Season synopsis
Contains spoilers for this season and earlier seasons.
At Tree Hill High, Lucas Scott joins the Ravens, where his half-brother Nathan is the star and their father, Dan, still rules both boys from the sidelines. Lucas grew up with his mother Karen after Dan left them; Nathan has been raised under Dan’s constant pressure. Nathan first courts Lucas’s best friend Haley to provoke him, but tutoring grows into a real romance. Lucas dates Brooke while his feelings for Peyton remain unresolved, pulling the girls’ friendship into the brothers’ rivalry.
Dan’s demands push Nathan to take amphetamines to improve his game; after the drugs land him in hospital, he quits basketball and begins choosing his own path. Dan and Deb’s marriage also breaks apart. Lucas and Keith crash their car after Keith has been drinking, and Dan acknowledges Lucas as his son so doctors can operate. Lucas survives, while Keith uses his savings to pay the hospital bill. The accident leaves Lucas, Brooke and Peyton facing the cost of their tangled relationships.
With Coach Whitey unavailable, Dan takes over the Ravens and drives the team toward the playoffs. Lucas and Nathan play together, but Lucas’s injured shoulder contributes to a missed shot and a loss. Lucas prepares to leave Tree Hill with Keith. Nathan reconciles with Haley, and they reveal they have married. Dan finds Deb with Keith as he signs divorce papers and collapses with a heart attack. Lucas and Keith drive away, while Peyton and Brooke cautiously begin repairing their friendship.