One Tree Hill: 10 Best Episodes Of Season Three, Ranked By IMDb

Season three of the hit primetime teen drama, One Tree Hill, shows the main characters in their first half of senior year at Tree Hill High School.

Hayley has returned from tour and is on a mission to save her marriage, while Brooke and Lucas finally get together. Peyton starts to bond with her birth mother, but the relationship isn’t without its own drama when Ellie reveals she’s facing some serious medical issues. This season also introduces the new girl and troublemaker, Rachel.

10 Everyday Is A Sunday Evening (8.7)

Peyton is in Savannah visiting Jake and his daughter, Jenny, while the rest of her friends are back in Tree Hill dealing with their own drama and getting ready for the Coastal Classic. Rachel is dating Nathan’s uncle, Cooper, after lying to him about her age and Brooke is determined to tell Cooper the truth, knowing they’ll break up and her rival, Rachel, will be heartbroken. At the end of this episode, Peyton realizes how much she loves Jake and asks him to marry her.

9 Over The Hills And Far Away (8.7)

Once Hayley returns to Tree Hill, she and Nathan decide to have a real wedding with all of their friends and family. In this episode, it is the rehearsal dinner, the eve of the big day.

Brooke has made Hayley’s wedding dress and when she sees it, Hayley bursts into tears with disappointment because the dress is so “Brooke” and not her at all. Meanwhile, Peyton is struggling between her feelings for Jake and old feelings for Lucas that have come rushing back.

8 Like You Like An Arsonist (8.8)

This is the first episode of season three and viewers finally get to learn what happened to Dan. When season two ended, it showed Dan in the middle of a blazing fire at his car dealership. In this episode, it is revealed that Dan survived the fire, but has come back with a vengeance, on a mission to find out which of his enemies kindled the flames. Peyton is coming to terms with meeting her biological mother, Ellie, and Brooke and Hayley move in together now that Hayley is back from tour.

7 All Tomorrow’s Parties (8.8)

It’s a stressful weekend for Brooke who is displaying her designs in a fashion show in New York City, and then has to be in Charlotte the next day for the cheerleading competition.

When Brooke gets to New York, she learns the schedule has been changed and her designs won’t be shown until the following day, which means she can’t make it to the competition and she leaves the whole thing in Rachel’s hands. Rachel and Peyton have a crazy night in the hotel after practice as Rachel helps Peyton blow off some steam from her biological mothers’ death.

6 Just Watch The Fireworks (9.0)

Someone has broken into the room where the video time capsule was being stored and plays the video on all the televisions in the school, revealing Tree Hill’s students’ biggest secrets. Lucas rants about taking Dan down once and for all, Nathan says that marrying Hayley was the worst mistake of his life, Brooke takes her shirt off, and Jimmy insults just about everyone in his class because he feels deserted and angry for being such an outcast and losing Mouth and Lucas as his friends.

5 How A Resurrection Really Feels (9.1)

A lot is revealed in the mid-season finale of season three. Brooke, Hayley, and Peyton end up in jail after a slight misunderstanding with Brooke’s clothing line. Lucas figures out who started the fire at Dan’s dealership, and Tree Hill elects a new mayor, Dan Scott, after Karen concedes.

Later, Brooke goes to Lucas to show him all of the letters she wrote him over the summer, hoping to win back his love after she made a big mistake with Chris Keller.

4 Who Will Survive, And What Will Be Left Of Them (9.1)

Tree Hill is reeling from a school shooting that took both Jimmy and Keith. The town assumes Jimmy killed Keith before taking his own life, not yet knowing the truth. Karen is grieving the loss of her fiancé and when Lucas decides to go to Jimmy’s funeral, Karen forbids it, but Lucas knows that’s what Keith would have wanted and attends anyway. Brooke and Peyton bond after the shooting, and Peyton’s father decides to let Brooke stay and live with them now that Hayley is moving out of their shared apartment.

3 The Wind That Blew My Heart Away (9.2)

A big rainstorm sweeps through Tree Hill, knocking the power out and causing all the characters to face the darkness both literally and metaphorically.

Brooke, after reading one of Lucas’ letters, runs out into the storm upset by what the letter says, which Lucas eventually apologizes for with one of his epic speeches. Meanwhile, Hayley and Nathan are discussing their future post-high school plans and realize their dream schools are on two separate sides of the country.

2 The Show Must Go On (9.5)

It’s Hayley and Nathan’s wedding day, and all attention should be on the bride and groom, but of course, everyone seems to have their own things going on. Brooke is dealing with the feelings Lucas and Peyton may or may not still have for one another. When she learns that they kissed in the tutoring center, she’s even more upset. After the wedding, Nathan and Hayley’s limo collides with a car carrying Cooper and Rachel. Cooper and Rachel’s car goes over the bridge and into the water, so Nathan dives in to save them, but gets stuck. The season ends with viewers wondering what happens to Nathan.

1 With Tired Eyes, Tired Minds, Tired Souls, We Sleep (9.7)

This powerful episode of One Tree Hill depicts a school shooting at Tree Hill High. Jimmy, the outcast who’s time capsule video insulted his entire class, brings a gun to school and terror follows. Peyton gets shot in the leg and runs for cover in the library, where Lucas finds her. Meanwhile, Keith breaks into the school trying to save Lucas, but comes across Jimmy and witnesses Jimmy take his own life. Dan approaches Keith, picks up the gun, and shoots his own brother.

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