OTH: New Beginnings...Again

I'll be honest--I wasn't all that excited about a seventh season. Even though Lucas and Peyton were not my favorite characters on the show, they were an integral part of the show and I was sad to see them leave. So, as the show started, I sat on my couch with no expectations and lacking my usual excitement for this show.

The first five minutes were a little cheesy--Haley recording her song while images of Brulian on the beach having a From Here to Eternity moment flashed along with other scenes was a little corny even for me.

But as the show progressed, I found myself thinking that I could get on board with this new version of OTH. But there are a few things that need to be done before this happens:

1) No more fake acting for Nathan. Although I laughed hard for a good 10 minutes (even called my sister and just laughed while she told me to calm down), I don't know if I can stomach any more of it. I was both amused and horribly embarassed for Nathan--the same feeling when I get when I watch American Idol rejects. But damn, he's hot:


2) Limit the number of schmatzy Brulian scenes. I'm so very happy that Brooke has finally found love (even if he is one of Peyton's leftovers), but last night's ep just made her seem like a whiny, needy girlfriend rather than the strong, confident Brooke we all know and love. I'm hoping last night was just a one-time thing and not a constant throughout the whole season. I love fun, biting Brooke--and without Peyton around, I'm afraid we won't see her again.

3) Add some tension to the perfect Scott family. Yes, I'm the first one to beat up anyone who even threatens the happy existence of my favorite couple, but I've realized that tension makes things way more intersting. The last thing this show needs is a Stepford family. Jaime needs to get into a little more mischief, Haley needs to lose her cool once in a while and Nathan needs to find his inner a-hole once in a while. Although the cliffhanger at the end made me rage on the inside, I knew it was needed if Naley was going to stay interesting for an entire season. I mean really, no marriage is ever perfect. I don't care if you're on television.


4) Give the minor characters some meaningful scenes the main characters. If they're all going to be friends, we need to see them interact and form some connections. Mouth and Skills have always been Lucas' friends in my eyes. Although they have a bond with Haley and have become friends with Nathan, I still don't feel that deep of a connection. Maybe they need to have more heart-to-hearts that they normally would have had with Lucas.

5) Seriously...no more commercials for Nathan. That was too painful to watch.

I do like the addition of Quinn, even though she seems younger than Haley, and Clay. I always wanted to see more of Haley's family and it's nice for Nathan to have a friend who wasn't Lucas' first. I always wished they'd saved one of his friends (Dim) as a reminder of Nathan's old life to show how he's grown.

Anyway, this first ep was intriguing...let's hope it only gets better.