Content Warning: This article contains discussions/references to kidnapping, violence, murder, and death.
Over the course of nine seasons, One Tree Hill featured hundreds of characters, as the series reinvented itself multiple times with new main and ing characters. No matter how many times the series changed, fans continued to tune in and get incredibly invested in the characters' journeys.
Though aspects of One Tree Hill may have aged poorly by now, the series' strongest asset was always its relationships, and at its core, its main and ing characters - although some of them stuck around much longer than others, and some of them left the series all too soon.
Gone Too Soon: Derek Sommers
In season 4, the series introduced one of Peyton Sawyer's best relatives: her half-brother, Derek Sommers. Derek came into Peyton's life at exactly the right time, as she found he helped to rebuild her confidence after her terrifying ordeal with stalker Ian Banks.
Sadly, Derek wouldn't stay very long, as he shipped off for service in the Marines. Fans would have loved it if Derek had returned to provide Peyton with some much-needed during later storylines, such as her separation from Lucas and her difficult pregnancy. Derek had the potential to be a great character, as even fans who never warmed up to Peyton on her own have expressed fondness for their relationship.
Overstayed Their Welcome: Mia Catalano
As the first artist to sign to Peyton's Red Bedroom Records label, Mia is an incredibly talented artist, who goes on to have a strong bond with both Peyton and Haley. However, in subsequent seasons, music no longer matters much to Mia, and she becomes caught up in an incredibly messy love triangle.
Unlike with previous love triangles the series included, fans were never particularly invested in the Alex/Chase/Mia love triangle. Many viewers also expressed disappointment in the disappearance of the "old Mia" as all of her kindness began to disappear once she got into a rivalry with Alex. Mia worked best as a ing character. When the series tried to make her more like a main character, it just did not work.
Gone Too Soon: Larry Sawyer
Although Larry Sawyer only appears in seasons one and three, he still manages to be one of the best parents in the series. A voice of reason, an incredibly loving and protective father, and a genuinely good man, Larry is an all-around package in the series. Sadly, after season three, he's never seen again.
One Tree Hill may have never been about the adults, but it's still disappointing that Larry was absent for some of the most important moments in his daughter's life. Fans still voice their sadness that Larry never got to see Peyton's record label, but even worse, Larry missed Peyton and Lucas's wedding and he wasn't there for her difficult pregnancy or the stalking ordeal.
Overstayed Their Welcome: Chase Adams
As one of Brooke's many love interests on One Tree Hill during high school, Chase ended up having a profound impact on her character development. However, in the adult years of the series, Chase works as a bartender at Club TRIC, and finds himself getting caught up in a messy love triangle with Mia and Alex that doesn't reflect well on any of the characters.
Although fans never hated Chase, it was also clear that no one was ever particularly invested in his journey. He always felt like an interim love interest for Brooke, and his arcs in later seasons often feel like filler as the series forces another love triangle into the mix in hopes of recapturing the magic of the Brooke/Lucas/Peyton triangle.
Gone Too Soon: Karen Roe
Karen Roe was easily One Tree Hill's best parent, providing Lucas and his friends with much-needed and wisdom during their teenage years. Though Karen plays a key role in the first four seasons of the series, she is only seen a handful of times in the later years.
Even after all these years, fans still can't help but express that Karen deserved better. She deserved to have her happy ending with Keith, who was tragically killed by his own brother. She deserved to be present for her son's wedding and to provide both Lucas and Peyton with the they needed as they navigated Peyton's high-risk pregnancy.
Overstayed Their Welcome: Alex Dupre
A character that never quite fits is Alex Dupre, who is initially brought in just to cause romantic drama for Brooke and Julian. After that triangle fizzled out, Alex immediately gets involved in another love triangle, this time with Chase and Mia.
It's not clear what the point of her character was, especially considering she doesn't develop much, if at all. A party girl character like Alex would have fit better during the series' high school seasons, alongside characters like Rachel and Brooke. Introducing Alex feels like a misstep for the series, especially when many of the main characters in the adult years are much more grounded in reality.
Gone Too Soon: Jake Jagielski
A single teen father to his young daughter Jenny, Jake Jagielski is one of the kindest, funniest, and sweetest characters in the series. He also happened to be one of the best romantic partners on One Tree Hill. As a result of fatherhood, Jake is dealing with more adult realities than most teen characters. His world is more mature and, as a result, he sadly didn't fit into the series in the long run.
To this day, fans are still devastated by how Jake's character was abruptly written out. It was a real disservice to his character to not have him appear in the series' adult years. Fans deserved to see how Jake was doing with Jenny after the series' time jump. Many fans also wish that Jake and Peyton had ended up together, as he was one of Peyton's best love interests.
Overstayed Their Welcome: Rachel Gatina
Rachel Gatina is a girl who loves to cause trouble, trying to seduce both Scott brothers, Lucas and Nathan. Eventually, Rachel is given a deeply sympathetic backstory of body image issues. But in the adult years, the sympathetic writing goes away, as Rachel is reintroduced multiple times and ultimately written off as an addict and a gold digger and nothing more.
During the high school seasons, Rachel was a character who could be either hit or miss. Fans loved her eventual friendship with Brooke, and her "could've been" romance with Mouth. But in the adult years, the inconsistent way in which her character was written grew tiring, and her scheming marriage to Dan Scott was universally loathed by fans.
Gone Too Soon: Keith Scott
A loving father figure to Lucas, and a devoted partner to Karen, Keith Scott goes above and beyond in his personal relationships, despite the stormy history shared as a result of his abusive brother, Dan. Keith has one of the most tragic arcs in the series, as his life is cruelly cut short by his own brother.
Keith deserved so much better. Keith and Karen were supposed to get married, and Keith deserved to get to meet his daughter, Lily. The series briefly toyed with fans' hearts in a moving dream sequence in the season 4 finale, when Keith and Karen reunite and Keith meets a toddler-aged Lily. But sadly, this was never meant to be. Keith missed out on so much, and it's something fans have never gotten over.
Overstayed Their Welcome: Dan Scott
Dan Scott is a villain for most of the series, an abusive manipulator who even kills his own brother in cold blood. He is later given a redemption of sorts, mostly through the relationship he strikes up with his grandson, Jamie, and in his efforts in saving his son, Nathan, from abductors.
Although some One Tree Hill fans moved by Dan's heartbreaking final episode, "Danny Boy," which finds him reuniting with his brother, Keith, in the afterlife, it's still hard to reconcile Dan's late-in-life heroics with the cruelty that pervaded so much of his prior life. Most fans have never been able to forgive Dan for killing Keith and express particular frustration with the level of focus he receives as a televangelist in season 7.