Dan is always the number one bad guy but Peyton made a strong case for herself.

Both are destined to torture Lucas. He came to terms with Keith’s death in writing that scene for his ‘Ravens’ screenplay. He finally faced Dan and learned the truth about his uncle’s dying moments. Dan painted himself as the villain. The moment was a quiet reckoning between father and son. Maybe they are ready for a new chapter in their relationship. As fun as it is to hate him, Dan is Lucas’ father. Lucas has hurt a lot of people and he’s been forgiven time and again. He should remember that when dealing with his dad. It certainly wouldn’t be boring to watch the two of them try for some kind of understanding before Dan’s heart gives up.

Nathan must have somewhat forgiven Dan to let him take care of Jamie. As much as he hates his father, Nate shared a nice memory of him with Lucas. Nathan’s devil, however, wasn’t his father this week: it was Slamball. Years ago, Nathan robbed a rival college player of his Sweet Sixteen dreams. That player came after him hard in the Slamball semi finals. There was a terrible moment when the game clock ran out, Nate was celebrating and his rival put him through a glass partition. It looked exactly like the accident that put him in the wheelchair. I closed my eyes until I heard the words ‘I’m okay’ come from his mouth. It was a relief to watch Nate hoist Jamie into his arms and vow to quit Slamball. With the NBA scout not at the game, could he lose his shot at a comeback? Mouth does have a lot of footage showing Nathan in all his Slamball glory. That might help convince a team to give him a shot. Or he could be a stay at home dad while Haley gets it together and gets back in the studio. Which better be soon. I’m all for the family togetherness thing but she’s been so supportive of her husband she seems to have forgotten how great it felt when she busked a couple of weeks ago.

Poor Millie is also being pushed to the sidelines for her man. She still hasn’t done anything since coming back to Tree Hill except cat fight with Gigi. Now, Gigi was deserving of the wrath as she proved tonight when she propositioned Mouth. He won’t do it. Mouth is the good guy. Plus it wouldn’t make sense to cheat on a girl you just gave up your whole future for, would it? That would make him the very worst kind of guy.

There was no clear devil in the Brooke/Owen un-coupling to have sympathy for. Owen tried to repent. He did everything he could to win her back. Brooke led him on a little but she says she has to focus on Sam and she’s right. Being responsible isn’t always sexy but it’s always right. Unfortunately that means Owen is out of the picture. I loved the two of them together yet it seems fortuitous that she’s single just as Peyton and Lucas are about to implode.

Which they are. There was no way the path to altar would be smooth for these two. Julian is a great twist. I take back any comparisons to Lucas I made last week. Julian is no whiney, squinty-eyed boy playing at being a man. From Peyton’s flashbacks, he appears to be a grown up. He wasn’t afraid to move in with Peyton or tell her he loved her or call it quits when she carried Luke’s book with her everywhere. Their connection may be very strong because he knows her as an adult. Lucas can still see the scared little girl he’s always known and wanted to protect. Julian sees her as an equal partner. But those flashbacks won’t be the whole story. If they are and he is that guy, Peyton should be with him.

Either way, Peyton was wrong in not telling Lucas about her relationship with Julian. When you hold something like that back for three weeks it’s the same as lying. I can’t feel sorry for her. It’s unlike me to say this but I feel sorry for Lucas. This time he’s done nothing wrong. Dan may have killed Keith but that didn’t surprise anyone. Peyton breaking Lucas’ heart is all the more devilish because nobody saw it coming. And for once, I’m actually interested in seeing more Peyton/Lucas action!