience called "An Unkindness of Ravens." During season six, Julian, played by Austin Nichols, appeared in Tree Hill to convince Lucas to let him produce an adaptation, and to convince Lucas to write the screenplay.

However, it became clear Julian had ulterior motives — he had dated Peyton while she was living in Los Angeles and wanted to see how she and Lucas were doing.

But, while Julian started out as a bump in the road for Lucas and Peyton, it became clear hewasmeant to stay in Tree Hill, but not for Peyton. Instead, he ended up falling in love with Brooke.

During the series finale, Julian reveals to Brooke, his wife, that he bought her childhood home for them to move into.

Julian proposed to Brooke in the season seven finale, and tied the knot during season eight. He also produced a successful movie starring Alex, purchased a giant soundstage in Tree Hill so he could continue his work while staying close to his family, and even helped save Nathan from his kidnappers.

Julian ended the series married to Brooke, raising their twin sons Davis and Jude, while also finally producing a TV adaptation of "An Unkindness of Ravens."

After the exit of Peyton and Lucas at the end of season six, two new characters were introduced in the season seven premiere ("4:30 AM (Apparently They Were Traveling Abroad)"). First up, Nathan's agent, Clay Evans.

At the end of season six, Nathan revealed to Haley and Jamie he had made it to the NBA and was going to play for the Charlotte Bobcats. When we check back with Nathan in season seven, we're introduced to his agent Clay, played by Robert Buckley.

Over the last three seasons, Clay is established as one of Nathan's best friends. He also begins dating Haley's sister, Quinn. She's his first serious relationship after the death of his wife Sara.

Clay reunites with his son Logan and weds Quinn in the series finale.

During the last season, Clay begins experiencing fugue episodes, where he wakes up and has no idea where he is or how he got there. This is explained as a trauma response to the death of his wife — her death was so traumatic, in fact, that he completely repressed the memory of his son with Sara, Logan.

Over the course of the final season, Clay gets to know Logan, and eventually regains custody of him in the series finale. He also gets married to Quinn in a spur-of-the-moment ceremony.

The other person we meet in the season seven premiere is Haley's older sister Quinn.

Quinn, played by Shantel VanSanten, returns to Tree Hill in the season seven premiere after breaking up with her husband David.

During her time in Tree Hill, Quinn bonds with her sister, brother-in-law, and nephew, and also becomes friends with Brooke.

In the season seven finale, Quinn and Clay are shot by a stalker, Katie, who somehow looks exactly like Clay's deceased wife Sara. They make it through, and stay together for the rest of the series.

Quinn adopts Clay's son Logan and marries Clay in the series finale.

During one of the most heartwarming scenes in the finale, Logan calls Quinn "mom" for the first time, which inspires Clay and Quinn to have a quickie courthouse wedding.

The last series regular we meet is Alex Dupre, who joins the cast in the second episode of season seven, "What Are You Willing to Lose."

Alex, played by Jana Kramer, was introduced as a model and actress who Brooke hired to be the new face of Clothes Over Bros. However, tensions rise when Alex develops a crush on Brooke's boyfriend, Julian, and gets Millie involved with drugs. She hits a low point during season seven and attempts to commit suicide.

After she recovers, she begins writing a movie with Julian, and starts dating Chase.

Alex's final appearance was in the second episode of season nine, "In the Room Where You Sleep."

While Alex and Chase's relationship was solid, she met Chris Keller while attempting to break into the music industry. Chris convinced Alex to go on tour, which she did, breaking Chase's heart in the beginning of season nine. She never returned to "OTH."