One Tree Hill: The Slippery Slope Continues 3

A lot o’ junk happened last night in Tree Hill: Haley browbeat her husband into mentoring for paragon of humility, Quentin. Mouth laid into his boss in front of his co-workers, which naturally got him laid (again) in her office — and now, based on his “job performance,” it looks like a promotion may be in the works. Brooke’s “C/B” store opening in Tree Hill flopped when no one bought any of the pricey pieces, and her mom threatened to take the store away from her. Peyton got into it in the studio with Jason (you know, K-Fed) and brought in Haley to help, resulting in the discovery that the talent in the band is really Mia, the shy, introspective keyboardist (who, of course, barely can be heard when the band plays). And naturally, when it seems like Peyton will be going home with the bartender at Brooke’s opening, Lucas leans in and says, “He’s not good enough for you,” opening the door for drama that you knew just had to happen. And of course, concurrent with this, we get another glimpse into just how desperately controlling and insanely jealous Lindsey, Lucas’ editor/girlfriend, really is.

The big teaser, of course, came at the end, during the previews for next week’s episode: Lucas proposing to someone. (It’s edited to LOOK like it’s Peyton … but this is Tree Hill. He could be proposing to Nathan’s mother — or even his own mother, for that matter … or maybe Chris Keller!)

This could well be the final season for “OTH,” and if so, the pressure’s on to have everything tied up nice ‘n’ neatly before the end — the time capsule from whatever season that was, when someone unknown person broke into it. Then there’s that bag o’ money that Lucas found at Dan’s dealership. Where did that money come from, and what was it going to be used for? Aren’t we going to see the return of that bazillionaire Andy guy who disappeared to New Zealand or wherever?

My guess is no. None of this will be revealed, most likely, because, well, frankly, none of it matters. But that’s OK. Speculation will continue, anyway. And speaking of which, what the H is going on with Dan Scott? He’s in prison, but you just KNOW the guy is capable of mayhem even from “inside.” This whole show has been about who’s knockin’ boots with whom, but it could have been about the redemption of the world’s biggest horse’s ass. Or his failure to be redeemed. Whatever the case, the guy’s still a stinker and the show isn’t maximizing his potential these days, which is disappointing. We got a bit of an update last week, with Nathan going to visit him in prison and, in a grand and glorious gesture of mercy, leaving Dan a picture of the grandson.

But to our knowledge, Dan’s still in prison for taking the rap on that blackmailer guy that Nathan accidentally beat to death. Technically, Keith’s ghost should be hangin’ around in Dan’s prison cell, taunting him whenever he tries to use the stainless-steel commode. He’s not off the hook by any means. If the show is true to form, my money’s on a prison break at some point in the near future. (“I just wanted to see my grandson!”) But it won’t be a tunnel operation or have Dan going over the fence — it’ll be a power play of some sort, like blackmailing the guards or playing head games with the warden. Maybe it’ll even go back to that bag of money I mentioned above. (I can’t remember if that was burned in the fire at the dealership or not. It’s been too long.)

Whatever the case, pull on your waders for next week’s episode, because the you-know-what in Tree Hill already is too deep just to be wearing boots.