Nathan Scott

by Claire Hairrell

Nathan Scott is, in my teenage, A+ binge-watcher opinion, one of the most dynamic television characters I’ve ever had the pleasure to know – courtesy of the countless hours I've spent drooling over the greatest show of all time, One Tree Hill. Undeniably, Scott’s personality transformation through the course of the show dramatically affects the series as a whole.

In the beginning, Nathan is no more than a jock with poor grades, forced to love the game of basketball by his overbearing father. Basketball was the only thing that mattered to him. He let the game define him because it’s all he’d ever known. Scott had allowed a game to become the root of all of his dreams and aspirations. Everything he had ever hoped for was riding on his talent. Nathan was living the dream – he was the star player on his high school basketball team. Unfortunately, the school decided to hit “pause” on his life (basketball) when his grades began to suffer. He desperately needed to find someone willing to tutor him, in order to become eligible to play again. Scott decided to ask for help from Haley James, the best tutor at Tree Hill High. After initially refusing to help him, she eventually agreed. Changes in Nathan’s character began to flaunt themselves almost immediately after his first tutoring session. Even though the alterations in his personality were originally minuscule, they were enough to be noticed. Perhaps Nathan's most important adjustment was towards his half brother, Lucas. This change is one of the most important shifts in his life, and we have Haley to thank for it. The only reason she agreed to tutor Nathan was because he agreed to leave Lucas, her best friend, alone. Thanks to Haley, Nathan and Lucas end up having a great relationship.

These changes in his life, even this early on in the hit television show, majorly affected the way his life panned out. The way Nathan recognized that there is more to life than basketball allowed him to be grateful for the things that really matter. In later seasons, we see that these things include his wife and kids that he is blessed with. Scott’s entire life is changed for the better because of one girl, one tutor. Because of Haley James’ gracious personality that overlooked logic, Nathan is able to live the life that he never knew he wanted. He is able to live a life that doesn’t revolve solely around his basketball career, but around his family and friends.

Although Nathan begins the show as an arrogant, ungrateful, and hateful young boy, he transforms into a smart, kind, thoughtful, successful, and respectable man. Who says one person can’t change a life (or television series) for the better?

To read further on Nathan Scott, check out this article here